If I understand the idea correctly, then we are talking about the race of the future Lich King.

One time I was DMing a game to a group of friend of mine, and one of them played as a gnome wizard-necromancer (mainly due to gnome +2 intellect bonus). His backstory was that in his childhood his best friend died by accident by falling of a cliff, but he could not deal with it and used necromancy for the first time to ressurect him. So that was how he obtained the idea that an undead friend is better than no friend at all.

His finest hour came when the party accidentally wandered into the domain of the hermit frost giant, and after a protracted and bloody battle, when the giant was defeated, the little gnome resurrected him as a mount and the ultimate machine of destruction.