Kindly Necromancers

[maximara]

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

While probably hard for most players to imagine, a society could exist that doesn't put any importance on corpses.

Or as punishment for a crime such as the case with Merlin-1's undead Louisiana road gangs.

"In most places, reanimating a human cadaver is illegal desecration of a corpse. One exception is Louisiana, where "death plus hard labor" sentences are the rule and the skeletons of executed convicts serve on road gangs. During the Vietnam conflict, U.S. Army Black Berets reanimated enemy dead as the controversial "Z company" units." (pg 56)

Realistically I can't see the Louisiana zombie road gangs lasting long. Most denominations of Christianity would be flipping out (what is animating that corpse? A demon!) and the appeal courts wouldn't be happy either (a cruel and unusual punishment ruling would come down like a mountain of bricks)

Originally Posted by Flyndaran

They may consider bodies merely shells for the spirit and therefore no more valuable or sacred than the set of clothes one wore when dying.

It's possible though there would the issue of just what is now animating that shell.

That said I could see the rich going for a type of lichdom especially if liches ala the Boris Karlof Mummy are on the table.