Wait... so are you suggesting that if this took place several decades and a few days ago, the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor would result in both the Japanese Empire... the aggressor... and the United States (the innocent people attacked) being instakilled by a god with no capability to discern the nuance of the one side choosing violence while another side had no choice? If not, then I have a solution. If so... I have a creative solution.

Heh heh. Bowling league. And cussing-out contests. And pose-off. It all comes down to proxies such as who is best at Call of Duty. Who can give the most stinging "you're momma so fat" joke.

By "violent energies", do you mean physical energy produced by weapons? Or something more metaphysical like dark energies swirling in the hearts of men? Because the first definition gets murky since a hurricane puts out more power than a nuke, and an engine puts out more power than a pistol. But the second definition is basically inescapable so long as you are human.

Reminds me of the Judge Dredd story "War Games" - mass warfare was (temporarily) replaced by a televised bloodsport where a small team from either side compete to eliminate the other. The winning side gains territory from the other. judge-dredd.fandom.com/wiki/War_Games

Have you watched "Dog Days" the anime? It has a solution to what you're describing. Especially since you have eldritch horrors that can be chosen as champions :P

What is the definition of war here? Any violence at all? Or does there have to be an official declaration of war? What about an act of terrorism, or just a violent crime? As far as I know, the Vietnam war was never officially declared as such.

Simulation... with real executions.

"acropyical"? I can only guess you mean "apocryphal"?

@hszmv America being innocent is debatable. If nothing else, it was among the four Imperialist Powers expanding through Asia over the century prior to Pearl Harbor, which is a major reason for the attack. To me, if the Gods would punish all Japanese people for PH, they also should punish all American people. No bystander, no innocent. You force a country to wage war, you failed your Gods. Then again, it's a terrifying world that OP created...

@Kheldar: My question assumes that the rule was not in effect during America's acquisition of Hawaii. And historically the reason for the attack was America had stopped supplying Japan with oil for it's own war of conquest in China which was rather brutal by the standards you yourself laid out. Either rate, the question assumes the vaccume for hypothetical purposes of setting up a country for which the war is a purely defensive war to an aggressor. None of your debatable stuff justifies Japan's attack and Japan wasn't protecting anyone by doing so.

@hszmv my point was that after Commander Perry, Japan underwent a major change of culture. The trauma caused by American "diplomacy" made the Japanese realize that they could be colonized like the Philippines, like Hong Kong, like Malaysia, like India... or they could be among the small circle of colonizing nations. Quote from wikipedia: "While Filipino nationalists viewed the conflict as a continuation of the struggle for independence that began in 1896 with the Philippine Revolution, the U.S. government regarded it as an insurrection."

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/… "Early XXth century". Apart from Japan, all world powers (UK, FR, DE, USA, RU) before WWII are led by racist white men who theorize that non white people should be colonized for their own good. Surely, you can't consider Pearl Harbor without that fact in mind?

@Kheldar: It's only proving the point I want to make. Just because you screwed someone, it doesn't mean you were violent. If the defensive player in a war is fine so long as you don't start the attack, then the answer is annoy the other side until they attack you... You don't have to play international who started it. You have to have siblings and know that the parents are ending it.

@hszmv oh I think I see your point now. You may well be right, indeed. You could even play it in such a way that they are forced into war or extinction. It's pretty vicious, but sounds credible in such a setting!

Without war, can large nations like the US and USSR even come into existence?

Obviously the only answer is a DANCE OFF!

This exists. We call it the Olympics.

I point you to the historical documentary, Robot Jox.

Some people won't care/believe or will lock themselves into a situation where war is hte only option. remember we live in the era of nuclear weapons we already have a situation where open war ends both parties.