Animate Dead 5e | Spell Guide for 5th Edition d&d

Animate Dead is a 3rd level necromancy spell, it works on cleric and wizard classes. The casting time of this spell is 1 minute and range are 10 feet. The duration of this spell is instantaneous.

3rd-level necromancy

Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 10 feet
Spell List: Cleric, Wizard
Components: V, S, M (a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust)

Duration: Instantaneous

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 DM 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.

Frequently Asked Question of Animate Dead

Animate Dead is one of the most powerful spell in Dungeons & Dragons, it is useful and interesting, but most of the time it is quite confusing, so people often have questions related to it. Here are the answers:

1. How Does Animate Dead Work In 5e?

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.

2. Who Can Learn Animate Dead?

The only two classes that have animate dead on their spell list are clerics and wizards.

3. What Level Is Animate Dead?

Animate Dead is a 3rd level necromancy spell, its a good level for spell. The school of this spell is “Necromancy”.

4. Why Do Clerics Have Animate Dead?

One of the Clerics who provides service for the town is a Life Cleric. He earns some extra money using Animate Dead to create Skeletons and Zombies to ensure there is a constant supply of combatants for the Arena.

5. Can You Cast Animate Dead Multiple Times?

The base spell only covers one at a time, but casting at higher levels lets you animate multiple undead at once: “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.”

6. Is Animate Dead Concentration?

Animate Dead does not use concentration. It does not have a “duration,” so one can’t dispel it. And other than the undead being passive when not issued a command, it appears that even if the caster becomes unconscious, he doesn’t lose control over the created skeletons or zombies.

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