Animate Skeleton

This spell allows the creation of an undead servant, but some assembly is required.  Without adequate planning and preparation, the results can be unpredictable (and often unfortunate).

Prior to casting the spell, the caster must have a skeletal minion prepared, normally either carefully laid out on the ground, a platform, or held together with wire for more elaborate creations.  The necromancer uses the casting time to bind the bones together magically and imbue them with a semblance of life.

At the default, the spell can be used to summon a basic skeleton.  However, with some planning, a more elaborate creation can be crafted.  To design a custom skeleton, you may spend bone points.  Casting the spell grants bone points equal to twice the spell slot used plus your intelligence bonus, if positive.  The bone points can be spent on a variety of upgrades, such as:

• Add one hit dice to the creation:  2 pts per HD  [Base:  1 HD]
• Add or upgrade natural weapons:  2 pts to add 1d4 claws, 1 pt per increment (d6, d8, d10, d12, 2d6, 2d8)
• Add or upgrade bone armor:  1 pt per +1 AC up to 15, and 2 pts per +1 AC to a maximum  of +10 [Base:  10]
• Add an additional attack:  3 pts or half the points spent on natural weapons, whichever is larger
• Add stealth proficiency:  3 pts or half the number of HD, whichever is larger
• Reduced upkeep (Hit Dice halved for maintenance):  5 pts
• Other skills and abilities as negotiated with the DM.  Some upgrades may incur additional maintenance costs.

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 a number of hit dice of skeletons equal to half the number of bone points generated by the spell.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 3rd level or higher, you generate additional bone points for animating or maintaining.