Torturing a PC and leaving a lasting effect (my players stay out)

[Gort]

Okay, long story short. My druid player has been kidnapped by an irate Dark Druid. (the druid killed his sister)

Now, the way the adventure is going to go is something like this:

The druid is gonna be stripped, tied up in the Dark Druid's lair, (which is an underground grove of fiendish treants - which I stole from someone on this very board, bless you all) and tortured, while the Dark Druid tells him all about himself, why he's doing what he's doing, and why Dark Druids are right and suchlike.

Then, the other players burst in, fight the Dark Druid, and get the druid out. Now, the normal way it'd go is, they beat the Darkie, get the druid out, pop pop pop, maybe a days bed-rest and a few healing spells, and he's right back to normal.

Now, I want a way to leave a lasting impression on him by torturing him. It can be pretty much anything, as long as it's not TOO bad, and can't be removed by either a wizard of 9th level or a cleric of 9th level. Just so the druid remembers he was captured and tortured, and so forth.

So, any suggestions?

 

[Dark Jezter]

For some reason, when I was reading about the druid being resuced from his tormenter, I kept picturing Bruce Willis sneaking in with a katana.

 

[Teflon Billy]

Well, torture will leave a person pretty screwed up...why not have him be mentally screwed up?

Give him a phobia of, jesus I don't know; Treants (those Fiendish ones you were talking about), or being alone (if that's how he was caught), or anything else you can justify. I don't think there's a healing spell that affects mental damage is there?

Or have him be a nervous wreck...-X on all social interaction rolls--Diplomacy, Bluff, Intimidate etc (he can no longer really function socially as he always seems "freaked out")

 

[Teflon Billy]

For some reason, when I was reading about the druid being resuced from his tormenter, I kept picturing Bruce Willis sneaking in with a katana.

LOL

 

[Gort]

I think it might be going a little far to have the druid... violated...

 

[Imperialus]

I think haveing the druid summon one of these might just do the trick.

http://somethingpositive.net/sp05042002.shtml

 

[Tuzenbach]

I think haveing the druid summon one of these might just do the trick.

http://somethingpositive.net/sp05042002.shtml

OMFG that's absolutely dreadful! Where do people find these things?

 

[Dark Jezter]

I think haveing the druid summon one of these might just do the trick.

http://somethingpositive.net/sp05042002.shtml

Looks like something that would show up if Ned Beatty took a walk through Fangorn Forest.

 

[Dirigible]

I'm not a big fan of leaving permanent disadvantages/marks on PC's. Either because I'm a softy, or beacuse I hate it when it happens to my PC's.

Do the Dark Druid's have a symbol? Branding that on the PC's face might do the trick. Doesn't cripple (figurativly; that is, make him completly undesirable to play) the PC like a dismemberment or emasculation would, and is likely to provoke Bloodthristy Lust For Revenge (tm).

while the Dark Druid tells him all about himself, why he's doing what he's doing, and why Dark Druids are right and suchlike.

"Please! The red hot pokers again! Please! Redhot pokers! Anyhting but another charming childhood anecdote! Waaaaah!"

I take it Darky has never read the Evil Overlord List?

 

[Frostmarrow]

As a player I can safely say that if my character is tortured by the enemy and I'm left without some permanent mark I'd be seriously disappointed.