Animate Dead, but cooler?

[The Souljourner]

What LiquidSabre said... graveyards are great for undead storage. They can be pre-animated, and then he just gives the signal to rise from the grave (specially prepared exits from said grave, so it only takes a round to get out, of course).

Not too bad.

-The Souljourner

 

[rushlight]

You're the DM. If you want the critters to rise from the grave at the Necromancer's command, they do. I'm of the opinion that not everything should be reveled to the PCs. Nine times out of ten the PCs will just go with the flow, and accept that you've got some reason for allowing whatever to happen. If they ask, "But how? Animate Dead is a touch only spell!", then just smile.

If they are dead-set on being able to figure out how he did it, and replicate it, then you can figure out the mechanics. But that rarely happens in situations like this. Unless you've got the most rules-lawyery players in the universe.

 

[Darklone]

Pre-animation is what I usually use as well. Helps with the baaad feeling when the PCs enter the graveyard.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

Ranged Undead...

I use ranged 'raise undead' spells, if the players ever get around to asking to learn the same spells I will have to figure something out

I have even done ranged raises of recently dead in combat... it makes fighting necromancer's really nasty when thier body guards have to be killed twice.

Sometimes the players dont need to know how or why it works. If they ask you can tell them its an esoteric necromancer spell with the [EVIL] and [NECROMANTIC] descriptors, and casting [NECROMANTIC] spells requires that you take a feat and train under a necromancer and... and.. and...


good luck!

 

[Pielorinho]

I would have them walking through the grave yard and have this spooky raven flying around, landing on all the graves (while keeping watch on the PC's).

Except technically you'd want to touch the corpses, not just the graves. For that, you want a familiar with a burrow speed.

That's why necromancers are so fond of their badger familiars....

Daniel

 

[Shallown]

Just use a spell of the same level that requires an unhallow to have been cast first and only affects corpses within the unhallow effect. This makes it balanced (somewhat) and something the Players probably won't try to use themselves. No reason the bad guys can't have some evil nasty spells that players can but probably won't use. Especially since unhallow requires like a day to cast.

Just my take on things.

Later

 

[Liquidsabre]

Just have the necromancer cast a contingency spell: Revanance (Magic of Faerun) - Slain ally is restored to life for 1 min/level.

There is almost always a way to use existing or couch new rules/spells within the system to achieve the desired effect. Best to know how the rules for the new something works first before the PCs come across it. That way when the PCs try to figure out how it works you can give them the correct clues and evidence to how the effect functions. A vital component for the players to have access to when they try to figure out a puzzle or how to foil an enemy (a necromancer in this case).

 

[Mr. Kaze]

Illusion.

#1: There's a mausoleum or few right there, sitting quietly and minding its own business (while concealing some zombies).

#2: Watch me call the undead out of the ground! Pay close attention! (And now my zombies roll init on ya'.)

Now while the PCs are watching the fake zombies crawl up out of the ground, the real zombies exit the cover of the illusionary trees, mausoleums, and assorted hedges (that aren't ninjas in disguise) and attack the PCs. Should be no rulebending, no tweaking, no line-of-sight-or-effect garbage -- just 100% SRD goodness and you still get to describe it to the PCs as "zombies come out of the ground at their master's beck and call to kick your booty". Though the spellcraft check vs. illusion might be difficult to get around...

::Kaze (notes that illusion can be much fun...)

 

[reanjr]

So I'd like to spring a graveyard encounter on my players, in which a necromancer summons some undead critters directly from their graves and straight up through the ground--

--but it turns out that animate dead, and the create undead spells, are all touch spells.

Is there a way to pull this maneuver off in the rules--a different spell, perhaps, or a metamagic feat?

Or should I just forget the rules and scare the players?

How 'bout the creatures are already animated and chillin' underground. The necromancer just calls them up.

 

[Darklone]

How 'bout the creatures are already animated and chillin' underground. The necromancer just calls them up.

*point up*