Remove the possibility of doing bad, and you remove the meaning of being good
That I completely and totally agree with. This is why Planescape: Torment remains my favourite example of 'how to do it right' for RPGs. There is fighting, yes, but most of it can be avoided, and you really can decide what your character will be like, morally speaking, within enormous margins.
There's bound to be fighting in an RPG, but I don't think the main emphasis of the game should ever be on combat. That's why combat being mainly to the death doesn't really bother me.
Which actually reminds me - there IS one encounter in PS:T I recall where the creature you are fighting surrenders...
And choice is the root of all player-driven character development.
Completely agree with this one, too <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
