What's my motivation?

[sasha]

Which game/setting are you playing?

[bigbobsr6000]

You could go with the whole Dr. Frankenstein story. No not the mad scientist as sometimes dipicted. The PC having a medical background (doctor, surgeon, etc.) became fascinated with stopping people from dieing. A loved one (wife, son, daughter) he couldn't save drove him to seek ways of (at first) comminicating with the dead and then as his obession grew to bring one back from the dead. He researched various old legends and rituals and then one day he................got his wish or did he???

Big Bob..................

[Killer Cyborg]

I want to use a Necromancer as an NPC villain in my game, which has plenty of Vampires and other nasties that go bump in the night.

However, I'm having trouble coming up with any kind of real motivation on why people would become a Necromancer, aside from the standard "HE'S CRAZY AND A NECROPHILIAC!" It's trite and cliche and I want to move beyond that. I'd like to give him some real depth but I'm out of ideas here on why someone would choose this lifestyle.

Has anyone ever had a Necro NPC that you had a great back story for and turned into a really good villain? If so, would you be willing to share?

1. Fear of Death
He's so scared of death that he's trying to find a way around it. Kind of like Dr. Herbert West in the Reanimator movies (well, West wasn't scared of his own death so much, but he was determined to find a cure, no matter what)

2. Wants Control
Wants to basically mind-control people, but simply doesn't have the right powers. The best he can do is to kill them, then re-animate and control the bodies. That way they have to love him, or fear him, or do whatever it is that he wants from people.

3. Needs An Army
Usually for revenge. Somebody or something killed somebody or something that he loved, or is threatening to, so he turns to the dark arts in order to get enough power for revenge or defense.
Basically, a desperate last-resort to accomplish his goals.

4. Knowledge
Re-animates the dead simply because he can, and he wants to find out everything he can about the phenomenon. Again, Herbert West would make a good model. Re-animate something, then do experiments. Record what happens. Try again. Simply to advance knowledge for himself or for the world.

5. Worships Death
Believes that death is better. Zombies and vampires don't feel the emotional pain that living creatures do. They don't grow old, they don't get their hearts broken, then never feel embarrassed or confused, and they never get sick.
They're superior to the living in every way.
This guy isn't hurting people by turning them undead; he's saving them. Making them better.
They'll thank him for it in the long run.

6. Delusion
This guy doesn't even know he's a necromancer. He just thinks that he has a lot of loyal and powerful followers.
"Vampires? Absurd. God has simply granted my chosen ones extraordinary power. Their might is holy, because I am holy."
"Undead you say? Nonsense. Jack isn't a zombie; he's as alive as you or I. Isn't that right, Jack? Of course it is."

7. Reluctant
Doesn't even want to be a necromancer, but does it out of an obligation of some sort. Maybe it's the family business. Maybe a God told him to. Maybe somebody or something is holding one (or more) of his loved ones hostage, forcing him to do things that he doesn't want to do.

8. Just Plain Evil
They guy doesn't have a thing for undead in particular, he just does it because he knows that it's one of the foulest, most corrupting things you can do. He gets off on committing blasphemies against gods and nature.
He does it because it doesn't really occur to him not to do it, just like it doesn't occur to Good aligned people TO do it.

"Of course all men have souls, otherwise I'd waste my time killing animals." -Conrad Bland

[Noon]

Why do you want to use a necromancer?

The reason to want to could become the base of his personality. Even if you just think necro's are cool - okay, he became a necromancer because he just thinks they are the cool thing. He just thinks he's such an alpha male for being a necromancer.

Why do you want to use a necromancer?