The challenge of non-violence

I appreciate that combat is pretty key to the game, but as someone who typically played Ultima games with as little killing of sentient creatures as possible, and as someone who'd like to try a SotA pacifish run at some point, I have a couple of observations.

Non-violent solutions to morally ambiguous quests can be hard to achieve

When trying to talk to the named bandit NPCs hassling Mildryd in Middle Downs, a bear started attacking us both, and after the bear was defeated, the bandits started attacking me. It was only after I'd killed them, forcing a violent solution onto the problem, that I realised that I probably ought to have run away and re-entered the scene to allow them to reset.

Meanwhile, I'm sure there must be a non-violent solution to the graverobber in Soltown, I absolutely could not work it out. I could speak to him, and ask him to stop, all to no avail. I may just be missing part of the puzzle here, but it felt frustratingly like being funnelled down a path where a necklace is worth the price of a human life.

Knee-deep in the dead

On which note, I feel like I spend a LOT of time killing standard issue bandits. Not kidnappers, not zombies, nor violence-crazed Obsidian Elves who literally can't help themselves, but normal mooks who've probably just ended up on hard times amid all the chaos sweeping New Britannia.

I feel pretty bad about the Kobolds, too, who mostly just seem to want to go about their mining operations without armed humans running through their camp every five minutes.

I like the fact that, once you've out-levelled them, low-level enemies mostly leave you alone, but I wish there were a clearer path towards getting to that point without a lot of slaughtering animals and low-grade criminals.

It's a knockout

Something I'd appreciate (maybe in a future update? A person can dream!) would be a way of defeating normal, mortal enemies that didn't involve killing them - knock-out blows that left them unconscious perhaps?

Maybe there already are some that I don't know about?

I should note that I've no objection to robbing my victims blind while they snooze...

Tactical non-violence

I'm still relatively low level, although I've made some progress in all three main questlines. However, I have some thoughts about what I'd do to minimise the unnecessary killing of living, thinking creatures.

• Start on the path of Love - most of the Solace Bridge enemies are zombies, and killing them off is a merciful laying of abominations, rather than a taking of life.

• Move on to the path of Courage - after zombie grinding, I should be high level enough to have bandits avoid me and can mostly focus on frostgeists.

• Run away from combat with named NPCs, capable of carrying out a conversation. I'm pretty sure there are non-murdery solutions that can be reached with anyone who can talk. Right?

• Make liberal use of practice dummies to level up individual skills.

Feedback welcome

I'd love to hear from more experienced players who've done pacifist runs, or who can advise on quest paths and skill builds that can minimise unnecessary killing. Thanks for reading this far!

 

Very cool idea, reminds me of this:

 

I don't know the intricate details regarding quest requirements, but incidental killing can be avoided by having a friend (or mercenary if morally OK) partner who can sweep the path. If hiring a mercenary is distasteful, then surely friending a savage sword swinging partner in hopes of eventually convincing them to pursue a more delicate approach could be an option. You might even be able to complete the questlines by the time you succeed in the conversion.

 

I love that there is another person who put thought into this. I too feel much regret killing bandits and the sort who are not overtly evil. I wish there was a way to play through the quests more peacefully.

Valour is a thing, yes, and fighting is part of that, but so is Compassion.

 

I was put down also by the scene in Grannus's castle where you have to witness a murder without trial and can do nothing to prevent it.

Consequences to your choices, yet often there is no choice.

 

in the mines... if the mobs just leave me alone and don't start attacking me while I'm mining then I won't wipe them out... self defense... they attacked first...

 

Mesmerizing spells are probably a solution for some situations here.

 

I really agree with the kobolds , being a miner in game I have slaughtered thousands upon thousands of them. With the story arc of kobolds being intelligence creatures it is rather disconcerting. I don't mind slaying skeletons or even to a certain extend the bandits. I just feel so unvirtuous being forced to kill the kobolds in clear kobold territory also.

 

Hah! I like the roleplaying aspect of this, although I'm definitely more of a solo type. For challenging areas it might be fun to sign on to a party as a healer or something and then constantly berate them for their slaughter as they saved my skin...

 

Oh, I see a few useful things in the Moon magic tree for both mesmerising and stealth, which could help avoid conflict.

 

Yes, but there is no reward for this. I think pacifistic solutions should be rewarded the same as aggressive solutions. In order to earn XP and coin we are often forced to do things that contradict our character's personality.

 

Don't ask how the kobold masks are made.

 

Anyway, I support the OP....

Its not really just about playing as a pacifist, in my opinion, its about creating a game with more depth. If the only option the game gives you is to kill things, even when there should be alternate ways to handle things, the game feels really limited as a RPG and just 'bout killing things.

I wrote a thread back in R39, Dealing with the bandits in Upper Fortus, which had some ideas on how players should be able to deal with the bandits non-violently in that scene. The bandits would ask for a toll, and if you paid, you could enter their camps and deal with them as NPCs. Possibly, also a faction system in the future could allow you to align with certain groups in the game (kobold, etc.) and be recognized as a friend by them.

I'm not sure if I were making a game, that I'd make every single scenario solvable by non-violence. I don't know, I feel this might be a lie, because sometimes there might not be another way. But definitely, more should be, and killing shouldn't be the only option in many game scenarios.

 

vote!

 

It would be great to have the ability to be a gatherer without being an adventurer. Locking better materials behind harder enemies insists on the game being a combat game.

 

I think that sums it up pretty much.
You can't really progress in the game without killing things (or perhaps paying someone to kill things for you, but you can't really earn much coin without killing things unless you go to extreme lengths to find safe gathering spots which are far, far less lucrative than the alternative.) Its a fighting game, sadly.

 

I would add killing wild animals to your thought. As someone who is wildlife enthusiast, pet lover and is not a fan of the farmed animal industry IRL, it is apparent to me how many hundreds/thousands of animals attack me on sight with vengeance turned up to 11.

Certainly a bear will attack you if you are near her cubs and a wild cat or pack of wolves may if they are hungry and see you as easy or opportunistic prey. But it's strange to see every animal B-line for you and give you little choice but fight to the death. (Which is not to say that SotA is the only game with wild animals behaving this way.)

There isn't a fearlessly-shout/make-noise/know-this-will-end-badly-for-you emote to repel animals into thinking twice about engaging you, right?

 

I say it's the "obsidian fever" that makes them that way. Some get it worse than others.

I'm still on the lookout for an Obsidian Rabbit.

 

The only way you can play without combat is in multiplayer if you purchase materials from other players. Without gold, I'm not sure how you are supposed to accomplish this, but that's their design.

 

And the lack of any real way to get producer XP without gathering means you won't get very far doing that.