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Message: <blockquote data-quote="VelvetViolet" data-source="post: 6183228" data-attributes="member: 6686357">Aside from the BOED contradictory morals, the topic isn't really addressed. We're continually told undead are evil and unnatural but we're never actually given any practical justification for why this is beyond author fiat or rules convenience, and deathless are stated to be unambiguously inherently good. Yes, most undead are dangerous and many are evil, but this doesn't necessitate all undead being evil, anymore than deathless being inherently good, despite doing things like guarding their tombs or watching over wards like ghosts or mummies do.If mindless undead are programmed to attack living creatures in the absence of orders (according to Forgotten Realms, anyway), this doesn't mean that they're evil at all. It means they're lawful neutral. Calling them evil is like calling a disease or a poison evil. Aside from being homicidal they don't demonstrate the other aspects of being evil like sadism.I believe undead should be good or evil based entirely on circumstance, not any inherent alignment value on the part of undead or negative energy. I would judge an undead's alignment by their motivation. Most undead would be neutral, lawful neutral, or chaotic neutral based on whether they were just hungry, guarding their tombs, or crazy. Ones that deliberately sought to hunt and harm the living for no reason other than fun and knew what they were doing was wrong would be evil.There should be a definite possibility for the existence of heroic necromancers or heroic undead who used their powers for good.</blockquote>

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