Roleplaying game without (first person) violence? [closed]

Question

Most roleplaying games include weapons, and hurting, and killing (and looting!). Moreover, some (if not most) systems seem to be made for that.

However (though I do enjoy such games), I'm trying to figure out how to do roleplaying games without a need for PC's using violence. But playing adventurous and thrilling nonetheless! It's OK for NPC's being badass swordwielders, backstabbers and whatnot, as long as players don't have to resort to the same. Thinking of adventures like those in the books of Enid Blyton.

Why? First, I have a daughter of 13 yrs who loves roleplaying. And we need reasonably nonviolent games to play at home, since violent ones are too much for other family members. Second, I wish to develop a series of nonviolent games for kids. So:

1) Have you played game sessions like that?

2) What systems would you suggest for such games?

Answer 1

We have run several campaigns in the Mouse Guard RPG, which is based on the burning wheel rules. Though I believe it is hard to find a book for the RPG now, if you are lucky to find one in a local book shop or used I highly recommend it.

It does have rules for conflicts and resolutions to those conflicts with violence, however, they are not needed at all to run a successful campaign and generally when we play violence hardly ever happens as players use their wits, skills, or run away to survive. After all they are mice.

Normal play is handled by assigning a mission to the players which consist of any number of objectives. We had a rather fun and exciting mission about delivering mail to some of the outlying provinces, which the players being mostly tenderpaw guards, had to sneak past any wild animals and band together to make it through the season of mail duty.

Overall the games have been exciting for all ages and new comers to the pen & paper world have picked it up easily. Nothing better than spending a hour deciding if you should have red fur or grey fur with a black and gold cloak.

Answer 2

I have, I kid you not, been running a My Little Pony Campaign in the Fate system. It's got to be the most ludicrously non-violent game, of any sort, I've ever played. And it works quite well in that system because everything (including any sort of violence) comes down to a certain set of skills rather than the use of an object that your character purchases. I think it helps to be less violent when nobody even owns a weapon, somehow you feel less obligated.

Further, the system has two damage systems. One is for physical damage, the other is for mental damage, which you may take from things like arguments, brain teasers and rap-battles (8 Mile, the RPG, I can see it now.)

Further, and most importantly for me, the game comes with a really easy system for creating new worlds (and I mean dead simple, yet still powerful). So you can pick a setting that precludes violence...a setting like Ponyville, if I may be so bold. We literally picked this world (and this system) so my 6 year old niece can play along. So far it's going well ;).

If it's not apparent, I really enjoy the Fate system, it's really good for story based RPGs. If that's what you are looking for, I would very highly recommend giving it a try.

Answer 3

The most child friendly RPG I can think of is the Adventure Time RPG based on 4th edition D&D. It's got great art, really straight forward and all the characters, races and classes are based on Adventure Time.

You can download it freely from the author here

The kids I played it with were from 10 - 13. 2 of them fans of Adventure Time, the others had heard of it and just wanted to play a game. It went well, the character creation was quite entertaining, kids have great imaginations.

Although most systems support combat, including Adventure Time RPG, it does not mean you have to include it in your games. You will be the game master, you will dictate the events to unfold and you can set up a session however you like. It can be like Scooby Doo, where there is a threat of a monster but the quest is solved through social interactions, clue gathering and lucky skill checks.

But even if you have combat in your game, as long as you don't describe it as violent and bloody, then it can be PG-13. There was a show called Samurai Jack on TV, if you check out a video on Youtube you will see that Jack fights many enemies, but they are usually machines and there is never any blood. So this violence is against non-living things, that just spark and fizzle when he cuts them. You can use the same ideas, especially with the setting provided from Adventure Time.

Good luck!

Answer 4

For a while I've been running a tabletop RPG for a 14-year-old boy with Autism who uses it as an emotion regulator. The game obviously has to be a little different since he needs a unique experience. Here are a few things that you might be able to apply.

• When the enemies are too scary or strong, just run. Focus on remaining unseen, solving puzzles, talking out problems and keeping your distance. Encounters can be skill-based, and being discovered could be used as a failure.
• Try to create NPCs who are willing to negotiate. One of the more memorable encounters is when his character was trying to save his niece, but some guards were in the way. He explained how sad he was that he couldn't find her, and due to some high rolls they sympathized, so they put the idea in his head that he could avoid confrontation altogether by finding a few keys and going around the back way.
• If it's about real-world violence or valuing humanity, one thing I've learned is that it feels much better to be fighting off ogres, horrors, shades, and skeletons than it does to be slaughtering humans. It's certainly a different experience.

Edit: I've been using a completely homebrew system designed by me that runs like a mix between Pathfinder and D&D4e and I'm confident that with a good grasp on "Skill Encounters," a GM could run the same style in 4e alone.

Answer 5

I've played games where violence is an option, but rarely occurs. The players and NPCs are usually reasonable enough to settle their differences through diplomacy. My fellow players and I are adults, but there's no reason why this couldn't work for kids.

From my (not so recent) experience, some systems (like D&D) are combat heavy and relatively light on other skills. On the other hand, there are a number of systems that are skill based, and combat skills are skills just like any other. "Call of Cthulhu" has an emphasis on sanity and horror (and in some ways a de-emphasis on violence - what use is shooting at a monster that is immune to bullets?), but its skill system treats combat skills equally to other skills. "Ars Magica" places an emphasis on magic in a medieval European setting, and similarly has independent skills, and it is entirely possible to have characters for whom combat is not a reasonable option.

To make a game system which is light on combat, you need to emphasize other skills, and provide negative consequences for violence. Kids being kids, they'll want to hit something sooner or later, especially if someone else is doing some hitting and getting away with it, or if they or their characters get hit. The problem is that violence is often an easy way to settle a conflict from an intellectual point of view, and kids aren't always big on intellect.