Animate Dead

bdtgazo

I'm a big fan of this spell.

I usually animate 4 skeletons at a go. I like to buff them with Spirit Armor and/or Enchant Weapon. But... I really have no idea if its helping things. Lol.

Anyone know what the stats are for the big and small skeletons, and what buffs are beneficial to them?

I assume the following *must* work:
haste, aid, bless, chant

I'm more curious about buffs to armor and weapons. Or any other little tricks people know.

I suppose I could turn the hit rolls on and do some testing... but that would take a LOT of testing I think.

As an aside, lately I've been using Farsight, since I'm playing as a drow diviner. This spell seems underrated when used with summons and AoEs.

CrevsDaak

Farsight is underrated in general. It's my number 1 scouting method (first because enemies will pursue you even if invisible in EE, and second because even enemies that can see invisible can't do anything about it.

I don't think Spirit Armor does much for them, but Bless/Chant/Haste definitely do. No idea about Enchant Weapon (Skeleton Warriors already have +1s if that's of any use), but it sounds like a wonderful idea actually.

bdtgazo

Well, I ran through the Panther Claw crypt again, this time using Enchant Weapon instead of Spirit Armor, and the skels seemed to be a bit better. I watched for damage, and they were definitely getting good hits in, albeit with some resisted - due to edged weapons I think.

I'm not 100%, but I believe with Farsight you get xp for summons' kills that normally would be off the map.
- just confirmed you get xp with Farsight.

Noon

You can use the cheat ctrl+q to add your skeletons to your party and compare them, 1 with buffs and 1 without.

bdtgazo

Ha, good tip thanks. I'll try that. I've been using the slow method. So far, Spirit Armor does indeed increase the big skel's AC by at least two. Can't seem to roll a 10 or 13, but without the armor, my mage was hitting on 11, with it, he was missing on a 12.

K, tried your method. It increases AC by 2.

luskan

I use Haste and Improved Invisibility on them. The ac boost applies on top of whatever their current ac is, and two or three skellies hasted can handle almost anything in chapter 2.

That said, once I can cast Mordy's Sword I hardly ever use them anymore.

Cloutier

luskan said:

I use Haste and Improved Invisibility on them. The ac boost applies on top of whatever their current ac is, and two or three skellies hasted can handle almost anything in chapter 2.

That said, once I can cast Mordy's Sword I hardly ever use them anymore.

True. If the AI were smarter, clerics would turn undead against your summoned skeletons.

SomeSort

luskan said:

I use Haste and Improved Invisibility on them. The ac boost applies on top of whatever their current ac is, and two or three skellies hasted can handle almost anything in chapter 2.

That said, once I can cast Mordy's Sword I hardly ever use them anymore.

Animated Dead lasts a *lot* longer than Mordek's Swords, essentially until you rest or leave the area. They're less useful in individual battles, but they're better at clearing entire maps. (Which, yes, is more of an early-SoA concern since by Chapter 6 and ToB, most maps essentially only have one battle that you'll care about, anyway). Great spell economy. If you're trying to limit your metagaming, you could even cast your Animate Deads as soon as you're done resting or the moment you set foot on a new map and let them explore with you.

Also, Animate Dead can be stuffed in a Spell Trigger and Mordenk's can't. Hell, for a Cleric/Mage, Animate Dead can even be stuffed in a Spell Sequencer. The ability to drop 3 skellies in an instant even when silenced without using a single memorized spell slot, (provided you've prepared them in advance), never goes out of style.