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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Marius Delphus" data-source="post: 5513219" data-attributes="member: 447">So the dread necromancer has come up with a literal "meat shield." You're about to make yourself an expert in how undead work in D&D 3.5, so embrace it. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Sit yourself down with a copy of Heroes of Horror and the PHB, DMG, and MM, and get some quality page-flipping time in.No Book of Vile Darkness -- seconded.Create situations that the zombies can't help with -- seconded.Make sure you know the rules that apply to the character better than the player does -- seconded.Sounds like the main thing I'd look at is the rules for rebuking and commanding undead. First, the DN can only command an undead if he has twice as many levels as the undead has HD (assuming he makes his turning check and damage rolls). Otherwise it's a rebuke -- the affected undead just cower and do nothing. Second, the DN can only command as many HD of undead (through his  rebuke ability) as he has levels. Standard human zombie: 2 HD. [EDIT: The command undead spell doesn't appear to have a HD limitation, but only works on one target, and the DN won't be able to cast that until 4th level anyway.]By "terrible minuses to attack" I assume you mean you're treating the zombies as non-proficient with the armor they're wearing -- good plan, IMO. Make sure the DN is accounting for where he gets the armor... encumbrance included (if for some reason the DN is carrying around a bunch of armor just in case he encounters a zombie).If the zombies are making the encounters too easy, go ahead and let the DN use them, but turn up the heat. Create encounters that force the DN to *use up* the  zombies. As in, he can't use what's left of them (and the armor  gets munched or destroyed along with them).Make certain the zombies interpret the DN's orders literally to the point of stupidity. Zombies have an INT of —, which means that they can't make judgment calls or react to changing circumstances, and they don't have any capacity for reason whatsoever.If you want to be a real pain in the neck and risk a lot of friction with the player, you could enforce the bit where the PHB says it's "a standard action to give mental orders to a commanded undead." As in one undead. This would really deprive the DN of the moment where he says, "To me, my minions!" so you may want to tread lightly here.Make certain to enforce the Single Action Only special quality.Don't confront the DN with undead that he can rebuke. He can summon zombies with summon undead, but those don't last.Later on, the DN will be able to cast animate dead (when he reaches 8th level), but by that time Small or Medium (2 HD) zombies will be a speed bump for the enemies he'll be facing.Bring on at least a few enemies that can't even be made into zombies once defeated -- plant (including fungal) and ooze monsters don't have skeletons, for example.[FURTHER EDIT: And of course none of this is meant to imply that you need to compete against the character or try to shut him down. Just make sure that, if he wants to use his abilities to the fullest, (a) you know exactly what those abilities are and can do, and (b) he gets challenged accordingly.]HTH. HAND.</blockquote>

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