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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fourthmensch" data-source="post: 1501684" data-attributes="member: 16723">I'm not sure how applicable this is to a fantasy setting, but I remember reading about this in a psychology class and its stuck with me. It was used by the Chinese in POW camps during the Korean War.  Put all the prisoners together. Treat them very well. Good food, courteous treatment, recreational time, and harsh punishments (usually drastic restrictions of activity, but not torture in the traditional sense of the word) for disobedience.  Pick one prisoner at random, maybe one that may be more easily persuaded. Give him better treatment in all ways possible. Better food, special activities (games, women, whatever). Pull him away from the rest of the group for a while, then let him go back to rejoin. Keep doing this until they wonder why he is getting special treatment (this doesn't require special mechanics, I think; the suspicion of the other players will probably grow organically over time). Keep pulling the player out of the room for a chat and let the other players wonder what's going on. These tete-a-tetes with the captors need not be coercive in any way, they are only to breed suspicion.  Have them attend classes, lectures by the BBEG on why his aims are legitimate and beneficial. Make them write essays on why they agree with the BBEG, and how their previous actions opposing him were mistaken (you could even actually make the players do this between sessions). Let them get to know the BBEG and his minions, who turn out to be well-meaning but misunderstood. When the PCs try to escape (and they will, given the lax security; maybe the captors even arrange a fortuitous lapse in security), the BBEG catches them easily. Instead of punishing them, he simply sits them all down and tells them that one of the PCs betrayed his friends (without revealing which one). This need not be true--the BBEG could be using scrying, divination, or whathaveyou; again the purpose is simply to sow suspicion. Then, after a few months or even years (game time, of course <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />), simply let them go, give their equipment back, and wish them well.  It may not sound all that impressive, but this is a very powerful technique. This method actually resulted in several American POWs renouncing their American citizenship and becoming members of the Chinese communist party. However it works out, it should drive a serious wedge between the party members and interfere with their cohesiveness (and thus making them less of a threat to the BBEG in question), and perhaps, depending on how persuasive you are, convert them into willing agents of the bad guy.</blockquote>

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