Commanding Undead

[Grymar]

Any tips on how to deal with a command dead arms race?

If a pc necromancer has 2 or so pet skeletons, can an npc cleric rebuke/control them?

What happens if then the pc casts "command undead"? Does he regain control?

 

[frankthedm]

Any tips on how to deal with a command dead arms race?

If a pc necromancer has 2 or so pet skeletons, can an npc cleric rebuke/control them?

What happens if then the pc casts "command undead"? Does he regain control?

Nuke the cleric or charm him.

Yes & Yes, but you are better off negotiating with the evil cleric than burning your precious spells per day. If he wants them and he has twice thier hit dice, they are going to be his. Nail him with a tasha's hideous laughter and hope the DM imposes a 2 point circumstance penalty to the cleric's save since the evil cleric wants to laugh maniacly and gloat anyways about your pathetic necromancy skills compared to his own.

Command Undead
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 2
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets: One undead creature
Duration: One day/level
Saving Throw: Will negates; see text
Spell Resistance: Yes

This spell allows you some degree of control over an undead creature. Assuming the subject is intelligent, it perceives your words and actions in the most favorable way (treat its attitude as friendly). It will not attack you while the spell lasts. You can try to give the subject orders, but you must win an opposed Charisma check to convince it to do anything it wouldn’t ordinarily do. (Retries are not allowed.) An intelligent commanded undead never obeys suicidal or obviously harmful orders, but it might be convinced that something very dangerous is worth doing.

A nonintelligent undead creature gets no saving throw against this spell. When you control a mindless being, you can communicate only basic commands, such as “come here,” “go there,” “fight,” “stand still,” and so on. Nonintelligent undead won’t resist suicidal or obviously harmful orders.

Any act by you or your apparent allies that threatens the commanded undead (regardless of its Intelligence) breaks the spell.

Your commands are not telepathic. The undead creature must be able to hear you.

Material Component
A shred of raw meat and a splinter of bone.

 

[mvincent]

What happens if then the pc casts "command undead"? Does he regain control?

Not necessarily. Both would have command, and there would be a contested Cha roll if conflicting commands were given.

 

[Hypersmurf]

I'd invoke this rule:
Multiple Mental Control Effects: Sometimes magical effects that establish mental control render each other irrelevant, such as a spell that removes the subjects ability to act. Mental controls that don’t remove the recipient’s ability to act usually do not interfere with each other. If a creature is under the mental control of two or more creatures, it tends to obey each to the best of its ability, and to the extent of the control each effect allows. If the controlled creature receives conflicting orders simultaneously, the competing controllers must make opposed Charisma checks to determine which one the creature obeys.

-Hyp.

Edit - mvincent beat me to it

 

[Grymar]

Good info, thanks. And just to clarify, I'm the DM not the player. One of my players has a few skeletal minions and they may very well run up against an evil cleric, so I just want to have a plan ready for the inevitable battle for control that will happen.

The opposed Charisma check seems fair. Thanks.

 

[frankthedm]

ACtually, I think the Cleric's control would completely override the Control undead spell. Hype's Quote is for mental command methods would most likely only apply if the cleric commanded the undead to attack the necromancer. Control undead is far, far weaker and more limited than the clerical undead control. The closest analong is a Charm spell vs. a Summoned creature.

Commanded
A commanded undead creature is under the mental control of the evil cleric. The cleric must take a standard action to give mental orders to a commanded undead. At any one time, the cleric may command any number of undead whose total Hit Dice do not exceed his level. He may voluntarily relinquish command on any commanded undead creature or creatures in order to command new ones.

 

[Hypersmurf]

The closest analong is a Charm spell vs. a Summoned creature.

But you can give orders it wouldn't normally follow, with an opposed Cha check.

So if you order it to disobey the cleric, you make an opposed Cha check vs the zombie. If you win, then the zombie has conflicting orders, and you make an opposed Cha check vs the cleric.

-Hyp.