Hovering Skull: Evil? I think not!

[tankteddy]

With all the new updates, I Find myself creating a Supportive yet Strange Elf wizard. Mostly focusing on Illusion magic, He will be building For counter spelling/Walls/Teleportations/and other such spells to be a Crafter or Teacher.

His Goal is to become a Baelnorn Lich. ((Someone once told me Impossible goal are the best to go after, because you will always have a RP)) As such He does not see all Necromancy as Evil. My question is using an old skull or something found in a cave and making a Floating skull to use for scrying or such make me Evil? Is the spell just flat out Evil? Or is it a Gray area that can be debated ICly?

Simply Should I not use the spell because it is as bad as Create greater undead?
Or is it something that has to be explain ICly like Falselife spell or some such?

[Rhifox]

It violates the sanctity of the dead and creates an undead creature (animating the skull through the infusion of negative energy), so that makes it an evil spell.

[Boddynock]

Actually, if you are simply animating the skull with some sort of scrying magic or basic animate object spell is not necromancy. It isn't necromancy, nor does it require negative energy, unless you create an autonomous creature first, then seek to control it. It sounds like you are descibing some sort of golem, a skull which you animate with some sort of animate object enchantment, and use it solely as a focus for scrying magic. AKA, it isn't an undead creature, it's just an enchanted skull, not the same thing.

Also, with this past update, even good toons can now summon undead, in the form of revenants, which is cool, even if it is stealing a bit from some very specific examples of good or non-evil deities that allow undead use.

[Rhifox]

Is Hovering Skull a Necromancy spell, or a Divination spell?

[Boddynock]

Is it based on this illusion spell? He did mention being an illusionist. BUt this is like the shadow that you can summon with shadow conjuration, it isn't an undead shadow, it's a fake copy of and undead shadow made from shadow.

[AlwaysSummer Day]

It's not undead but it is desecrating someone's remains so yes I am pretty sure it is evil relatively speaking.

[Boddynock]

It doesn't have to be desecration, it could be a very spiritualist family ancestor tradition. It could have been a willing person.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desecrate

It could be a very respectful and highly ritualized process. Desecration implies malicious intent, usually.

[tankteddy]

As per in game text, the school of magic says Necromancy. However if you look at pnp and in game raise dead spells, false life, cure spells. They are all called Necromancy.

Half of this is intent of use, I agree people should not like it it's strange magic to them, but out right attacking or threatening to kill it or myself with out letting one argue the point is a little much.

To note however the summon replaces your Familier, you control the skull like a familiar so it's not really creating an undead but simply enchanting a basic skull with scry and other such spells. ((To be or not to be?))

When summoned it says creature, undead neutral.
I don't find this an issues as my goal is to be a neutral or good lichen somewhere down the line. A great teacher or guardian of a library or artifact. Just look up Baelnorn Lich

[The Whistler]

Does it have the evil descriptor ? No.

Are players liable to believe that it is evil and shun you or even PvP you for summoning it ? Yes.

[doctorsimon4]

In my opinion due to the fact that no matter what way you look at it you are desecrating some sort of remains it falls into the evil/taboo category automatically. If you wish to take that and say it was someone who is willing etc IC then that is up to you. But from a logical perspective it is still some fort of necromancy/negative magic.

[Deathgrowl]

Does it have the evil descriptor ? No.

This is the point here. It doesn't have evil descriptor, hence not inherently evil.

Besides, the skull isn't an undead.

[CommanderKrieg]

Its a skull that floats... No more evil than a pineapple that floats. Unless he is floating it by using the souls of the damned or the negative energy plane I dont see why it would be evil.

[Rhifox]

Now that I've actually used this myself and so have seen the character sheet, I'm going to double-down and confirm that by DnD morality, Hovering Skull is Evil (and should really get the [Evil] descriptor).

Spells have the evil descriptor because they do one or more of the following things.
• They cause undue suffering or negative emotions.
• They call upon evil gods or energies.
• They create, summon, or improve undead or other evil monsters.
• They harm souls.
• They involve unsavory practices such as cannibalism or drug use.

Hovering Skull has the Undead type. It is harmed by Positive energy and healed by Negative energy (which means it is powered by negative energy). I killed one of my skulls by using a Cure Moderate Wounds wand on it, while I can heal it with Negative Energy Ray. It is not just a levitating object where the object just happens to be a skull (such a spell would, frankly, be evocation, not necromancy), it is an undead and therefore it is an Evil spell. In DnD creating or summoning undead in any fashion is Evil.



Note that I'm talking about Evil by the DnD categorization. Morally I for one do not consider it evil (nor do I consider most undead spells to be evil), but personal morality doesn't apply here. By DnD standards, it is Evil.

[AlwaysSummer Day]

It doesn't have to be desecration, it could be a very spiritualist family ancestor tradition. It could have been a willing person.

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/desecrate

It could be a very respectful and highly ritualized process. Desecration implies malicious intent, usually.

My question is using an old skull or something found in a cave

It would be different if the person was willing or wanted this but the OP did not say this. Thus without the former beings permission it would be desecration of their remains. For all they know s/he intends to use it as a codpiece or maybe grind it down for spell componants or some such.

[thebeasttt]

PLEASE DON'T RUN, I'M JUST MISUNDERSTOOD



Seriously though even if the DM's deem it 100% NOT evil any player is free to label you a necromancer regardless, and rightfully so.