History Main / NonlethalKO

See also OnlyMostlyDead and FinalDeath. Compare SetSwordsToStun.

[[folder:MMORPGs]]

[[folder:RPGs]]

* ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' gives a parody/humorous deconstruction of how this is in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games by taking it to it's logical conclusion. Can be seen in full [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2010/09/27/275-hyper-beam/ here.]]

** ''VideoGame/{{Final Fantasy XIII-2}}'' follows suit, except that once the party leader falls, the control automatically switches to the second party member (out of two available in total). If the second party member falls, however, the game's over, even if the summoned monster knows the Raise spell.

* The first ''{{Bangai-O}}'' game plays this for laughs, since recurring bosses tend to survive their mechs exploding (to Riki and Mami's confusion). Bangai-O's pilots aren't as lucky.

* ''James Bond 007: {{Nightfire}}'' for the PC uses this. Due to ExecutiveMeddling on the part of MGM Interactive (who owned the James Bond license at the time), blood and death were no-nos. Thus, our intrepid hero only knocks people out. From a long distance. With a sniper rifle or rocket launcher. (Fair enough in the case of the game's default one-hit-'kill' weapon: it was tranquilizer pen-dart.) This whole situation becomes a little bit silly when playing multiplayer and you shoot someone in the head with your Walther P99. More than once. No blood, no death.

* ''JamesBond 007: Nightfire'' for the PC uses this. Due to ExecutiveMeddling on the part of MGM Interactive (who owned the James Bond license at the time), blood and death were no-nos. Thus, our intrepid hero only knocks people out. From a long distance. With a sniper rifle or rocket launcher. (Fair enough in the case of the game's default one-hit-'kill' weapon: it was tranquilizer pen-dart.) This whole situation becomes a little bit silly when playing multiplayer and you shoot someone in the head with your Walther P99. More than once. No blood, no death.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has no essential [=NPCs=] except Yes Man and your current companions (and if you play in Hardcore mode, just Yes Man). It also incorporate non-lethal damage with a few weapons (boxing glove variants and beanbag shotgun rounds), but they're all rather hard to use (and buggy) and unconsciousness enemies can't even be looted, making sneaking by them entirely much more effective.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has no essential [=NPCs=] except Yes Man and your current companions (and if you play in Hardcore mode, just Yes Man). It also incorporate non-lethal damage with a few weapons (boxing glove variants and beanbag shotgun rounds), but they're all rather hard to use (and buggy) and unconsciousness enemies can't even be looted.

** ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' does incorporate non-lethal damage with a few weapons (boxing glove variants and beanbag shotgun rounds), but has no essential [=NPCs=] except Yes Man and your current companions (and if you play in Hardcore mode, just Yes Man).

** On a similair note, "VideoGame/Strider" also dies at the end of a round like he would in his native game.

** On a similair note, [[VideoGame/Strider Strider Hiryu]] also dies at the end of a round like he would in his native game.

* Invoked as a way to justify how named characters can be "killed" in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' as well as the player's own self-made characters. This way players don't have to find ways to justify how [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute a commander with a survival deficiency somehow appearing in multiple battles]], but gets kind of ridiculous when the character can take a planet-vaporizing blast and was only "knocked unconscious". Also comically used in various one-hit KO spells, where the combatant can be rendered as either a deformed blob of flesh, a gibbering idiot, locked in a box, or a squig[[hottip:*:goblinoid pig, for those unfamiliar with the franchise]].

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsRepublicCommando'' uses a similar system, in which downed squad members go into a coma-like state, from which they must be revived (with 50% health) with a defibrillator. If all 4 of you are KO-ed or if your health reaches zero while you're cut off from your squad, it's game over.

* Invoked as a way to justify how named characters can be "killed" in ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'' as well as the player's own self-made characters. This way players don't have to find ways to justify how [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute a commander with a survival deficiency somehow appearing in multiple battles]], but gets kind of ridiculous when the character can take a planet-vaporizing blast and was only "knocked unconscious". Also comically used in various one-hit KO spells, where the combatant can be rendered as either a deformed blob of flesh, a gibbering idiot, locked in a box, or a squig.

* The ''TeenagersFromOuterSpace'' RPG is based on slapstick anime, and characters who run out of "Bonk" points will recover in a few turns.
* ''MutantsAndMasterminds'' defaults to the conceit that the player characters are dealing non-lethal damage unless otherwise specified to reflect the Silver/Bronze Age setting where heroes didn't kill.

* As seen in abridged form for the current page image, ''Webcomic/BrawlInTheFamily'' gives a parody/humorous deconstruction of how this is in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' games by taking it to it's logical conclusion. Can be seen in full [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2010/09/27/275-hyper-beam/ here.]]

* As seen in abridged form for the current page image, BrawlInTheFamily gives a parody/humorous deconstruction of how this is in the Pokemon games by taking it to it's logical conclusion. Can be seen in full [[http://brawlinthefamily.keenspot.com/2010/09/27/275-hyper-beam/ here.]]

* ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', which is often described as a LighterAndSofter version of GrandTheftAuto, has this. Since HideYourChildren won't work in a game where most characters ''are'' children, [=NPCs=] (as well as the player) can only be knocked out instead of killed. The gameplay mechanics are pretty much the same. They even [[EverythingFades fade away]] after a while and will later respawn alive and well.

* In ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' the enemies are robotic, but when destroyed a woodland critter of some kind is released, which merrily dashes away. So, not only are you not killing your enemies when you roll into them (potentially in a fireball shield), but you are actually doing a kindness.

* Even in ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'', a game where characters who run out of HP permanently [[FinalDeath are dead for the rest of the game's campaign]] (That is - can never be deployed in combat again for that save file. Ever.) in later games, plot relevant characters who lose all HitPoints are depicted as simply being too heavily wounded to continue fighting. This is presumably so that plot-important [=PCs=] can still take part in conversations outside of battle. On the other hand, if any of your Lords lose all their HitPoints, they ''will'' die and the game is over.

** Exception: the tutorial campaign in ''Fire Emblem 7''. Any characters used here return in the main campaign whether they were injured or not.

** ''Awakening'' allows the player to follow this trope with their own units. "Casual" mode lets [=KO=]'d characters fight again in the next battle, while "Classic" mode utilizes FinalDeath. The exceptions are Chrom, your created character, and a second Lord [[spoiler: "Marth", aka Lucina, Chrom's daughter from a BadFuture]] who shows up later on.