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I have been searching around for awhile but cannot find a specific "legality" answer to how animate dead functions when cast from a scroll. I am looking for how RAW (or a paizo official answer)interprets the following questions:
1. If a level 2 Cleric casts a scroll of Animate Dead (CL 5) and creates 10 HD worth of undead (twice the CL of the scroll), how many undead can the Cleric control? Does the Cleric use his own cleric level to determine this (CL2 x 4HD per level = 8 HD of control) or the scroll's caster level to determine this (CL5 x 4HD per level = 20 HD of control)?
2. If a level 2 Fighter uses the same scroll in Question 1 with Use Magic Device to create 10 HD worth of undead, how many undead can the Fighter control?
3. Assuming that RAW (or a paizo official answer) interprets the solution as using the caster level of the character activating the scroll to determine the number of undead to be controlled, does this mean the Fighter can create 10 HD worth of undead but control none of them? (0CL x 4HD per level = 0 HD of control)
4. Assuming that RAW (or paizo official answer) interprets the solution as using the scroll's caster level to determine the number of undead to be controlled, how long would this 'limit' of control last? In other words, using this logic, the fighter would be able to control 20 HD worth of undead (CL5 X 4HD per caster level = 20 HD of control). Does this artificial limit last indefinitely?
4a. What happens if the fighter comes across another more powerful scroll? Does it increase this artificial limit?
4b. If the fighter takes 1 level of a spellcasting class (Cleric)sometime after using the scroll, does it change this artificial limit in any way?
My gut tells me that Question 3 is the appropriate way to interpret the rules, but I would like another opinion on how RAW interprets it and/or an official paizo response.
Here is the relevant text:
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.
A spell successfully activated from a scroll works exactly like a spell prepared and cast the normal way. Assume the scroll spell's caster level is always the minimum level required to cast the spell for the character who scribed the scroll, unless the scriber specifically desired otherwise.
Normally, to cast a spell from a scroll, you must have the scroll's spell on your class spell list. Use Magic Device allows you to use a scroll as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. The DC is equal to 20 + the caster level of the spell you are trying to cast from the scroll.
So it's not clear, but I believe the appropriate answer is you use your actual caster level for how many undead you can control.
The fighter in your example would be unable to control the undead, though if he had a scroll of control undead or command undead he could control them.
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So it's not clear, but I believe the appropriate answer is you use your actual caster level for how many undead you can control.
The fighter in your example would be unable to control the undead, though if he had a scroll of control undead or command undead he could control them.
Do you know if there is any official paizo response on the subject matter? Or are you just giving your own personal opinion?
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Using a scroll should not be able to permanently increase(or decrease if the scroll CL is less than your CL) your personal ability to control undead. Thus, you should consider the CL of the scroll for how many HD of undead it creates but should consider your personal CL for how many undead you can control.
Or, if you prefer to use the creater of the scrolls CL for control... the creater of the scroll should now control the undead instead of yourself.
Basically, the spell is an instantaneous effect. The spell ends at the creation of the undead and thus is not granting you the ability to control the undead. Which suggests that your control limit is natural and a result of your caster level. But I don't know of anything that says it directly.
Then you have to add the Command Undead feat into the equation, which offers a seperate pool of undead control based on your cleric level. Which, of course, is further proof that clerics are make the best undead controllers.
Do you know if there is any official paizo response on the subject matter? Or are you just giving your own personal opinion?So it's not clear, but I believe the appropriate answer is you use your actual caster level for how many undead you can control.
The fighter in your example would be unable to control the undead, though if he had a scroll of control undead or command undead he could control them.
As far as I know there is no official commentary.
But I agree with Lorewalker on the premise that using a scroll should not give you a permanent boost to the amount of undead you can control, it's unreasonable. So, the only logical way to run it (in my opinion) is to base it on your caster level.