Would you be able to achieve infinite power by having a skeleton crank a generator forever?

Would you be able to achieve infinite power by having a skeleton crank a generator forever?

Yes. That's why necromancy is illegal, user. The 1%ers don't want any old academy student having access to an infinite supply of labor.

No. Because the skeleton, crank, and generator will eventually erode, snap, and rust.

What if you use the power to summon new skeletons, who build new cranks and generators?

No, that's infinite energy. Power is the amount of energy per unit time, so that would be fixed unless the skeleton is infinitely strong and fast. I know this is overly pedantic of me, but if we're going to talk engineering (even necro-engineering) we should use the right terms.

No, because after a few months the necromantic energies powering the skeleton will fade back into the background magic of the world, rendering it a normal pile of bones. While they can be reanimated, this magic is drawn from the caster themselves, shortening their lifespan or the lifespan of their catalyst.

However, a lich, which due to its nature possesses its own source of necromantic energy, could turn a crank forever. However, most liches are assholes who want to destroy the world rather than provide it infinite power, and those that aren't were scrawny nerds who can't stand hard labor.

Tell that to the Necrons.

Inifinite energy, not infinite power.
Even suppossing you enchanted really well the skelly and its protected from the ravages of time and friction, the generator isn't, and it will have to be replaced.
Not to mention your skelly itself should be extra protected, since all damage done to it is permanent unless you also know the rare spell of mend bone. You know a cave in strong enough, or an earthquake, or something else is bound to fuck it up.

If you want to do this, use a specially designed room made out of adamantite, with special straps and security systems for the skelly, and the reactor itself should be also made of adamantite, forged of the least ammount of pieces possible, screws soldered, and every union must be coated with reflowing, permanent universal oil from second edition.

Yes, because the skeleton draws its power from the negative energy plane. Over time (as it continues to output power) it will leak more and more negative energy into the surrounding area, like a continually expanding zone of radiation.

>skeleton draws on the energy of the nagtive energy plane to move
>skeleton continues to use negative energy to turn a crank for millions of years while also staying animated
>after a billion years, the skeleton has generated unlimited energy in the real world and the negative energy plane is totally drained of all megative energy
>in the negative energy plane, an immortal wizard starts turning a crank while drawing on power from our world
>the skeleton and wizard continue to crank faster and faster to try and gain the energy stealing advantage
>the simultaneous forces of give and take prove too much, unleashing a positive-negative energy burst that eliminates both planes
>mfw all I wanted was for my fucking windmill to turn

Just have a demi-plane of skeletons push paddle steps infinitely with a few cables running the generated electricity out into your doom cannon, or floating disc buggy or whatever.

Skeletons are powered by their departed souls you idiot.

>necromantic negative energy exposure corrodes and rots materials too quickly for them to be useful in industry
>same reason you can't have undead farmhands as crops will wilt or die

Next!

Why not just open a permanent Gate to the Elemental Plane of Air pointing at a turbine?

Or open a portal to the water plane and stick a watermill on it?

Use 5e Unseen Servant to turn a lightweight gear generator at an extremely rapid pace since while it can only lift or push 10 pounds it can do so at the speed a normal person would tire out from in 30 seconds indefinitely.

No bones or necromancy needed. Hell its a Ritual so you don't even need a spell slot.

>Skeletons are powered by their departed souls you idiot.

Skeletons are powered by chemically controlled meat.

If it's DnD then apparently what you are doing is letting the plane of negative energy bleed into whatever plane you are on, this powers the skeleton who in turn cranks the generator. So it's kind of like a hydroelectric dam but the water is negative energy, the dam is the separation of planes, and the plumbing and turbine are the skeleton.

How would the skeleton move with no muscles? Retard

So what's the half life of a soul? If we start the necroindustrial revolution, will we hit Peak Soul? I personally think the research clearly shows the Chamber of Guf is an unlimited wellspring of souls to fuel the necromantic infrastructure of our new society.

Three scrolls of permanent durability later...

>this is the creation myth of the setting

>Skeletons are powered by their departed souls you idiot.
The souls aren't departed if they're right here, are they

No, because eventually the skeleton will get old and retire :)

Yes.

Or you could just build a watermill.

Every wannabe necromancer makes about a half-dozen crank skeletons to prove they can, then stops reanimating the dead for something as blase as mechanical energy once the novelty wears off. There are literally infinite planes of water, air, earth, fire, and just straight up 'force' that you can access with magic, and getting the calcified support structure of the human body to turn a wheel for you is basically a really impractical Rube Goldberg machine. Skeletons are for making sure adventurers don't touch your stuff, and they're not even the best way to do that.