Necromancer build and roleplay

[Stake A Vamp]

So, I recently began a pathfinder game (Rise of the Runelords, if anyone's curious), and we needed an arcane caster, so I was given the task (I'm the only one who has a head for minutia, like spells and saving throws). I decided to specialize in necromancy on a whim, and have been trying to get a feel for it. Both mechanically, and roleplay-wise

I haven't.

mechanically, I don't know how to build an effective wizard, particularly necromancy, as the last time i played a wizard, i was in a lawful good party, and tried to stick to the light side. (incidentally, in my defense, it has been a few years since i last played D&D, i kinda got sucked into PbtA games). so, I thought i would ask if anyone could come up with/knew where to find a good PF necromancer build.

Also, I have been having trouble characterizing him. currently I'm playing up the elven "im older than all of you, I know what im doing" aspect, kinda haughty and very much dislikes being looked down upon or condescend to be members of shorter-lived races (he's an elf, to clarify) because of a high Intelligence and wisdom. but im trying to think about how a necromancer views the world differently, particularly a true neutral necromancer. any thought/does this bit belong in a different forum?

[noob]

For pf there is the convenient white mage(/ necromancer)(making the undead you create inherently good and making the fact of casting the spell a non evil act) if the gm allows this third party.
But since the white mage(/ necromancer) is not doing evil rituals when animating undead it does not have the same flavor and role-play so playing a wizard might be a better idea(for having all the necromancy is evil aspect)
The best necromancer is the one who did not specialized.
Simply no matter which school you forbid you might miss some stuff(like if you remove illusion you loose the infinitely powerful simulacrum and if you remove evocation you are going to miss things like glitter dust and if you remove transmutation you loose the power of turning mud into stone and such kind of things who are incredibly convenient when making a necromancer dungeon or making a road for some reason the loss of invocation is horrible(no teleport nor steel wall) enchantment is really awesome for turning everyone into slaves or definite friends divination might miss you and in addition it is not possible to throw it at the thrash can, well I probably forgot some schools of magic)
Being a necromancer is often just putting three spells in your spellbook and using them every week while the rest of the team is doing other things.
The best necromancer is your friend be the friend of everyone is possible with some casting of hypnotism you can convince everybody at low level that necromancy is good and that you are here to make the world a better place(in addition use some diplomacy(even if it have been heavily nerfed in pf compared to what it was in 3.5)).
Then when you have simulacrum do a simulacrum army and make each of your simulacrum dominate undeads and have a gigantic army led by only you very fast(and make your simulacrum collect more money by hypnotizing nobles to your cause and so on).(use blood money or false focus if you feel munchkin)

[Venico]

There are a few ways to play a neutral necromancer. One, raise the dead of animals and have them fight for you. Civilized races tend to frown on you raising humans and the like. Secondly, buff/debuff. Become save or die. Ray of enfeeblement at low levels can really help. Ghoul touch works pretty well too. Enchantment and Transmutation both really help with this style of play. Help your friends (and undead buddies) while making your enemies useless.

[Yabex]

I love necromancers, but I hate how D&D assumes most necromancy and undead magic is automatically evil. Have you ever read the Diablo books by Richard Knaak? Kingdom of Shadow and Moon of the Spider are books that heavily focus on a member of a necromancer group that is committed to the balance of good and evil in the world. It shows how necromancers are feared and misunderstood. It might be worth looking at some lore on a wiki page about the necromancers of Rathma from the Diablo setting in order to give you ideas on how to roleplay a good or neutral practitioner of "death" magic.

Hope this helps. Good luck in your game!