V, S, M (A drop of blood, a piece of flesh, and a pinch of bone dust)
Duration
Instantaneous
School
Necromancy
Level
3
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.
How Animate Dead plays
You spend a minute over a pile of bones or the corpse of a Small or Medium humanoid within 10 feet, and it gets up as your servant: a skeleton from bones, a zombie from a corpse. Both are CR 1/4 and use the standard stat blocks, whoever the body used to be. A skeleton has AC 13, 13 hit points and a shortbow; a zombie has AC 8, 22 hit points and Undead Fortitude to shrug off a killing blow.
On each of your turns, one bonus action commands every undead you made with the spell within 60 feet, all with the same order. Without orders they only defend themselves. The hard part is the clock: control lasts 24 hours, and to keep it you have to cast the spell again on your existing undead before it runs out. A 3rd-level casting reasserts control over up to four of them instead of raising a new one.
When to pick Animate Dead
Wizards and clerics who want a standing army. Each slot above 3rd raises or re-binds two more creatures, so a 5th-level slot makes five skeletons at once. Skeleton archers are the usual pick: they shoot from the back line for 1d6 + 2 each.
Budget your slots. Keeping a horde means spending slots every day just to hold what you have. A wizard who re-binds eight undead each morning has fewer slots for the adventure.
Ask about your table first. A troop of zombies slows every turn of combat and doesn’t go down well in a town. Talk to your DM and party before you build a necromancer around it.
Common questions
Do I get a skeleton or a zombie?
It depends on the remains: bones make a skeleton, a corpse makes a zombie. The body must have been a Small or Medium humanoid, so you can’t raise an ogre, a horse or a dragon with this spell.
How many undead can I raise when I upcast it?
Two more for each slot level above 3rd: one at 3rd level, three at 4th, five at 5th, seven at 6th and thirteen at 9th. Each has to come from a different corpse or pile of bones.
How do I keep control of them?
Cast the spell on them again before their 24 hours run out. A 3rd-level casting re-binds up to four, plus two more per slot level above 3rd. Any you don’t re-bind stop obeying you when the 24 hours end.
What happens when control runs out?
The creature stops following your commands and is free. The spell doesn’t say what it does next; skeletons and zombies are mindless and usually attack the living, so most DMs turn them hostile.
Does commanding them take an action?
A bonus action on your turn, and one bonus action commands all of them within 60 feet at once, with the same order. You can also give a standing order like “guard this door”, which they follow until it’s done.
Is Animate Dead an evil spell?
The 5e rules don’t give spells an alignment, so casting it doesn’t change yours. Many settings treat raising the dead as evil, though, so whether it’s acceptable is up to your DM and the world you play in.
The 2024 Player’s Handbook revised many spells, and the SRD 5.2 carries the new text. What changed from the 2014 version above:
Same level, casting time, range, components, duration and dice; the text is reworded for the 2024 rules glossary.
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
School
Necromancy
Level
3
Classes
Cleric, Wizard
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.
2024 version from the SRD 5.2. Most tables settle on one edition, so check which one yours uses.
