No violence character, is it possible?

I’m wondering if it is possible to make a character that does very little to no killing (not counting turrets), a passive guy who just wants to be left alone and maybe focus on computers and crafting skills not combat. How possible and hard is it to be a pacifist towards everything?

Yes, but you’d need to kite a lot to get good crafting tools.
And kiting usually involves someone else taking the hits due to infighting.

[quote=“Coolthulhu, post:2, topic:13597”]Yes, but you’d need to kite a lot to get good crafting tools.
And kiting usually involves someone else taking the hits due to infighting.[/quote]
Well than this is out of question. I’m just thinking of a peaceful character, somebody who doesn’t use meatshields.

You can try.

~ go out at night only
~ be silent
~ be VERY patient
~ plan far ahead, very far (a single fast enemy could be your very end, quickly)

Though, not sure if this will get you very far.

[quote=“snow dwarf, post:3, topic:13597”][quote=“Coolthulhu, post:2, topic:13597”]Yes, but you’d need to kite a lot to get good crafting tools.
And kiting usually involves someone else taking the hits due to infighting.[/quote]
Well than this is out of question. I’m just thinking of a peaceful character, somebody who doesn’t use meatshields.[/quote]

A pacifist build… interesting. I thought this idea had credibility only in Nethack but now that you mention it, I think it certainly possible.

Because lots of elements in DDA require fighting you might need to create your own strategy. I guess you could just loot and not harm any zeds but that would be difficult, esp. with hordes on. A good idea would be to build robots like manahacks (or turrets) to distract the zeds while you go in and loot but it requires high electronics for which you need books. Day-raids for this type of character would almost be suicidal but at night you can raid as much as you want as long as you know where particularly dangerous monsters are (like Brutes, Hulks, Shocker Brutes, etc) and don’t get into trouble.

Remember, monsters that are faster than you will certainly wreck you. This includes most of the hostile wild-creatures (zombiefied or not) Mi Gos, Ferals, Brutes, and the like. Even a tough zombie on your tail could be hard to get rid of. If you see such monsters in the distance then the best choice would be to run away! even if that Mi Go is guarding those dead scientists which could potentially have a rare lab journal but you can’t risk that much.

Getting a vehicle early would prove to be a boon because if you travel on foot then you’ll almost certainly encounter all sorts of random critters who want to kill you (Bears, Zombears, Wolves, random Zeds, those pesky Zombie Scientists with lethal foohacks to name a few).

With sufficiently high electronics skill you can craft a control-laptop which might make things easier (since you can control machines with it).

It would certainly be a good idea to have NPC companions with you to do the fighting but I can’t help you much here as I don’t play with NPCs.

You could choose to make your base in the wilderness but that would present its own problems (because you’ll have to hunt for food) so a base on the outskirts of a city would be better. I’d say you go ahead with a pacifist character and let us know how it goes.

A pacifist plant mutant is viable.

Thanks guys, once I get around to creating a character like this I will let you know, but it might be a few weeks, because I’m playing a really cool and my first “true” survivor right now.
Edit: do you guys think hunting still applies as a pacifist thing to do?

[quote=“snow dwarf, post:7, topic:13597”]Thanks guys, once I get around to creating a character like this I will let you know, but it might be a few weeks, because I’m playing a really cool and my first “true” survivor right now.
Edit: do you guys think hunting still applies as a pacifist thing to do?[/quote]

It’s ok to eat fish cause they don’t have any feelings.

If you’re so pacifist that you refuse to re-kill violent abominations that only exist to kill, you should avoid killing even insects if you care about consistency.

Fungal man does not kill, but only fungalizes.

Which often results directly in the death of the fungalized… that sounds a lot like “killing” to me.

An indispensable tool for pacifists is a noisemaker, if you can get monster attention without being seen and pull them away from a building you want to loot, you can make a lot of progress.

CDDA is basically murderhobo simulator.

Since my internet crashed before posting, I’ll cut to the chase.

You can dig spiked pits and lure zeds into them, indirectly killing them. Cause hey, they just HAPPENED to fall in pits that you ACCIDENTALLY placed spears into.

Lure zombies into buildings and set them on fire. Noisemaker, as said above, can help in this.

Robots, turrets, and NPC’s can do the dirty work.

It’s all really up to you, you can allow ramming with vehicles or not use turrets or NPC’s since they kill on your command.

Or be a level 5 pacifist and not eat plants either because they’re alive and stuff.

[quote=“Rot, post:13, topic:13597”]CDDA is basically murderhobo simulator.

Since my internet crashed before posting, I’ll cut to the chase.

You can dig spiked pits and lure zeds into them, indirectly killing them. Cause hey, they just HAPPENED to fall in pits that you ACCIDENTALLY placed spears into.

Lure zombies into buildings and set them on fire. Noisemaker, as said above, can help in this.

Robots, turrets, and NPC’s can do the dirty work.

It’s all really up to you, you can allow ramming with vehicles or not use turrets or NPC’s since they kill on your command.

Or be a level 5 pacifist and not eat plants either because they’re alive and stuff.[/quote]

I think what the OP means is that he does not directly kill anybody, not as a strategy or RP but as a challenge. I think the definition of NetHack’s pacifist conduct should fit best here:

The pacifist conduct involves [b]not actively killing any monster directly[/b]. Players must instead attack without killing, use a pet to do the dirty work, or simply run away.

A pacifist player nearly always uses a passive way of killing monsters, such as with a pet, or with a ring of conflict for larger groups. Wands of teleportation are used much more often, to move a difficult monster somewhere else instead of killing it.

Pacifist - NetHack Wiki

Because it is a challenge, not some sort of scenario where the main guy refuses to kill (which would definitely lead to him getting killed because that’s how DDA is). And in my opinion, this would be a fun challenge to do; I’d like to see how it turns out.

One recommendation I can suggest: If you can tolerate the encumbrance, being averse to killing doesn’t preclude being well-armored. A shield especially is your friend, doubly so if you outright forgo wielding a weapon.

Does the tazer still halt the target its used on for several turns? If so, that could be a good way to stop a zombie without killing them.

It’s not only a challenge thing, it is also a roleplaying thingy as well.

I can see an end-game pacifist with heavy power armor just wading through hordes of zombies picking through the rubble of the world.

I can see an end-game pacifist with heavy power armor just wading through hordes of zombies picking through the rubble of the world.[/quote]
We will see, because I’m thinking more of a character just going on the road with his messenger bag and his dog, trying to mind their own business. Maybe picking on the safe outskirts of towns.
Just him and the road ahead (insert some glorious movie ending music here).

I can see an end-game pacifist with heavy power armor just wading through hordes of zombies picking through the rubble of the world.[/quote]

Does laughing at the zombies and their futile efforts to harm you count as pacifism?