Shattered Kingdoms

You can take any item from a stunned creature, regardless of whether it is an NPC or a player, not just their money. You use the same syntax as if you were getting the items from a corpse. I've tried to set up the game so it IS possible to go the whole distance without killing.

Going without combat at all is a bit different, but still possible if you are a caster. Priests have the best chance of doing it, since the XP they get for healing spells is directly related to the amount of damage you heal. Quests can help the whole way, and if you start in Ayamao, even as a newbie. (I've always wanted there to be Ayamao-like quests in every starting city, but it doesn't seem to have happened...) Rewards can't be counted on, but do help fill in the gaps. At the high end, mentorship can now provide a decent amount of XP as well as extra training points.

It'll be difficult to train the spells in the beginning to make money to train more spells. Training is expensive, so you'll have to go for either handouts or assistance from your church.

As for leveling... it's very possible. I think the first stage is the hardest, just to get you started with the basic spells. Max out your charisma and you should be fine, especially for high charisma races.

That used to be a valid point, but not anymore. If you seek a mentor earnestly enough, and persuasively roleplay your intention of non-violence, I would expect that you could find one to teach you for no fee.

I have toyed with the idea of a priest or bard of wisdom sworn against any form of violence, and its getting that first bit of exp to begin casting or singing a spell is the only real stumbling block, but with good Rp you should be able to get people to help you out. There are enough quests that dont require you to hurt anything to probably get you a heal spell or a song. Beyond that your going to have to be a very vissible player with really good rp, so that you can get a few enlights.

Now if you do something where your char becomes a complete pasifist, much easier... but I dont think its as fullfilling.

Thanks for all the advice - sounds like this could be really interesting to try!

I have a few aspects I'm uncertain of though... With a character that refuses to inflict death, can you think of a rp reason to go with hunting groups, even if it's just to heal? Wouldn't her beliefs require her to try to stop the killing, and heal the creature while fighting? I'm trying to patch together a 'doable' argument and finding it a bit hard... Fighting to stun could be done in settings where sparing/practice can be roleplayed... but unless its for the purpose of pain and suffering (which it wont be if she is from Ayamao), why would she fight in the first place?

Just a brainstorm with a few holes in it... Would appreciate any creative input someone might be able/willing to give.

Start in Exile, practice dummies are not alive, stack a few levels above novice before becoming a spell/song focused character. Go priest, bard, or sorcerer, live off of spells. Priest = healing, buffs like sanc and armor whilst with others, enchanting, gates, brewing, and or course resurrection. Bard = all songs not combat based. Sorcerer = resizes, enchants, gates, scrolls, and the occasional depetrification. You can spam spells/dances/songs for levels in an inn, and then use the rest of the time for RPing.

You would be a benifit to hunting parties for obvious reasons with all three of these classes, and starting in Exile you can easily go any race any aura. I suggest a lightie, and then you can go hunt baddies but only assist those imposing the light upon the darkness as oposed to being behind the blade/mace/axe/whatever. You would not be a pacifist by any account, but you would not actively partake in bloodshed first hand.

Then again, a darkie could go the same way. But for the concept, dummies aren't people.

Going with a hunting group is completely up to you. Some people feel appalled at any killing that they do personally, but might not mind if others do it for the right causes. It's hardly an analogy of the same severity, but you can think of it as vegetarians who don't mind other people eating meat, just that they themselves dislike the thought of eating another living creature. You should distinguish between killing and inflicting pain- certain spells, like Holy word, are unlikely to kill someone if used at the start of battle.

Not to mention a spell like holy word could veryy well prevent one of your friends from being killed.

Yes, by killing someone

If it is used at the beginning of a battle it will dispell the enemies spells and inflict a bit of damage, not kill them. The dispelling is what could prevent the companions from getting killed.