So I like playing games that let me go a non-lethal route. Video games that have the option to beat the game without killing anyone, pretty much guaranteed I will take that path in the game. Doesn't mean I won't fight people, but I won't kill them.

And I've found a personal love for "attacking strain" concepts in this system, given how under-utilized they seem to be from the combat side of things.

So, I thought I'd present it to the forums, to see what good builds are out there.

I personally like the Infiltrator, because it gives a nice blend of stealth (to avoid combat, thus non-lethal), and the ability to do melee strain damage (Stunning Blow). Also, the Frenzied Attack is nice, because it lets you upgrade some combat checks on a case by case basis, if you really need to take somebody down.

So what spec combos do you think make for a good non-lethal combatant? Any combination is fine from any books.

One bit of clarification though. I'm not talking about social builds that do stuff like Scathing Tirade to "non-lethally" fight someone. I'm talking about builds that actually involve beating on your opponent with fist or weapon, but don't try and kill.

On the latest Order66 podcast the guys had a Gadgeteer build off (starting at 0:46:45 and going for about 30min) GM Dave's Iktotchi Gadgeteer was a beast of a Strain Drain, dual wielding Vamblades and wearing a Jury Rigged Shock Suit to make the strain activation only cost 1 Advantage was nice. But basically any Gageteer who Jury Rigs a weapons Stun quality while brawling well will drop most enemies fast.

I personally love the Warden with the Enhance Force Power, adding force dice to a combat check is so powerful. Combined with either a Selonian or Whiphid for their natural brawl weapons and you have one mean fighting machine.

My second that I like a lot is the Shadow, it's completely left of field, but with the Well Rounded talent you can be a super sneaky brawler quite easily. You can use Influence to stress their minds without anyone noticing, and again it's worth picking up Enhance to bolster all those Brawl checks.

Warden/Agressor. They will fear you. Those 5 ranks in fearsome will scare a lot of people away.

On the latest Order66 podcast the guys had a Gadgeteer build off (starting at 0:46:45 and going for about 30min) GM Dave's Iktotchi Gadgeteer was a beast of a Strain Drain, dual wielding Vamblades and wearing a Jury Rigged Shock Suit to make the strain activation only cost 1 Advantage was nice. But basically any Gageteer who Jury Rigs a weapons Stun quality while brawling well will drop most enemies fast.

I personally love the Warden with the Enhance Force Power, adding force dice to a combat check is so powerful. Combined with either a Selonian or Whiphid for their natural brawl weapons and you have one mean fighting machine.

My second that I like a lot is the Shadow, it's completely left of field, but with the Well Rounded talent you can be a super sneaky brawler quite easily. You can use Influence to stress their minds without anyone noticing, and again it's worth picking up Enhance to bolster all those Brawl checks.

Yeah I actually just finished listening to that episode before posting this thread. It reminded me of a particular Slicer/Infiltrator PC concept I had, that was also a non-lethal concept. So I started wondering what other builds could accomplish that goal. Seeing as I don't know much about most of the combat career specs, I thought I'd outsource it

Lightsaber with Kimber stone + Shien or Makashi or pretty much any lightsaber spec.

Sharpshooter with a Model 77 rifle and custom ranqor venom rounds...

Armorer/Warden with the Talisman and Shield Guantlets.

My personal character is a Togruta Niman Disciple / Ambassador. I dual wield lightsabers and stack defense. I can usually avoid taking any hits before I disarm my opponent and try and talk them down from futher conflict. I only kill when completely necessary. Now that i'm an Ambassador for Shili, my bodyguards usually do the fighting for me while I enjoy lavish parties and spas.

An electrostaff set to stun, with the stun pulse and weighted head attachments (then Jury Rig Stun or Concussive...). Assuming Feral Strength works with dealing damage with a melee weapon with a stun setting (I don't see why it wouldn't), this would make Marauder brutally good at it. Or maybe not brutally.

An electrostaff set to stun, with the stun pulse and weighted head attachments (then Jury Rig Stun or Concussive...). Assuming Feral Strength works with dealing damage with a melee weapon with a stun setting (I don't see why it wouldn't), this would make Marauder brutally good at it. Or maybe not brutally.

If the talent you are talking about effects melee attacks, I see no reason it wouldn't work when you do a stun attack, since that's just a setting for the weapon. Unless you toss in Stunning Blow talent into the mix, and then you can just do it anytime you want, with any weapon. The various talents should stack, I see no reason why not.

A force pike set to stun is always the way to go. They deal a good bit of damage. Plus, if you want to make someone is dead for sure, set it to kill.

A force pike set to stun is always the way to go. They deal a good bit of damage. Plus, if you want to make someone is dead for sure, set it to kill.

The electrostaff is twice (thanks to Linked 1) as nice.

A force pike set to stun is always the way to go. They deal a good bit of damage. Plus, if you want to make someone is dead for sure, set it to kill.

The electrostaff is twice (thanks to Linked 1) as nice.

Indubitably. A force pike is a good, low-cost item that can jet the job done if need be.

OK, yeah... Electrostaff is super expensive.

OK, yeah... Electrostaff is super expensive.

Not to mention the negative qualities tied to it. I personally like taking Stunning Blows and using something with fewer negatives.

OK, yeah... Electrostaff is super expensive.

Not to mention the negative qualities tied to it. I personally like taking Stunning Blows and using something with fewer negatives.

If you're Brawn 3+ and Agility 3+, there's not really any negatives. I haven't really seen any melee builds that don't have the former and the latter is pretty common too.

This is a great topic because I'm currently working on a build toward this goal. I'm surprised that no one has yet mentioned taking the Doctor Specialization for the talent, Pressure Points. Your points in Brawn and Medical skills will stack for additional Damage and best of all they BYPASS SOAK!

I have a chiss character the path was getting as much force rating for to do the following. Force power influence upgrade stress mind to 2 per point spent duration upgrades and magnitude upgrades.... Entire groups fall to sleep very quickly.

Move with Control [fine manipulation], and all four Magnitude upgrades will let you activate lots of Stun or Gas grenades at once. With enough Range upgrades you could spread them out over a vast area and take out lots and lots of minions at once.