oldkat
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 431
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Post by oldkat on Apr 27, 2018 18:03:19 GMT -6
From what I read, the making of skeletons and zombies (as found in Monsters & Treasure)is not described in terms of procedure. Page 9 states that they act "only under the instructions of their motivator, be it a Magic-User or Cleric (Chaos)" and that's it. While the spell description (in Men & Magic) on page 28 gives the range for # appearing, associated with the level of the magic-user, it does not mention cleric level. Thus, two things puzzle me: 1. Why does the spell not appear on the Cleric's spell list. 2. Neither book specifies what type of skeletons/zombies are animated. Are we supposed to assume only human corpses are affected? Addendum An interesting enigma appears in the B2 module (Keep on the Borderlands), Holmes printing; evidently, zombies of humans with former classes are assigned their HD according to what their former level was.(See 1st printing, p.22, entry 59) I absolutely embrace this zaniness, as it keeps players on their toes and from becoming complacent. It does, also, illustrate how frustrating it must have been for some, to see such a confusion of mechanics popping up here and there, only to disappear in time. What a world it must have been. So what do you think, would you like your zombies/skeletons to be tougher?
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Post by sixdemonbag on Apr 27, 2018 19:24:31 GMT -6
I definitely like the idea of Skeletons/Zombies having a variable and thus unpredictable number of HD. This would create some extra tension for the players. Also note that the not-so-obvious balance to this increased toughness would be that they are still susceptible to relatively easy turn undead throws. So yeah, they might be a little (or a lot) tougher, but they are still pretty easy (or automatic) for a mid-to-high level cleric to turn. Works for me. I don't see any reason to limit them to (un)human once it's been established that they could have any number of HD. Zombie/Skeleton ogres, trolls, giants, or dragons? Sure, why not?!! As to why the spell isn't on the cleric list: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Post by clownboss on Apr 28, 2018 3:10:35 GMT -6
They way I understood it, yeah, you go to a graveyard, cast the spell, and get a retinue of undead servants. Long deceased and decomposed bodies become Skeletons, fresh bodies become Zombies.
Lawful Clerics can't do it because it's unholy, and there would be no comparable Lawful counterpart to the Chaotic spell ability. Besides it is mages who are the NECROMANCERS.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Apr 28, 2018 11:49:52 GMT -6
The procedure is not listed. This is on purpose.
"why have us do any more of your imagining for you?" -- Gary Gygax, OD&D vol. 3, "Afterword"
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Elphilm
Level 3 Conjurer
ELpH vs. Coil
Posts: 69
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Post by Elphilm on Apr 29, 2018 5:36:33 GMT -6
Was Animate Dead, rather than the Finger of Death, the reversed Raise Dead at some point? I know that before Reincarnation was added during playtesting, high level Wizards could actually resurrect people using Animate Dead, so maybe the reverse was true for (Chaotic) Clerics and Raise Dead?
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Post by waysoftheearth on Apr 29, 2018 6:31:48 GMT -6
FWIW, Delving Deeper (V4) adds Enervate Dead for clerics; the reverse being Animate Dead for anti-clerics.
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Post by Lord Cias on Jun 8, 2018 19:53:41 GMT -6
I've considered allowing chaotic clerics to animate skeletons and zombies as the counterpart to the lawful clerics' ability to turn/destroy undead. A successful "turn" (whether by dice roll or an automatic "T") allows a chaotic cleric to temporarily animate corpses in his vicinity (in the same numbers and for the same amount of time as a lawful cleric turning undead) while a result of "dispelled" would allow permanently animated dead to be created.
Free-willed undead cannot(?) be created in this manner.
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