Commanding the Undead

[Belbarrus]

An evil cleric can cast Animate Dead on corpses and turn them into skeletons or zombies. Or he can "command" undead with his Cleric power. In either case, the Cleric can then control the undead through "mental" commands.

What are the limitations of these "mental commands"?

-Does the cleric need to see or hear the area that he wants to direct the undead through? I know that the undead cannot draw conclusions on there own so the cleric has to be able to see an object for the undead to manipulate, but what about general commands, like walking around hallways.
-Does the cleric have *any* kind of mental connection? For example, does the cleric *know* when his undead have been destroyed; does he lose a "link" with them?
-Is there a limite to the mental control range? Can a cleric place his undead in a room in a dungeon, head back to town 20 miles away and still give them "orders"? Can he be on another plane and still give the undead commands?

Also, if a Bard or Rogue use the Use Magic Device skill to activate an Animate Dead item (i.e. scroll or item) is their "Cleric" level for determining the maximum HD of undead equal to their character level?

Belbarrus

 

[MadScientist]

From the SRD

This spell turns the bones or bodies of dead creatures into undead skeletons or zombies that follow your spoken commands.

Emphasis mine.

 

[Belbarrus]

Okay, that clears it up for controlling Undead via the Animate Dead spell ("spoken" commands), but what about evil clerics commanding undead with their class ability:

SRD for Turning and Rebuking Undead: "The cleric must take a standard action to give mental orders to a commanded undead."

What are the limitations on "mental" commands for undead under the control of a cleric?

Belbarrus

 

[Darkness]

Also, if a Bard or Rogue use the Use Magic Device skill to activate an Animate Dead item (i.e. scroll or item) is their "Cleric" level for determining the maximum HD of undead equal to their character level?

Effective cleric level = UMD check result minus 20. ("Emulate Class Feature.")

Also, if you're using a cleric scroll, you'll also have to meet the alignment requirement (i.e., any non-good, since animate dead has the 'Evil' descriptor).
That is, if you're good-aligned, you'll have to make a separate UMD check, DC 30, to cover that. ("Emulate an alignment.")