Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, M (an onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the
undead)
Range touch
Targets one or more corpses touched
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no
This spell turns corpses into undead skeletons or zombies that obey your
spoken commands.
The undead can be made to follow you, or they can be made to remain in
an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature)
entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. A
destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again.
Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can’t
create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single
casting of animate dead. The desecrate spell doubles this limit.
The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter
how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD
worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all
the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead
from previous castings become uncontrolled. You choose which creatures are
released. Undead you control through the Command Undead feat do not count
toward this limit.
Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or
skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse,
the flesh falls off the bones.
Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The
corpse must be that of a creature with a physical anatomy.
Variants: For double the HD cost (undead counts as a creature of twice
as many hit dice, so it should be reserved for the corpses of weaker
creatures) the caster may create bloody skeleton, burning skeleton, fast
zombie, and plague zombie variants.
Note: This spell can also be used on any mostly intact dead vermin that
has an exoskeleton. When this is done the creature gains the exoskeleton
template.