Necromancy

A student's notes on the legal status of necromancy
Souls and Spirits 

A "soul" refers to the spirit and consciousness of a legally recognised sapient being (eg. humans, elves etc). A "spirit" can be a demon, a nature spirit, the spirit siphoned from a sacrificed animal etc. On death, souls pass beyond the black gates. To bring a soul back from beyond the black gates requires the permission of a god, (or perhaps the Olig of the god of death?).

True necromancy

True necromancy is anything that involves interfering with souls. Why does Meira make this sound so dry?

Zombies / mindless raised dead

Spirits bound to a corpse. They are animalistic unless you put a demon spirit inside. This is not true necromancy.

Mindful raised dead 

Requires binding a soul into a corpse - could be from souls that have refused to pass on - e.g. wraiths etc - people do it by trapping souls before they get to the safety of beyond black gates (highly illegal!!).

Speaking to dead 

The body retains an imprint of the person who once resided in it. You can animate it briefly and it will speak to you about how it died etc. This is also not true necromancy as it doesn't involve souls. It's still illegal though because it's desecrating a corpse, but you can get a warrant for it.

Speaking with souls of the dead 

Halfling ancestors seem to be able to communicate with their progeny from the other side of the black gates. Souls tend to forget things the longer they've been dead, and they have odd priorities.

Resurrection

If the soul has gone beyond the black gates, the resurrection spell no longer works. There are old tales of gods being petitioned for a souls return, or of adventures into the afterlife to retrieve one.

Legal terms

Illegal to animate the corpse of a sapient being - Desecration of a corpse.

Illegal to compel or restrict the movement of a soul - Necromancy.

So its not technically illegal to animate the corpse of a dog, for example.

It is only legal to speak to dead bodies if you have a warrant.

It is legal to speak to the souls of the dead.