Wouldn't skeletons technically be Golems instead of undead?

>>54910377
You're thinking of bone golems. A common mistake for an unlearned commoner.

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>Most forms of undead have muscles at the least to facilitate movement, but skeletons are nothing but bones and magic

Let's say we run with your premise for a minute.

How would you classify things like ghosts?

>>54910480
Ectoplasm golem/ elemental, depending on how it was made.

>>54910377
Fun trick to do in D&D with this logic. Animate Object on Skeleton. Watch PCs loose their shit when Turn Undead does nothing.

>>54910531
>everything is golems

What's the difference between a flesh golem and a zombie?

>>54910581
Number of stitches. Ghosts are also just positive energy elementals since they're made from souls and souls are positive energy.

The way I usually rationalise this in my games/settings/whatever
>Undead: animated by a spirit summoned back from the afterlife
>Construct: animated by something like an elemental spirit or a magical AI
So if you animated a skeleton by summoning its old owner back into it, it's undead, but if you animate it by enscribing instructional runes onto the bones then it's a bone golem.

>>54910377
>>54910581

At least in DnD, the distinction is what's providing the animating force. Undead are powered by Negative Energy, whereas Golems trap an elemental spirit inside the whatever it is and use that to keep it running.

>>54910377
There is a difference between brute forcing something to get up and force it to move according to your power, or a byproduct of a magic accident as some are, and something constructed and reinforced meant to last.

Golems require no sustenance. They may be aggressive to the living, but mostly they're passive and act on command only.

Undead prey on living for sustenance. Without direct command, even mindless undead attack all living beings they can get to. Some derive energy directly from their prey, like ghouls or vampires, some less so.