games without combat

[Lmns Crn]

Lately, I don't know if this is a preference I genuinely have, or if I'm just after a change of pace. I'm looking for examples of games (tabletop games or video games) that are roleplaying games in nature, but without combat.

I know there are plenty of games that could be played without combat, but they're so central to a lot of mechanics that when you take out the combat, not much is left. Stuff like FATE is fine as a system, I guess, but I guess I have a craving for something a little more fiddly? Like, if you took the "combat simulator with a few other added-on bits" nature of D&D or White Wolf or whatever, and just replaced the combat with a different main focus that got a similar amount of attention.

For just one example, I've been wondering lately about tabletop games that are based around a social system for diplomacy or intrigue. Maybe something like the political bits of Game of Thrones, where players are competing against each other using deception, temporary alliances, and influence. Or maybe some sort of game where every PC is secretly a spy, and whatever else is going on at the surface level, we're also trying to work out who it's safe to help, and whether their secret allegiances and missions are aligned with your own.

For video games, I think right now I'd love a fantasy puzzle-based dungeon-crawler, with intricate detail paid to world-building and lore and magic. You'd play as some sort of apprentice magician or resourceful treasure-hunter, using a variety of tools to explore mysterious ruins. "Combat" would be at the level of making sure you have the correct rust spell to nullify a trap, or the right ward to protect yourself from ghosts, or an appropriate bribe for a dragon-- the emphasis is always on requiring the player to figure out what they're going to face and how to prepare in advance for it, so you get the "wizard-as-Batman" kind of feel without the "how-many-fireball-spells-can-I-prepare-today?" kind of feel.

Are there games that do this sort of thing? Are you writing stuff that leans this way? Is anyone else interested in this type of gameplay, or is it just me?

[Ghostman]

Never played it, but I hear Golden Sky Stories is both good and combat-free.

[Steerpike]

I haven't encountered any games without even the possibility of violence (even an intrigue/political game would surely have to have this possibility?), but what comes to mind for me when I hear "game without combat" is a game where you're not supposed to fight, even if fighting is technically possible. Pelgrane Press does a number of horror games where mystery-solving is the focus, all using their the GUMSHOE system, that might fit this description.

The least combat-centric of these is probably Fear Itself, which is striving for a survival horror/horror mystery feel with vulnerable, non-fighter protagonists. It's not that the game precludes combat entirely (though it spends only 2 of its 90 rulebook pages on combat), but the whole point of the game is that it's about ordinary people rather than heroes. It describes itself as "an ideal platform for one-shot games, in which, like any self-respecting horror film, few, if any, of the protagonists are expected to survive the climax." The focus of the rules is on finding clues and piecing together a mystery, and most of the monsters are just way too powerful to just fight as you would in 90% of rpgs.

The book makes the claim that most games have got investigation wrong, and is purpose-built to get them right.

[LD]

Re: Games to fit your description. These are more RPGs than dungeon crawlers, but:

Torment... coming soon.

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/01/25/torment-tides-of-numenera-beta/#more-342887

Also, to some degree, Age of Decadence (already out):

http://www.destructoid.com/review-the-age-of-decadence-318681.phtml

Likewise, the gameplay can alter drastically based on decisions the player makes. For example, as I tend to do in RPGs, I made my character a wise-talking son-of-a-bitch. I talked my way out of every fight I came across. Well, okay, sometimes I said the wrong thing and ended up fighting, but after dying almost immediately every time, I simply loaded up the most recent autosave and tried again. Regardless, thanks to my persuasion, streetwise, charisma, impersonate, and lore skills all being high, I was able to smooth-talk and flirty-wink my way past any aggressors I came across

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Re: "Or maybe some sort of game where every PC is secretly a spy, and whatever else is going on at the surface level, we're also trying to work out who it's safe to help, and whether their secret allegiances and missions are aligned with your own. "

There's always The Resistance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_QRczGzXqw

[O Senhor Leetz]

The Longest Journey (which is admittedly an adventure/point and click more than a pure-blooded RPG) is something you should check out. It's a PC game, GOG has it I think for a reasonable price. Amazing story, fantastic world-building, and a non-sexualized female protagonist to boot!