Playing a Pacifist

[imaginepageant]

I'm finally starting my pacifist character, and I'm very excited about the challenge it's bound to give me! But I'll need to be smart about it if I want to succeed, so I thought I'd open up discussion and get your ideas and tips on how to play a pacifist.

First, I should mention that my pacifist is also going to be a kleptomaniac. He's a conflicted little Khajiit: he refuses to kill anything or anyone, but he will steal anything from anyone (especially fish—he's quite obsessed with it, being a cat). I'm basically trying to kill two birds with one stone, since I've wanted to try both of these playstyles for awhile, but I figure being a pacifist will fit into the Thieves Guild ideal of being thieves and not murderers. I will also be giving myself the restriction of being unable to barter with merchants except for Khajiit caravans, Thieves Guild fences, and College of Winterhold students; since Khajiit typically aren't allowed within city walls, I've decided that merchants won't be willing to trade with them.

Now, back to the topic at hand: pacifism. Here are some strategies I've already worked out:

• Do not directly kill anything.
• Sneak past enemies whenever possible.
• Use Invisibility spells and potions to sneak through areas in which I'd be easily detected.
• Shoot arrows at walls to distract enemies when necessary.
• Use Calm, Fear, and Turn Undead spells to ward off attacking enemies.
• Do not use Frenzy spells to force innocents to fight for me, but if they choose to, assist them with Courage and Healing spells.
• Utilize dungeon traps when necessary.
• Utilize the Throw Voice, Disarm, and Dismay shouts.
• Don't accept any side quests that require me to kill someone. For main quests that do, be creative and find a way around it!

Here's a build I've put together for him.

In terms of armor, I'm leaning towards going the full Nightingale route; the Muffle-enchanted boots and Illusion-enchanted hood are must-haves, and the gloves will be helpful as I don't plan to sink any perks into Lockpicking. The enchantments on the armor itself aren't really necessary, but it is good armor, and I doubt I'll be able to find anything comparable with a more fitting enchantment—but suggestions are welcome! I'd really like to have something that gives me a boost to magicka regeneration, but I'll have to rely on finding an amulet and/or a ring with that enchantment, since I don't plan on doing any enchanting myself. (Does anyone know a dependable place to find an Amulet of Akatosh?)

What about Standing Stones? I'm starting with the Thief Stone, but once I start using Illusion spells I'll switch to the Apprentice Stone for the magicka regeneration (and hope I don't run into too many mages). The Shadow Stone would also come in very handy until I become the Agent of Stealth or learn the Invisibility spell. If I find it a little too difficult to avoid taking damage, I might end up going with the Lord or Lady Stone to help me survive.

It looks like I'll have no choice but to kill Alduin, but I figure my Khajiit will be able to accept that, seeing as choosing not to kill Alduin would result in the deaths of every other living being in the world. Since my combat skills will be laughably weak, having not previously built them up at all, I'm going to use a combination of Marked for Death and damage-dealing Shouts to take him down. (Besides, I like the poetic justice of defeating Alduin with nothing more than his own language.)

My biggest worry at the moment, though, is Mercer Frey. I've read that it's possible to "kill" him by causing him to trip over loose rocks that will slightly damage his health, but I can't imagine how long that would take, or how I'll keep myself alive long enough for it to be successful. I'm unsure if using Unrelenting Force to throw him off ledges would count as a kill; if not, I'll allow myself to use it to get around the Mercer Frey problem if the loose rocks strategy is unsuccessful. Any other ideas?

Oh, and using followers and/or summons are out of the question, since the game registers their kills as your kills. Besides, employing or conjuring someone to kill on your behalf is just as bad as doing the deed yourself, in my opinion. I know I'll have to bend the terms of pacifism in some cases, but I'd like to stick as closely to it as possible.

That's all I've got, though I'm bound to think up new strategies as I play and find myself in impossible situations. I'd love to hear what you guys think!

 

[Skullrattla]

Good luck pacifying the hired thugs, you know, the nasty ones that come in threes after you go on a stealing spree.

 

[imaginepageant]

Good luck pacifying the hired thugs, you know, the nasty ones that come in threes after you go on a stealing spree.

I think my most-used strategy will be Calm 'n' Run.

 

[Uther Pundragon]

Hm... I played my pacifist thief rather easily. All he used was sneak, pping, and lockpicking. Well he used a bow for bouncing arrows off walls to distract npc's but that was it. He never used magic or anything else. I was rather happy with him... Until near the end of the Thieves Guild quest.

 

[nordicowboy]

You could use Fusrodah in those hairy situations to keep some space between you and a hoard of angry mofos. It technically doesn't kill instantly.

 

[imaginepageant]

I've just noticed a huge flaw in my no-bartering restriction: how am I going to get spell tomes for Illusion spells? AUGH! I may have to lift that particular rule...

Okay, okay, no, wait. I should be able to trade with College of Winterhold folks. After all, they accepted J'Zargo as a student, so their attitudes towards Khajiit must be better than most. YES. I CAN STILL DO THIS.

 

[XbSuper]

This actually sounds like a pretty fun build. As a pacifist, I would think killing the undead would still be ok, just nothing living. Also, since you're not trading in towns, will you also not be buying a house? It seems like the right thing to do, since khajit usually aren't allowed inside cities, I wouldn't think they'd allow you to buy a house lol.

 

[Uther Pundragon]

I want to play as a Khajiit werewolf. For irony. I think you could do some trading. Maybe in Riften. The guards seem easily bribed there... and corrupt. I don't see a problem with you getting inside that city for a little business.

 

[imaginepageant]

YOU GUYS. PACIFISM IS SO MUCH FUN.

I'm up to level 11, and I'm starting to feel confident that I'll actually be able to do this!

I managed to get through Bleak Falls Barrow without any spells. The biggest challenge, oddly enough, were those damn Skeevers! I ended up luring them back into the puzzle room and then closing the gate to lock them in. I did the same with the dozen Draugr I had on my tail once I got to the gate over the little stream; luckily, Draugr don't seem to know how to pull levers. The Overlord was shockingly easy—he did half the work himself by Fus Ro Dahing down a couple of lamps and running through the resulting inferno; once he chased me into the swinging blades, he was toast.

After letting Irileth and the Whiterun guards kill Mirmulnir, I walked all the way up to the College to buy some spellbooks (and found a Grand Staff of Repulsion in Winterhold's longhouse—SCORE), and then all the way down to Riften. Luckily, I didn't run into too many problems; I managed to outrun a dragon, and found that wolves can be avoided by jumping up onto some rocks or a cliff where they can't follow. Overall, I had to be much more careful than I'm used to, and it was really neat to have to think my way around a pack of wolves or a group of bandits instead of just charging in and killing them.

The Ratway was interesting. I only had enough magicka to cast one Calm or Fear spell at a time, but I made up for it by using the diversionary arrow tactic quite a bit, which works wonders. Honningbrew Meadery was easy as pie, since I got lucky with the front door and picked the expert-level lock on the first try (I think Nocturnal loves me).

I highly recommend trying this build out if you're looking for something different to do with Skyrim. I'm having even more fun with it than I thought I would!

 

[Kir the Silent]

How to be a pacifist in Skyrim: Run very fast

 

[imaginepageant]

Also, since you're not trading in towns, will you also not be buying a house? It seems like the right thing to do, since khajit usually aren't allowed inside cities, I wouldn't think they'd allow you to buy a house lol.

I've been debating it. On the one hand, it makes sense that Khajiit wouldn't be allowed to purchase property in cities, but on the other hand, I really want to fill a house with piles and piles of stolen junk because it would make me laugh every time I walked through the front door. So we'll see! I'm thinking of giving Riften to the Imperials in the peace treaty so that Maven Black-Briar will allow me to purchase property, being the Guildmaster and all.

 

[Kir the Silent]

Theres always that abandoned house in Markarth. No one owns it or lives there. So the jarl wont know

 

[Necromis]

if you do the TG questline how you gonna be Mercer?????

 

[imaginepageant]

Theres always that abandoned house in Markarth.

Not an option, as you have to kill Vigilant Tyranus the first time you enter the house.

 

[imaginepageant]

if you do the TG questline how you gonna be Mercer?????

I touched on that in my original post.

 

[Kir the Silent]

Not an option, as you have to kill Vigilant Tyranus the first time you enter the house.

Crap, your right. I forgot about that.

 

[Dagmar]

Are you trying to be a pacifist in the philosophical sense or more in the sense of not inflicting any damage directly? If it's the former, casting Fury spells doesn't really fit since your making others kill for you, nor does using traps to kill enemies.

Is there any reason you excluded Paralysis or the Restoration spells for turning the Undead as options? Don't forget you can use Fortify Illusion potions to boost the power of your Illusion spells.

If your planning on completing the Thieves Guild quest line to get the Nightingale powers you may have a problem because you have to deal with Mercer directly towards the end. The only thing I can think of is to learn and use Destruction cloak spells and use lots of healing. Maybe a small stack of Potions of Ultimate Healing

 

[Punz]

That does sound like fun. My problem is patience. I give in to easy to the Darkside. Pun intended.

Maybe I should try this with my new character. It'll really test my self control as a normally dark player.

Mercer will have to die by a sword though. I just don't see any other way since no one can help you. Besides, it must be done. He is about to kill you. The natural survival instinct must kick in. Even Goku killed some enemies.

 

[Necromis]

I guess I read thru it too fast. sorry LOL

 

[Dagmar]

Another thought with the cloak spells. They still work after you use the Become Ethereal shout.