How to Run Interrogations & Captured NPCs in DnD / TTRPGs
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 22 сен 2024
- When running games of DnD or any other TTRPG, what are the best ways of handling captured NPCs? How can we make interrogation scenes useful and not just having captives saying "I ain't tellin' you nuffin'"? How do we make sure that what happens next is safe and fun for everyone, and moves the story along?
Go visit my friend and fellow new TTRPG RUclips person: @BarlowKeep - they have some awesome deep dives on game systems you might not have heard of before, as well as some fascinating glimpses into the phychology of gaming.
True about this not being a discussed topic - I think this is the first video I’ve ever seen about it. As a player I like the idea of sparing (and interrogating) enemies but too often it needs a really good GM to make that an option that doesn’t come back to bite you. I once took an enemy (I think it was a kobold) as a prisoner after it surrendered and I promised to spare its life if it helped lead us safely to our destination, and when we got there I let it go… but later when we were leaving we got ambushed … guess who plus a lot of their mates? 😂
GM's have LOT of power to shape player character behaviour - they will quickly learn that taking prisoners isn't worth it if sudden but inevitable betrayal is on the cards every time. How did you feel when the ambush happened? Was it a fun twist, or were you disappointed?
When researching my video, I found just one other one about interrogations in TTRPG's, which was weird as I was expecting to find lots more. My video makes a couple of similar points as there are some common fundamentals which are really important, but I made sure that mine gives some different advice and some alternative things to focus on at the table. I'd definitely recommend it though - well worth a watch:
ruclips.net/video/wFMtwfQnaIc/видео.html
@@RenegadeRolls - I think 10% fun twist and 90% disappointment
Thats a shame - did you tell them that it wasn't what you hoped? (I LOVE Stars & Wishes post-session btw!)
@@RenegadeRolls - nah it was a long time ago… before such things as Stars and Wishes
Great video. Maybe you could do a video about the inverse, what to do when players are captured or interrogated.
Thanks! That could be really interesting, as there are definitely right ways and wrong ways to go about it. Thinking back to games I've run which have had the characters imprisoned, it's often been as a starting point for an adventure, so they break out almost immediately.
What could be interesting thinking about what to do if a group is imprisoned for a long time? What would a year look like for the group as the world goes on without them? I'd probably only attempt that with a group fully up for roleplaying, as a party who just want to "win" the game would hate it!
One NPC.
Five NPCs.
The NPC's hat.
The NPCs' hats.
Don't use apostrophes for plurals.
Today I learned! Thank you for pointing it out! This sent me down an absolute clickhole - when I went to school (in Scotand in the 90s for learning this sort of thing) I was taught to use apoistrophes any time there was a plural of an acronym as it made it clear that the "s" on the end wasn't part of the root word.
It looks like that's not been in common use since then at all - yay evolving language!
For anyone in the future who is puzzled by this comment, I've changed the thumbnail and title to read NPCs and TTRPGs. It did read NPC's and TTRPG's.
Now to go back and fix it in all the subtitles for all the videos!
Lycanthropes. Just because hitting one with a simple steel smith's hammer does not cause loss of hit points does not mean it does not hurt... a lot. If it points out you do not have silver or magic weapons you can prove their immunities do not extend to fire or hot coals.
I always find it very disturbing when "regular" characters, that were mostly good suddenly jump to torture as an interrogation method, this is very apparent in american tv so it might come form there, what I miss in RP is that those methods also leave a scar on the person doing the interrogation. if my players want to go there I will make them aware that this is gonna change them - I am not a big fan of the alignment system - but in certain cases I would tell them that some actions will alter their alignment. And NPCs that are present or hear of your deeds will act accordingly.
Also I find it confusing why Paladins are the ones "turning their back", historically Inquisitors have been quite formidable interrogators and paladins or clerics fit that description quite well.
Also in a world where war and magic is so common, soldiers and criminals would be prepared for interrogation magically and otherwise, and I don't think leaders would shy away from using magical means to get rid of information in their soldiers mind. and captured spies etc. would rather take their own life than wait for a possibly violent interrogation.