So I’m about to turn 50. As I approach this new life milestone I’ve started wrestling with killing and deaths in RPGs.
I don’t know if anyone else has experienced this dilemma.
It's something I notice, yes. I generally prefer RPGing where the incentivised violence can be seen as defensive (eg the PCs are soldiers) or consensual (eg the fighting is duels, jousts etc). In my last long-running D&D campaign my players noticed my preference for using undead, demons, and other non-mortal, non-"people" as foes.
What fantasy and sci fi RPGs would you recommend as an alternative to the traditional slay the adversary and take their loot model?
You've had lots of suggestions in this thread. My recommendations are games that I play:
* Classic Traveller - many PCs will end up with weapon skills, but it's feasible to run the game without a lot of combat: the action can focus on manoeuvring through space, hacking computer systems, dealing with officialdom, etc.
* Marvel Heroic RP/Cortex+ Heroic - tends to incentivise fisticuffs, but the default is that they're 4-colour-ish rather than lethal. I've also used this system for
a LotR/MERP game.
* Agon - Homeric Greek heroics - so while not free of violence and killing, it doesn't have the unrelenting and somewhat amoral character of slay-and-loot D&D.
* Burning Wheel - a FRPG that is a bit like RuneQuest or Rolemaster in complexity of PC build (lengthy skill lists, etc) but with more of a player-driven story focus, with lots of scope for non-violent resolution and for fighting that does not end with death but rather morale failures, hors-de-combat, etc.
* Prince Valiant - Arthurian fantasy with resolution for both violent and non-violent conflicts (including jousting of course!), and with the default being no PC deaths. I think this system is Greg Stafford's masterpiece.
* The Dying Earth - rather cynical, and not free of violence, but the default arena of conflict is persuasion and rebuttal, not fighting.