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Message: <blockquote data-quote="uzagi_akimbo" data-source="post: 1744887" data-attributes="member: 15945">Hmm negative energy is inimical to all (natural) life, snuffing it out and causing the loss of lifespan, health and soul through contact with it.  As far as abstract force/energy can be evil, this very well fits the descriptor for "evil" as in "very detriminal". Unless of course one considers the extinguishing of (all) life something worthwhile  and "good"Positive energy is the opposite, rejuvenating, healing and boosting the natural processes of life. Contact with it is not harmful per se. It has little if any detriminal side-effects. It employs negative energy, which is as close as you can come to a pure evil energy (without pulling out the BoVD), and it does so not simply for a momentary effect, but for an extended enslavement of other people's mortal shells, entirely at the caster's whim. Unless you consider enslavement or abuse of other people's property (their dead shells) an acceptable act. The gem analogy doesn't fly, simply because it a focus, therefore it serves to concentrate and maintain the negative energy used to animate the corpse.There are things that can be called evil - perhaps read up on some philosophy, I recommend Immanuel Kant and perhaps Nietzsche on theories of moral and ethical absolutes and rules. Very enlightening. in a nutshell Evil constitutes actions which cannot stand unchallenged, because their proliferation will destroy humanity and human interaction. Like unchecked murder. Like denial of basic rights. Live and interact and such a way as you yourself expect to be interacted with.And - if someone chooses to not call something "evil" it does not in any way make it factually any less so, it still stays evil.An evil person can be disrespectful, but being disrespectful does not make you evil. (in a general sense of course).</blockquote>Criticism is not disrespect, especially from someone who makes decisions depending on the work criticised, or who has paid for a work of a certain standard. That's a basic human right of free speech and freedom of opinion, but even there, rules of conduct and propriety apply. An unwarranted or unasked for criticism is something else. But whoever performs in the public eye (often to be appreciated ) also exposes himself to public scrutiny, and hence criticism, be it positive or negative. That is _not_disrespect.While taking possession and control of someone's mortal shell, without their explicit permission to do so, for an infinite amount of time, and no restrictions on what to do with their remains... Now, that _is_ disrespectful. Because it violates any ideas of free will and whatever the deceased wished for his mortal shell, not even starting on the subject of enslavement. Lets not even start on the sanctity of one's own body and the basic (human - sounds corny in a fantasy context, so lets include all demi-humans, humanoids etc. ) right of self-determination regarding one's own mortal flesh and its (ab-)uses others. We are slowly slipping into the territory of RL-abuse here, so lets be careful were we tread, shall we ?Animate Object etc. on the other hand uses objects that never (naturally) were the body/mortal shell of any conscious lifeform, and hence their "use" and animation does not violate anyone's rights. Besides not being of an infinite duration. And besides _not_ being inherently "non-objects" like corpses. But yes, if you use "animate object" on a corpse, that would be a rather disrespectful act (against the will of its previous occupant, aka, the soul ) in and of it itself, on the borderline of evil. Of course, "animate dead" then adds enslavement, abuse (you didn't want it around for decoration and company, did you ?) and use of negative energy to that basic scenario, which makes it distinctly worse - due and the corrupting effects they may have on their wielder.As stated elsewhere, those "few and far between" good undead are universally hypercharged by positive energy, keeping them "alive" far beyond the constraints of their mortal bodies. They do not try to proliferate their undead state and destroy life like all (excluding animated skeletons and zombies here ) other undead do.And if you do not regard the issues of abuse, enslavement and employing anti-life negative energy which are involved as morally abhorrent (and yes, as stated above, there are moral absolutes, independent of any religious doctrines. Just consider that they occured in any stable human society independent of religious affiliation or geographical proximity... ), than I  suspect you either have a great deal of growing up ahead of you, or are going to get into serious conflict with civilized society sooner or later, sorry to say. In a way, I honestly hope you are taking your stance just to be provocative..... Hmm, lets have a short descritption of the Negative Energy Plane (MotP)"Its the hunger that devours the soul.""..its aneedy greedy plane that sucks the life out of anything that is vulnerable""it greedily sucks the energy out of anything it can""its a place inimical to all life..."With other words  - pure, uncontrolled entropy, the enemy of all life. Now, if it had a will or consciousness, that would be a distinctly "evil". And consider - even if a power is merely a power, now would the power supplied by a demon prince supplied to a worshipper be neutral and "un-aligned", even without disregard to its source and method of generation ?Face it, within the constraints of the D20 game, even non-sentient objects and energies can be imbued with "hallow" or "unhallowed" aspects. And yes, that means that power can actually, literally corrupt. If that you don't accept that premise, make up a house-rule. But don't complain about the "unfairness" of the rules, or try to rationalize the ethically questionable aspects of necromancy.[/QUOTE]

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