Animate Dead (One)
Animate Dead [SRD5 OGL/CC-BY] [1] [2] (Spell)
Level: 3rd-level
Class List: Cleric, Wizard
School: Necromancy
Casting Time: 1 minute
Range: 10 feet
Components: V, S, M (a drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust)
Duration: Instantaneous
Scales: True
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.
Sources and Notes[edit]
- ↑ SRD5:
- Wizards RPG Team (6 May 2015). SRD-OGL v5.1. (5e 2014) Wizards of the Coast. Licensed: OGL.
- Wizards RPG Team (9 May 2024). SRD-CC v5.1. (5e 2014) Wizards of the Coast. Licensed: CC-BY.
- ↑ class tags — WotC RPG Team (5 October 2023). UA 2023 Bastions and Cantrips. (Dungeons and Dragons One D&D) Wizards of the Coast.
| One D&D is Playtest Material Only These game mechanics are in draft form, usable in your D&D campaign but not refined by full game development and editing. They aren’t officially part of the game and aren’t permitted in D&D Adventurers League events, nor are they available for use on D&D Beyond. |
| — D&D Beyond One D&D Playtest material |
| Unearthed Arcana The material in Unearthed Arcana is not Official Material. It is presented for playtesting and to spark your imagination. These game mechanics are in draft form, usable in your campaign but not refined by final game development and editing. They are not officially part of the game. For these reasons, material in this column is not legal in D&D Adventurers League events. |
| —Notice on most 5e Unearthed Arcana PDFs |
Main Page → One D&D → Spell
Main Page → One D&D → Unearthed Arcana
| Author | "Varied" + |
| Canon | true + |
| Cast Time | 1 minute + |
| Component | V +, S + and M + |
| Level | 3 + |
| Name | Animate Dead + |
| OneDnD Playtest | true + |
| Publication | "Varied" + |
| Range | 10 feet + |
| Scalable | true + |
| School | Necromancy + |
| SortText | Animate Dead (One) One + |
| Spell List | Wizard + and Cleric + |
| Summary | creates skelletons or zombies from corpses + |
| Unearthed Arcana | true + |
