benlehman

As a Quaker, I want to thank you for not questioning my manhood. ;)

I didn't feel like responding to that thread when I read it, although it did piss me off more than a bit. This is a subject that I have thought about at some length, and I do believe that at times violence is necessary. I also believe that those times are far more rare than people think, and individuals and societies resorting to violence are often taking the easy way out. Solving problems without violence is extremely difficult, and I think it is a bullshit cop-out to go to force without exhausting your other options. Yeah, it's hard, but that's no excuse. The only thing violence is good for is wrecking things, and sometimes things need to be wrecked, but you better damn well be sure you want destruction before you choose to use it.

To bring this around to RPG gaming, when I was a teenager I convinced my Pop to play D&D with me. He went through the whole adventure without ever using violence, even as his character was surrounded by hostile goblins, orcs, and minotaurs. It was a very interesting and enlightening experience, and we still had a good time.