D&D 5E Why is animate dead considered inherently evil?

[Tolerable Tyrant]

I'm having a troublesome time understanding why the animate dead spell is considered evil. When I read the manual it states that the spall imbues the targeted corpse with a foul mimicry of life, implying that the soul is not a sentient being who is trapped in a decaying corpse. Rather, the spell does exactly what its title suggests, it only animates the corps. Now of course one could use the spell to create zombies that would hunt and kill humans, but by that same coin, they could create a labor force that needs no form of sustenance (other than for the spell to be recast of course). There have also been those who have said "the spell is associated with the negative realm which is evil", however when you ask someone why the negative realm is bad that will say "because it is used for necromancy", I'm sure you can see the fallacy in this argument.

However, I must take into account that I have only looked into the DnD magic system since yesterday so there are likely large gaps in my knowledge. PS(Apon further reflection I've decided that the animate dead spell doesn't fall into the school of necromancy, as life is not truly given to the corps, instead I believe this would most likely fall into the school of transmutation.) PPS(I apologize for my sloppy writing, I've decided I'm feeling too lazy to correct it.)

 

[Maxperson]

That's the same with the controlled undead.

You will eventually lose control for some reason or another.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

You will eventually lose control for some reason or another.

Unlikely. Also, 'perfectly risk free' is an absurd standard. You can set things in fire with a fireball, you could accidentally start a forest fire or burn down a city, causing way greater danger than some pesky zombie would.

 

[James Gasik]

That's the same with the controlled undead.

Not after 24 hours. Then if you don't cast the spell again, it refuses your orders and goes off to do...whatever the DM decides it does.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

Not after 24 hours. Then if you don't cast the spell again, it refuses your orders and goes off to do...whatever the DM decides it does.

Right. So you destroy the undead before that if you don't need it anymore and don't want to renew the spell.

 

[James Gasik]

Unlikely. Also, 'perfectly risk free' is an absurd standard. You can set things in fire with a fireball, you could accidentally start a forest fire or burn down a city, causing way greater danger than some pesky zombie would.

These are all arguments I have personally- I don't see why Animate Dead is any more evil than any other spell, but again, this is the way WotC wants it, so that's how it is.

 

[Maxperson]

Unlikely. Also, 'perfectly risk free' is an absurd standard. You can set things in fire with a fireball, you could accidentally start a forest fire or burn down a city, causing way greater danger than some pesky zombie would.

It's not even unlikely. An adventurer has lots of surprises and trips away. Sooner or later you will lose control either because you weren't there or because you ran out of slots saving your rears in a fight.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It's not even unlikely. An adventurer has lots of surprises and trips away. Sooner or later you will lose control either because you weren't there or because you ran out of slots saving your rears in a fight.

It is unlikely that you were taken out but your undead that was ordered to protect you wasn't. And like I have tried to explain about seven thousand times, the slots don't matter. If you can't or don't want to renew the spell, you just destroy the undead before the time runs out. You can do so safely, as you can order it to not defend itself.

 

[Maxperson]

It is unlikely that you were taken out but your undead that was ordered to protect you wasn't. And like I have tried to explain about seven thousand times, the slots don't matter. If you can't or don't want to renew the spell, you just destroy the undead before the time runs out. You can do so safely, as you can order it to do nothing.

It's not a given that you will be able to do that.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

It's not a given that you will be able to do that.

And it's not given that your fireball don't set a city in fire and kill thousands of people.


Just accept that it is an absurd standard from harm causing perspective. A lot of things have small chance of being dangerous if you're careless, and they still are not considered evil. This is solely based on thematic 'undead are icky' and not on some logical risk analysis.

 

[Maxperson]

And it's not given that your fireball don't set a city in fire and kill thousands of people.

That's true, which is why it's generally a crime to cast a fireball in a city. And why it's evil when you do so recklessly and set fire to it, killing people.