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Here's the spell:

QuoteAnimate Dead

Necromancy [Evil]
Level: Clr 3, Death 3, Sor/Wiz 4
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Range: Touch
Targets: One or more corpses touched
Duration: Instantaneous
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: No

This spell turns the bones or bodies of dead creatures into undead skeletons or zombies that follow your spoken commands.

The undead can follow you, or they can remain in an area and attack any creature (or just a specific kind of creature) entering the place. They remain animated until they are destroyed. (A destroyed skeleton or zombie can’t be animated again.)

Regardless of the type of undead you create with this spell, you can’t create more HD of undead than twice your caster level with a single casting of animate dead. (The desecrate spell doubles this limit)

The undead you create remain under your control indefinitely. No matter how many times you use this spell, however, you can control only 4 HD worth of undead creatures per caster level. If you exceed this number, all the newly created creatures fall under your control, and any excess undead from previous castings become uncontrolled. (You choose which creatures are released.) 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.

Skeletons: A skeleton can be created only from a mostly intact corpse or skeleton. The corpse must have bones. If a skeleton is made from a corpse, the flesh falls off the bones.

Zombies: A zombie can be created only from a mostly intact corpse. The corpse must be that of a creature with a true anatomy.

Material Component: You must place a black onyx gem worth at least 25 gp per Hit Die of the undead into the mouth or eye socket of each corpse you intend to animate. The magic of the spell turns these gems into worthless, burned-out shells.

I could use this spell with a caster level of 5 and a gem worth 250gp, to create a 10 hit die zombie or skeleton, right? Normally, this would be a

What if, in my campaign world, there is a house rule that "skeleton" and "zombie" are actually templates, and they take on the hit dice of the creature from which they were animated?

So a single 5th level cleric could create, from a fallen 10th level comrade, a single undead with 10 HD that is under his control, right?

edit: I just noticed that in 3.5 a skeleton is already a template. Nevermind, I was thinking 3.0. Eh, I'll let the question stand anyway.

Quote from: Name LipsSo a single 5th level cleric could create, from a fallen 10th level comrade, a single undead with 10 HD that is under his control, right?

Yes and no. It would only have 1HD as per this;

Hit Dice
Drop any Hit Dice from class levels (to a minimum of 1), double the number of Hit Dice left, and raise them to d12s. If the base creature has more than 10 Hit Dice (not counting those gained with experience), it can’t be made into a zombie with the animate dead spell.

Edit: Or maybe 2HD. What's 0HD doubled?

It's more fun my way :D. Anyway, that's the plan. When one enemy falls, he's going to be animated as a skeleton of his level, just because it'll freak out the PCs seeing them willing to do that to their comrades.

Then you don't have to carry the body home for a raise dead spell.  It will just follow you home.  We've done it before.  :D

Quote from: KnightcrawlerThen you don't have to carry the body home for a raise dead spell.  It will just follow you home.  We've done it before.  :D

Well, you do know that once undead you can't cast raise dead on it, right? IMC I've had NPCs use Animate Dead entirely for that purpose.

Of course, since I'm abandoning the rules in favor of "cool" I can't really object to you doing the same... :p