Baldurs_Underdark
Hero
Hey all,
tl;dr
How do you guys deal with a situation where you think that the rather intelligent BBEG (Int >16, Wis >16) would think "Screw those adversaries [the PCs], I am NOT gonna tell them anything, even as I am bleeding out, defeated and dying", and you still want to have your PCs find some important information?
Slightly longer version
As campaigns develop, players need to come across bits of information (plot hooks, or explanations for things that happened to link them to the storyline). I try to create NPCs that are friendly, that volunteer information because they are on the same side as the PCs, but sometimes it is unavoidable that the PCs need to learn some secret from the enemy that is not known to any other allies.
If I don't set up anything, we usually end up with Ye Olde Interrogation, where the slain enemies somehow find motivation to offer secret information. I can see that the PCs can intimidate some minion into giving up some secrets, but why would a BBEG first risk everything to slay the PCs, and then give up all his secrets when he is defeated? Surely not ALL BBEGs think "Oh well, I lost the fight and my life, might as well spew all my secrets to my victors / adversaries." And BBEGs shouldn't all be so stupid to write down all their secrets into some convenient scrolls which are always kept in a chest in a hidden spot with Ye Olde Optional Trap to protect it (as if the trap helps once the BBEG is already dead).
In short, I am looking for creative ways to get information from the enemy into the hands of my PCs.
Thanks, hive mind!
tl;dr
How do you guys deal with a situation where you think that the rather intelligent BBEG (Int >16, Wis >16) would think "Screw those adversaries [the PCs], I am NOT gonna tell them anything, even as I am bleeding out, defeated and dying", and you still want to have your PCs find some important information?
Slightly longer version
As campaigns develop, players need to come across bits of information (plot hooks, or explanations for things that happened to link them to the storyline). I try to create NPCs that are friendly, that volunteer information because they are on the same side as the PCs, but sometimes it is unavoidable that the PCs need to learn some secret from the enemy that is not known to any other allies.
If I don't set up anything, we usually end up with Ye Olde Interrogation, where the slain enemies somehow find motivation to offer secret information. I can see that the PCs can intimidate some minion into giving up some secrets, but why would a BBEG first risk everything to slay the PCs, and then give up all his secrets when he is defeated? Surely not ALL BBEGs think "Oh well, I lost the fight and my life, might as well spew all my secrets to my victors / adversaries." And BBEGs shouldn't all be so stupid to write down all their secrets into some convenient scrolls which are always kept in a chest in a hidden spot with Ye Olde Optional Trap to protect it (as if the trap helps once the BBEG is already dead).
In short, I am looking for creative ways to get information from the enemy into the hands of my PCs.
Thanks, hive mind!