If I really wanted to play a Pacifist, I wouldn't care about the fact that I make attack rolls.I would care about the fact that I still cause injuries or pain or help others to cause injuries or pain to my foes.
It's still pretty close to what a "viable" Pacifist can be in any RPG that assumes a fair amount of combat. Maybe it's kinda the old "no weapons that draw blood" weapon restriction on Clerics.
I agree with this to a large extent.
Now I am not a pacifist in the traditional or absolute sense. If I feel the innocent are in danger I have little compunction about what I do to the violently and aggressively guilty.
However that being said I've worked for years and years to develop non-lethal and less than lethal weapons and weapon systems. Everything from sensory attack and confusion mechanisms, to chemical assault devices, to energy weapons, ultra and sub-sonics, animal-employed defense and control measures, and so forth and so on. I am personally real big on the idea of non-lethal and less than lethal weapons. If possible, although such weapons usually have rather severe limitations (ammunition rates and rates of fire, area of effectiveness, methods of delivery, etc). But if it were possible to develop truly effective (and I mean absolutely reliable and effective) non-lethal weapons that worked every, then no matter how they operated (stunning the nervous system, rendering unconsciousness, confusing the target to the degree that they become functionally ineffective or incapable, disruption of sensory input, etc, etc.) I personally would prefer to employ such weapons in most circumstances in opposition to killing the opponent. I am personally not opposed to killing some opponents but if it was say just a drafted soldier, or young kid forced to fight for his country, outfit, or organization I'd much prefer a
"take down and stay down" rather than a "take out" option. (Of course people often forget that in a combat situation you gotta make the target stay down, it's not enough to simply momentarily take them down if you don't really and effectively put them out of the fight. Otherwise they are still potentially very dangerous.) To that particular extent, that I do not like killing unless absolutely necessary, and would prefer effective and viable options of non-lethal resolution even to most combat situations, I am a pacifist.
Given a magical environment though, or a supernatural one with the cleric, such limitations might not apply in the same way as with the physical, mundane, and real world. So to me the important aspects of the problem center around these factors: effectiveness (is it truly effective against the opponent, or does it just render him momentarily and quickly incapacitated, or maybe even just make him angry or incite him to further action), area of effect and range (imagine a cruise missile strike, or in this case an exploding catapult shell that could render every biological organism in the area of effect unconscious but otherwise basically unharmed, or does the weapon or attack system or type only target single individuals), duration (how long does the effect last and does it truly render the target incapacitated in such a way as to make the target safe to apprehend and handle), recovery capacity (can the target potentially recover effectively or fully, and in what period of time), speed of employment, delivery method, personal beliefs (does the pacifist see even such things as incapacitating an opponent as "true violence" - and if so to be honest with you, I don't think such an absolute pacifist is gonna find any interest in adventuring in dangerous circumstances anyway - or are they satisfied with a means of defense and attack that is merely non-lethal or less than lethal - in other words, where is the line of unacceptable violence, and when and where is it crossed), and not least of all given a cleric, religious beliefs and divine influence.
Depending though upon where one draws the line of unacceptable violence it seems to be that the Cleric should be able to negotiate or deal with his god or gods, and if the god approves, perhaps even develop entirely new types of attack and defense modes, spells, inventions, and weapons that reflect his particular formulation of the "pacifist ideal." That is to say through acts of negotiation, devotion, sacrifice, etc. the god might assist the cleric directly, or through his emissaries or messengers (angelus), to help the cleric develop new inventions, spells, modes of attack, items, etc. that are truly effective as non-lethal or less than lethal systems.
For instance imagine a magical version of a Jiu Jitsu attack. The opponent goes to attack the cleric and through supernatural or even trained means he reverses the force used upon himself in such a way that the application of the attack is revered upon some pressure or nerve point on the attacker, thus rendering the attacker unconscious. Imagine a magical version of a EM pulse attack, maybe even an area attack which effects all enemy creatures within the area of effect so that their brainwaves are temporarily fried-out, or perhaps even provokes something like an intense but temporary epileptic seizure. (I've actually pursued this idea as the possible basis of a non-lethal weapon's system.) You'll have to excuse me though, I had another idea queued up in my mind regarding another example but my daughter and a power brown-out interrupted my train of thought and distracted me. Regardless you could develop many different modes of attack and defense of a more or less pacifistic nature that are mundane or even supernaturally or magically based. You could even do the same with psionic (though personally I hate that term when applied to fantasy environments) capabilities.
Anywho the point is that there is always more than one way to skin a cat. Just think about what your true objective or objectives are, and how you would like to go about achieving this/these ends, and then start developing methods and means of function and delivery. Sooner or later, with a little experimentation and work you'll start to perfect systems that do more or less exactly what it is you hope to do.
Oh, now I remember the last idea I had. Suppose through supernatural means, some type of nerve or sensory attack, a supernatural illusion, some force or form of hypnotism or charm, or maybe even "light possession" you could persuade the opposing force or your enemy to drop their weapons and start to beat the living hell outta each other with their fists or with whatever natural weapons they possessed until they had beaten each other unconscious, senseless, or incapable of further aggression. Then you could let the emery do violence to himself, and though it would be damaging, it would not have to be lethal. And as an added bonus you'd only have to deal with the
"last man standing" and in his case he'd already be disarmed and very likely already be severely injured and/or exhausted. So if the spell or attach worked then the enemy force would resolve themselves and it would just be a matter of a light and likely non-lethal mopping-up operation. Again it would depend upon that actual objectives and the methods of pacifistic attack one undertook to get the job done.
Well, we've got a big barn burner of a thunderclash blowing up.
Gotta bug.
