Undead with 5 Special Abilities

Hi,

I noticed in L&E (p 148) it lists the number of special abilities an undead creature can have as 2d6-7, for a max of 5. However, in ACKS Core (p 123) under the rules for ritual Necromancy, the number of special abilities a character can create intelligent undead with is limited to 1+Int, which with a maximum of 18 Int for a +3 bonus would only amount to 4 special abilities. I have checked the errata and found nothing to settle this apparent discrepancy, which has lead me to a few possible conclusions.

Option 1: Unintelligent undead raised through a spell can have up to 5 specials, while intelligent undead are limited to 4 (this would seem to imply that intelligence is weighted similarly to a single special ability). Mechanically feasible, but seems lacking in flavor - generally I would think of intelligent undead being both more competent and more powerful.

Option 2: The spell vigor can grant +1d3 Str up to a maximum of 19 for a +4 Str bonus. A custom spell could be researched to grant +1d3 Int up to 19 for an indefinite duration (or perhaps a daily duration reapplied each day) to allow a character to artificially boost their Int for the purposes of Magic Research. This has interesting implications on why every caster hasn't already researched this spell.

Option 3: I misinterpreted something and have no idea what I'm talking about.

Thanks!

I think you accidentally the whole post.

Thank you, sorry. It's fixed now.

Not all undead necessarily need to be created by modern mortal wizards.

You've overlooked the rules for magic experimentation in the Player's Companion, which state that a minor, major, or revolutionary breakthrough can result in an newly created undead gaining 1, 2, or 3 additional special abilities over and above the special abilities a necromancer can grant a created undead by virtue of his or her intelligence bonus. (It's not explicitly specified whether these extra special abilities can cause a monster to have more than the five-ability limit specified on page 147 of Lairs & Encounters.)

Thanks! That makes a lot of sense. I think the specials ability maximum in L&E are not theoretical maximums (I don't think constructs even have a theoretical maximum), so I'm not overly worried about being able to exceed the listed limit, just with reaching it. Thank you!