In the world of role-playing games, mercy is kind of a rare bird. Think of it: our characters are actively doing something to steal a phrase from my friend Anthony: they are acting, reacting, and interacting with the world around them. Mercy might be the last thing on their minds.

At some point, your character has the power to punish or condemn somebody, giving them their just desserts. This isn’t violence for the sake of violence or condemnation for the sake of condemnation. This is administering justice, isn’t it? When do we stay our hands, and why?

Imagine Inigo Montoya finding the six-fingered man and telling him, “Go on, get out of here before I change my mind.” But maybe I’m not being fair. That was an awfully personal desire for justice. Perhaps Samwise Gamgee being merciful to Smeagol because he was so pathetic might be a bit closer.

However, role-playing games are not movies, and they are not novels. They are dynamic worlds with lots of moving parts, and our character is just one of them. Anything can happen, and ultimately we are sitting in the chair making decisions for the character or as the character. What would they do?

It’s not hard to imagine a character so human that they simply couldn’t administer justice when they had the chance, but it’s a rare thing, isn’t it? I’m trying to remember a time when this happened, and I’m sure I’m forgetting some, but I can think of far more examples where no quarter was given. Maybe this says something about us.