Looking for the best way to create a character who controls / summons / animates dead.
Am debating between Wizard and Undead Lord (cleric).
Wizards:
Can specialize in Necromancy (giving them channel) and Conjuration
Feat: Spell Focus (Necromancy)
Feat: Undead Master.
Feat: Skeleton Summoner.
Spell: Command Undead
Spell: Animate Dead
Undead Lord (Cleric):
Feat: Spell Focus (Necromancy)
Feat: Undead Master
Feat: Skeleton Summoner.
Spell: Animate Dead
Channel: Command Undead
Channel: Negative Energy
Corpse Companion (Su): With a ritual requiring 8 hours, an undead lord can animate a single skeleton or zombie whose Hit Dice do not exceed her cleric level. This corpse companion automatically follows her commands and does not need to be controlled by her. She cannot have more than one corpse companion at a time. It does not count against the number of Hit Dice of undead controlled by other methods. She can use this ability to create a variant skeleton such as a bloody or burning skeleton, but its Hit Dice cannot exceed half her cleric level. She can dismiss her companion as a standard action, which destroys it.
My money are on the cleric (the lord of undead in particular).
My reasons:
1)Cleric gets channel energy which can heal his undead (remember the lord of undead special channel) and himself after 8th level.
2)CHA is, normally, a dump stat for wizard but this isn't always the case with the cleric.
3)Lord of the undead gains a corpse companion and two bonus feats (that he needs) at the price of a domain.
4)Most importantly the wizard recieves the animate dead spells one spell level later than the cleric, also the wizard can't cast desecrate.
That's why i think that a cleric is going to be a better lord of undeath (not necromancer in general) type of character than a wizard.