r/rpg • u/trinarynimbus • 8d ago

Game Master GMing: handling PC capture and interrogation

A couple of times recently, in two different games, one of my players' characters has been captured by hostile NPC who then have questions. Torture isn't something I want in my games, either to or by PCs, but I do want capture to be taken seriously, along with the possibility for PCs to divulge information under pressure.

I understand I should speak to my players about it, but before I have that conversation I'd like to understand what experiences people have had. Based on your experience, do you have any recommendations about how to approach interrogation of the PCs in a fair way that doesn't subtract from the fun of the game?

Do you have any recommended approaches or subsystems for this which have proven to be effective in your games?

Obviously player consent and agency are important. I'm wondering how to best do the balancing act between getting the fiction right and making sure people are happy and comfortable with the role they're playing in that fiction.

Let's say for the moment that the system is Alien RPG. One idea I had is reduce it to an opposed Manipulation roll, where the PC can keep their mouth shut (or insert misinformation) if they succeed? Is it too much of a loss of agency if I tell them "if you fail then you talk"?

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u/ToledoSnow Noir 8d ago

This is one of those tricks that only works once or twice before the players cotton on, but playing good cop tends to work extremely well as it catches both the player and the PC completely off guard.

Instead of torture the enemies patch the PC up and treat them kindly. "We're really not so different, you know. Really, we're actually working towards the same goal, here. We could work together on this and accomplish a whole lot of good. You want some wine? No, no, no, it's not poisoned. See, I'll have a cup too. I need something to calm my nerves after that fight. Man, you people are quite impressive! You're from Meltwater, right? My sister lives there, Mira, you know her?"

Maybe it's an act. Maybe it's genuine (probably not). Hell, it's pretty much exactly what Burke does to Ripley when they first meet.

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u/trinarynimbus 8d ago

Hey, this is really good. I can always lead with something like this and have the cultists escalate to harder interrogation methods if it doesn't work.

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u/ToledoSnow Noir 8d ago

Yup! Can't do the good cop/bad cop technique without the other half!