Why does Undead=Evil

[Caliban]

. Most of my characters who can animate dead will always kill their horses and animate them. Now he is stronger and never gets tired. It's just a horse, his purpose it to serve me as best he can, and the best way he can serve me is by being animate so he can do his job better.

Yes, animal cruelty is so much better.

 

[Zweischneid]

Or what about my favorite tactic. Most of my characters who can animate dead will always kill their horses and animate them. Now he is stronger and never gets tired. It's just a horse, his purpose it to serve me as best he can, and the best way he can serve me is by being animate so he can do his job better.

But, but, but.. a horse is your friend, your trusted companion. He lifts you up when your lying wounded in the river, he carries you home while your unconcious on top of it with arrows sticking from your back (or just when your to drunk to find the way), he will steal your cowboyhat to make you laugh on those long & lonely evenings on the plains, he will spur you on when your courage fails you, he will...

Ahh, whatever, go check some Movies (Hidalgo?) Books (Shadowfax), old TV Series (Fury?) or Comics (Lucky Luke) if you cannot find a better use to your horse than kill it.
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Either way, if you (or your character) think of a horse as serving you in a straigh forward fantasy game, your evil as my book goes.

The good guys don't seek mindless servants, they seek to inspire loyalty.

 

[Caliban]

Well, has far as defiling the body goes, I belive the body is just an empty shell. There is nothing sacred about it. The soul as moved on an the body is just waste thats left behind.

In the default D&D setting you would be incorrect in that belief, and eventually the gods would let people know by having you show up as "Evil" yourself to a detect evil spell.

As for my remark about people with low IQ, I should explain that better. I am not trying to insult people who have opinons different then my own. I was just pointing out that "some" people are very simple minded and work of the logic of "If it looks evil, it must be evil"

Dude, that's still insulting. You are still saying that anyone who disagrees with you is simply too stupid to know better.

 

[Moff_Tarkin]

I think the problem here is that I'm a little bit Spock and everone else is a little bit Kirk. I dont let emotions or personal feelings guide my actions. Animating the bodies of my enemies is efficent and logical. They make very good fighters and will further my goodly cause. It would be illogical to refrain from such an action due to personal feeling about whos soul used to inhabit the corpse.

And I thought skeletons and zombies were neutral and the the sentient undead were the evil ones. I might be wrong, I'll have to check the MM.

 

[Caliban]

I think the problem here is that I'm a little bit Spock and everone else is a little bit Kirk. I dont let emotions or personal feelings guide my actions. Animating the bodies of my enemies is efficent and logical. They make very good fighters and will further my goodly cause. It would be illogical to refrain from such an action due to personal feeling about whos soul used to inhabit the corpse.

And I thought skeletons and zombies were neutral and the the sentient undead were the evil ones. I might be wrong, I'll have to check the MM.

*shrug* To be honest, your character sounds like a sociopath.

 

[Zweischneid]

"Hey I want to use your corpse to help destroy the evil SOB who killed you. Is that ok?" Now is that really evil?

Most defenitly evil! The good guys don't head out to kill & destroy.

They strive to redeem the villain and kill only in self-defence.

 

[Zweischneid]

They make very good fighters and will further my goodly cause.

"The ends justify the means" is a classic (if not the classic) villains excuse.

See IRobot for a recent entry into this variation of evil.

 

[Moff_Tarkin]

No, no, Caliban. I'm not insulting everyone who does not agree with me. Most peole have a somewhat valid argument for not animating dead. Like not wanting the corpse of your wife or buddy becoming a walking zombie. The people who I am insulting are the ones who make thier judgement based on looks alone. "Look that guy is wearing black, he must be evil. Lets kick his butt. Uh oh, sorry father we didnt mean to hurt you. We thought you were evil"

 

[Moff_Tarkin]

As for lettling the ends justify the means, I want to bring up a classic question, would you kill one innocent person to save 1,000 innocent people? My answer is yes. Where is the logic in letting 1,000 people die to save 1. The needs the many far outweigh the needs of the few. So I do belive that the ends does justify the means.

 

[Caliban]

No, no, Caliban. I'm not insulting everyone who does not agree with me. Most peole have a somewhat valid argument for not animating dead. Like not wanting the corpse of your wife or buddy becoming a walking zombie. The people who I am insulting are the ones who make thier judgement based on looks alone. "Look that guy is wearing black, he must be evil. Lets kick his butt. Uh oh, sorry father we didnt mean to hurt you. We thought you were evil"

Which according to you is "most people", as you stated in your first post.

I haven't actually seen anyone use reasoning like that in this thread, or in a game (at least not seriously - a few people have used it as a roleplaying flaw).

I think you are vastly underestimating the intelligence of "most people" and are completely ignoring the moral and ethical factors involved, which is just as simple-minded as you accuse others of being.