Animate Dead (5e24)
Contents
Animate Dead [1][2] (Spell)
Level: 3rd-level
Casters: Cleric, Wizard
School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 10 ft.
Components: V, S, M (a drop of blook, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust)
Duration: Instantaneous
Scales: True
ADDITIONAL INFO:[3]
Target: Humanoid Bones or Corpse
Effect: Humanoid Skeleton, Humanoid Zombie
Other Casters: Lich, Mummy Lord, Reanimator
Choose a pile of bones or a corpse of a Medium or Small Humanoid within range. The target becomes an Undead creature: a Skeleton if you chose bones or a Zombie if you chose a corpse (see “Monsters” for the stat blocks).
On each of your Turns, you can take 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 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 on its next turn, or you can issue a general command, such as to guard a chamber or corridor. If you issue no commands, the creature takes the Dodge action and moves only to avoid harm. 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 creature.
Using a Higher-Level Spell Slot. You animate or reassert control over two additional Undead creatures for each spell slot level above 3. Each of the creatures must come from a different corpse or pile of bones.\s
Sources and Notes[edit]
- ↑ Wizards RPG Team (22 April 2025). SRD 5.2. (5e 2024) Wizards of the Coast. p. 108. Licensed: CC-BY.
- ↑ Wizards RPG Team (17 September 2024). Player's Handbook. (5e 2024) Wizards of the Coast. ISBN 9780786969821. p. 240. Licensed: © Wizards of the Coast.
- ↑ Unofficial information.
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This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution License. (CC-BY)
Attribution:SRD 5.2 CC-BY
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2 (“SRD 5.2”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at https://www.dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode].
| Author | SRD 5.2 + |
| Canon | true + |
| Casters | Cleric + and Wizard + |
| Casting Time | minute + |
| Component | V +, S + and M + |
| Effect | Humanoid Skeleton + and Humanoid Zombie + |
| Level | 3 + |
| Other Casters | Reanimator + |
| Publication | SRD 5.2 + |
| Range | 10 ft. + |
| Scalable | true + |
| School | Necromancy + |
| SortText | Animate Dead (5e24) 5e24 + |
| Spell Name | Animate Dead + |
