I'm planning on using a tactic similar to that in Funeral Procession (Dungeon #135), in which oils of shrink item are used on corpses for easy, inconspicuous transportation. However, the situation is a little more complex than in that adventure.
A spellcaster is planning on using the corpses elsewhere. The party should burst in to stop his plans. He will have the shrunken zombies around him, and a scroll of animate dead to use on them. Will he have to A) take a standard action to dismiss every shrink item spell, B) take one standard action to dismiss them all (I don't think this is right, but might as well ask), or C) only need to cast animate dead, for as soon as the undead are animated, they are no longer objects and will return to their orignal size? Having the zombies remain shrunken while attacking the party, while humorous, is not an option here. Is the last possibilty viable, or would the zombies' being in shrunken form render them of animation (as undead) until returned to their normal size? Thanks in advance.
I would say that once the corpses become undead, they become unviable for the Shrink Item spell, and thus regain their size.
If the duration of shink item is problematic, give him a wand of shrink item with a high caster level, but only a few charges left for the PCs to use when they finally beat him.
TK
I'd say a shrunk corpse is not a corpse anymore. It's a shrunk item. So animate dead doesn't work on it. Likewise an zombie is an undead creature, not an item. So it is not subject to the shrink item spell.
He needs to dismiss the shrink item (transforming them from "shrunk item" to "corpse")then use animate dead on the corpses.
A few points:
1) A spell only checks for target validity when it's first cast. This bit was clarified in the Main D&D FAQ on p58, first question on the page. So if you shrink the corpses, then cast animate dead on them, they're still shrunken.
2) Nothing in the Shrink Item spell description states that the item shrunk ever stops being what it was in the first place, so it's quite reasonable to assume even a shrunken corpse is still a corpse. However, a case could be made for turning it into a clothlike state - which is only an option, not a requirement - invalidating the target as a corpse.
3) You only need toss the shrunken items onto a solid surface to return them to their normal state. So, dump them on the floor and they're ready to go without spending any actions to dismiss the spell.
Given the above, it seems a valid strategy to cast Shrink Item on a bunch of Corpses, cast animate dead on them while shrunk (at which point I think they remain in stasis), then dump them on the floor. A move action to stand up, and they're ready to fight.
Even if a DM isn't so liberal as to allow Animate Dead to be cast on them in shrunken form, one could still dump them on the floor, not worry about dismissing the spell, and cast animate dead. Voila, instant army.
Thanks! Somehow I overlooked that part of the spell description- that's what you get for looking up stuff when you're rushed.
A few points:
1) A spell only checks for target validity when it's first cast. This bit was clarified in the Main D&D FAQ on p58, first question on the page. So if you shrink the corpses, then cast animate dead on them, they're still shrunken.
2) Nothing in the Shrink Item spell description states that the item shrunk ever stops being what it was in the first place, so it's quite reasonable to assume even a shrunken corpse is still a corpse. However, a case could be made for turning it into a clothlike state - which is only an option, not a requirement - invalidating the target as a corpse.
3) You only need toss the shrunken items onto a solid surface to return them to their normal state. So, dump them on the floor and they're ready to go without spending any actions to dismiss the spell.
Given the above, it seems a valid strategy to cast Shrink Item on a bunch of Corpses, cast animate dead on them while shrunk (at which point I think they remain in stasis), then dump them on the floor. A move action to stand up, and they're ready to fight.
Even if a DM isn't so liberal as to allow Animate Dead to be cast on them in shrunken form, one could still dump them on the floor, not worry about dismissing the spell, and cast animate dead. Voila, instant army.
I'm sure I could look this up when I get home, but what school is shrink item?
Shrink Item is a 3rd level Sor/Wiz spell of the Transmutation school.
Using Shrink Item on the corpses is a rather ingenius idea... it's just a shame that it puts things into stasis -- I think a Shrunk Megaraptor Skeleton (about a foot and a half long, and nine inches tall) would be amusing, if generally unviable; the players could make cracks about the Turkey Skeleton right up until it ripped a leg off of the rogue.