How uncontrolled mindless undead monsters (skeleton/zombie) act?

[Shin Okada]

When someone create too many udead monsters via Animate Dead spell, the excess undead become uncontrolled. How do they act? Do they just stood still? Or do they try to kill whatever thing they see, because they are still evil?

 

[Thanee]

They run around looking for brains...

No, really, I think mindless undead just attack anything living they can sense. Otherwise, they probably just stand around.

Bye
Thanee

 

[Shin Okada]

Hmm. As I recently got really a lot of Gnoll Skeleton minis (now I have 30 of them), I am planning a showdown fight against an evil Warlock with the Dead Walk invocation in the middle of a tomb of gnolls. There are plentiful of skeletal bodies there. So, Every round, the Warlock can create, say, 6 Gnoll Skeletons. That is 12HD in total. As he can control only 24 HD of undeads in total, he may soon meet the limit. So I want to know how those excess skeletons will act.

 

[Thanee]

I'd just have them attack the nearest living creature (including the Warlock himself). Resolve ties randomly.

Bye
Thanee

 

[azmodean]

I agree with Thanee. Also have him cast invisibility, especially if all he is doing is animating undead.

If there are no living targets, I'd have them wander at move speed in a random direction (d8 to chose a cardinal or sub-cardinal direction) though this would get really slow if you have a lot of them, in which case you might have them wander in groups of 5 or so.

Speaking of, where did invisibility to undead go? I remember using it in 3.0. Did it get removed in 3.5, or just from the SRD, or am I remembering incorrectly?

 

[Shin Okada]

Speaking of, where did invisibility to undead go? I remember using it in 3.0. Did it get removed in 3.5, or just from the SRD, or am I remembering incorrectly?

It is now replaced by Hide from Undead spell.

 

[frankthedm]

A rediculously strong spell IMHO. Its is a shame that undead are treated like second class citizens in the ruleset.


Hide from Undead
Abjuration
Level: Clr 1
Components: V, S, DF
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Targets: One touched creature/level
Duration: 10 min./level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates (harmless); see text
Spell Resistance: Yes
Undead cannot see, hear, or smell the warded creatures. Even extraordinary or supernatural sensory capabilities, such as blindsense, blindsight, scent, and tremorsense, cannot detect or locate warded creatures. Nonintelligent undead creatures are automatically affected and act as though the warded creatures are not there. An intelligent undead creature gets a single Will saving throw. If it fails, the subject can’t see any of the warded creatures. However, if it has reason to believe unseen opponents are present, it can attempt to find or strike them. If a warded creature attempts to turn or command undead, touches an undead creature, or attacks any creature (even with a spell), the spell ends for all recipients.

 

[shilsen]

Its is a shame that undead are treated like second class citizens in the ruleset.

You bet! Everyone forgets that inside every live person is an undead trying to get out.

 

[Vahktang]

Hmm. As I recently got really a lot of Gnoll Skeleton minis (now I have 30 of them), I am planning a showdown fight against an evil Warlock with the Dead Walk invocation in the middle of a tomb of gnolls. There are plentiful of skeletal bodies there. So, Every round, the Warlock can create, say, 6 Gnoll Skeletons. That is 12HD in total. As he can control only 24 HD of undeads in total, he may soon meet the limit. So I want to know how those excess skeletons will act.

Isn't there a GP cost to each casting?
Is your spell caster that rich?

I figure undead gather together in groups, wandering around, stop, wander, attack stuff until they get destroyed.
Hence the 'wandering monster' thing.

 

[Quasqueton]

The Will save for intelligent undead against Hide from Undead is a little wonky. Does a vampire know when it failed that save? Can it start looking for you based on that "sense"?

Quasqueton