Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ninja1 02-14-05, 09:59 AM	I vaguely remember reading somewhere that the 20 HD cap on skeletons and zombies is raised to 21 HD for skeletons and 22 HD for zombies for those with access to the Evil Domain (normally adds +1 caster level for evil spells). Am I imagining things? Could I have read this from an official source, or did I just read it from some ill-informed post? Does anyone know where this comes from?
Duskey 02-15-05, 10:37 AM	You can not create more than HD of undead with a single casting of the spell then twice your caster level (Eg. 5th-level cleric = 10 HD undeads raised. 5th-level cleric with evil domain [+1 evil spells] = 12 HD undeads raised) In an area with the desecrate spell the amount is doubled (20 HD & 24 HD respectively) The cleric cannot control more than undead HD then 4 times his caster level (Eg. 5th-level cleric = 20 HD undeads controlled. 5th-level cleric with evil domain = 24 HD undeads controlled) The desecrate spell does not effect this though. From all this we can derive that to command your max number of undeads you need to either cast desecrate before you cast animate dead or simply cast animate dead twice.
Seeker95 02-15-05, 10:44 AM	Decoding Duskey's answer: You are imagining things with respect to the numbers, but not the concept. Caps are based on caster level. Evil Domain increases your effective caster level for animate dead. But it would affect skeleton zombie caps exactly the same.
Duskey 02-15-05, 10:49 AM	Thanks for clarifying that, it seems I got caught up in the moment of writing my previous post. That's why you're Seeker and I'm just plain ol' Duskey...
ninja1 02-15-05, 10:47 PM	Ummm... sorry, my bad. I should have clarified a bit more: I mean the largest HD a single undead can be. The monster descriptions from the MM reads something to the effect of: a creature can not be the target of an animate dead spell if the resultant zombie or skeleton would have more the 20 HD. (dragons via the dragonomicon being the exception). I would swear I read somewhere that the evil domain allows for a 21 HD skeleton or a 22 HD zombie.
murte 02-15-05, 10:53 PM	Course you run into the problem of trying to touch a dozen or more of undead with your remaining move action of the round you cast AD in...
cwslyclgh 02-16-05, 12:13 AM	The monster descriptions from the MM reads something to the effect of: a creature can not be the target of an animate dead spell if the resultant zombie or skeleton would have more the 20 HD. the evil domain has no effect on the skeleton and zombie templates, and thus on the maximum HD that a creature with one of those templates can have.
Duskey 02-16-05, 02:50 AM	Course you run into the problem of trying to touch a dozen or more of undead with your remaining move action of the round you cast AD in... Just pile 'em :D