Making your own friends.

[Sejs]

OKay, so I've got this guy... Necromancer/Cleric - Mystic Theurge, basically going for the whole 'master of life and death' thing. Recently came into possession of a number of scrolls from another wizard who is now deceased, including copies of Clone and Awaken Undead. I thought okay, he'll just squirrel 'em away for later and then scribe the spells into his own book. Apparently not. The proposal I was given kinda put me off keel, and I would like to run it by you all to make sure it's possible.

1: Caster makes a clone of himself via the Clone spell.

2: While the clone is growing, research a copy of Awaken Undead that a) is only one target rather than an AoE, b) allows for a normal stat roll for int rather than the 1d6+4 max of racial average version, and c) is duration instantaneous rather than permanant so it can't be dispelled. Use the scroll of Awaken Undead as a base for the research. Have the modified version of Awaken Undead be the same spell level, and cost 500xp rather than 200xp.

3: Once the clone is complete, kill it and animate it via Animate Dead bringing it back as a zombie.

4: Awaken Undead the clone-zombie.

5: Explain to the awakened clone zombie it's situation and that you're going to bring it to life in just a moment and this may sting a bit.

6: Kill the awakend clone zombie.

7: Ressurect the awakened clone zombie, thereby creating a living member of the caster's race with an individual personality that is otherwise physically identical to the caster.

 

[pensiv]

wow. what an idea.

 

[AuraSeer]

This sounds good on the surface, but it falls apart when you consider the spell research. Changing a permanent spell to an instantaneous one is a huge power boost, and it's not necessarily even possible-- i.e., it's up to the DM. I wouldn't allow it, as a general rule.

If we're blithely assuming that we can research any spell we can think of, we needn't bother with the undead rigamarole. Just invent an instantaneous version of polymorph that converts mental stats as well as physical ones. Or how about a cantrip called summon friend that does the whole thing, plus washes your car and assassinates the deity of your choice?

 

[Sejs]

Ah, sorry - should have been more speciffic. I am the DM, and I've got no problem with the altered version of Awaken Undead that the player proposed.

Edit/Clairification: As it stands, normal Awaken and Awaken Construct are both instantaneous, single target, etc. Awaken Undead as printed is the odd man out when compared to the other awaken spells.

 

[AuraSeer]

Ah, that's okay then. Another problem I can come up with: it's not clear that you have a valid target for animate dead.

When you clone a person who's still alive, the result is a "soulless piece of inert flesh." It's not a creature, it's an object (since it has no Wis or Cha score). Destroying an object doesn't necessarily leave you with a "corpse" per se, and animate dead only works on corpses.

Also, I'd caution against allowing this to be a free Leadership feat. Even though awakened creatures start out friendly to the caster, remember that they are independent beings. They won't stay friendly if mistreated. Some of them might take exception to being murdered, even if they are resurrected immediately afterward. Others may take that well enough, but turn surly after being used as disposable body doubles.

 

[Sejs]

Nah, the player doesn't intend the resulting person to be used as a body double - when I asked him to what ends he was persuing his line of experimentation, he looked at me straight and said in his in-character dead pan

"Oh, I want to see if I can create a new soul."

 

[Ottergame]

Aura is right. The clone is an object untill a soul is transfered into it, meaning you die. You can't kill an object. What you want to do is impossible by the rules.

The -best- you could hope to come up with is a flesh golem if your DM would allow it.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

I'd allow it. It seems like a wonderful plot device. After he's finished, he's created a remarkably flavorful NPC that can pop up throughout the rest of the campaign...for good or ill. He's also created a loophole in the Circle of Life, something that is going to draw the attention of both good and evil deities/outsiders. They'll want to fix the loophole so what the PC did can never happen again, and the DM only knows what that might entail and how the PC might fit into it. It's plot hooks for the rest of the campaign!

 

[Eltern]

Sounds like fun to me, but as soon as he starts abusing it, then Ye Gods (read: DM) layeth the smack down.

 

[JimAde]

This idea is just bent. I love it. Sure to get the attention of at least one inevitable