Guild Wars 2

Well, let’s look at what a ‘typical’ member of each race sees as valid reasons to kill another sapient:

Asura: Because they threaten to disrupt my research (killing or injuring me will disrupt my research) – Inquest would expand this to ‘because it’s part of my research’.

Charr: Because they’re there and not part of my tribe, pretty much. They’ve become more peaceful of late, but it’s questionable whether this is a shift in the basic psychology, or whether they’re expanding what it is they think of as ‘theirs’.

Human: Because they have something I really want, or if I don’t, they’ll hurt me or someone I care about. Sometimes for the glory.

Norn: Because it will be fun and glorious, or because if I don’t, they’ll hurt me or someone I care about.

Sylvari: Because if I don’t, they’ll hurt me or someone I care about. (Note that, ironically, this is where the Nightmare Court actually started – Cadeyrne thought that the Pale Tree and Firstborn were too merciful when it came to preventing future threats.)

Humans and norn are at a similar level here – however, the distinction is in how much. When enough humans decide they want to attack you, a war results, while that doesn’t tend to happen in norn because to have a conventional war, you need rank-and-file soldiers, and there’s no glory in that (note: I suspect the reason why norn are willing to join other organisations like the Vigil is because they have the expectation that other races like humans, charr and sylvari will provide the backdrop for their deeds of glory. Purely norn armies don’t work because then the norn know the majority of them will be common footsoldiers likely to suffer an unremarked death). However, when you get down to it, the typical human just wants to run their business and raise their family in peace. The typical norn is driven to prove themselves against difficult challenges – which usually translates to “worthy opponents”.

If you took the lives of, say, a thousand humans versus a thousand norn, and assumed that neither sample group was on the receiving end of a large-scale invasion (since that would involve being forced to fight by someone else), you’d probably find that the majority of humans don’t spend much if any time fighting at all. You’d have the professional soldiers that do a lot of fighting – but even they’d probably spend less time actually fighting. The majority of norn, on the other hand, tend to spend most of their time hunting worthy opponents to fight – and that will regularly be other sapients, and sometimes those battles will be to the death.

Basically, if you took those samples of humans and norn – even if you include a believable proportion of soldiers among the sample, I’d be willing to bet that the norn lives would involve a lot more fighting, second only to the charr.

(When it comes to the asura – as someone else stated, I’m pretty sure the asura intent to take over the world is political. Even the Inquest generally only takes lives when they feel they have to – because it’s part of their research or because the victim is blocking their research in some manner – I don’t think there’s any instances of the inquest attacking a location unless it can be directly tied to some research project or another. Callous disregard for the lives of others, in spades, warmongering, no.)

It’s not a bunch of gangmembers or vikings. it’s an entire race of them. So lets compare violence. Humans who have a standing army, or Norn who are so violent individually that they never needed to establish a standing army. Huamns who have more butchers, bakers and candlestick makers and other non-militant citizens, or Norn who are a race of warriors whp’s “non-warrior” citizens are also often looking for some form of battle. I’d put Norn above humans. Or at the very least, on the same level since humans are historically violent in armies if not individually.

Charr are extremely violent. that’s not even a question. sylvari are the most peaceful and asura who are slightly more violent than sylvari.

I omit the inquest only becasue A-net has said that Inquest values don’t line up with most asura. Where as Norn accept infamy simply because it lines with their values which is an additional bump in norn violence.

Well norn tend to see things in a more like hearted way well most do so maybe? i dunno