History Main / ActualPacifist

* The Brazilian setting called ''TabletopGame/{{Tormenta}}'' has two goddesses (one of life and other of peace) that impose just that restriction, the life goddess however does allow you to "heal" the dead.
** [[ThePaladin Paladins]] of the life goddess are allowed to hurt, just not kill.
* At least in the ''[[TabletopGame/WarcraftTheRoleplayingGame Warcraft RPG]]'' ''Shadows & Light'' manual, it's stated that Elune, the goddess of the night elves, is a pacifist. In fact, according to her stats, she has no attack bonus, only a grapple bonus. She has abilities like a song that will make everyone that hears it drop its weapons and cease to fight.
** Which is odd considering Elune' priestesses in ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} 3'' are elite archers, with her high priestess leading the entire Night Elf military.
*** Then again it was written by White Wolf, whose Warcraft RPG books were full of errors like this.

* You become this in ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' if you choose to. Instead of fighting enemies, you can talk them out of it. [[spoiler: This is how you complete the [[GoldenEnding True Pacifist run]], though in order to get to that ending you have to at least fall into TechnicalPacifist territory by fighting (but not killing) Asgore and Flowey in the pacifist neutral route. Only when that has been done can you achieve the true pacifist run, in which you never so much as touch the 'fight' button. Or, you could go out of your way to not do this, by doing a [[KillEmAll Genocide]] route.]]

* The monks in ''Wiki/TheWanderersLibrary'' story [[http://wanderers-library.wikidot.com/pollution "Pollution"]]. [[KillEmAll It ends poorly]]

** The Pemalites ''[[SuicidalPacifism were]]'' examples of this trope until they met the Howlers, Crayak's shock troopers. Their android creations, the Chee, have pacifism hardwired into them - given how powerful they are, this grates on the main characters from time to time. The one time Erek (the main Chee character) was able to override his pacifism, he effortlessly wiped out a Yeerk force that would have slaughtered the team, but couldn't cope with the idea of doing that all the time and willingly returned to normal. Not even Marco could really blame him.

* ''Literature/KnownSpace'': The goal of ARM was to turn all of humanity into such, using GovernmentDrugEnforcement and PopulationControl to breed out much of the violent tendencies, as it was the only way the species survive. Some violent folks are kept inside ARM to react to situations as they come up, but can't leave the building until medicated. Then humanity meets the [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Kzinti]], and the trait of pacifism becomes a luxury...

* ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'': The Pemalites ''[[SuicidalPacifism were]]'' examples of this trope until they met the Howlers, Crayak's shock troopers. Their android creations, the Chee, have pacifism hardwired into them - given how powerful they are, this grates on the main characters from time to time. The one time Erek (the main Chee character) was able to override his pacifism, he effortlessly wiped out a Yeerk force that would have slaughtered the team, but couldn't cope with the idea of doing that all the time and willingly returned to normal. Not even Marco could really blame him.
** The Hork-Bajir originally had no concept of violence. When the Yeerks - parasitic slugs that infest the brain and thereafter control the body - started conquering them, it didn't occur to most of them to fight back. Dak Hamee, the Hork-Bajir equivalent of Einstein, wasted several minutes in his first-ever fight trying to figure out how it had been ''possible'' for the other Hork-Bajir to cut him.
** In an earlier novel, Ax claimed that the Hork-Bajir are biologically compelled to go to war every 63 years, but there's no evidence of this in the later series - so it's either an attempt at propaganda or just EarlyInstallmentWeirdness.
* ''Literature/TheArtsOfDarkAndLight'': The monk Herwaldus. While TheChurch as such is not unconditionally pacifist (it includes Templar-like warrior priests among its holy orders, for example), the order of monks he belongs to is just that. And so, he won't use violence against fellow creatures of the Lord, even to defend himself.
* Creator/DonaldKingsbury's ''Literature/CourtshipRite'' has Oelita the Gentle Heretic. She is totally opposed to cannibalism and culling and preaches of non-violence and peace. Though she did make a point of attending her father's funeral feast and still carries dried strips of his flesh. She believes that eating small amounts gives her superhuman strength.
* Creator/TerryPratchett's ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'':
** Brutha in ''Literature/SmallGods''. Near the end of the book, he ''very nearly'' punches a man who almost started a war, and then decides not to. (This evidence of Brutha's innate goodness actually upsets the man more than being punched would have, but that's not why he does it.)

* In Tim Powers' ''Literature/ExpirationDate'', Sullivan is forced to become this when the hands of Harry Houdini's ghost become permanently bonded to his own hands. The ghostly hands refuse to wield weapons or even play violent video games.

* In Creator/DanAbnett's TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}} ''Literature/GauntsGhosts'' novels, Dorden, TheMedic, has only fired a gun once despite serving in the Imperial Guard for years. That time, he shot a man about to kill Gaunt.

* Ayan from ''Literature/AHarvestOfWar''. Her only contribution in combat is to put out the fires on a man who gets an incendiary bomb to the head and lead him to safety.
* Wanderer in ''Literature/TheHost2008'', who won't even harm the guy who repeatedly tries to kill her.
** Even going so far as to try to save him, instead of letting him die of his own stupidity.
* In ''Literature/InSearchOfDorothy'' Trisha has no offensive magic, and her only skills are invisibility and communicating with butterflies.
* In Creator/LarryNiven's ''Literature/KnownSpace'' The goal of Arm was to turn all of humanity into such, as it was the only way we'd survive. It was working pretty well using mandatory drugging and population controls to breed out much of the violent tendencies. Some violent folks are kept inside ARM to react to situations as they come up, but can't leave the building until medicated. Then we meet the [[CatFolk Kzinti]] and pacifism is a trait that becomes a luxury...

* This very nearly killed the career of Creator/LewAyres. In 1931, Ayres starred in ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', an adaptation of Creator/ErichMariaRemarque's famed anti-war novel. The experience profoundly moved him, and he became a devout pacifist during the making of the movie. When UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out, Ayres reportedly sought enlistment but only in a position where he would not have to carry or fire a weapon. In 1941, that accommodation flat-out didn't exist in the United States Army, and so the draft board could only give him a draft exemption as a conscientious objector. [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor Being seen, even wrongly, as a draft-dodger after Pearl Harbor was not the key to box-office success]]. Ayres was removed from the insanely popular ''Film/DrKildare'' film franchise (which was retooled to feature costar Creator/LionelBarrymore as Dr. Gillespie) and for a few years couldn't find work in Hollywood, until the military belatedly began offering the exact position that Ayres had wanted all along. He volunteered on the spot and became a combat medic and later a Chaplain's assistant in the Pacific.

[[folder:Roleplay]]
* Some players in ''Roleplay/MSFHighForum'' are these. Their characters, however, are archived and unlikely to be recycled by [=GMs=].
[[/folder]]

* Karn, the Silver Golem, from the Weatherlight Saga in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering''. Karn adopted his pacifism when he tried to help his crewmates and accidentally killed an innocent bystander. He essentially poses as a statue when an altercation occurs. This is later used against him by [[BigBad Volrath]] who tortures Karn by placing him in a constantly shifting room with many disposable mooks. The room causes Karn to constantly fall on the mooks crushing and killing them. Later he recanted his vow of pacifism during a war when he realized that his inaction led to innocent people dying.
** There are also spells that can force creatures to become this, the most obvious being [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=190574 Pacifism]]. Although the right creature, such as the [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=191102 Prodigal Pyromancer]] can still hurt people, they just don't do so through combat. A more complete method would be [[http://gatherer.wizards.com/Pages/Card/Details.aspx?multiverseid=193869 Faith's Fetters]], as it stops creatures from attacking, blocking, or using abilities that do anything except add mana to your mana pool. Even then, there's always a way.

* This very nearly killed the career of Creator/LewAyres. In 1931, Ayers starred in ''Literature/AllQuietOnTheWesternFront'', an adaptation of Creator/ErichMariaRemarque's famed anti-war novel. The experience profoundly moved him, and he became a devout pacifist during the making of the movie. When UsefulNotes/WorldWarII broke out, Ayres reportedly sought enlistment but only in a position where he would not have to carry or fire a weapon. In 1941, that accommodation flat-out didn't exist in the United States Army, and so the draft board could only give him a draft exemption as a conscientious objector. [[RoleEndingMisdemeanor Being seen, even wrongly, as a draft-dodger after Pearl Harbor was not the key to box-office success]]. Ayres was removed from the insanely popular ''Film/DrKildare'' film franchise (which was retooled to feature costar Creator/LionelBarrymore as Dr. Gillespie) and for a few years couldn't find work in Hollywood, until the military belatedly began offering the exact position that Ayers had wanted all along. He volunteered on the spot and became a combat medic and later a Chaplain's assistant in the Pacific.

Certain [[GoodShepherd religious figures]] and practitioners of WhiteMagic are personally bound to be an Actual Pacifist, by reason of their dedication: they may support, bless, and succor those who fight, but they will not take up arms themselves. TheMedic is also prone to be an Actual Pacifist, despite his common association with armies (although this is for a different reason -- a CombatMedic COULD fight, but if they do, they're not under the protection of the [[UsefulNotes/TheLawsAndCustomsOfWar Geneva Convention]]).

* Christianity was originally innovative because, regardless of the reason violence is committed, it was thought of as an inherently bad thing for which one must atone. This was a radical concept a couple of millennia ago. Some sects of Christianity, typically ascetic ones such as the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends), are absolute pacifists, as an ideology. Prior to the Edict of Milan[[note]]The proclamation of Roman tolerance of Christianity in 313[[/note]] and the subsequent adoption of Christianity by Constantine I, Christians ''per definition'' were this, despite being[[note]]or possibly ''because they were''[[/note]] a highly persecuted splinter movement of Judaism. However, when the religion was adopted by the very militant Roman Empire, its members gradually lost the nonviolent ethos over time. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Whether or not this was an improvement due to the popularization of the religion is a subject of much debate.]]

-->'''Hank:''' You're talking like a song from ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 The Lion King]]''. Stop it. It makes no sense.

* Hestia from Myth/ClassicalMythology abstained from violence absolutely. She even swore a VowOfCelibacy so no men would quarrel over her. As a result, she had very little myths revolving around her, because [[GoodIsBoring peaceful people are uninteresting]], yet she was also the most honored deity in the entire pantheon. (It's hard to hate someone who never did bad to you.)

* Frank Black of ''Series/{{Millennium}}'' seems to have at least some elements of True Pacifism. Black shows a [[DoesntLikeGuns clear distaste for firearms]], and never carries or uses them, with a few noticeable exceptions. He even takes this distaste to the extreme of potentially endangering himself, as in the Season 3 episode "TEOTWAWKI", when he leaves his weapon at home before going to investigate a dangerous end-of-the-world cult. It is remarked once by his wife that he could no longer harm a prisoner under his care than he could harm his own daughter. In only two cases is he pushed to outright violence and rage: At the end of Season 1, when he kills the man who kidnapped his wife (an act so shocking to his wife that it leads to their separation), and in the series finale, when he discovers that the Millennium group sent a man into his house to videotape his daughter sleeping, sending him to violently break into Watts' house with the intent of killing him.

* Wanderer in ''Literature/TheHost'', who won't even harm the guy who repeatedly tries to kill her.

* In ''WebVideo/DragonBallZAbridged'', Gohan has evolved into this. However, this is heavily {{deconstructed|trope}} by episode 60. [[spoiler:By that point, Gohan refuses to even touch Cell and tries to scare him off with his hidden power. Instead, this just pushes the monster into trying to awaken it. Out of desperation, he ends up revealing himself as a HolierThanThou DirtyCoward when he tells Cell he didn't want to fight him and that this was Goku's fight from the beginning. Cell promptly [[TheReasonYouSuckSpeech calls him out on said cowardice]] with Android 16 following suit.]]

* The Chozo of ''Franchise/{{Metroid}}'' were once warlike and had very powerful and advanced weapons but eventually embraced peace. So much so that they could no longer use their own weapons even when they really needed them. That's why the Chozo aren't around anymore.

* ''Series/TheWheelOfTime'': The Tuatha'an are strict pacifists, with a code they call the Way of the Leaf which forbids violence, along with using any instruments which can cause it.

* ''Literature/SwordOfTruth'': The Bandakar initially, who fall under the rule of the Imperial Order due to this. Most of them later abandon pacifism and fight with Richard's guidance. It's rather [[AnvilOfTheStory heavy-handed]] in proclaiming pacifism is stupid and wrong.

** In ''Literature/TheBlackFleetCrisis'', there's one sect of Force-Sensitives called the Fallanassi that is so incredibly anti-violence that they won't defend themselves or anyone else, consider anyone who ''does'' fight at all to be dangerous and deluded at the least, and act like wariness is a moral outrage on par with assault. The books dealt with a Fallanassi member telling Luke Skywalker that his mother was another member of the sect and repeatedly chewing him out and telling him that he's as bad as Vader or the Emperor. And Luke standing around, taking it, because he half-believed her and wanted to hear about his [[MissingMom mother]]. However considering this was after his turn to the Dark Side and during the period Luke was still very much "Must use Force for everything, no matter how trivial or invasive!" (like wiping memories from innocents...)? Well, let's face it. She was on to something, as Mara pointed out to him years later. Of course, they apparently have no problem with lying to Luke about his [[ActionGirl mother]].

* Hanabusa, the main character of ''VisualNovel/{{Tsukumogami}}'', seems to be this, even though she never says it out loud. She has no problem using her spectacular sword-skills to defeat the titular evil spirits but refuses to even raise a hand against a living human being. Anytime she's forced into conflict with humans, she simply runs away and hides. Even in an extreme case, [[spoiler: like when her best friend is dying from an infectious disease, and the [[AristocratsAreEvil nobles have hoarded all the medicine]],]] she refuses to [[spoiler: fight the noble's guards when breaking into his mansion in order to recover a dose of the medicine.]]

[[folder:Web Comics]]

[[folder:Web Animation]]
* Mario from ''Machinima/MeleesEnd'' decides that he's tired of spending all his time fighting (this despite being a character in a fighting game) and refuses to use violence, even when Ganondorf is in the middle of kicking his and his team's ass.
* Doc from ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' abhors violence in every way, even having joined the army as a conscientious objector. For this reason, he is a medic... and his extreme pacifism has earned him the undying hatred of ''both'' teams. For maximum hilarity, the [[OmnicidalManiac Omnicidal Hyper-Aggressive AI]] O'Malley [[GrandTheftMe hijacks his body]] and attempts to use him in his ultimate goal of taking over the universe, and "crushing every living soul into ''dust!''" This pacifism is so extreme that when the Blues and Reds are in the middle of another fight, Church resorts to ''shooting Caboose in the foot'' to get him to cross to the other side, as even pretending to help the Blues against the Reds seemed too "aggressive" to Doc.
* ''WebAnimation/StoryFromNorthAmerica'': Pacifism is the overall [[AnAesop moral]] of the first video. The son tries to get his father to kill a spider because he's afraid of it. The father teaches the son that the spider is just part of nature, that just because the spider is unfamiliar to the son doesn't mean it's evil or trying to hurt him. When the son realizes the error of his ways, he agrees that the spider should be released safely. The father takes the spider outside and lets it go.
[[/folder]]

* The Moriori people of the Chatham Islands off the coast of New Zealand were complete pacifists, although unlike some of the groups listed here they were not vegetarians. All disputes were resolved by nonlethal ritual combat (aka thrashing each other with small wood switches to first blood--at no point are the two fighters allowed to physical touch each other) or conciliation. After their accidental discovery by European whalers, they were invaded by Maori iwi (tribes) from the Taranaki region, who were {{proud warrior race guy}}s who interpreted the Moriori's pacifism as cowardice and so therefore slaughtered them. Even in the midst of the slaughter, the Moriori held fast to their philosophy of pacifism, declaring at the Council of Te Awapatiki, "the law of Nunuku-whenua [the mythical founder of the Moriori and the originator of their pacifist laws] was not a strategy for survival, to be varied as conditions changed; it was a moral imperative." To add insult to injury, the New Zealand land court, which determined which iwi controlled which pieces of land, ruled that the invading Maori were now the rightful owners of the Chathams through right of conquest. Thanks to bans on marrying other Moriori and systematic oppression by the Maori invaders, all full-blooded Moriori died out, although there are still Moriori with either Maori or European ancestry.

* Martin Luther King, Jr., who took inspiration from Gandhi, also preached a message of non-violence. Like Gandhi, however, he did believe that sometimes violence was necessary.

* Christianity was originally innovative because, regardless of the reason violence is committed, it was thought of as an inherently bad thing for which one must atone. This was a radical concept a couple of millennia ago. Some sects of Christianity, typically ascetic ones such as the Quakers (Religious Society of Friends), are absolute pacifists, as an ideology.
** Prior to the Edict of Milan[[note]]The proclamation of Roman tolerance of Christianity in 313[[/note]] and the subsequent adoption of Christianity by Constantine I, Christians ''per definition'' were this, despite being[[note]]or possibly ''because they were''[[/note]] a highly persecuted splinter movement of Judaism. However, when the religion was adopted by the very militant Roman Empire, its members gradually lost the nonviolent ethos over time. [[Administrivia/RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement Whether or not this was an improvement due to the popularization of the religion is a subject of much debate.]]