Topic: Interrogation

[Justin]

I think I am going to sit down and try to do a bit of standardizing to Interrogation results. Anyone want to let me know how they handle it? The things I am considering are...

• the interviewee's SD
• information complexity(ie, is it a name or background story why manor lord has it out for family X)
• obviousness(if not spotlight'n'pain method)
• fear/pain(if is)
• consequences for revealing information(even if pc's let him go, will he just be hunted and killed by npcs?)
• bribing/gifting
• and the trump card: Is it essential that the players do/do not get this information at this time?

What have I left out? I'll get to failure/successes later.

[vroomfogle]

Good idea.    We use Interrogation quite a bit, especially in our last campaign, but I've always winged it.   I would find something like this pretty useful.

[markc]

I think you have to include magic techniques and maybe a spell list devoted to the topic. IMO you might be able to write 10 pages on the topic.

MDC

[pastaav]

My problem with interrogation is basically that if the prisoner should start revealing stuff is a story design issue. If character X can dupe character Y is a game mechanics question, but if character X can scare character Y into talking is only partly a game mechanics question.

What would be nice would be a "strategic element" to interrogation. Make the players forced to use their cards right if they shall avoid that the target becomes so scared that he start to invent stuff to satisfy the questioner.

[Arioch]

What have I left out?

The NPC ability to lie? And the PCs ability to perceive lies (for example a succesful Duping maneuver from the NPC could give a penalty to the Interrogation roll, and a succesful Lie Perception maneuver from the PCs a bonus).

What would be nice would be a "strategic element" to interrogation. Make the players forced to use their cards right if they shall avoid that the target becomes so scared that he start to invent stuff to satisfy the questioner.

This is a good idea, but I think that it's more in the "failure/success" field: for example with a Near Success the NPC gives the PC some right information, completing unknown parts with bit of invented infos. [/list]

[Setorn]

I know that this concerns interrogation, but remember that torture does not to work.  Even if the interrogator gains some useful information, the target of the interrogation will tailor his information to the preconceived notions of what the interrogator wants to hear and how well the victim understands those notions.   

In addition, what is the goal of the interrogation?  Is it accurate information, affirmation of a belief or point of view (the inquisition), sadism, to elicit confessions for propaganda or to terrorize a population into submission that the interrogating body wants.  Success is determined differently depending on the goal.  This would make torture a more or less effective means of interrogation.  Terror and propaganda are aided with torture while accurate information and sometimes belief affirmation would be hindered.   

[Marc R]

Most of the time, torture fails due to the poor ability of the interrogators to craft the questions. In fact, that failure is the problem with most interrogations, torture or not.

The prisoner shouldn't be learning more from the questions than the interrogator is learning from the answers.

i.e.

"Where were you last night at 10PM" informs the prisoner that the interrogator wants to know about last night at 10pm. . . .

"When did you meet with the british embassy guard?" also giving away a lot here.

Of course, it's hard to get the information you want by looking stern and holding up a flash card with a "?" on it, which is the ideal. (Other than the fact that you are curious, you tell the prisoner nothing that way.).

In watching players "interrogate" people, 9 times out of 10 they are offering too much information, and also leading the discussion, offering loads of opportunities for the prisoner to lie.

In a tangible instance of actual fact, torture will probably work almost every time. . .for instance if someone stole a watch, and hid it in their apartment, and the owner grabbed them and tied them up 10' from where the watch is hidden and asked "Where is my watch?" and hit them with a hammer every minute they did't have their watch back, I'd say the odds are about 100% that they'll be leaving the place with the watch within an hour.

Saying "Torture doesn't work" is like "Violence never solves a problem". . .nice to think, but doesn't actually apply in real life.

The problems with torture are:

1) instances where you DON'T have my watch, and I refuse to beleive it.
2) Instances where I want to torture you, and the watch is just an excuse.
3) Instances where "The watch" is an intangable, like "Are you a rebel?"
4) Nothing can prove a negation. "I don't have your watch!" or "I am not a rebel!"
5) All the above combined with the leading issue from the top. . .if you keep asking about rebels and torturing someone, if they don't know any rebels, they'll start making stuff up.

"Torture" in it's bare outline, of "Do this/tell me this or I'll punish you" are the basis for a lot of life. . .like "If you don't like working here you can quit" or "Do this or you're fired" or "Stop running or I'll shoot". . . .they all work quite well. . .of course, they can all be used abusively, or used to create lies . . .coersion is not the ultimately most efficiant way to get what you want, but it's certainly one of the lazier ways, so you see it in effective use every day.

[mocking bird]

And with the reasons LM pointed out why we usually rely more heavily on a skill roll than have the player attempt to do his Cardinal Richelieu impersonation.  It is a fine art that players most likely bungle but their characters could be built for.

If it a PC being tortured I would bet money that without some type of dice rolling character will never tell regardless of physical distress or rearranging.

and the trump card: Is it essential that the players do/do not get this information at this time?

This I have a major issue with.  If the players think outside the box (more often down the street and two blocks over from the box) and have the opportunity to gain the info early then let them.  If the players missed the big neon sign 'important information here' then they missed it - let them suffer the consequences.  If it is really really important than get a bigger brick to hit them over the head with.  Player ingenuity is often eclipsed by their stubbornness. 

[Marc R]

I also find that an aspect often overlooked is "Seduction". . .people too often get tied up in the sexual connotation.

If player A has Seduction, and Player B has Intimidation, they are all set up for "Good Cop/Bad Cop"

Seduction is perfect for the silky side. . .offers of bribes, mild treatment, being let go, "forgettng I spoke to you" are all uses of seduction. (i.e. making an appealing offer with something you have, and trying to fish in the target.)

Duping/acting comes up if they are lying/pretending.

Like, if the seduction offer of "I'll let you go if you tell us" or "I'll pay you 10 gold if you tell us" is not true, or the intimidating "I'll cut off your pinkie" or "I'll toss you out this window" are untrue. If you are willing to let them go, pay them, chop them or toss them, no need for the lie skills.

I use Interrogation and Seduction for the two approaches to interrogation, and Duping, Acting and Lie Perception type skills come in handy as a secondary aspect, but I dropped the actual interrogation skill as redundant to those two, which are more handy in general anyway.

[Justin]

generally wuoted for agreement. but also...

The problems with torture are:
1) instances where you DON'T have my watch, and I refuse to beleive it.

made me think of The Shield last season...

[Blakkrall]

Last time I had to interrogate some NPC, I simply asked our Necromancer to lend me his dagger because mine was to rusty and blunt, so that it would be difficult to cut the NPC's fingers. It would take time and would be more painfull than is necessary...
Can't figure out why, but seemed to impress him...

[Marc R]

This was the post that resulted in splitting, so that interrogation and alignment/corruption would each have their own threads. . .this one is "Interrogation" so if you want to reply on alignment/corruption, pop the other thread.

Remember that using torture increase your evil side, that in game are the CP (Corruption Points). So later see how do you use them in your games.

We use them as alignment index, so 0-25 good; 26-75 neutral; 76-100 evil aprox. For intelligent magical items this can be important. CPs can also modify the RR for doing action that can favor you but can harm others, and GM see that the best is rolling a RR for decision.

But I strongly recommend DON'T use the manual rules for CPs, you serve an evil character? why? if I want to be the master, not the servant, those rules are taken from the old MERP and are horrible.
For example, my character is a bit unbalanced to the evil side, but with his personality he NEVER will serve another one, and all he does is for himself (for increasing his magical powers). Is a bit rare character, as I say he is able for the best and for the worst, he likes torture orcs (and maybe characters that harm others), but at the same time he doesn't doubt to aid the others if needed. But at this time I have some more than 50 CPs.

The same case are for rules of using magic, where there can be evil servants following you only for using a spell...what???.

[Marc R]

I find that if you have a mentalist handy, it drasticly reduces the need to torture people. . .

I agree with the comment above. . .sometimes it's tough, like if a PC has a +100 in an interrogation related skill, but is a total doof about executing it in roleplay, then you may just need to roll it rather than rp it out.

[Joshua24601]

Another facet to interrogation could be the effect on the PC's fame/alignment/corruption.

I skillfully rolled (and role-played) interrogation could me the PC's extract the info they need with minimal force/pain.  Leaving the NPC feeling okay, unhurt, and uninsulted (assuming the PC's don't murder him after getting the info).  A poor interrogation could be bloody and messy and give the PC's a number of enemies.. be it friends of the victim, law enforcement, or a general populace that now fears the PCs.

This can also apply to Seduction, Duping, or Bribery... poor application of those skills could have PC's branded whores, liars, and easy sources of income.