I just finished a little gem of a game called Undertale (I highly recommend it) where you can get one of the games three endings by never killing anyone. It has me contemplating whether such a character has a place in Pathfinder, and what kind of build can support them. My first though is to gain access to non-lethal damage with no negative to your hit bonus, but I would be interested in your thoughts on building a pacifist? And once you do build them, how would you go about playing/roleplaying them without conflicting with your group?
It might be tough, since obviously, you will be partying with people who aren't pacifists.
Heck, I can practically imagine a character archetype for a villain based on this "I wouldn't deign to filthy my hands with the blood of insects like you".
Anyway, onto actual advise- blade of mercy (a religion trait fro sarenrae; slashing weapons, and even a +1 to the damage) and bludgeoner (a feat that applies to bludgeoning weapons) are your best bets for doing this simple.
Heck, grab enforcer, and this makes a great intimidate build. You can actually force enemies to run in feat when you confirm a crit (obviously, going thematic with blade of mercy and using a keen scimitar would be fanatastic)
EDIT: Thinking about that, if you want stupid cheese, you could go eldritch guardian archetype fighter, grab dazzling display and disheartening display, and then twirl your way into making everyone run in fear. Dazzling display allows intimidate on all in 30' as a full round action, disheartening display upgrades that so you can stack fear effects (ie- if you intimidate a shaken opponent, they run in fear), and the fighter archetype is so that you can have a familiar that also gets the feats so you can double up (thus allowing you to make enemies flee in round 1).
It is one of those silly things that were designed around the idea that people wouldn't have similar builds, so they don't double up. Which is why eldritch guardian fighter is rather great, since it allows familiar to share combat feats, allowing you to exploit stuff like that. Doubled up dirty trick builds could also be interesting.
All or none. Everybody does it, or nobody.
Anyone who is truly a "pacifist" won't travel with a bunch of blood-thirsty murder-hobo adventurers. If you can figure out how to play that, more power to you, but it seems to me that this takes more cognitive dissonance than a black man who wants to join the KKK.
So get your whole group to be pacifists. Tons of fun.
But don't ONLY rely on non-lethal damage because LOTS of things are immune to it, so have a pacifist backup plan handy. Like maybe tying up the enemies and taking them all to orphanages. I am sure your local orphanages would have great fun when you bring in a few hog-tied trolls...
Now, if you limit your pacifism to only "not killing civilized people" (and maybe have a more definitive definition than that), then you could be OK killing all those sub-human monsters out there. Just hope your GM doesn't throw you in a protracted urban adventure...
Hah. Blade of Mercy and Enforcer/Intimidate. Great combo.
By RAW, I suppose this works, but I probably wouldn't let it work.
This works:
GM: You slash at the ogre, severing it's arm and the left side of its face, both of which flop lifelessly to the ground as its large bulk crashes down beside them.
PC: I use Enforcer to make an Intimidate roll. I got a 22.
GM: The other ogres, seeing what you did to their friend, throw down their clubs and flee for their lives.
This doesn't work (for me):
GM: You slash a the ogre, bonking it on the head. It falls unconscious.
PC: I use Enforcer to make an Intimidate roll. I got a 22.
GM: Other ogres, seeing that you knocked their friend out but that he's otherwise unharmed, ignore your feeble intimidate and charge you - they're not afraid of being knocked out, but the do want to rescue their friend and maybe have you for dinner.
If you are playing a game that allows the technology weapons, then you can master the art of nonlethally slashing people with chainsaws.
Oh, and remember DM_Blake, the intimidate check is against the guy that got smacked in the head. So...I suppose that makes sense (I am generally intimidated when people punch me in the face or smack my kneecaps with a baseball bat).
I mean...you don't intimidate the ogre that got its arm cut off, but eh. That is kind of a question for the base rules. where you don't fear anything unless it makes angry eyes at you.
And I still find the synchronized baton twirling team of disheartening display is more ridiculous. Since it would have the ogres run because they are totally afraid of your sick moves. Like, TOTALLY.
I can kind'a see a pacifist build where you've sworn against fatal violence. For this I'd advise against the Barbarian class, but Monks would be ideal. Remember, their unarmed attacks are lethal or nonlethal at their whim. Set fist to 'kill'. (Or 'destroy undead/construct'.) It even meshes to some extent with some monk stereotypes.
Still, pacifism can be one of those deals where 'OK, I really don't want to kill, but that's my personal decision and I won't force it on my friends, it's just my way'. Just as long as the other party members aren't total jerks about it, that should be OK.
I played a party healer once who was a pacifist. Oracle of life with merciful spell metamagic.
If you are going for a damaging pacifist ( almost a contradiction in terms) the walking dead has a guy who wields a bo staff/quarter staff and disarms, trips, subdues. Follow the combat manoeuvre lines. Oracle of battle has some nice ways of chaining combat manoeuvres as revelations quite efficiently. Just be aware that it won't work on a lot of what you face - but maybe his code doesn't apply against say undead or constructs.
the character in walking dead is only against killing though. I believe pacifism is an abhorrence of all violence. That would include all damage and miss what you want to play. Maybe go old school and say you don't want to draw blood, combined with combat manoeuvres. I would go for oracle of battle or monk.
Also definitely watch the latest season of Walking Dead it should be compulsory pathfinder viewing for an adventuring party!
For ridiculously nicheness, there is literally a Pacifist racial Archetype with one of the psionic classes and races. Not on the srd though, but pretty cool- has a skill for talking enemies down and has a "whiffle bat" effect that forces an enemy into a nonlethal confrontation for a few rounds.
Hmm, you could go enchanter wizard and try to make everything your friend or at least neutral. The school powers seem all useful for that. Coaxing Spell, Threnodic Spell and Verdant Spell would help to influence more creature types - oozes, undead and plants, to be precisely.
About your motivation: You could travel with your mates because you want to convince them of your views or at least reduce the amount of suffering.
I played a dwarven pacifist healer in D&D 4th; it was pretty cool, in my opinion -- tons of healing, lots of debuff, and good condition effects. Granted, that feat in 4th only hammered you if you dealt damage to a "bloodied" opponent (a creature at half hp or less; it stunned you for a full round), so you had a little leeway there -- I tried to next-level it by making sure that none of the powers I used dealt any damage at all, which was challenging.
As for Pathfinder, you'll have a harder time pulling it off. DM_Blake has characterized it as an all-or-nothing scenario across the whole party, but I think it can be done as an individual concept. I'd stay with the cleric as my class of choice, and go for a mix of combat maneuvers and nonlethal save-or-lose effects -- the whole point would be to contribute to combat in an effective manner, but never strike to harm: a Hippocratic Offense, if you will. It's obvious that you would be a good heal/buff battery, half of which gets a bad rap in these parts, but you could be the ultimate bounty hunter/jailkeeper. All you would need in terms of cooperation from your party is being able to grant all opponents the opportunity to surrender, maybe twice: once as weapons are drawn, and again when the disarmed and prone enemy gets that Loki-in-Stark-Tower-team-stare moment. In between those moments, you use your reality-warping powers to take the fight out of the opposition -- command, dominate, sanctuary, walls, stone shape, etc.
You could focus on skills, as well -- Diplomacy, Knowledge, Sense Motive, Heal (yeah, I know, duh), and so on . . . . Be a social-encounter master.
As far as the mechanics go, I would talk it over with your GM/DM to see if you could get the healing hands ability from the 3.5 healer (+Cha mod to heals), and maybe even some status effect removal like the paladin's mercies. I am not very familiar with all of the feats in Pathfinder, so I don't know if there are ways to alter the effects of your channel energy ability to effective non-damaging tactical effects, but it would be another thing I would look into.
Any of the types of pacifism that have been mentioned can be executed in Pathfinder -- just find one you're willing to go with, and know you can contribute in all scenarios. Let us know what you figure out!
Grapple monks (Bonus points for pacifist oath)
Rogue sappers
Wizards because wizards are awesome.
You could try a paladin, with a sap and use mainly mercies.
Clerics and Oracles could run buffs and heals
I wouldn't recommend playing an entire party of pacifists until you can tell me what you can do with an unconscious goblin raiding party.
Pacifist as "no killing" opens many possibilities. For example :
How about a greedy evil slaver "pacifist" group : why waste good fighting manflesh when you can sell it for 300GP a HD in the blood arenas of Cheliax? Obviously not for everybody, but hilarious if the group and GM are fine with the idea.
Mini-campaign hook :
"I, Durfort, Grandmaster of the Egorian Blood Arena, will reward anyone brave and cunning enough to bring back an adult dragon with no less than 300 000 GP, a Barony and a lifetime VIP seat no more than 3 tiers away from the Imperial Presence ! Any fine fighting men or dangerous and unusual monsters you manage to bring back will also be bought on very generous terms."
Part 1 : locate the dragon's lair, prevent the competition from doing the same, travel to the lair.
Part 2 : plan the raid, infiltrate the lair and capture the dragon (or somehow persuade it into cooperating).
Part 3 : return journey in a caravan overloaded with dangerous monsters in chains, dodging rival groups trying to steal YOUR dragon and explaining to terrified peasants that yes, you DO need these 50 cows to feed your prizes. Bonus points for crossing several borders and convincing the officials a dragon is not contraband.
Part 4 : games day in the Great Arena! an entire regiment against a true Dragon in the Imperial Presence! Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for fame and glory! Nothing can go wrong in any way!