Taking Prisoners

[MarauderX]

It seems that there will be times when PCs just can't be taken prisoner. They can build up the feats and have the abilities to always be armed with magic, even when hog-tied and choking on rags.

Is there a way around this? Will it be possible to prevent casters from dishing out spells while they are being interrogated?

 

[Scrollreader]

Far from this being obvious to me, I see the opposite. Especially with Eschew Materials, Sudden metamagic feats, and the like, it was /impossible/ to be sure spellcasters in 3.X were 'unarmed', short of having a spellthief beat them into unconsciousness repeatedly. Now, they require focus objects, like staves, wands, etc, meaning as far as I can tell, they're as easy or hard to disarm as the fighter. Will it be possible to work around this? Possibly. But even in 3.5, the warlock needed to be free to make arcane gestures. How did you deal with monks and silent/still/eschewed spells in your last 3.5 game? It's likely to be exactly the same, or even easier.

 

[baberg]

I'm actually running into this right now. I had planned for my 4E to begin inside a dungeon where all the PCs had been kidnapped and thrown into cells. But if any of my PCs chooses to be a Tiefling they'll just teleport their way out of the cell and knock out the jailer in a heartbeat.

I guess you could go with an "anti-magic aura" that prevents such things, but unless those mechanics exist in the PHB/DMG it seems a bit too much handwaving.

 

[Jack99]

Far from this being obvious to me, I see the opposite. Especially with Eschew Materials, Sudden metamagic feats, and the like, it was /impossible/ to be sure spellcasters in 3.X were 'unarmed', short of having a spellthief beat them into unconsciousness repeatedly. Now, they require focus objects, like staves, wands, etc, meaning as far as I can tell, they're as easy or hard to disarm as the fighter. Will it be possible to work around this? Possibly. But even in 3.5, the warlock needed to be free to make arcane gestures. How did you deal with monks and silent/still/eschewed spells in your last 3.5 game? It's likely to be exactly the same, or even easier.

They do not require implements to cast spells, implements merely increase the power (adds tohit and whatnot) of the spells.

To the OP, I have to say: I am sure casting a spell still requires your hands to be free to a certain degree, so a tied wizard is incapable of casting a spell, unless he has a feat like still spell, which we don't know if exists in 4e

 

[Simm]

I'm actually running into this right now. I had planned for my 4E to begin inside a dungeon where all the PCs had been kidnapped and thrown into cells. But if any of my PCs chooses to be a Tiefling they'll just teleport their way out of the cell and knock out the jailer in a heartbeat.

I guess you could go with an "anti-magic aura" that prevents such things, but unless those mechanics exist in the PHB/DMG it seems a bit too much handwaving.

Doesn't that teleportation effect require line of effect (line of sight?). Therefore as long as the cell has no windows he's stuck.

 

[baberg]

Doesn't that teleportation effect require line of effect (line of sight?). Therefore as long as the cell has no windows he's stuck.

I have a hard time imagining a completely windowless cell - at the very least I'd expect there to be a port on the door that allows the jailer to look in on the prisoners without exposing himself to danger. I guess it all depends on how the teleport works - if the PC can have a "memory" of that LOS so that he can say "Ok, I know I'm safe for 10 feet beyond this door, so I'll teleport there" or whether it requires immediate sight to move there.

 

[Daniel D. Fox]

I would simply disallow someone to "regenerate" their daily or encounter powers while in a dangerous situation. Meaning, they've been knocked below zero HP and then tossed into a cell.

I have a strong feeling WotC has already taken this into account, and I wouldn't doubt we see a similar treatment.

 

[DreamChaser]

But if any of my PCs chooses to be a Tiefling they'll just teleport their way out of the cell and knock out the jailer in a heartbeat.

do you mean eladrin? tieflings don't have an innate teleport ability that I know of...

I would rule (even house rule if need be) that teleporting like this cannot be done "blindly" so you can choose to teleport "to that place I can see right now" but not "30 feet left, wish me luck"

as this is a world that knows that eladrins can teleport, no eladrin would be locked in a cell that had windows...unless they were bound and blindfolded.

DC

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Well I think, you can view it like this:

Martial - Works just like a regular imprisonment; take away the weapons, tie them up and chain them to the floor of their cell.

Divine - Well depending on how the Divine Power works; take away their weapons, tie them up, plug their mouth, perhaps knock them dizzy (if they simply need direct contact with their God) and then as always chain them to the floor of their cell.

Arcane - Depends on how each Arcane works; take away their implements, tie them up, plug their mouth, break or somehow hinder movement of their fingers, knock them dizzy and then chain them to the floor of their cell.

Eladrin Fey-Step - This I think given it is quite fluff oriented can be handled in numerous ways. Have them be chained using cold-iron, blind fold them, perhaps (as I am doing) the Feywild being a mirror of this World will still have these buildings and structures and obstacles as the real World. But they are covered in growth and rusted and gutted; as if it has been abandoned for hundreds of years. This way when the Eladrin enters the Feywild, the bars are still there, he is still chained, etc.).

 

[Henry]

Plus, there are a lot of players of the game who don't find it any fun for their characters to be bound, captive, and helpless, so I can see where it would make sense for the game to make it harder for characters to be helpless.

In a Star Wars Saga game I ran, I started the campaign with the characters bound, unconscious, at the second to bottom of the condition track, and beaten within an inch of their lives, as captives of slavers. After they were dumped into a pit-cage, within five minutes, they were in fighting shape; within six hours, they were almost completely healed. (Half the party were jedi, so that worked to their advantage.) That's some fast, fast healing.