Technical Pacifist: Difference between revisions
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{{trope}}
{{quote|''"Sometimes even the Buddha had to kick a little ass."''
|'''Flynn''', ''[[Battlefield: Bad Company]] 2''}}
If you live in an action-adventure show-universe (or perhaps a [[Video Game]]), violence is one of those things that you just can't escape. This can be a real problem if you want your leading man to be a new-agey tree-hugging intellectual, because, now that [[Hunter S. Thompson]] is dead, how many gun-toting [[New Age Retro Hippie|hippies]] do you know? <ref>Takaya from [[Persona 3]] does not count.</ref>
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[[Doesn't Like Guns]] is a subtrope, where hurting and killing is OK, as long as he doesn't use a ''gun'' to do it.
{{examples}}
== Anime and Manga ==▼
▲== Anime ==
* Prince Philionel from ''[[The Slayers]]'' doesn't believe in violence. He thus developed [[Martial Pacifist]] style with attacks like Pacifist Crush, Kindness to All Creatures kick and Goodwill Towards Men Smash. Though he uses them on [[Exclusively Evil]] creatures and avoids fighting humans if possible. His daughter Amelia, however, is more justice-obsessed and less restrained.
* Himura Kenshin from ''[[Rurouni Kenshin]]'' is a Meiji era former assassin that has forsworn the taking of human life and wears/uses a sakabatou (katana forged with a blunted outer edge) more because of this vow than laws against private uses of swords. Of course he will maim and cripple when sufficiently provoked.
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* [[Vinland Saga|Thors]] becomes one of these after his desertion from the Jomsviking.
* [[Gantz|Katou]]. He's the personification of this trope taken to its logical conclusion.
* The [[Gundam Wing]] Team becomes
** It has to be added that at the end of the film, when on Earth and fighting at AT LEAST 50-1 odds, {{spoiler|the Gundam pilots, along with Zechs and Noin, fight and wipe out nearly all of the enemy forces before their own suits began to take damage and run out of ammo...without a SINGLE enemy pilot dying.}}
** Quatre was like this from the beginning: his family, the aristocratic Winner foundation, are [[Actual Pacifist
* Haru Glory, [[The Hero]] of the manga ''[[Rave Master]]'' believes it's [[Thou Shalt Not Kill|morally wrong to kill other people]]. Apparently, beating the ever living daylights out of them is perfectly fine, so long as they deserve it (which, of course, they always do). Then again, since anything short of death or dismemberment in ''Rave Master'' can be shrugged off within a day or two, this makes some sense. He also uses a sword even though guns do exist in his world, but that's because swords are more romantic.
** And his particular sword, ''Ten Commandments'', happens to be a magical weapon with ten distinct and unique forms. Let's see a gun ''cut through magic''.
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* Speaking of ''Gundam Seed'', Lowe Guele of ''[[Gundam SEED Astray]]'' is like this. The charter for the Junk Guild says that members can only attack if ''they'' are attacked and when Lowe fights back in the Red Frame, it's usually to disable. Of course, this is a guy who repaired a mecha-sized katana, built a 150 meter version of the same weapon and designed an all-purpose sword of a mercenary. It gets even funnier when you play him in an [[Super Robot Wars|SRW]] or a G-Generation game.
** To quote the man himself in his promotional anime short: "Don't worry, I'm a Junk Tech. I don't kill."
* Loran Cehack of [[Turn A Gundam
* [[Legend of the Galactic Heroes|Yang Wen-Li]] would love to live in a universe in peace and claims to be totally inept when it comes to guns and actual fighting. He is also directly responsible for the death of tens of millions of imperial soldiers and is quite aware of the contradiction.
* ''[[Trigun]]'' anime's lead Vash the Stampede lives this trope as his essential gimmick. Outlaw with a very big gun and [[Improbable Aiming Skills]], does a lot of ass-kicking when required, but goes to great and painful lengths to avoid letting anyone be killed. Likely to whack someone with his gun, throw the bullets out the back of the gun, shoot their pants off, get bubblegum into their gun, or let the terrain clobber them if engaging, also very likely to run away. Will deliver non-fatal shots if necessary. Gets sneered at and called either a moron or a hypocrite a lot. Starry-eyed idealist, but scary if pushed far enough. {{spoiler|The [[Big Bad]]'s evil scheming more or less culminates in sending his fanatically loyal psychic [[The Dragon|Dragon]] to force Vash to shoot him dead to save his remaining best friends. Object: 'Eternal Suffering to Vash the Stampede.' In the end, shoots [[Big Bad]] through all major limbs and carries him into the desert over his shoulder.}}
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* Graham of ''[[Baccano!]]'' is violent, but he doesn't like killing people because it makes him feel guilty.
* The Rave Warriors of ''[[Rave Master]]'', led by Haru Glory, understand that they need to fight, sometimes even kill, those who would harm others. [[Sympathy for the Devil|Even if their motives are sympathetic]], if they're unrepentant they won't hesitate. However, killing is never their first recourse, and they will usually spare an enemy that's defeated but not quite dead, or even [[Save the Villain]] on occasion.
* Early on in ''[[Crossbone Gundam]]'', the [[Space Pirate|Crossbone Vanguard]] intentionally spares the lives of [[The Empire|Jupiter Empire]] pilots because (like the ''[[Gundam Wing]]'' example) they don't know the full scope of their leader's plans. If not for this, [[The Hero]] Tobia would have been killed in the first chapter.<ref>He thought the CV were bad guys and jumped into the nearest unoccupied machine to fight them off</ref>
* ''[[A Certain Magical Index]]'': The most fundamental appeal to
** {{spoiler|[[Lampshade Hanging|This is even mentioned by
* Sweet, innocent Maple from Maple from ''[[BOFURI: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense]]''; she abhors fighting, and by all logic, should not be very successful in a virtual online RPG where fighting isn't avoidable. But she lucked out and unlocked some very rare skills as a result of surviving several hours without making a single offensive move (even though she was ''very'' upset at over killing one mook while doing so) and as a result, she can defeat entire armies by herself in PVP battles using only defensive skills.
** She gains a few offensive skills eventually [[Bad Powers, Good People|(and not the most pleasant ones)]] but all of them are of the "passive" type that are triggered automatically.
== Comic Books ==
* King Mob in [[Grant Morrison]]'s ''[[The Invisibles]]'' begins the series killing indiscriminately, then turns into a kung-fu master/Technical Pacifist after realizing that the death toll is negatively affecting his karma.
* In one ''[[Robin]]'' comic book, while the Boy Wonder is training with a super secret paramilitary unit, one of the members asks why he and [[Batman]] don't use guns. Robin replies that, unlike the cops and the military, Batman and Robin can't appear in a court of law to justify it if they end up killing someone, and they don't have any official authority, so they don't use lethal force.
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* Throughout [[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles]], Donatello has been shown to be the most peaceful of the Turtles, but he still needed to be a kickass fighter. So this personality trait was cemented with him fighting with the rather less lethal Bo, instead of something sharp.
** He's also stated a hatred of guns several times, although it's not clear whether he considers them an "immoral" weapon or whether he's just not comfortable using them.
* In the [[Ultimate Universe|Ultimate]] [[Ultimate Marvel|Universe]], [[The Chessmaster|Professor Xavier]] is a technical pacifist due to his desire to have mutants rise above humanity's baser instincts. For example, rather than simply defeat <s> [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]]</s> [[Complete Monster|Magneto]], he creates an impressive explosion to make it seem as though he perished and then takes it upon himself to rehabilitate him. [[Oh Crap|It]] [[
* [[DC Comics]] Western character Bat Lash. He sees himself as a pacifist, and hardly ever uses his gun (although he's ''very'' good with it). And yet, he keeps finding himself in situations where he has to beat people up, or even kill them.
* [[Nikola Tesla]] would never lay a hand on anybody. Heavens no! Why would he do that when he has a perfectly functional [[Atomic Robo
{{quote|'''Robo:''' But, Mr. Tesla, you're a ''pacifist.''
'''Tesla:''' Yes, Robo. But ''you'' are not. }}
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== Film ==
* ''[[Sneakers]]'' arguably had one of the best uses of this, as the villain (played beautifully by Ben Kingsley) looks at the hero with the line, "I cannot kill my friend." Just as the characters (and the audience) sigh in relief, he turns to his shotgun-carrying minion, and in the exact same tone of voice repeats his last three words.
* Averted in ''[[Rush Hour]] 2''. One of the fight scenes focuses on everyone in the room trying to get their hand on a gun. A behind-the-scenes DVD featurette shows that the script originally called for Chan's character to have the gun fall in his hand, and then throw it away in disgust. Chan rightly pointed out that, given the fight going on in the room, throwing it away was "stupid."
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* Unlike other action movies dealing with terrorists, [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]] never uses a firearm at all to kill anyone in ''Collateral Damage''. Even in the scene when escaping from a police roadblock in Colombia and disarming an officer's AR-15, he just throws it away the instant he gets shot at.
* Dr. Heller from ''[[Mystery Men]]'' is a weapons designer...who builds nothing but non-lethal weapons. Just because they're non-lethal, though, doesn't mean they can't kick huge amounts of ass.
== Literature ==
* ''[[The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant]]''. The Vow actually covers technical pacifism, and prevents unnecessary violence.
{{quote|Do not hurt when holding is enough
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And kill not when maiming is enough
The greatest warrior is he who does not need to kill }}
** This may have been a Shout Out to, or perhaps was just inspired by the same source as, a similar teaching in the ''[[Kung Fu]]'' TV [[Pilot Episode]], cited below.
* The Assassins' Guild in the [[Discworld]] novels, while not pacifistic in even a technical sense, have suppressed the invention of guns, and aren't happy about improvements in crossbow technology, on the grounds that making it too easy to kill people devalues their profession. Sam Vimes, Commander of the City Watch, ''loathes'' "spring-gonnes" (concealable pistol crossbows) to the point where anyone caught with one within city limits will end up swinging gently in the breeze.
** No, not in a children's playground, though kids might be ''fascinated'' by them.
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* [[The Culture]] epitomize this trope: they are a bunch of hippies with WMD who built a galactic empire and they [[Beware the Nice Ones|don't take it very well]] when someone tries to stop them from spreading their way of life.
* [[Twilight (novel)|The Cullens]] spend their eternal lives trying to coexist peacefully with people, giving up their human-chomping ways. They apparently have absolutely no problem letting other vampires eat humans in the area or even supplying them with transportation to do so. They also have no problem tearing another vampire to pieces and burning it if it tries to kill Bella.
* Parodied in ''[[Rustlers' Rhapsody]]'' where the hero only shoot's his enemies in the hand. At least one bad guy finds this more disturbing than if he shot to kill.
* Durnik starts out this way in the [[Belgariad]]
** He generally uses a club in combat rather than a sword or axe. "I really don't like chopping into people. If you hit a man with a club, there's a fair chance he won't die, and there isn't all that blood".
* Subverted by the Aiel in [[The Wheel of Time]]. A [[Proud Warrior Race]] that bizarrely doesn't use swords, {{spoiler|you later find out that their ancestors were [[Actual Pacifist
* In the [[Mistborn]] trilogy, kandra follow The Contract, which among other things, strictly prohibits killing humans. After OreSeur {{spoiler|1=(actually, a different kandra impersonating OreSeur to serve as [[The Mole]] [[Hidden in Plain Sight]] on the good guys)}} attacks an assassin sent to kill his master, Vin is shocked that he broke his code. He responds that while most kandra "think that helping someone kill is the same as killing", it isn't technically in The Contract, and that he did nothing wrong.
* The invading aliens in ''[[The Butterfly Kid]]'' are physiologically incapable of harming another being
== Live Action TV ==▼
* ''[[Stargate Atlantis]]''
** The Goa'ulds' Zat'nik'tel are primarily for stunning (and torture). And they kill on the second shot. Stunners are all over the place in ''Stargate'', and most [[Sci Fi]]. Plot-handy without necessarily being a statement.
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* In [[Chuck]], the protagonist refuses to even carry a gun, though he is not adverse to the use of nunchucks.
** Chuck generally prefers tranq guns, if he has to carry a weapon at all, or his Intersected Kung-Fu skills, though when presented with no alternative at the end of ''Chuck vs. the Other Guy,'' he did shoot to kill with tight grouping in order to prevent his opponent from killing a drugged-up and paralyzed Sarah. He has since not killed anyone on-screen.
* Hawkeye Pierce in ''[[
** Hawkeye even removed the (perfectly fine) appendix of a gung-ho Lieutenant to keep him from causing more casualties by continuing to attempt to take an objective even after being ordered to stand down. He felt horrible about it afterward, though.
* In ''[[Ultraman]] Cosmos'', Ultraman Cosmos is a pacifist and normally makes a token effort to subdue and calm down the monster he's fighting to the point his Luna Form has no real [[Finishing Move
* Michael from ''[[Prison Break]]'' fluctuated between this and [[Thou Shalt Not Kill]].
* ''[[Kung Fu]]''! Caine did plenty of beating-up, but never any permanent damage.
** Except [[Dark and Troubled Past|that one time]].
{{Quote|"Avoid, rather than check. Check, rather than hurt. Hurt, rather than maim. Maim, rather than kill. For all life is precious, nor can any be replaced."
— Master Kan, in the [[Pilot Episode]]}}
* [[Leverage]]: Elliot Spencer fits the sub-trope of "doesn't use guns" technical pacifist. But in one episode, after being backed into a corner and being told to survive, he reluctantly uses his opponent's dropped handguns, and reluctantly kills 15+ assailants. He says he doesn't use them because of his "past". It is also likely that he dislikes guns because he believes it makes things too easy.
* The [[Mission: Impossible|Impossible Missions Force]], when taking an assignment to "permanently deal" with some threat, rarely are the actual killers: they typically set up a situation where they con the target into betraying their own side (and get caught), or con the other side into believing the target has/is/will betray them. As an added bonus, when dealing with criminals instead of foreign intelligence agencies, they'll often ensure that the local cops show up just in time to catch the killers red-handed.
* Rev. Bem in ''[[Andromeda]]'' being a Wayist priest and a Magog, tries to avoid killing people despite being an obligate carnivore who needs to kill his prey. In fights he usually just paralyzes people with his venom and generally refuses to eat anything but fish, even if it means starvation.
== [[Tabletop RPG]] ==
* Whenever pacifism is an option, [[Min-Maxing]] does this. As [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/File:MPost3354-motivator5e43cd84210c42a9c48ef72a85%2Ejpg one poster] puts it -- "Pacifism. A commonly taken character trait. Confers +200 [http://wiki.rpg.net/index.php/File:MPost12561-gunslingerni8%2Ejpg to revolvers]."
* In ''[[Dungeons
** This conception was actually inspired by [[wikipedia:Mace (club)#The European Middle Ages and Beyond|a real world example]] and simply popularized by said roleplaying game.
*** Although to be fair, Odo of Bayeux's use of the mace wasn't quite a "technical pacifist" position, but more of a cynical attempt to get in on the glory of the English Conquest yet still be considered a "holy servant of god." Basically, Odo was a [[Rules Lawyer]].
** In 3rd edition, since increased customization allowed for followers of different gods (including gods of war) to specialize in different areas, this was dropped and it was made so that the average cleric only has proficiency in simple
*** This has been around since Second Edition AD&D at the least. While clerics were limited in their weapon choice to non-edged weaponry (in as much as one can call a morningstar a bludgeoning weapon), the various gods in the multiverse all had what were called "specialty priests," who had their own restrictions for armor, weapons, and magical items. A specialty priest of Lathander, for example, was restricted to a cleric's weapons and no armor heavier than plate, while priests of Eilistraee could use '''any''' weapon they liked.
** The [[Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game|MMORPG]] ''[[Ragnarok Online]]'' has [https://web.archive.org/web/20120711012623/http://roempire.com/database/?page=items&act=view&iid=1516 heard of] this restriction too.
** The Vow of Peace feat from the ''Book of Exalted Deeds'' essentially states "feel free to massacre undead, they don't count" and "nonlethal damage (read: beating people up) is acceptable".
** 4th Edition's Shielding Cleric counts as well. You're not actually harming the enemies
*** Taking it one step further is the feat "Pacifist Healer" which significantly increases the power of the Cleric's 'go to' healing class feature, but in return, permanently disallows them from damaging bloodied opponents, or wind up stunned themselves. Aforementioned non-damaging attacks are fair game.
* ''[[GURPS]]'' has the Reluctant Killer disadvantage, which keeps a character from attacking a recognizable person. The character can still attack: [[Faceless Goons|people wearing masks]], people he can't see, occupied vehicles, [[What Measure Is a Non-Human?|anything that looks like a monster]], and [[Bombers on the Screen|blips on a radar screen]].
** Along with a number of other Pacifism variants, ranging from
*** Even beyond that, the highest level of pacifism requires you to stop other people from doing anything that might hurt another person for any reason.
* Jadeclaw (and presumably other Sanguine Productions games) has the Pacifist flaw at three levels: "Cannot take a life," where the player cannot do anything that they 'think' will kill someone. If they "mortally wound" an opponent, they may not leave them untreated. "May only fight in self defense," which includes the previous caveats, as well as an inability to attack anyone until you, personally, are attacked. And last, "Total non-violence," where the most you can do is block, dodge, or parry.
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: This is not to say that they are incapable of violence. A healer ''can'' (and will, if this may save someone) use non-lethal force or destroy opponents that don't suffer when harmed, such as walking dead or materialized hallucinations. On the magic front at least, the healer often wins; even ones that don't have much talent for magic have constant practice with it, while those who do quickly rise in power.
* Even the ludicrously deadly ''[[Paranoia]]'' has provisions for the occasional bring-them-in-alive scenario, such as tanglers (which fire sticky constricting cords, merely immobilizing the target unless they hit the neck) and [[Static Stun Gun|stun guns]].
* [https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Wingweaver Wingweaver] in ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh! (Tabletop Game)|Yu-Gi-Oh!]]''; her flavor text calls her "A six-winged fairy who prays for peace and hope." Although, at the time of her card's release, her 2,750 Attack Points put her squarely in the top 10 strongest monsters in the game.
== Toys ==
* [[LEGO]] claims to never produce war toys. This is only true in a certain point of view, because they still have lot of toys featuring conflict like [[Indiana Jones]] and [[Star Wars]] and produce a wide array of guns.
** LEGO probably stretched this statement to a crtical point by having now released the
** There is also some kind of
** [[Indiana Jones]], nothing. The "Exo Force" sets were ''entirely about'' a war between [[
== Video Games ==
* Dizzy from ''[[Guilty Gear]]'' is a pacifist who hates violence of any form. The only problem is that the spirits living in her wings are ''very'' protective of her and have no such moral concepts. Her attacks have names like "[[Mundane Utility|This Was Used to Pick Fruit From Trees]]" and similar nonviolent uses. Most of her quotes in battle are desperate pleas for said spirits to either stop or at least hold back. It's even worse when she takes a nasty shock (such as a 10,000-foot fall), as one of the spirits [[Demonic Possession|possesses her...]]
** Similarly, Zappa from ''Guilty Gear XX'' is a softy who has no desire to fight anybody. It's just his luck that he's possessed by a host of excessively belligerent spirits with a penchant for insulting the wrong people.
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** As of the new patch you can kill as many enemies as you like by reflecting their attacks. It's "self-defence" apparently.
** Assassins are also fair game, since they teleport away once you defeat them instead of dying.
* ''[[Mirror's Edge]]'' on the Xbox 360 has two achievements that play this trope straight: 'Pacifist' (complete a single mission without firing a shot) and 'Test of Faith' (complete the game without firing a shot that hits a guard). Now, the thing to note is firing a
** While not a problem for most of the game, because it's always a lot more safer to run away than to get close enough to enemies to allow them to get a good shot at you, this can be incredibly difficult when you have to face mercenaries in full riot gear with machine guns who block the tiny door that is the only exit from the room you are in. And with your bare hands! Fortunately, this game is [[Le Parcour]] pure, but you still have to get quite creative get close enough for a kick in the head without being shredded by bullets from 10 meters away.
* ''[[Fallout]] 3'' has a interesting way of doing this. Do you have a follower NPC and want someone dead, but you don't want to be evil? Punch them in the face to start combat with them, then watch as Charon shotguns them in the face, causing him to lose the Karma! Do not attempt this in a crowded plaza.
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* Lunk, an ogre introduced in ''[[World of Warcraft]] Cataclysm'', who shows up in the Searing Gorge to chastise the player for their [[What the Hell, Hero?|kill-and-loot approach to questing.]] He appears alongside other quests in the area, offering [[Non-Lethal KO|non-lethal]] (and/or ridiculous) KOs to accomplish the same goals.
* Murphy from [[Silent Hill: Downpour]] is encouraged to not kill his enemies, but to leave them incapacitated and run away. [[Bragging Rights Reward|There's even an achievement for it]]. Do well enough at it and, as it turns out, {{spoiler|he wasn't even capable of killing the man who killed his son.}}
== Web Comics ==
* ''[http://www.drmcninja.com Dr. McNinja]'' is a good example...partly because he's a doctor, partly because he's a [[Batman]] fanboy. It's not that he dislikes guns, though, he genuinely tries to avoid killing...but when he IS forced to kill, the body count tends to rack up pretty quick, though that only really happened once and he felt pretty shaken up about it afterwards. He has no problem beating the crap out of people, though. He also has no problem with having a [[The Gunslinger|Gunslinger]] as his [[Sidekick]]. Also, when zombies attacked, he had no problems whatsoever with duel-wielding shotguns.
** Though he ''did'' [
** As well as at least 30 pirates when rescuing his family.
*** I'm not sure he killed that many pirates. He just wounded them, and left them with peg faces.
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* Thomil of [[Juathuur]]. His dead girlfriend, Neilli, was an [[Actual Pacifist]].
* [[Bob and George]]: X. Or so we are told.
== Web Original ==
* The titular protagonist of ''[[
* Lucky Star, a street-level crimefighter in the ''[[Global Guardians PBEM Universe]]'', who is often called "the luckiest man alive", refuses to start fights, always tries to use reason and understanding to defuse conflict and absolutely, positively refuses to use a weapon, nonetheless is quite capable of kicking ass and taking names when reason and understanding don't work. And heaven help you if you threaten a child in his presence.
* Kazina, from the [[MSF High Forum]], was a perfect example of '[[Tropes Are Not Good]]'. He decided to be a pacifist, got a tranq gun, called it a day.
== Western Animation ==
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* ''[[The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes|Avengers Earths Mightiest Heroes]]'': Ant Man will go out of his way to try every possible option before resorting to blows. He maintains that he is scientist first and a superhero second, but if he presses that button on his belt, you better hope he's not aiming that gigantic fist at you.
** This becomes a serious issue for him towards the end of the first season because he'd much rather be an [[Actual Pacifist]]. Come season two he's left the Avengers because of it.
== Real Life ==
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** Dillinger often joked that he was a coward who preferred running to fighting any day of the week.
** The one of the few times someone was killed during his heists it was an accident due to the man in question (not Dillinger) being spooked from behind by a beat cop.
* Quakers avoided overtly supporting war causes, but didn't actively oppose these either, thus such things were done under [[Plausible Deniability]]. When they couldn't simply avert their eyes, euphemisms and vagueness were used: just give money "for the Queen's use" and avoid the details. According to Franklin, once it turned like this:
{{quote|They could not grant money to buy powder, for that was an ingredient of war; but they voted an aid of 3000 Pounds, and appropriated it for the purchasing of bread, flour, wheat "and other grain." Some of the council, desirous of giving the House still further embarrassment, advised the governor not to accept the provision, as not being the thing he had demanded; but he reply'd, "I shall take the money, for I understand very well their meaning -- other grain is gunpowder." Which he accordingly bought, and they never objected to it. }}
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[[Category:Guns and Gunplay Tropes]]
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