What are some realistic and ethical concerns in regards to necromancy

[quagma]

depends how you're animating your undead. puppeteering the souls or bodies of the damned? probably immoral. creating bones and other things ex nihilo and puppeteering those? well then they're just some creepy golems, not any actual corpses being disrespected.

 

[Daitengu]

Necromancy isn't about reviving people. If so, then the holy power will be considered Necromancy, since some of them are able to bring back someone from the afterlife.

Necromancy is more about the result compared to holy revival. Mainly that necromancy doesn't restore the corpse to life like a holy revive does. Zombie, skeleton, lich, ghoul, none have heart beats nor can heal naturally. Where as a holy revival restores the body back to living and working condition.

Necromancy is about dominance and slavery. It wouldn't be called Necromancy if the revived has rights, isn't it?

That's pure opinion, and based on just the classic view of villainy use. There's more than dominance and slavery even in just D&D novels. Necromancy is usually the best bet to immortality for people who don't want to sell their soul to a deity, demon, or aberration, and would rather not be reliant on blood like vampires. Just a shame time and the undead miasma usually erodes a lich's personality into being a mass murder machine. At least in D&D's case. There's some stories like "Saint summons Skeletons"(on RR) where a lich has been a perfectly fine businessman and magical crafter for millennia.

 

[Nolff]

Necromancy is more about the result compared to holy revival. Mainly that necromancy doesn't restore the corpse to life like a holy revive does. Zombie, skeleton, lich, ghoul, none have heart beats nor can heal naturally. Where as a holy revival restores the body back to living and working condition.


That's pure opinion, and based on just the classic view of villainy use. There's more than dominance and slavery even in just D&D novels. Necromancy is usually the best bet to immortality for people who don't want to sell their soul to a deity, demon, or aberration, and would rather not be reliant on blood like vampires. Just a shame time and the undead miasma usually erodes a lich's personality into being a mass murder machine. At least in D&D's case. There's some stories like "Saint summons Skeletons"(on RR) where a lich has been a perfectly fine businessman and magical crafter for millennia.

WELL, LIKE I SAID!

What is Necromancy?

Where should you view it first?

The revival? Or the result of the revival?

I'm completely subjective. The topic of the discussion is flexible.

 

[CarburetorThompson]

I’ve seen two main types of soft magic system necromancy

1. You are reviving people as undead who are still self aware and enslaving their souls

2. You are manipulating inanimate corpses that is little different from controlling a puppet with magic.

Personally cant find much fault with the second type assuming that all the reagents are legally or ethically sourced

 

[Goodmann]

I’ve seen two main types of soft magic system necromancy

1. You are reviving people as undead who are still self aware and enslaving their souls

2. You are manipulating inanimate corpses that is little different from controlling a puppet with magic.

Personally cant find much fault with the second type assuming that all the reagents are legally or ethically sourced

Third possibility: Raising undead using alternate souls -- imps, daemons, anything that isn't the original soul-- with contract (agreed-upon servitude)

 

[Thraben]

On a different site (In a different life and a different time at this point, with how long its been since I logged in to it) I have a fic that is solely about an undead that has been given sapience, that later ends up creating more undead of its own.

One of the main ethical questions I had for the character, practically that protagonist's main conflict, is how it should treat the undead that don't have sapience, what should it do if it gains the ability to give others the same intelligence that it has.


Basically, what I'm trying to say is, Necromancy is like AI rights but fantasy, with significantly more murder. Or at least, more murder for now.

 

[HelloHound]

the main concerns are those with a corpse around: rotting flesh, bugs, smell, bloating, and any diseases that could spring up from such a creature

 

[ConansWitchBaby]

What are ethics? Can it be eaten?