Specialist mage, Necros and evil? Options

[Frazurblu]

If you want to play a specialist mage protaganist there is really no bad choice (possible exception: Wild mage) . I notice from the posts that Necromancers get more press than the others. What particular benefits does the Necromancer enjoy over other arcane casters? (I am aware there is an artifact just for him). Also does anyone believe that Necromancers should perhaps have to be Evil?

Also on the subject of Evil are there any plans for a more Evil-friendly path? One which would hopefully bring back the thief or even better the assassin as a more optimal character. I notice that not many posters view Korgan , Viconia or Edwin as interesting NPCs in IA which is in sharp contrast to the vanilla game and most other mods in which they were seen as perhaps the strongest representatives of their respective classes.

[Frazurblu]

At the risk of answering my own question vis a vis the Evil NPCs , it would seem that Korgan , Viccy and Edwin have not really been improved compared to their good counterparts. Korgan can still be an insane tank its just that Valgyar has been really souped up from his previous mediocre status due to his item upgrades as have Keldorn and Anomen (both of whom were pretty good anyway). Nalia has been vastly improved , Imoen slightly less so but Edwin ? It would seem that allthough Viconia has still got advantages (lots of spells slots and that drow MR) she is quite weak physically (STR and CON) for a game that is easier for a more beefy cleric like Anomen.