Need Help With Interrogation

[Galfridus]

(If you play in the Mordallend campaign, stop reading now!)
















(Really!)


In last night's session, one of the PCs was captured by The Bad Guys (well, feebleminded, polymorphed, then captured). They are going to interrogate him, and I'm trying to decide how best to go about it. I'm looking at it from two angles:

-- How would they best get information from the character, and;
-- How to make it an interesting roleplaying experience for the player

Ideally, I'd like the player to actually decide whether or not to give up information rather than saying "they torture/dominate/charm you and get the information". However, if magic is the only option, that's what they'll use (they have access to high level divine and arcane spells).

 

[James Heard]

I might take the player to an actual dark room, with the high backed wooden uncomfortable chair and roleplay the whole scene with them with a bald lightbulb glaring at their eyes. I'd ask them all the questions that the NPCs were going to ask, and accent the conclusion of each query by shutting off the light. When I'd turn it back on, I'd ask another question. And so on, it wouldn't matter on if they answered the questions or not because any reasonably intelligent bad guy with a plum that needed to be picking would use all the means available to insure that he got everything he needed. About the only way I would let the character get out of it would be if they did something really overdramatic, like swore their undying allegiance to the evil guys and actually started things like, "...and that wizard? Boy! Let me tell you, I've just been WAITING for the chance to get my blade in HIM!" Having a character actually turn on the party is sometimes fun.

Otherwise I would finish my lightbulb interrogation and then send the character back to join the rest of the group. I might even leave him with all of his things. Players are naturally suspicious. At some point I'd act on some knowledge that the character knew but didn't relate (he thought) to his captors. Players can even be suspicious of themselves. I might arrange to have people start dying around the PC, with subtle clues leading back to him. Or I might have agents now intimately familiar with the PC impersonate him in evil deeds away from the party. I would never under any circumstances assume that the evil guys WOULDN'T use magic available to them, because that's just what evil guys are supposed to do. Everything would be window dressing unless the character has extraordinary means of resistance or if the tone of the campaign suits more of a John Wayne attitude than a Clint Eastwood. When people get captured, they talk eventually. With magic that becomes easier, maybe the party can have an opportunity to rescue him before he tells them which one of them snores?

 

[Felix]

Well, if you take the torture route, the problem is how do you relate to the player the incredible amount of pain his PC is in. And since (hopefully) the player has never (nor ever will) experience that amount of pain, he will have an awfully hard time role-playing it. A challenge indeed. And if the player is obstinant that his PC "would never give in to the enemy!" then you're out of luck and you might want to consider DM fiat, and not tell the player exactly what information his PC spilled.

Although... if you want to have an interesting role-playing experience... tell your player that if he (the player) can perform an incredible task then you will rule that the PC did not give away vital information, or gave away false info.

Make sure your player isn't diabetic. The task: Watch "The Breakfast Club" for 24 straight hours. Drink nothing but Coke. Eat nothing but Pixie Stix. Provide him with the remote to the DVD so that he can stop watching it if he wants to give in. Place in front of him his favorite Subway sandwhich and a tall glass of cold water. Check in on him periodically. If he can resist eating the sandwhich, drinking the water, and turning off the DVD, and sleeping (by his free will) I think your player deserves to have his PC released from custody without having harmed the party, or himself.

 

[Arc]

Felix, you're a cruel, cruel man.

 

[Rastfar]

I have seen this done twice and both times successfully. Unfortunately, ultimately the outcome of this encounter will be dictated by your player. However, I believe that there is some leverage that the DM can hold over the player, in-character, making any player worth his salt actually capitulate to torture.

In the two instances that I saw this performed (neither of which I was involved in - just happened to be at the table) the players did succumb to torture. This was great role-playing! The first ended with physical torture, subdual damage, and bondage into slavery. It was driven by the excellent role-playing ability of the player. In the second instance the player took more of a 'tough guy' stance. This is where the leverage comes in. Unofrtunately, an evil NPC is an 'evil NPC'. And evil NPC's do not very nice things. This priest happened to be a stout warrior of sorts and a compassionate man. The priestess who tortured him took his nuts off. Later they escaped, but the player was now left with a nut-less character. That sucks.

The point being, if your players are attached to their characters (maybe years old in achieving levels?) then they will still find the motivation to capitulate if subtley and genuinely threatened. If your rep as a cruel, vindictive, evil 'I Will kill you all' DM is intact (which it always should be - when in jeopardy, just kill them all), then they will not doubt the validity of any NPC's suggestions heretofore. What good is a mage who toughed it out, without hands?

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"Hey, I didn't give you guys up! Good to see ya. Thanks fer the save"

"By the grace of Gramlin, where are your hands Mage-guy?!"

"Um, a small price to pay to protect the secret map?"

*PC's nod, not wanting to tell mage-guy that the map turned out to be a fake*

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Hope this helps.....







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Oh, and if this doesn't work go with Felix's suggestion. You could substitute PI (3.141217...) for 12 hours if necessary.