Prisoner interrogation methods

[Hand of Evil]

gause in their mouth and pour water onto it, during the Inquisition it was reported to be very effective. But killing and talking to their ghost is also good.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Side question: they nerfed Levitate so you can't use it offensively? Sigh...

"Levitate allows you to move yourself, another creature, or an object up and down as you wish. A creature must be willing to be levitated, and an object must be unattended or possessed by a willing creature."

In our old 1E game, we used to use it offensively a lot... to target an enemy and bounce him repeatedly off the ceiling and floor. (I suspect a careful rereading of the 1E spell description might find that the rate of movement was too slow for that to actually work, but that was how it worked in our game!)

In one adventure, we were facing the evil priest in the evil temple... and he'd just summoned the spirit of his evil god to infuse and animate the giant statue by the altar.

Our magic-user cast Levitate on the priest, and went to bounce him off the ceiling... but the giant evil statue's giant evil hand swung in from above, and began to push the priest back down to the floor.

"I Levitate harder."
"The statue is stronger than the spell; inch by inch, the priest gets closer to the floor."
"I can't stop it?"
"Nope."
"Okay." He snapped his fingers. "I dismiss the spell."

We watched the DM's horrified realisation of what had just happened with glee.

I think the only will saves that you automatically forgoe is harmless ones. I seem to rmember reading that somewhere in the rules. I think mainly to allow Healing spells to affect the unconcious.

Effectively, yes. The general rule is that you can elect to fail a save. However, the text on the [Harmless] descriptor notes that you may elect to attempt a save, if one is allowed.

So if you're unconscious, then with a non-Harmless spell, you don't get the chance to elect to fail, but with a Harmless spell, you don't get the chance to elect to attempt a save... since you're in no position to be making decisions while comatose.

-Hyp.

 

[Valesin]

Stab them in the heart.
Cast Speak with Dead.
It is the only way to be sure.

 

[kirinke]

Dominate person always helps. Zone of truth also good. Detect lies even better. Threatening to serve them the prison's idea of lunch. Priceless.

Oh, Hyp. We still wantcha if you're still interested in playing in Heroe's Inq.

 

[Gold Roger]

Stab them in the heart.
Cast Speak with Dead.
It is the only way to be sure.

Except, they still get a save. At that point you just as well might put them under enchantments

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

Cast probe thoughts. End of discussion.

 

[Kormydigar]

Just as it is in real life, you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar. Torture is not exactly reliable. With enough torture the subject will tell you anything that you want to hear. The application of truth revealing magic can help somewhat, but you never know if it worked or not. Converting the enemy to your own side, promising a better life, and making that enemy an ally gets the best results. Of course, this method takes time and if time is of the essence then the desparate measures of torture may be the only solution.

 

[Wik]

Just as it is in real life, you can catch more bees with honey than vinegar. Torture is not exactly reliable. With enough torture the subject will tell you anything that you want to hear. The application of truth revealing magic can help somewhat, but you never know if it worked or not. Converting the enemy to your own side, promising a better life, and making that enemy an ally gets the best results. Of course, this method takes time and if time is of the essence then the desparate measures of torture may be the only solution.

Dude, you scare me.

 

[Lanefan]

Except, they still get a save.

Vs. Speak With Dead??? Another 3e development, this?

Lane-"dead men tell three tales"-fan

 

[Lanefan]

"Levitate allows you to move yourself, another creature, or an object up and down as you wish. A creature must be willing to be levitated, and an object must be unattended or possessed by a willing creature."

In our old 1E game, we used to use it offensively a lot... to target an enemy and bounce him repeatedly off the ceiling and floor. (I suspect a careful rereading of the 1E spell description might find that the rate of movement was too slow for that to actually work, but that was how it worked in our game!)

Yes, the move rate is rather slow - 10' per round if "self" is not the target, and this in a system with long rounds. In my 1e game, they use it to keep an opponent, usually a heavy fighter, "over there" and out of their faces.

The general rule is that you can elect to fail a save. However, the text on the [Harmless] descriptor notes that you may elect to attempt a save, if one is allowed.

So if you're unconscious, then with a non-Harmless spell, you don't get the chance to elect to fail, but with a Harmless spell, you don't get the chance to elect to attempt a save... since you're in no position to be making decisions while comatose.

So all spells now have a Harmless yes-no toggle added to their description as another layer? Hmmm...

Lanefan