How would a PC type go about acquiring an undead army, by RAW?

[Darkness]

I didnt think Warlocks used any material components.

Generally, that might be correct. Not in this case, though.

 

[Amal Shukup]

I'm not actually MAXIMIZING effectiveness here, just throwing out some thoughts

Max out Leadership score and go hunting for a Cohort in low places... Have the Cohort be a high level caster/undead able to create spawn. Have THEM take Leadership as well (or already have it - you're just recruiting THEIR smaller armies and incorporating it into yours). Have THEIR Cohorts also be high level casters/undead capable of creating Spawn. Rinse. Repeat.

So now, you've got significant (unlimited?) numbers of Spawn plus several casters capable of animating and controlling (via Rebuke) low level undead. Throw in a couple of magic items to increase the effectiveness of Animate Dead and Rebuke...

Have your team of Cleric Cohorts/Followers use Rebuke to 'Command' groups of uncontrolled Undead. Note that A Cleric can relinquish control of Commanded undead to establish control of NEW undead. Of course, once mindless undead (being mindless) have been given a set of orders, I imagine they'd continue to follow those orders until destroyed ("Follow that Battleflag. If you encounter a living creature, destroy it").

This should work with freshly Animated Undead as well: Once given a set of orders, they ought to keep following them even after they're no longer controlled... Just won't follow new orders. For the purposes of an Army, all you need to do is maintain control of the creatures that carry the battle flags (and their back ups).

This scales rather well, I think: Just takes time and money, a number of really scary looking battleflags and a really large field to store thousands upon thousands of Skeletons staring vacantly at said flags...

A'Mal

 

[Wrathamon]

a 20HD gargantuan scorpion skeleton

dont you mean scorpion EXOskeleton... since scorpions cant be a skeleton since they dont have a skeleton... they would just be a moving animated shell, and wouldnt look much different than a normal scorpion, maybe more translucent because their is no flesh to mask the light since they would be hollow.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Neat idea Wrath... that scorpion could be a nice mobile storage space hehehe

 

[Chorn]

I didnt think Warlocks used any material components.

Read the description of the invocation on page 133 of Complete Arcane. Specifically, it's a 25gp onyx gem for each hit die just like the spell. Although if he decides not to use the gems, he can get a pretty big temporary horde that could potentially shame an equal level cleric's output due to his unlimited uses of The Dead Walk.

 

[Jack Simth]

<rubbing hands together gleefully> YES!! Somehow I missed seeing that rod... it will go QUITE nicely with corpsecrafter and destruction retribution.... ohhhh my DM's gonna hate me HAHAHAHA

You can also pick up a Shield/Armor of Undead controlling (Link) (26 HD as Control Undead spell, but control fades at dawn each day, ready to be renewed) to hold on to a few more.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Cool thanks Jack... forgot all about that.
BTW welcome to EN World

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

I'm going to be using some of the LM stuff and will have a nice little army going myself. I'm on the other side of things, I'll be running. Remember that it's not quantity but quality

Animate dead (4hd/caster lvl)
Desicrated area with an alter or shrine(doubles the amount created ands +2 to attack +6 to turning and +2 hp/hd)
Corpse crafter (undead +4 to str and +2 hp/hd)
Destructive Retribution (undead deal 1d6 +1d6/2hd of negative dmg when destroyed 10' rad.)
Deathly Chill (undead deal 1d6 of cold dmg with natural attacks)
Rod of Undead mastry (control double)

My cleric is higher lvl but for you at 10th you have 80hd undead from animate pplus another 10 from command that's 90 hd of undead skeletons doing 1d4+3, +1d6 cold, attacking at +5 with +4 hp (human in mm has 6 so 10 hp) when it's destroyed the'll deal another d6 of neg dmg and heal all in a 10' rad.

Zombies will be tougher dealing more dmg and having more HD.
+5 to attack 1d6+3 +1d6 cold, 24 hp (human zombie 2 hd and 16 hp) and would deal 2d6 of neg dmg when destroyed.

 

[Dareoon Dalandrove]

Also In LM there is undead leadership with a 15 leadership score you can get another 20 1hd 2 2hd and 1 3hd. If you add that with the Armor of Undead Control then there is another 51 hd of undead. From my total that's 141 total hd of undead plus one cohort.

 

[robberbaron]

Vampire and Dread Wraith generals leading an assortment of Wraiths and Spectres who are there for the mass feed.