I was working on a True Necromancer (Libris mortis pag. 53) and I wanted to see how many undeads it can control. Assume the Necromancer is level 11, he comes from a cleric/3, wizard/3, true necromancer/5 progression.
When casting Animate dead spell he can
control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level.
and his caster level for both cleric and wizard is 8 (7 + 1 from the necromantic prowess ability of the true necromancer, since Animate dead is a necromancy spell).
Does this mean that he can control 4*8 + 4*8 = 64 HD of undeads if he casts Animate dead both with the cleric and the wizard spell slots?
It looks like a lot to me, and I'm not even counting the ones he could control with the rebuking of undeads, which, apparently (text of animate dead)
If you are a cleric, any undead you might command by virtue of your power to command or rebuke undead do not count toward the limit
I'd be glad if someone could correct my possible oversights (or prove me right *mad, evil laughter *)!
Best Answer
You don’t get separate animate dead control pools from cleric and wizard, so you only get 32 HD, not 64. Undead from Rebuke Undead are in addition to this.
From the Revised Necromancer Handbook:
Ultimately, even if you argue that the pools are separate and you get 64 HD worth, the loss of Caster Level makes that a wash compared to simply taking the Deathbound Domain (which gives 50% more rather than 100% more, but at far lower cost).
I strongly recommend either cleric or dread necromancer for the goal of having a big army of undead minions. Wizards can work too; they won’t be as good as cleric or dread necromancer for this purpose, but they’ll be a whole lot better than true necromancers.