History Main / WouldNotShootaCivilian

** And then there's the Literature/GreyKnights, who will mercilessly butcher civilians if there is a ''risk'' they are [[TheCorruption tainted.]] [[NothingPersonal Not out of malice,]] but because they know that a moment's mercy can and likely will doom an entire world when it comes to daemonic invasions.

* In the last ''Series/HoratioHornblower'' series, Lieutenant Bush has the villain at gunpoint but can't bring himself to fire because the man is unarmed, in spite of all the damage he's caused and Hornblower ordering Bush to do it[[note]]This is a major swerve from the book's characterization, as Bush's PatrioticFervor once had him want to hang a renegade who'd already suffered a BungledSuicide.[[/note]] The man escapes and Hornblower is ''not'' happy. When the villain later tries to pull an ISurrenderSuckers, however, Bush has no problem filling him with lead.

* A variant of this is enforced in the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' series; while Pokemon-on-Pokemon violence is acceptable and a part of everyday life and human-to-Pokemon violence is considered either BullyingADragon (Pokemon is wild) or abuse (Pokemon belongs to abusing trainer), commanding an attack on a trainer or other human is either in bad form or outright illegal, unless used as a criminal suppression tactic (e.g. Lance in Mahogany), and if other options remain nonviable. While it ''may'' be implied that villainous teams can do this on a whim, not even [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Team Plasma]] goes that far in the game continuity. On the other hand, [[ElephantInTheLivingRoom the Donphan goes on a rampage]] throughout ''Manga/PokemonSpecial'' due to its DarkerAndEdgier nature, and [[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Cipher]] will attack or even kill humans who obstruct its operations in any continuity.
** An animated trailer for Black 2 shows Team Plasma ordering a Seviper to use Bite, after which it clearly attacks the protagonist rather than his Pokemon. His Arcanine has to come in from the side and Bite the Seviper. Since this was impossible to show in the games [[spoiler:Save for that one time Ghetsis has Kyurem attack you in the field]], one can assume whenever you're up against villainous teams they're trying to attack you specifically and you're only using your Pokémon in self defense.

* In ''Webcomic/TheOrderOfTheStick'', Roy is stuck in some GladiatorGames, but once his battle [[CombatBreakdown winds up drifting into the stands]], [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0808.html Roy shooes the spectators away]].

ProudWarriorRaceGuy or BloodKnight may get at this trope in a sideways manner, rejecting civilians as unworthy opponents because they are weak and cowardly, unworthy of fighting. PragmaticVillainy may also be a factor; bullets cost money, after all.

** The Guild of Assassins are supposed to practice this: they may kill people for money, but they will ''not'' harm or kill any innocents -- particularly servants or family members -- in the process, whether due to a twisted sense of morality or merely because it would be 'bad form'. (Bodyguards are fair game, though.) This is why they tend to assassinate (or ''attempt'' to, anyway) targets in their homes rather than on the street or at their places of work, so that no one else comes into their line of fire. There's no actual ''rule'' against this, however, as [[Discworld/{{Hogfatehr}} Teatime]] demonstrates.

* Parodied in Literature/{{Discworld}}, natch. Detritus offers to shoot a bull in a crowded street (long story) with his siege engine-turned-crossbow (with ''six foot long'' bolts). Vimes says no.
--> '''Vimes''': "It might hit an innocent person, even in [[WretchedHive Ankh-Morpork]]."
** The Guild of Assassins practice this: their members might kill people for money, but they will ''not'' harm or kill any innocents -- particularly servants or family members -- in the process, whether due to a twisted sense of morality or merely because it would be 'bad form'. (Bodyguards are fair game, though.) This is why they tend to assassinate (or ''attempt'' to, anyway) targets in their homes rather than on the street or at their places of work, so that no one else comes into their line of fire.

* In the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, there aren't really clear signs of if a civilian is a Rebel or Imperial or sympathizes with either cause--it's not a matter of country or planet or species--so this trope is wrestled with on several occasions.
** Daric [=LaRone=], one of the stormtroopers of ''Literature/ChoicesOfOne'', got in trouble when it was discovered that, on a mission to wipe out suspected Rebel insurgents--i.e. [[LeaveNoSurvivors kill everyone in a town]]--he aimed to miss the unarmed civilians. Later he discovered he was the unofficial leader of his band of defecting stormtroopers because he had a position of moral superiority--the one other who looked like a leadership prospect refused the position because [[JustFollowingOrders he had followed his orders]].
** In the Literature/XWingSeries, the Rogues once attack a spaceport. Rogue Leader, Wedge Antilles, is aware that it was tactically necessary, so he went through with it, but gave orders to try to limit civilian casualties, and later set up funds to help the families of those who were killed there, remembering that his own family was similar collateral.

** In ''Literature/DeathStar'' the fact that the titular superweapon can, well, [[EarthShatteringKaboom can destroy an entire planet]] doesn't sit easy with a number of the people working on it for this reason. They comfort themselves by saying it will never actually be used on an inhabited world, just moons and large ships and so on, and this will scare people into behaving. After it's tested on a [[PenalColony prison world]] there are some excuses, but even claiming that all those prisoners were vicious scum who'd never be allowed to leave could only go so far; there had been guards, too, who hadn't been evacuated. Later, the gunner states that he can't believe for an instant that all of the people on Alderaan were Rebels.

* Comes up in ''Film/JohnWick''. John Wick is a retired hit man who used to work for the Russian Mafia stationed inside New York, and gained an infamous reputation for being a professional, no nonsense killer who would make sure the job got done at all costs. He retired from the Mafia when he did an impossible task that killed so many people that his former boss was able to build the criminal empire he has today upon the foundation of those bodies. However, with that said, John is shown to do his best to avoid getting civilians caught in the crossfire. When he has Iosef -- the man he wants revenge on for killing his dog and stealing his car -- in his sights he refuses to take the shot because he has an innocent civilian as a human shield at the time. And later on when he has a clear shot on him while he's in the middle of a crowd he refuses to take the shot unless it would cleanly hit him and only him. John is not above killing body guards who are in the way of him and his target, nor shooting his way out when he's been compromised, but John never shoots at someone unless they're armed and a present danger to him.

* In Creator/JohnCWright's ''[[Literature/TheGoldenOecumene The Phoenix Exultant]]'', Atkins is glad that Daphne and Phaethon survived so that he can report no civilian casualities -- at least, he says it's his motive.

** The Guild of Assassins practice this: their members might kill people for money, but they will ''not'' harm or kill any innocents - particularly servants or family members - in the process, whether due to a twisted sense of morality or merely because it wold be 'bad form'. (Bodyguards are fair game, though.) This is why they tend to assassinate (or ''attempt'' to, anyway) targets in their homes rather than on the street or at their places of work, so that no one else comes into their line of fire.

*** That said, most don't. Hey, Khorne doesn't care who's blood is spilt, only that ''someone's'' is.
*** He also doesn't like dishonourable pansies and cowardice. So running away will get you targeted anyway. And if you're unable to fight due to injuries? MercyKill.

* In ''TabletopGame/{{Pathfinder}}'', the god Gorum is more or less the embodiment of the BloodKnight, reveling in battlefor its own sake, with little concern for morality. What keeps him ChaoticNeutral instead of ChaoticEvil is that he considers the wholesale slaughter of defenseless civilians beneath a true warrior--an enemy who cannot fight back is no proof of one's combat prowess. (Although, it's also noted that there's a distinct difference in his mind between those who can't fight, and the cowards who simply ''won't''.)

* This is how Billy Coen in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil0'' got where he is at the start of the game - he's a former Marine whose squad was sent in to take out a guerrilla complex, only to instead stumble upon a civilian village. The rest of the squad, at this point going crazy from the conditions, decide to attack the village anyway; it's implied that Billy reacts much like the Doomguy above and attacked his squad members over it, hence why he's a military prisoner who was being taken to his execution before he and his escort found out firsthand that [[ZombieApocalypse there are bigger problems out there.]]

* In ''{{Hellsing}}'', Father Alexander Anderson turns against Bishop Maxwell when he leads a holy crusade upon Millennium's Nazi vampires and then also attempts to kill ''all'' of the innocent Protestant survivors of London, even going as far as to order his men to ignore the vampires and focus on not only killing Protestants, but also any Catholic who refused to do so. Anderson is a KnightTemplar and a ChurchMilitant who rarely questions the most violent of orders handed down by the Vatican, but it's also made clear that Anderson has a [[EvenEvilHasStandards strong moral compass]] and won't abide the killing of defenseless civilians. So, instead of backing up the genocidal Maxwell, Anderson is completely disgusted by Maxwell's bloodlust and the slaughter of so many innocent Christians and readily assists Alucard in killing him by shattering the glass box protecting him from Alucard's ravening familiars.

** An animated trailer for Black 2 shows Team Plasma ordering a Seviper to use Bite, after which it clearly attacks the protagonist rather than his Pokemon. His Arcanine has to come in from the side and Bite the Seviper. Since this was impossible to show in the games [[SPOILER: Save for that one time Ghetsis has Kyurem attack you in the field]], one can assume whenever you're up against villainous teams they're trying to attack you specifically and you're only using your Pokémon in self defense.

** An animated trailer for Black 2 shows Team Plasma ordering a Seviper to use Bite, after which it clearly attacks the protagonist rather than his Pokemon. His Arcanine has to come in from the side and Bite the Seviper. Since this was impossible to show in the games, one can assume whenever you're up against villainous teams they're trying to attack you specifically and you're only using your Pokémon in self defense.

->(1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed ''hors de combat'' by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

* Comes up in John Wick. John Wick is a retired hit man who used to work for the Russian Mafia stationed inside New York, and gained an infamous reputation for being a professional, no nonsense killer who would make sure the job got done at all costs. He retired from the Mafia when he did an impossible task that killed so many people that his former boss was able to build the criminal empire he has today upon the foundation of those bodies. However, with that said, John is shown to do his best to avoid getting civilians caught in the crossfire. When he has Iosef -- the man he wants revenge on for killing his dog and stealing his car -- in his sights he refuses to take the shot because he has an innocent civilian as a human shield at the time. And later on when he has a clear shot on him while he's in the middle of a crowd he refuses to take the shot unless it would cleanly hit him and only him. John is not above killing body guards who are in the way of him and his target, nor shooting his way out when he's been compromised, but John never shoots at someone unless they're armed and a present danger to him.

** And then there's the GreyKnights, who will mercilessly butcher civilians if there is a ''risk'' they are [[TheCorruption tainted.]] [[NothingPersonal Not out of malice,]] but because they know that a moment's mercy can and likely will doom an entire world when it comes to daemonic invasions.

* The main reason that the Gaang doesn't like Jet in ''WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender''. While they both oppose the Fire Nation, the Gaang follows this trope and Jet doesn't, much to the Gaang's horror when they find out about his plan to flood a village to kill some Fire Nation soldiers, even though civilians would be caught in it as well.
** Earth Kingdom civilians to boot!

* In the Literature/{{Honorverse}}, this is the dividing line between the April Tribunal, [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeVilified Eloise Pritchart's cell]] of [[TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized the otherwise-bloody Citizens' Rights Union]], which boasted such notorious members as Cordelia Ransom within its ranks. It's because of this defining characteristic that Eloise -- known as Brigade Commander Delta in her CRU days -- was recruited by the Committee of Public Safety, something which she allowed and played along with in order to hopefully do some good with the power she was given. It worked; a couple of revolutions and a SecretRelationship later, the April Tribunal's goals were fully realised with the Theisman Coup, the restoration of the original Constitution, and Eloise Pritchart's election as President of the Republic of Haven.

More [[SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism cynical]] works may display characters (good or bad, depending on just how cynical the work gets) taking advantage of this rule, either by taking human shields or attacking out of uniform. Alternatively, there is nothing stopping the good guys from accidentally killing civilians due to anything from incompetence to misinformation, the latter of which might even have been a setup.

** ''[[JediAcademyTrilogy I, Jedi]]'' has Corran Horn become furious when he sees a pirate gunning for a civilian landspeeder. Even later, when he's terrorizing a town full of mostly pirates, he does his right best to not kill civilians and those pirates who aren't so nasty.

* In ''{{Hellsing}}'', Father Alexander Anderson turns against Bishop Maxwell when he leads a holy crusade upon Millennium's Nazi vampires and then also attempts to kill ''all'' of the innocent Protestant survivors of London. Yes, he's a KnightTemplar and ChurchMilitant who rarely questions the most violent of orders handed down by the Vatican, but it's also made clear that Anderson has a [[EvenEvilHasStandards strong moral compass]] and won't abide the killing of defenseless civilians. So, instead of backing up the genocidal Maxwell, Anderson is completely disgusted by Maxwell's bloodlust and the slaughter of so many innocent Christians and readily assists Alucard in killing him by shattering the glass box he used to protect himself from Alucard's ravening familiars.

* In ''{{Hellsing}}'', Father Alexander Anderson turns against Bishop Maxwell when he leads a holy crusade upon Millennium's Nazi vampires and then also attempts to kill ''all'' of the innocent Protestant survivors of London. Yes, he's a KnightTemplar and ChurchMilitant who rarely questions the most violent of orders handed down by the Vatican, but it's also made clear that Anderson has a [[EvenEvilHasStandards strong moral compass]] and won't abide the killing of defenseless civilians. So, instead of backing up the genocidal Maxwell, Anderson is completely disgusted by Maxwell's bloodlust and the slaughter of so many innocent Christians and readily assists Alucard in killing him by shattering the glass box he used to protect himself.

* In ''{{Hellsing}}'', Father Alexander Anderson turns against Bishop Maxwell when he leads a holy crusade upon Millennium's Nazi vampires and then also attempts to kill ''all'' of the innocent Protestant survivors of London. Yes, he's a KnightTemplar and ChurchMilitant who rarely questions the most violent of orders handed down by the Vatican, but it's also made clear that Anderson has a [[EvenEvilHasStandards strong moral compass]] and won't abide the killing of defenseless civilians. So, instead of backing up the genocidal Maxwell, Anderson is completely disgusted by his bloodlust and the slaughter of so many innocent Christians and readily assists Alucard in killing him.

A military SubTrope of NeverHurtAnInnocent: only combatants are proper targets--which does ''not'' include TheMedic, or [[GoodShepherd The Chaplain]]. May encompass WouldntHitAGirl when women are not in the armed forces and usually does include WouldntHurtAChild. Those who violate this are generally portrayed as not good combatants. Indeed, ''good'' combatants will try to minimize even accidental civilian deaths. The AntiHero combatant, however, may not care; considerable conflict can arise from these clashing moralities.