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<blockquote data-quote="Estlor" data-source="post: 2689387" data-attributes="member: 7261">If you're looking for a pseudo-scientific reason for most undead being inhertently evil in the D&amp;D world, it has to rest with the energy that powers them.&nbsp; Undead (as opposed to Deathless) draw power from negative energy, the very essence of death and decay (which is sort of ironic that it keeps them from decaying, but that's neither here nor there).&nbsp; Negative energy as a component of the Multiverse might not be inherently evil, but there are some predispositions that ride along with it because of its natural opposition to the energy of life.I firmly believe that the undead who are not spawned as mindless creatures (or creatures that no longer recall their living past) are not necessarily &quot;evil&quot; the moment they awake to unlife.&nbsp; The problem is there are many things that come along with unlife that can overpower a previously good person in a hurry.&nbsp; A lich who has decayed to the point of being more than a living skeleton lacks certain things a living creature takes for granted - they can't taste or feel, warm and cold means nothing to them, etc.&nbsp; Think about enjoying a nice drink on a warm day.&nbsp; You're a lich, you can't do that.&nbsp; But you can remember how it felt.&nbsp; You want to feel it again, but you can't.&nbsp; You get jealous of those who can.&nbsp; You want to hurt them.Take a vampire.&nbsp; In myth and folklore, once a vampire fed, they were pretty much human for a time.&nbsp; They'd get color in their skin, they could stand sunlight, etc.&nbsp; Aside from the fact that they'll die if they don't feed, that's a pretty good incentive to drink the blood of the living.&nbsp; It's tempting.&nbsp; They start making compromises.And that's the thing.&nbsp; Negative energy is a corrupting force.&nbsp; You lose the concern for life and its well-being, two hallmarks of &quot;good&quot; in the D&amp;D sense.&nbsp; Yes, an undead can fight against these temptations and keep a shred of their goodness, but over time it becomes much more difficult to resist.&nbsp; That glimmer of humanity is lost and might even become a contemptable thing.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Estlor, post: 2689387, member: 7261"] If you're looking for a pseudo-scientific reason for most undead being inhertently evil in the D&D world, it [I]has[/I] to rest with the energy that powers them. Undead (as opposed to Deathless) draw power from negative energy, the very essence of death and decay (which is sort of ironic that it keeps them from decaying, but that's neither here nor there). Negative energy as a component of the Multiverse might not be inherently evil, but there are some predispositions that ride along with it because of its natural opposition to the energy of life. I firmly believe that the undead who are not spawned as mindless creatures (or creatures that no longer recall their living past) are not necessarily "evil" the moment they awake to unlife. The problem is there are many things that come along with unlife that can overpower a previously good person in a hurry. A lich who has decayed to the point of being more than a living skeleton lacks certain things a living creature takes for granted - they can't taste or feel, warm and cold means nothing to them, etc. Think about enjoying a nice drink on a warm day. You're a lich, you can't do that. But you can [I]remember[/I] how it felt. You want to feel it again, but you can't. You get jealous of those who can. You want to hurt them. Take a vampire. In myth and folklore, once a vampire fed, they were pretty much human for a time. They'd get color in their skin, they could stand sunlight, etc. Aside from the fact that they'll die if they don't feed, that's a pretty good incentive to drink the blood of the living. It's tempting. They start making compromises. And that's the thing. Negative energy is a corrupting force. You lose the concern for life and its well-being, two hallmarks of "good" in the D&D sense. Yes, an undead can fight against these temptations and keep a shred of their goodness, but over time it becomes much more difficult to resist. That glimmer of humanity is lost and might even become a contemptable thing. [/QUOTE]

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