[Skill] Profession:Torturer

[DM with a vengence]

Torture

You all know the type, the loser with no social skills who always plays CN with evil tendencies, or just plain CE if you allow it. Well next time the sociopath says that he’s tying up the shopkeeper and torturing him until he gets a good deal on that +1 Dagger, you can pull out this sheet and have some rules.

Torture
Profession: Torture (Wis, insanity score applies). While some enjoy causing pain, you have elevated it to an art form. You know how to cause the maximum pain with the minimum physical harm.
Torturing is a full round action that provokes an attack of oppurtunity, so unless the target is somehow prevented from running away or hitting back at you, you would probably have trouble actually going beyond scaring him a lot and causing him to run away or beat you up.
You make a Profession: Torture check against a DC of 10+1/level of the person you are torturing. If you make the check, you deal 1d4 points of damage, if you fail by 5 or less, you deal 2d4, and if you fail by more than 5 you deal 3d4. You can always choose to do more damage than your check would allow if you so desire. For each check you make, you gain a +2 synergy bonus (max +20) on intimidate checks against the subject you a period of 1/day per check made.

Long Term Torture:
Besides torture to extract information, you can torture someone to break their will and drive them insane. If you torture someone continuously (at least one torture check every 10 minutes) for 30 minutes * character level, then there is a chance that they go insane. Every 30 minutes they must make a Fear save against DC 10+ number of 30 minute segments above their character level they were tortured + number of checks made in the past 10 minutes (max +10) or become Fearful. If they fail, the process resets at zero and continues except now they make Horror saves, if they save, then they must continue making saves against the ever increasing DC until they fail or the torture stops. Each time they fail, their level of insanity by one, and they keep gaining Madness effects.

Example: The forces of darkness have captured a 4th level paladin and are torturing him to break his will. When they torture him continuously for 4 hours and 30 minutes, he must make a will save at DC 11+checks made in past 10 minutes. 30 minutes later, the DC will be 12+ checks made in past 10 minutes and so on until he fails a save, in which case they must torture him continuously for another 4 hours and 30 minutes before he has to start making saves against becoming Horrified.

Having 5 or more ranks in Knowledge: Anatomy gives a +2 synergy bonus on Profession: Torture checks. Have specifically designed devices of torture give another +2, and having a torture dungeon give another +2.

For information on the Fear and insanity rules used here see http://www.kargatane.com/shadows/fear.shtml
For for pictures of devices of torture see http://www.backstreet.demon.co.uk/oddstuff/torture/torture.htm


Note: I am note psychopath, this is all for a good reason, I just want your comments before evil cultists of Elemental Eeeeeeeevil kill all my PCs.

 

[Gargoyle]

I would probably have it usable only against immobilized creatures, and have it deal subdual damage, unless you miss a check. (Oops, lost another one)

 

[CRGreathouse]

This seems to cover almost the exact same ground as the Intimidate skill... the DC is even the same!

How do you plan to differentiate them, and why isn't there a synergy bonus?

 

[chimchim]

My version...

Here's a house rule for Torture as a skill (not profession) that I've been using in my games for over a year now. Works well for us...

TORTURE [WIS, no untrained, cross-class for all, no Good-aligned characters]

The character is skilled in the extraction of information from another by painful, involuntary methods. It works in a similar method as Intimidate, though with the following differences: The Torturer rolls 1d20, adds his/her skill bonus. The Victim rolls 1d20, adds their Will Saving Throw bonus (and any applicable modifiers). The winner is the character with the higher of the two rolls. Torture can only be performed on a captive who is in some fashion restrained. The act of torturing a captive has the side effect of inflicting 1d6 points of subdual damage per round.
A Torturer equipped with a Torturer's Kit (same price and weight as a set of lockpicks) gains a +5 to his/her roll. A Torturer with at least 5 ranks in Intimidate gains a +2 synergy bonus to his/her Torture skill. Torture does not grant a reciprocal bonus to Intimidate, however.
Unlike with Intimidate, a failed Torture check can be attempted again... and again... and again.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Re: My version...

Here's a house rule for Torture as a skill (not profession) that I've been using in my games for over a year now. Works well for us...

TORTURE [WIS, no untrained, cross-class for all, no Good-aligned characters]

The character is skilled in the extraction of information from another by painful, involuntary methods. It works in a similar method as Intimidate, though with the following differences: The Torturer rolls 1d20, adds his/her skill bonus. The Victim rolls 1d20, adds their Will Saving Throw bonus (and any applicable modifiers). The winner is the character with the higher of the two rolls. Torture can only be performed on a captive who is in some fashion restrained. The act of torturing a captive has the side effect of inflicting 1d6 points of subdual damage per round.
A Torturer equipped with a Torturer's Kit (same price and weight as a set of lockpicks) gains a +5 to his/her roll. A Torturer with at least 5 ranks in Intimidate gains a +2 synergy bonus to his/her Torture skill. Torture does not grant a reciprocal bonus to Intimidate, however.
Unlike with Intimidate, a failed Torture check can be attempted again... and again... and again.

So, basically, anyone with this skill and the 30 gp kit can automatically extract information from just about anyone, given a minute or two? Examples:

An especially wise 20th level fighter (Wis 17) and no items (since you're restrained, your stuff is taken) has a Will save of +9. A standard human Com1 with 2 ranks of Torture and a torturer's kit has a +7 bonus. The fighter'll crack in a round or two.

A 20th level cleric (Wis 23 w/o items) has a Will save of +18. A blind kobold torturer (Wis 8, 1 rank Torture, no kit) has a Torture modifier of +0. After an hour, there's a good chance (59%) that the blind kobold will roll a 20 when the cleric rolls a 1. After an 8-hour working day, the chance is greater than 99.9%.

For those special characters with insane Will saves (without equipment, mind you), bring out the big guns: a 2nd level character with average stats (6+ point buy required):
A second level expert specialized in torture (5 ranks Torture, 5 ranks Intimidate, Wis 14, and a kit) has torture +14. Anyone with a Will save of +32 or worse will sucumb to his power...

 

[Gargoyle]

Yeah, the problem is that the scale between skills and saving throws is different. It just doesn't work.

 

[Gargoyle]

Maybe it should be opposed by Concentration instead?

 

[CRGreathouse]

Maybe it should be opposed by Concentration instead?

So wizards don't crack under torture, but barbarians and fighters do?

 

[Gargoyle]

So wizards don't crack under torture, but barbarians and fighters do?

Torture is more mental than physical anyway. Makes sense to me.

But I see your point. Too bad there's no incentive for barbarians and fighters to take a Constitution based skill like Concentration. That's the part that doesn't make sense to me.

 

[CRGreathouse]

Torture is more mental than physical anyway. Makes sense to me.

But I see your point. Too bad there's no incentive for barbarians and fighters to take a Constitution based skill like Concentration. That's the part that doesn't make sense to me.

Of the non-spellcasters, only monks have Concentration as a class skill - and they seldom take it. I just don't see it working like that.