ethical question for a character [Archive] - Wizards Community

ethical question for a character [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
ishpu
05-13-07, 04:35 AM So I made a drow male npc, liberated as a child in the early years of his slavery to female clerics by a task force specifically for that purpose to free enslaved children from becoming the terrible hate filled creatures they could become from the harsh environment, anyways... i want him to become a necromancer to make undead to fight his own people... but i'm not sure if raising dead would be considered evil in itself, especially when your purpose is to vanquish an evil without losing people. then later on he can heed the call of lolth and slowly be turned evil, turning upon his companions and loved ones who saved him from tormented years in the underdark.

so basically is it evil to raise corpses to fight?
GoriceXII
05-13-07, 04:49 AM That's an interesting question. I would say the following:
1. That first of all it depends on what you mean by undead. If you mean essentially mindless undead like zombies and skeletons, then possibly that is a neutral act though a dubious one. Desecration of the dead is rarely considered good, anyway.

2. You might actually want to consider having it a personal conflict for this guy. What if it is the ONLY thing he could think to do, the only means he had, the only spells he had that could raise sufficient force? People can justify all kinds of things in the NAME of good. Whether the ends justify the means is another matter, but since he is a Drow he might very well think so. You might then leave it to the players to confront the moral issue.
ishpu
05-13-07, 04:54 AM yeah I suppose that's right you don't have to be doing a good thing to be thinking its a good thing... thanks for the input.
queenfange
05-13-07, 09:58 AM I think it's difficult but plausible to have a nonevil necromancer. While the rules state somewhere that creation of undead is an evil act, in certain circumstances I agree that it would be acceptable to treat is as neutral. In one of my campaigns, a group of neutral necromancers raise undead to protect the civilized cities of the world from other, uncontrolled undead. So, it just depends on how you want to look at it. I personally think in this case it's a great idea.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ishpu 05-13-07, 04:35 AM	So I made a drow male npc, liberated as a child in the early years of his slavery to female clerics by a task force specifically for that purpose to free enslaved children from becoming the terrible hate filled creatures they could become from the harsh environment, anyways... i want him to become a necromancer to make undead to fight his own people... but i'm not sure if raising dead would be considered evil in itself, especially when your purpose is to vanquish an evil without losing people. then later on he can heed the call of lolth and slowly be turned evil, turning upon his companions and loved ones who saved him from tormented years in the underdark. so basically is it evil to raise corpses to fight?
GoriceXII 05-13-07, 04:49 AM	That's an interesting question. I would say the following: 1. That first of all it depends on what you mean by undead. If you mean essentially mindless undead like zombies and skeletons, then possibly that is a neutral act though a dubious one. Desecration of the dead is rarely considered good, anyway. 2. You might actually want to consider having it a personal conflict for this guy. What if it is the ONLY thing he could think to do, the only means he had, the only spells he had that could raise sufficient force? People can justify all kinds of things in the NAME of good. Whether the ends justify the means is another matter, but since he is a Drow he might very well think so. You might then leave it to the players to confront the moral issue.
ishpu 05-13-07, 04:54 AM	yeah I suppose that's right you don't have to be doing a good thing to be thinking its a good thing... thanks for the input.
queenfange 05-13-07, 09:58 AM	I think it's difficult but plausible to have a nonevil necromancer. While the rules state somewhere that creation of undead is an evil act, in certain circumstances I agree that it would be acceptable to treat is as neutral. In one of my campaigns, a group of neutral necromancers raise undead to protect the civilized cities of the world from other, uncontrolled undead. So, it just depends on how you want to look at it. I personally think in this case it's a great idea.