EFU:Necronomicon - The Basics of Animating the Dead

[Diz-e]

So, my young pupil, you have come to learn from the dark masters? Be sure you can stomach it, mmh? EFU has a custom system for the spell Animate Dead, which can be used by many types of necromancers to great effect in crafting their own, unique creations.

The most important mechanical requirements, beyond at least one caster level and a means to cast the spell, are outlined in the original announcement by our most esteemed DM Mort, the system's creator:

Hello!

Just a small announcement to say that it will now be possible to corrupt/enhance your undead minions as well as make them equip weapons of your choicing should you wish it so!

The rituals to corrupt/enhance your minions mix the skills of :

- Alchemy
- Lore
- Spellcraft

As well, they can be boosted by the feat "Spell Focus : Necromancy" and its greater counter-part.

What this means? It means that you can really create a unique and diverse undead army with your necromancer that you can experiment upon to make them ... faster... stronger.. more resilient... and so on.

Similarly, DMs can now give your PC a significant boost to your summoning/animating skills as a reward for roleplay, good stuff and awesomeness making it possible to control a LEGION of undead creatures (or other things!).

Cheers and Happy Animating!

Go Dark Arts!

So as you can imagine, while you rise into becoming the master animator that you aspire, and you hone these crucial skills, you will become capable of forming more and more powerful works of necromantic art!

These marvels of skilled animation are handled much like other summons, with a few very important differences of note. I recommend the budding necromancer become very familiar with the EFU:M Summoning System before continuing. For ease of reference, I will be addressing these differences using the same headings as that document.

Sources of Summoning/Summoning Themes

Items, spells, wands and scrolls are all sources of summon spells in EFU:M. Do note that it is only spells cast by a spellcaster class that can have more than one summon controlled at a time. Summons through items, scrolls and wands are limited to a single creature at a time.

Any means of casting Animate Dead - be it item, spell, wand or scroll- are viable options for beginning your craft, and can be used together to molde your army. However, while it is possible to animate multiple undead using item-, wand-, or scroll-based castings, you may find it does not work with varied combinations, and causes your previous creations to be unsummoned/destroyed. Also, as per standard summons, if you wish to use other summoning spells to complement your animated horde, know that using anything other than a spell from your spellslots (i.e., item/wand/scroll) will have the same result.

Your usual summoning themes and conjurative foci have no effect on your animations; yet, of course, with this type of summoning you have another possible component which will affect your final outcome: the corpse! Though a 'corpse item' is not required for the spell to succeed, this can dramatically change the possibilities of your new minion's resulting form.

Corpse items can be found in-game, and can vary from humanoids, to animals, and maybe even other mysterious creatures. [wink] They are, of course, the 'meat' of your labor, and once your creation is destroyed, it will not be possible to reuse them! Learning the advantages and disadvantages of each is part of the enjoyment of this school, as you experiment with them in the course of your studies.

To use a corpse item, simply cast Animate Dead upon it, whether in your inventory, or on the ground before you. Casting the spell without a corpse item creates a Shambling Corpse, which is in effect a human-based (or at least you can assume!) zombie creation. This is sometimes roleplayed as something you pulled from the ground with the spell, or from the surrounding area. Have fun with it!

"Can I animate a PC corpse?" you ask. This is something that is certainly possible, but not without the aid of a DM, and likely a bit of proper preparation!

Summoning Duration

Unlike other summons, your animated beauties are of permanent duration. Yes, that's right! They will stay with you until unsummoned or destroyed, even persisting through resting (though not resets). This is also true for undead minions summoned through the spell Create Undead.

There are exceptions to the persistence through resting rule, involving the type and number of animated bodies under your control, and the means used to create them, that are best learned practicing the trade.

Multiple Summons and the Points Pool

Any and all animates under your command will have a point cost associated with the type of corpse, which counts toward your Summoning Pool, along with all other summons.

Spell Focus: Necromancy and Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy can lower these costs for the various corpses, so do keep committed to your studies if you wish to control armies, my fleshy young student!

Controlling Summons

Your lovely handiwork of macabre artistry can be manipulated and controlled with the same wonderful Player Tool: Control Companion, that you use to order your other puppets, and works identically, toggling between all under your command.

However, there is so much more! Once your profane achievements stand before you, unwavering in their servitude, you must enter a dialogue with them, to begin manipulating them to your full will.

Perhaps the first thing you should do is arm your new subjects, limbs permitting. You will find that any weapon suitable for a creature in its living form can be used in undeath. Do not worry yourself if they are not holding the weapon correctly; when it is time for battle, the magic will jerk them into submission. In time, perhaps your skills will improve, and you will learn new techniques for urging them to act as you please.

Their strengthened hands grasp easily to weapons of close combat, but by no means must it end there! Swift, unhindered arms might fire arrows at great distances on your command. With further experimenting, you may have your servants using other means of armament. You were lucky enough to find a few weapons along with your corporal remains, hm? Beginner's luck, my eager apprentice, yet in due time you will see that it is foolishness to use such poor materials for all manner of forms. A master will choose carefully selected and enchanted weapons for his finest creations.

What you choose to do next I will leave to you. You had better begin working with them for yourself if you wish to learn anything, so get on with it. You may give your first creation some improvements of your own devising. Strength, speed, resilience, and even more can be made possible, yet keep in mind that there are prices to be paid for such power... with your very life's blood. But this you will discover, yes.

Ahh... yes, but remember that your skill alone is not all you may acquire in time, to improve your potential. Now GO, execrable novice! And learn the true path of the necromancer...

[Nihm]

A few things that could be added - unless they've been changed since I'd tried them, which is entirely possible.
 
Half Orc corpses come with an equipped weapon already.
 
Ogres can be given any weapon, but will only actually use a one-handed weapon.  You will not see the weapon until they spot an enemy and draw it.
 
Each "corpse" item is actually a head, with appropriate weight for that.  The humble zombie does not require any head item.
 
Some sorts will benefit only from mage armor, some only from stone bones.  Some will benefit from both.
 
Be warned, other pcs will generally want to kill yours for doing this, even if they showed no strong opinions on the subject.  Some may go along happily with it at first only to kill you later.  Others may specifically ask you to animate a corpse for them so they can report you for doing it.  Don't use this system unless you want extreme hostility from everyone.
 
It is also illegal in Mistlocke, though animators might not live long enough to get lawfully exiled as is the punishment.

[NecronomiconV]

As an addition to this post id like to mention that necromancers with the appropriate feats and clerical necromancers now have a release undead tool which turns your ghastly creation into a permanant monster (gone upon reset however) that is nuetral only to you, and hostile to evry other living thing. This is useful as for rp and defensive purposes it allows a buildup of even MORE undead given you are willing to put in time, dedication, and health into creating and upgrading all of them. A crafty necromancer villian could drop these undead in places to scare people, and spread undeath overall (wonderful for undead deities in particular)