School necromancy; Level antipaladin 1, cleric 2, inquisitor 2, sorcerer/wizard 2, spiritualist 2, witch 2
Casting Time 1 standard action
Components V, S, F (human-shaped fetish made of bones)
Range medium (100 ft. + 10 ft./level)
Target one living creature or undead creature with a skeleton
Duration instantaneous
Saving Throw Fortitude partial or negates (see text); Spell Resistance yes
By using a bone fetish like a marionette, you take control of a target creature’s skeleton. This has a variety of effects depending on whether the target is living or undead.
A living creature has its skeleton rattle within its flesh, causing it grievous harm. The target takes 3d6 points of damage, plus 1d6 additional points of damage per 2 caster levels you have.
In addition, you can move the target 5 feet. This movement doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity. A successful saving throw halves the damage and negates the movement.
An undead creature takes no damage. Instead, you manipulate the undead, forcing it to take an immediate action to either move up to its speed (provoking attacks of opportunity as normal) or make a single attack against a creature of your choice in its reach. Either of these is the most basic version of the action the creature can take (it doesn’t activate any special abilities that it could apply to the movement or attack, such as grab). A successful saving throw negates this effect. A mindless undead creature doesn’t receive a save against this effect.
Specifically the usage against undead. Mindless undead don't get a save, so this can actually work. But undead with a mind get a save. Which is a Fortitude save, which undead are immune to. The spell is neither harmless nor can it effect objects.
So the way I read it, the authors specifically thought about undead with minds, but failed to write the spell in such a way that it can actually work on them. Am I missing something?
Thank you in advance.
I would agree. The intention is eminently clear. It works. And as stated, if you are unhappy, add the object tag.
Thanks for the input. In this case I'm not the DM, so I'd have to petition an alteration (which is reasonable and would very likely be granted). I just was curious if I was missing something.
It should be errataed to add the object tag to the save. Then it can also target constructs with skeletons.
Or they could add the "Will negates" like chill touch.
That would not expand the range of saves that could be targeted.
Saves? Not sure what I'm missing here...
Also: My reading of it doesn't uncover anything about constructs. I'm not sure why it would need to be able to target constructs. Neither the "target" section or the description mention constructs.
The only reason I mention chill touch is that it's the first spell that pops to mind when I think about spells that have different effects on living and undead targets in a way that is similar to boneshaker.
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Thanks for the input. In this case I'm not the DM, so I'd have to petition an alteration (which is reasonable and would very likely be granted). I just was curious if I was missing something.
It’s pretty clear how to handle it, just talk to your GM. I’m sure they will go with specific over general and it works.