Animate Shadow

5th-level necromancy

Casting Time: 1 minute

Range: 10 feet

Components: V, S, M (a pinch of salt)

Duration: instantaneous

Classes: pale master

This spell creates an undead servant. Choose a corpse of a Medium or Small humanoid within range. Your spell pulls forth dark remnants from creature’s cold remains, raising it as a shadow (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 two 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 6th level or higher, you animate or reassert control over an additional shadow for every slot level above 5th. Each shadow must come from a different corpse.