I am currently in the middle of "world building" and was thinking of putting a spin on things by having the necromancers (and their zombies) actually be the good guys for the change.
Thanks all again for the information as you've certainly helped.
I like it. I think intention would probably play a big role too. A necromancer directing zombies to pull children out of a burning orphanage is a lot different than said necromancer directing zombies to terrorize a town.
A couple things you may want to consider: how will society meet necromancers? Are they common or does the average person have no idea they exist. will necromancers ever be met with prejudice? People might automatically assume they're evil (or good) based on their practices.
What kind of zombies will they raise? Are they the slow shambling kind like you see in a George Romero movie, or are they fast like the ones in 28 Days Later?
Which aren't undeadbut still, they're an interesting alternative to the slow shambling type.
Both/neither/depends?
Are they limited to humans? It might be cool for said necromancer to ride an undead mount. Maybe made of all bones. There's an interesting fairy tale witch I read about that rode a headless horse. The necromancer could raise all kinds of animals for useful purposes. Can they build their own undead chimera by mixing and matching body parts from dead animals? (Try a google search for the Tupilek, a creature from Native American folklore. Pretty cool, and might offer some inspiration.)
What about decomposition? Will the bodies degrade or will the magic halt decomposition? If not what steps could the necromancers take to keep their minions in one piece? Embalming? Mummification? Or will they just have to let them eventually rot and fall to pieces.
Do the undead minions retain any memories, skills, or personality from their former life? If the undead are just "things" then the person controlling them can direct them with impunity. But if they have some kind of will or memory that could make things more complicated. That could be really interesting and raise a lot of moral questions.
Just some food for thought. I'd meant to chime in earlier, since I thought this was an interesting thread but hadn't been visiting the boards as much lately. Good luck on your project!