With Animate Dead, is it possible to create 103 skeletons from a single body? The spell says a 'pile of bones' (I'm taking that as two or more), and 'the target becomes a skeleton'. Would that mean the two bones could become a full skeleton?
You need enough bones for the skeleton to function per the skeleton monster stat block. It doesn't need arms to kick you. It doesn't need to have all the ribs. You don't even need a skull - but it will have poor aim without one.
It doesn't create bones out of nothing, it uses the bones in the pile to make a skeleton you animate - but you don't need all the bones to achieve that. The human body has many bones that an animated skeleton would not need: it doesn't ribs for instance since it has no organs to protect, it doesn't need a skull there's no brains or eyes to house, it doesn't need the manual dexterity of a hand if all you want it to do is smack people. It could have an extra femur instead of an arm and still function - they can still whack it across your enemy's head just the same.
It never says you need all the bones, or that those bones are the only bones in the skeleton. How do we know that the bones aren't conjured from out of nowhere to replace the missing ones? What if the pile of bones are polymorphed into the skeleton? It says they become a skeleton, it never says the skeleton is made of them.
This spell creates an undead servant. Choose a pile of bones or a corpse of a Medium or Small humanoid within range. Your spell imbues the target with a foul mimicry of life, raising it as an undead creature. The target becomes a skeleton if you chose bones or a zombie if you chose a corpse (the GM has the creature's game statistics).
On each of your turns, you can use a bonus action to mentally command any creature you made with this spell if the creature is within 60 feet of you (if you control multiple creatures, you can command any or all of them at the same time, issuing the same command to each one). You decide what action the creature will take and where it will move during its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a particular chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature only defends itself against hostile creatures. Once given an order, the creature continues to follow it until its task is complete.
The creature is under your control for 24 hours, after which it stops obeying any command you've given it. To maintain control of the creature for another 24 hours, you must cast this spell on the creature again before the current 24-hour period ends. This use of the spell reasserts your control over up to four creatures you have animated with this spell, rather than animating a new one.
At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, you animate or reassert control over two additional undead creatures for each slot level above 3rd. Each of the creatures must come from a different corpse or pile of bones.
Notice how everything is singular, not plural? Notice how the only part that mentions making multiple skeletons specifically mentions requiring additional piles?
Because it's necromancy not conjuration or transmutation.
It suffuses necromantic energy into the bones to knit them together and animate them. There's a section in the Spellcasting chapter which tells you how different schools of magic work.
I get you want to be all "I grab two bones and make minions!" so anything we say contrary to what you want to do so you'll try to twist definitions and interpretations and all that.
Look, let's avoid the eventual English Language essays and out-of-context misquoting and all that.
You need a pile of bones, 2 bones are not a pile. It will several bones. Since it's necromancy (animates dead) not conjuration (Conjure/Summon Undead) or transmutation (polymorph into undead) this means what you animate is what you animate. You will need enough of a pile of bones to reasonably make some form of skeleton.
The threshold for "pile" vs. "piles" vs. "less than a pile" is something your DM will answer, not the rules text. But whatever their answer, 1 pile = 1 Skeleton monster, regardless of how many anatomical skeletons are contained within it. The spell doesn't require you to "target the skeleton of one humanoid" or "the skeletal remains of a small or medium creature" or anything like that, it just requires a "pile of bones." A necromancer at Buffalo Wild Wings could very likely create a fully functioning Skeleton after lunch, even though its nothing but a pile of saucy chicken wing bones. Conservation of matter is not an issue when it comes to magic or rule interpretation, no need for your pile of bones to be logically equivalent to the medium monster you're creating (though bonus points to your DM for describing it thematically based on its constituent bones).
The threshold for "pile" vs. "piles" vs. "less than a pile" is something your DM will answer, not the rules text. But whatever their answer, 1 pile = 1 Skeleton monster, regardless of how many anatomical skeletons are contained within it.
Somewhat oddly, the corpse is required to be a small or medium humanoid, but the pile of bones is not (I cast it on the skeleton of a toad..., and get a full sized skeletal warrior). This is probably not the intent, though I guess we have the counterexample of the hydra's teeth
The threshold for "pile" vs. "piles" vs. "less than a pile" is something your DM will answer, not the rules text. But whatever their answer, 1 pile = 1 Skeleton monster, regardless of how many anatomical skeletons are contained within it. The spell doesn't require you to "target the skeleton of one humanoid" or "the skeletal remains of a small or medium creature" or anything like that, it just requires a "pile of bones." A necromancer at Buffalo Wild Wings could very likely create a fully functioning Skeleton after lunch, even though its nothing but a pile of saucy chicken wing bones. Conservation of matter is not an issue when it comes to magic or rule interpretation, no need for your pile of bones to be logically equivalent to the medium monster you're creating (though bonus points to your DM for describing it thematically based on its constituent bones).
So say theres 5,000 corpses in a pit. One big pile of bones. You can either cast animate dead and the whole 5,000 turn into one skeleton clearing the path, or make a series of smaller piles by hand and animate those individually to get the most bodies.
It has already been stated by Crawford that you do not need a complete set of bones, resulting only in a misshapen or incomplete but still effective skeleton. We also know thanks to the Sage Advice Compendium that the bones need not come from a humanoid, although it says nothing about using bones from a larger or smaller creature than medium or small.
My biggest question is more a matter of Frankenstein-ing bodies together, in a matter of speaking. Like if I add bones from multiple creatures, creating a more than complete set. Could a skeleton be created that has three or more arms, or a second head?
It has already been stated by Crawford that you do not need a complete set of bones, resulting only in a misshapen or incomplete but still effective skeleton. We also know thanks to the Sage Advice Compendium that the bones need not come from a humanoid, although it says nothing about using bones from a larger or smaller creature than medium or small.
My biggest question is more a matter of Frankenstein-ing bodies together, in a matter of speaking. Like if I add bones from multiple creatures, creating a more than complete set. Could a skeleton be created that has three or more arms, or a second head?
Sure, but the additional appendages wouldn’t have any game function.
I've had this idea myself, when trying to calculate the most undead servants you can create. RAW, I'd say you can turn three finger bones into one skeleton, but that is definitely not RAI. Of course, maybe the very-few-bones skeleton picks things up and bonks you with whatever keeps all of those floating bones together in the first place. I'm just sad that you can't make ogre skeletons with this spell using ogre bones, and other similar tricks.
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With Animate Dead, is it possible to create 103 skeletons from a single body? The spell says a 'pile of bones' (I'm taking that as two or more), and 'the target becomes a skeleton'. Would that mean the two bones could become a full skeleton?
They mean a complete or mostly complete skeleton. Two is not a pile.
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You need enough bones for the skeleton to function per the skeleton monster stat block. It doesn't need arms to kick you. It doesn't need to have all the ribs. You don't even need a skull - but it will have poor aim without one.
It doesn't create bones out of nothing, it uses the bones in the pile to make a skeleton you animate - but you don't need all the bones to achieve that. The human body has many bones that an animated skeleton would not need: it doesn't ribs for instance since it has no organs to protect, it doesn't need a skull there's no brains or eyes to house, it doesn't need the manual dexterity of a hand if all you want it to do is smack people. It could have an extra femur instead of an arm and still function - they can still whack it across your enemy's head just the same.
They'll look weird, but they'll get the job done.
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It never says you need all the bones, or that those bones are the only bones in the skeleton. How do we know that the bones aren't conjured from out of nowhere to replace the missing ones? What if the pile of bones are polymorphed into the skeleton? It says they become a skeleton, it never says the skeleton is made of them.
Notice how everything is singular, not plural? Notice how the only part that mentions making multiple skeletons specifically mentions requiring additional piles?
1 pile of bones = 1 Skeleton
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Because it's necromancy not conjuration or transmutation.
It suffuses necromantic energy into the bones to knit them together and animate them. There's a section in the Spellcasting chapter which tells you how different schools of magic work.
I get you want to be all "I grab two bones and make minions!" so anything we say contrary to what you want to do so you'll try to twist definitions and interpretations and all that.
Look, let's avoid the eventual English Language essays and out-of-context misquoting and all that.
You need a pile of bones, 2 bones are not a pile. It will several bones. Since it's necromancy (animates dead) not conjuration (Conjure/Summon Undead) or transmutation (polymorph into undead) this means what you animate is what you animate. You will need enough of a pile of bones to reasonably make some form of skeleton.
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If you cast on an incomplete pile of bones, you get an incomplete skeleton.
The threshold for "pile" vs. "piles" vs. "less than a pile" is something your DM will answer, not the rules text. But whatever their answer, 1 pile = 1 Skeleton monster, regardless of how many anatomical skeletons are contained within it. The spell doesn't require you to "target the skeleton of one humanoid" or "the skeletal remains of a small or medium creature" or anything like that, it just requires a "pile of bones." A necromancer at Buffalo Wild Wings could very likely create a fully functioning Skeleton after lunch, even though its nothing but a pile of saucy chicken wing bones. Conservation of matter is not an issue when it comes to magic or rule interpretation, no need for your pile of bones to be logically equivalent to the medium monster you're creating (though bonus points to your DM for describing it thematically based on its constituent bones).
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
Somewhat oddly, the corpse is required to be a small or medium humanoid, but the pile of bones is not (I cast it on the skeleton of a toad..., and get a full sized skeletal warrior). This is probably not the intent, though I guess we have the counterexample of the hydra's teeth
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So say theres 5,000 corpses in a pit. One big pile of bones. You can either cast animate dead and the whole 5,000 turn into one skeleton clearing the path, or make a series of smaller piles by hand and animate those individually to get the most bodies.
It has already been stated by Crawford that you do not need a complete set of bones, resulting only in a misshapen or incomplete but still effective skeleton. We also know thanks to the Sage Advice Compendium that the bones need not come from a humanoid, although it says nothing about using bones from a larger or smaller creature than medium or small.
My biggest question is more a matter of Frankenstein-ing bodies together, in a matter of speaking. Like if I add bones from multiple creatures, creating a more than complete set. Could a skeleton be created that has three or more arms, or a second head?
Shadow JAFF
Sure, but the additional appendages wouldn’t have any game function.
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I've had this idea myself, when trying to calculate the most undead servants you can create. RAW, I'd say you can turn three finger bones into one skeleton, but that is definitely not RAI. Of course, maybe the very-few-bones skeleton picks things up and bonks you with whatever keeps all of those floating bones together in the first place. I'm just sad that you can't make ogre skeletons with this spell using ogre bones, and other similar tricks.
Pronouns: he/him/his.
My posting scheduled is irregular: sometimes I can post twice a week, sometimes twice a day. I may also respond to quick questions, but ignore harder responses in favor of time.
My location is where my character for my home game is (we're doing the wild beyond the witchlight).
"The Doomvault... Probably full of unicorns and rainbows." -An imaginary quote