My biggest surprise throughout the whole run was how easily you can avoid fighting. Basically, you can rush through every location, completely ignoring the mobs and bosses. As long as you have enough health and/or magic potions on you, you should survive everything. Also, all enemies stick to their territory and won't follow you for very long.

Most of the quests do not require to hurt or kill anybody, so this guide only lists those quests where some out-of-the-box thinking might be necessary.

Many creatures fight each other. We'll be making lots of use of that. Let them fight if they want, we just don't partake :)

Making money is a bit of a drag at first, but as you won't use any weapon except for a bow (more on that later), you can sell all the weapons you find during the game. Should you run short on cash, loot barrels for arrows and vases for gems, sell everything. Learn all the crafting skills, then craft and sell higher-tiered products. Money is never really a problem in SNMAS, as basically all is just a question of your willingness to grind.

Many things can be bought or looted from chests and containers. You don't need to kill creatures for their body parts. If you need fish scales, go to the fish monger at Moonberry Farms.

Now for some details on certain regions, locations and quests. From here on, the guide is full of spoilers. If you have never played SNMAS before and want to experience everything first hand, stop reading here and come back later should you need any advice.

You can complete the tutorial without killing anyone or anything. Yes, you will have to [Q] Defeat Targ, so shoot him until he surrenders. He'll be fine.

[Q] Gerald's Date: you will need some honey combs. If you don't want to knock down beehives, either level up your carpentry until you can craft apiaries or get the ferry up and running; they sell honey combs at the Moonberry Farms.

[Q] Dizzy Juice Cellar: I did not find a way to defeat the crabs :(

[Q] Bush Rats: Greenskull goblins and boars fight rats, so bring them together and watch from a distance. A good place to attract rats is this patch of ruins north of Ibis's camp -->






[Q] Boar Farming: Up the hill behind Taylor's house, there is a cave full of Greenskull Goblins. Have them follow you down to the field, they will take out all boars in no time.

[Q]: Goblin Observations: Alfred needs some ingredients and explicitly asks not to hurt anyone during the process. A quest to my liking :) Just run through the camp, the Stinky Leaves are lying around in the open, mostly on the floor and on a table. No fancy tactics needed here. Don't sell the reward, though, as you'll need it in the Farmlands.

[Q] The Eggless Griffon: The egg you are looking for is on the wooden platform attached to a house near the water. Just parachute over there, get the egg ad ride out of the camp. Easy going.

[Q] The Ice Cave: During this quest you'll need 3 pearls. They drop from Sand patches, no need to kill Big Ol' Crabs.

[Q] Seasick Sailor: You will need some Blobs of Blue Slime. Go to the cave, lure the creatures over to the boars, watch from a distance, collect the Blobs.

[Q]: Caged Animal: No, we will not kill boars for this petty animal enslaver. Quest abandoned.

[Q]: The Archer's Challenge: This quest is never added to your journal. Read the book "The Archer's Challenge" to get hints on what to do. It can be found in the Warrior's Camp between Hope Harbour and Ramshackle Reef and also on a bed in Myrtle's Inn in Ramsshackle Reef. You'll need a bow and a pretty fast horse (or other mount) to solve the puzzle.

The Farmlands are pretty frustrating for pacifists, as many quests have a violent solution.

[Q] Guard Training: the first task is to defeat Jamie. I didn't find a way to do that in a pacifist kind of way, so I couldn't join the guards.

[L] The Mine: you have to defeat the golem in order to open the mine. No way to do that without blunt force.

[L] Graveyard: Skeletons and Grave Robbers don't like each other, so let them fight it out amongst themselves. I did most of the Graveyard questlines, but I have no idea yet on how to beat the Baron.

[Q] Hickup Checkup: good thing we did the [Q] Goblin Observations on Azura Island, so we have just the things we need to get rid of that hiccup.

[Q] Snowglobe Retrieval: Just enter the mushroom cave and say "No wait!", when the cultists address you. They are a pretty peaceful bunch, no fighting necessary.

[Q] Bee Hugs: The reward for this quest is a suit that will make you immune to poison. I really wanted to have that, so I knocked down some bee hives in order to get the job done. No bees were harmed during the process, I promise ;)

[Q] Big Friend: Talk to Mo to initiate the quest. During its course, you will have to get slime globs from the creatures in the mud pits. Lure boars from the forests down there, wait, profit.

[Q] Painter's Panic: there is nothing we can do non-violently to help here, I 'm afraid.

[Q] Defeat Simon the Rude
Either ignore that quest and just rush through the camp every time. This will hinder your progress with the shrubrians later on, so you could also lure Simon into the handy cooking fires as long as he has enough. He will still be alive, you get the key and the quest and he'll live happily ever after.

[Q] Acid Acquisition:
Lure Shades from the lake to the wasp hive. They'll take care of the wasps.

[Q] A Stag in Need:
You have to get 4 venom glands. They only drop from Forest Spiders, so you could lure then into the campfire next to the gate. Sometimes, even Egret comes out and fights the spiders. I know this is not very pacifist so technically, this would be yet another unsolvable quest in the Windless Woods :(

[Q] Killer Queen:
I see no way to acquire a Wasp Queen stinger without actively killing the Queen :(

[L] Archer's Crypt:
You won't be able to finish [Q]"Hunting for Hunters". Should you accept the quest anyway, DO NOT talk to Ross because that'll lock you in a fight you cannot win. Ross is the only enemy I encountered so far clever enough to avoid fire. I tried to take him down with the help of the ghost animals, but he seems immune to their attacks. If you accidentally trigger the fight, just exit to the main menu to spawn at your last sleeping location.

You need to visit the Crypt for the [Q]"Bardian Inspiration", so here is how to do that peacefully:

1. To open the crypt, either talk to Valence or exploit the fact that you can operate the button next to the gate "through" the wall X-D
   
2. To open the first gate in the crypt, you actually need a bow to shoot the targets. Spells won't work.
   
3. To open the second gate, you have to press 4 buttons which all spawn a ghost animal. Handle them one by one. I see three possibilities: ignore them completely, that might make things a little confusing. Or you can lure them onto the bridge with the arrow traps, which will take them out eventually. My personal favorite: jump down underneath the bridge and with a bit of luck, the ghosts might follow you down there. Then climb the ladder back up and you've got them trapped.
   
4. I haven't found a way to get the key from Ross, so I couldn't open any of the sarcophaguses. No big loss as there are only more weapons to be had.

[L] Shrubrian Village: you'll need plenty of fey iron to rebuild the village, most of it being guarded by Dire Wolves. Lure them away from the den, mine the ore, scoot.

[L] Wasp Hive: The wasps are pretty slow in attacking and if you just keep moving, they might not even hit you at all. The Outfit of the Bee Hugger (see Farmlands) is a great help. You might consider using the Druidic Amulet (see The Eyre) for recovery, but health potions will also work if you don't want to lie to Rowan.

[Q] Forged in Honey:
I see no way to acquire a Wasp Queen stinger without actively killing the Queen :(

[Q] Hunt for the tome
No need to kill anybody. Rowan will give you a Druidic Amulet with a whopping 2 Recovery, so I shamelessly told him it got lost during the quest. Sue me.

[Q] The Corruption:
Part III is tricky as you have to defeat 9 shades. They are very strong, they're allied with wolves and they take out all the bandits single-handedly. Again, the camping fires are your friend. Next to the Crypt, there is a spawn point to shades and a campfire in the camp. Lure the shades into the fire, block their punches and wait. If you get them to stand right in the middle of the fire, you don't even have to move at all :)

Bad news on The Gatekeeper, though. I found no way to defeat him passively.

Pacifists have a hard time here, as everything revolves around the ornaments, which mainly drop from killing snowmen. When you don't do that, you have to rely on parcels and digging up the occasional dirt patch.

You can do many of the quests without killing anyone, but you'll never make the [Q] Hero of Frostfall, because there is no way to defeat the Golem without actively killing it.