10 Video Games Bosses You Didn't Realise Can Be Defeated Peacefully
1. Kerghan - Arcanum: Of Steamworks And Magick Obscura
And while we're on the topic of old isometric RPGs that allow you to talk the final boss into killing themselves, Arcanum is another title that follows this weirdly specific formula. Suicidal villains must have been some sort of trend back in the day...
Arcanum's main antagonist is a powerful necromancer named Kerghan. Contrary to what you would usually expect from a cruel lich, Kerghan seeks to destroy all life not to create a loyal army of the undead but rather because he believes existence is suffering and death is the only way of stopping it.
If your character has a high enough charisma stat, instead of fighting Kerghan, they may choose to debate him on his no-life policy. Depending on your skill, you may be able to convince him that life does have value, despite all of the suffering involved, and make him fall in love with the world he seeks to destroy.
His newfound love will be so strong, in fact, that Kerghan will decide to take his own life just so that his warped undead existence cannot pose a threat to the world of the living.
It seems Arcanum's developers took the phrase "kill them with kindness" a bit too literally.