Animate dead doesn't specify humanoid. What are the limitations on this. Can it be cast on a horse corpse?
Crap, nevermind. The paladin in the party says he has to destroy it if I make it to lead our caravan for Jade Regent.
The Skeleton and Zombie templates in the Bestiary explain what creatures they can be applied to.
"Skeleton" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead) that has a skeletal system.
Most zombies are created using animate dead. Such zombies are always of the standard type, unless the creator also casts haste or remove paralysis to create fast zombies, or contagion to create plague zombies. "Zombie" is an acquired template that can be added to any corporeal creature (other than an undead).Not only can you create zombies and skeletons from non-humanoids, but it's actually better to do so. As it says in the explanation for how to add the zombie template,
Hit Dice: Drop HD gained from class levels (minimum of 1) and change racial HD to d8s.
Skeletons face the same restriction. That is, if you want your undead to have more than 1 HD, you need to raise something besides humanoids.
When using animate dead, you have to keep in mind how the base abilities are changed. Zombies keep all natural attacks and weapon proficiencies and gain a slam. However, they lose any special attacks and most special qualities. A zombie dragon would have claws, bite, tail slap, and wings, but would lose its breath weapon. Creating zombies and skeletons is (unfortunately) the sort of thing where the effectiveness can vary wildly depending on what you start with. Two creatures with the same HD and CR could be quite different in effectiveness once raised as undead.
Crap, nevermind. The paladin in the party says he has to destroy it if I make it to lead our caravan for Jade Regent.
Pish posh, that's what the disguise skill is for. He can't be upset if he doesn't know it's undead.
Depends on his diety. Granted, most "good" folks will assume undead are evil, but it really depends on a lot of other factors. In any case, it would have been a great moment of RP for the two of you talk it out IC.
Silly Paladins. . . Ettin makes a great skeleton, but really whatever you kill and have on hand can't be beat. Usually skeletons> zombies.