The cooperation score sounds like a “fair” way to run an interrogation because that table will be established beforehand, but I think the best takeaway here is to really consider what the bad guy knows. This information (a mix of facts and rumors) can be simplified by their rank in the organization. Then the amount they’re willing to reveal, and at what cost, can be detailed by their personal motivations for being in the group. Great video!
with detect thoughts you could use it to have the prisoner thing of the topic that they should pursue. "I hope he doesn't ask about the canyon trail..."ect
Try giving the challenge of interrogating its own "hit points." Successful persuasions etc. deal "damage" to it. The subject of the interrogation gets his own turns, where he can "heal up" or even deal "damage" to the PCs' own endurance for questioning.
2 years later and this is still the only video on UA-cam that has any direct information on how to run an interrogation scene. I need to run an interrogation scene next session. This advice is super useful 😊
I had an interrogation in a game. No torture involved but there were plenty of threats, intimidation rolls etc. It still felt off to me so I did some research on how real interrogations work (and don't). What I found out surprised me. Interrogations are all about making the person like you. That is the *only* way you're going to get good information out of the target. The whole good cop bad cop thing is to set up an easy way for the good cop to be likable. You don't have to figure out the person's background, or what they value, you just have to keep the bad cop away from them. When interrogating terrorists, the way you got useful intel was to get them to look at the interrogator as their friend. Threats slow down or stop behaviors (or information) while positive persuasion encourage behaviors. It's just like pavlovian training. The trick is getting players to understand that dynamic. I like the loyalty rule idea because it can capture that dynamic. I've invented my own that will mechanically reinforce the effect but that's not for D&D. Another way to show how to do a proper interrogation is to have the players muck it up and then have an NPC come in, preferably one that might have some police or military experience and show them how it's done. Basically all they have to do is be the good cop and keep the now hated players at bay.
Another great video! I concur - the few times I've had interrogation scenes run smoothly were when I prepared a list of information the NPC being interrogated could give, which was ordered into "basic" info (attainable with clever RP leaning on NPC's traits and/or skill checks and/or magic) & "deep" info (which required a combination of the above, and some specific objectives attainable over the course of the interrogation). My players don't always give me a chance to be so well-prepared - sometimes the goblin gets interrogated mid-session! - but when you have more layered scenarios or key NPCs who you anticipate fighting the players, it's worthwhile to devote some prep to what they know & what might get them to spill the beans.
Stealing this, as someone who has been the player at part of an interrogation scene, I completely agree, they are never dramatic. and often times even if the character is willing to do more violent or seedy things the player may not be willing to do so. this also adds more die rolls for players to enjoy using those dice. This is great advice.
Really interesting stuff! In my group's session 0 I made sure to remind them than non-lethal damage is a thing (knowing that some of them wouldn't be cool with turning into goblin-mass-murderers), which has unintentionally resulted in them almost always leaving enemies alive and questioning them after a fight. It's a slog. These tips will come in really handy, thanks!
I have two general approaches to handling the player that wants to cut off a foot or what have you while another player protests. First, I have them roll for initiative, while I roll for the prisoner. If the cutter rolls highest, they have to roll to hit and, if successful, for damage. If the protester rolls highest, they get to intervene in some way, tackle, trip, whatever. If the prisoner rolls highest they might try kicking the cutter... In this situation, as a DM, I'm trying to remain fluid, keep the game going, while allowing everyone at the table to retain agency. Second, I have the protester describe how they will intervene, and then have them both both make skill checks to determine who wins. In this situation I allow more of a dialogue between the players, but not too much. I use whichever approach seems appropriate for the players involved, but the main point is to make known that the game must proceed. To do that players need to have their characters act rather than have the table degrade into arguments that last for several minutes over a few seconds of game time. I use these approaches for just about any sort of contentious situation. A DM should be flexible enough to allow the players to do stupid things without an argument or a TPK as the inevitable result. The brash player has his impulsive rogue draws his weapons when the noble (who has a dozen guards) talks down to the party? Instead of the table haranguing the player to retcon that choice, the other players have to make a decision on how their characters react and the game proceeds.
I’ve always glossed over integrations as they tended towards violence or even worse boredom. But your cooperation idea is great and ties in well for how I run NPCs generally. Thanks
Just found your channel and love it. This one hit home to me because I've been in some awkward interrogation scenes as a player, when the other players want to torture and interrogate someone and they don't even know what information they're looking for and are planning to kill the NPC no matter what. Not my idea of a good time, and realistically not an effective way to get reliable information from someone. I have a feeling that a lot of groups do such a thing on a semi-regular basis though, keep the last minion alive, dismember them while asking random questions, and then execute them...not very heroic.
I'm so glad you found this helpful!! This was a tricky vid to make because there isn't a whole lot information already out there on how to run these scenes well. So I had to invent a few tip...Let me know if it works out for you!
Great ideas. I plan to use this soon. I appreciate that you’re covering topics like these that are commonly challenging for DMs. And I like how your hacks stick to the spirit of 5e. Keep it up!
That's pretty funny. Matches my experience. Not ... with real torture, obviously, but insofar as any research and such, and definitely with D&D torture.
Really great video. I ran an interrogation recently, and it was a debacle. The players had agreed that they were not going to go all evil, but they didn't have any idea how to get a prisoner to reveal things he didn't want to. It was neither dramatic, nor productive, nor fun. This might have helped.
As a novice DM, about to run a session with a guaranteed interrogation scene, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your clever insight, and for keeping the potential murder hobos at bay!
Fantastic video, will definitely be incorporating something like that into my games. Till now I've always had an internal groan whenever the players capture someone. "Great, time to waste another 20 minutes of this session." Hopefully that can change now :)
Every player in my group is intelligent. And yet, aside from one, the paladin, they each turned into bloodthirsty killers when an interrogation didn't yield an adequate response in just a few short seconds. They killed the bandit captive so quick, there wouldn't have been an opportunity to run this sensible system. In fact, they went full murder hobo, and killed everything that moved in all but our last session. And that included intelligent monsters that had information they were specifically looking for. Even after two additional attempts to put the information into their hand without just saying, hey, here's the info you need, they killed everything that had it. That forced me to put them onto a quest path they wouldn't have chosen to do, in order to get said info. Now they have it, but they have been faced with additional problems where they are. When we pick up next weekend, will they stay and solve the immediate problems in the area, or will they beat feet back to the town they've been operating from, knowing they are on a time restraint to rescue someone? Who knows at this point lol.
I like your idea. I will let you know how it goes. Taking my players through "Temple of Elemental Evil" so cultist should have a couple interogation sessions both ways. Thanks once again. Keep the videos coming. Good stuff.
Very well done sir! The new mechanic seems really interesting, I'll definitely give it a go sometime. You mentioned the dissonance between PCs mid session, as one character does a thing which another really dislikes. Personally I would let the player who spoke first do what they intended if I believe that it'll move the scene forward, instead of letting them bicker about it. Success or fail - I'd rather things move forward.
@@ZipperonDisney Good tip. Time is a powerful tool and in some cases splitting descriptions will diffuse a problem. This will not work all the time. In some cases, giving the rest of the party time to react simply means they will start arguing about something else. In these cases, using your power over time to quicken it, merging all of these actions into one description will help the session progress.
One of my one-shots uses an interrogation as an initial encounter, but I am not letting any actually participate except the character with relevant skills. The idea is they have immediate questions they want answers for quickly, but the level of success they have is how quickly they get the info. That way, the reason WHY they want the info in the first place limits the time they can put into interrogation. They are forced to decide what they think is most important to get, and will not waste time without feeling the pressure. Interrogation won’t ever be necessary for progression either, but it CAN mean the difference between life & death, success & failure.
A good video. The only problem I see is that I have never had a interrogation work, because the players would not invest in the situation or mechanics.
I've always returned to the idea of using rules when the RP falls short - it is a good safety blanket for players and using the loyalty system like this makes total sense :-) Another solution could be too look elswere. Pathfinder has an interesting system for verbal duels that could (if desired) be refit to 5e.
I like the proposed rules! It's something I'd be willing to try in my game. I think the most important thing for an interrogation is to know the NPCs motivation. Like you said, if they only joined the bandits to feed their family they will probably be really forthcoming if the players offer them enough money. If the NPC wants to rise through the ranks and become the boss, they might give the players information on their rivals within the group so that the players remove some competition.
That is a classic scenario! Yeemik the goblin is a brilliant inclusion in the starter set adventure because it shows new players there is always more than one path
Interrogations often fall flat for the same reason that you might have a random npc interaction not come together: you need to know what does this NPC/enemy know and what is he willing to tell. If you as a DM don't have answers to those questions beforehand, then the players are going to feed off of your unsureness and not give out clear questions. Don't get me wrong, most players will resort to a Joel, last of us, kind of torture anyway. But at least it would have substance with it.
What about monsters? Like you captured an intelligent monster and want information from them? Humanoids are simple enough, but monsters generally will be less willing than others right (Especially if they are naturally "evil")?
As soon as they cut a finger OFF he’s screaming and bleeding incoherent nonsense for a couple hours. It’s at least ten minutes before he can speak and how often does he pass out?
restoration..... magic always defies reality in that way. i mean I agree its not very heroic and I would try to convince any player under my GM screen to be heroic. I think the cooperation score does that very well. but always ways around things if the players want to be murder hobos
Made up Scores and extta modifiers and more numbers is exactly what d&d doesnt need. Let em role play it. Cut it short. Avoiding the uneasiness to torture is just a.way for.the dm to control and railroad.players. A party trying to torture info out of a prisoner and saves lives while paladins and clerics argue not to is better.drama than 99% of orc battles
I think it's really a matter of preference. some people really like number crunches and rolling on tables to get results. what if I'm playing a character that is specialized in information gathering and investigation? like an order cleric, inquisitive rogue, or whispers bard? part of the fantasy for my character is getting bad guys to tell me information. I'm not very good getting people to tell me stuff, but my character is. he has abilities and skills that help him do that, so in this hypothetical I would really like a system that turns into a game I can roll dice on. i think d&d is best when roleplay and rollplay are supported by eachother. dice rolls add unexpected consequences and add new ideas and directions for the roleplay. roleplay motivations add tension and consequence to dice rolls.
The cooperation score sounds like a “fair” way to run an interrogation because that table will be established beforehand, but I think the best takeaway here is to really consider what the bad guy knows.
This information (a mix of facts and rumors) can be simplified by their rank in the organization. Then the amount they’re willing to reveal, and at what cost, can be detailed by their personal motivations for being in the group.
Great video!
Great thoughts! I probably should have included a truth/rumor element in the What the Minions Know table
This was so specific, targeted, and niche a subject, it was exactly what I needed. Great thing to prompt thought about, man.
I try to find topics that don't get a lot of coverage. If you have one in mind, let me know!
with detect thoughts you could use it to have the prisoner thing of the topic that they should pursue. "I hope he doesn't ask about the canyon trail..."ect
Try giving the challenge of interrogating its own "hit points." Successful persuasions etc. deal "damage" to it. The subject of the interrogation gets his own turns, where he can "heal up" or even deal "damage" to the PCs' own endurance for questioning.
oooo! I like this!
@@ZipperonDisney Thanks, man. Got the idea from a great little game called ICRPG.
2 years later and this is still the only video on UA-cam that has any direct information on how to run an interrogation scene.
I need to run an interrogation scene next session. This advice is super useful 😊
I hoped it helped out! This system I find to be really handy when done right
another 3 years and that is still the case...
Thank you for providing examples/metaphors of each point you make, it's so crucial to understanding and not enough youtubers do it!
Glad it was helpful!
I had an interrogation in a game. No torture involved but there were plenty of threats, intimidation rolls etc. It still felt off to me so I did some research on how real interrogations work (and don't). What I found out surprised me. Interrogations are all about making the person like you. That is the *only* way you're going to get good information out of the target.
The whole good cop bad cop thing is to set up an easy way for the good cop to be likable. You don't have to figure out the person's background, or what they value, you just have to keep the bad cop away from them.
When interrogating terrorists, the way you got useful intel was to get them to look at the interrogator as their friend. Threats slow down or stop behaviors (or information) while positive persuasion encourage behaviors. It's just like pavlovian training.
The trick is getting players to understand that dynamic. I like the loyalty rule idea because it can capture that dynamic. I've invented my own that will mechanically reinforce the effect but that's not for D&D. Another way to show how to do a proper interrogation is to have the players muck it up and then have an NPC come in, preferably one that might have some police or military experience and show them how it's done. Basically all they have to do is be the good cop and keep the now hated players at bay.
Dude, your channel is brimming with fresh takes that I cannot wait to use in my games.
Thank You!
Thank you SO much for saying so! I try REALLY hard to make vids that say things not covered elsewhere
Another great video! I concur - the few times I've had interrogation scenes run smoothly were when I prepared a list of information the NPC being interrogated could give, which was ordered into "basic" info (attainable with clever RP leaning on NPC's traits and/or skill checks and/or magic) & "deep" info (which required a combination of the above, and some specific objectives attainable over the course of the interrogation). My players don't always give me a chance to be so well-prepared - sometimes the goblin gets interrogated mid-session! - but when you have more layered scenarios or key NPCs who you anticipate fighting the players, it's worthwhile to devote some prep to what they know & what might get them to spill the beans.
That seems like a good system - thanks for sharing! And I agree, that this is one area where a little prep makes a huge difference
Stealing this, as someone who has been the player at part of an interrogation scene, I completely agree, they are never dramatic. and often times even if the character is willing to do more violent or seedy things the player may not be willing to do so. this also adds more die rolls for players to enjoy using those dice. This is great advice.
I'm really happy you enjoyed this! Just having the idea in the back of my head has really helped a lot!
Really interesting stuff! In my group's session 0 I made sure to remind them than non-lethal damage is a thing (knowing that some of them wouldn't be cool with turning into goblin-mass-murderers), which has unintentionally resulted in them almost always leaving enemies alive and questioning them after a fight. It's a slog. These tips will come in really handy, thanks!
Glad to hear it! Let me know how it works out for you!
I have two general approaches to handling the player that wants to cut off a foot or what have you while another player protests.
First, I have them roll for initiative, while I roll for the prisoner.
If the cutter rolls highest, they have to roll to hit and, if successful, for damage.
If the protester rolls highest, they get to intervene in some way, tackle, trip, whatever.
If the prisoner rolls highest they might try kicking the cutter...
In this situation, as a DM, I'm trying to remain fluid, keep the game going, while allowing everyone at the table to retain agency.
Second, I have the protester describe how they will intervene, and then have them both both make skill checks to determine who wins.
In this situation I allow more of a dialogue between the players, but not too much.
I use whichever approach seems appropriate for the players involved, but the main point is to make known that the game must proceed. To do that players need to have their characters act rather than have the table degrade into arguments that last for several minutes over a few seconds of game time.
I use these approaches for just about any sort of contentious situation. A DM should be flexible enough to allow the players to do stupid things without an argument or a TPK as the inevitable result. The brash player has his impulsive rogue draws his weapons when the noble (who has a dozen guards) talks down to the party? Instead of the table haranguing the player to retcon that choice, the other players have to make a decision on how their characters react and the game proceeds.
I usually use the Matt Colville "Time" approach ua-cam.com/video/j6MLI30n7Ak/v-deo.html
I’ve always glossed over integrations as they tended towards violence or even worse boredom. But your cooperation idea is great and ties in well for how I run NPCs generally.
Thanks
Glad I could help :)
Just found your channel and love it. This one hit home to me because I've been in some awkward interrogation scenes as a player, when the other players want to torture and interrogate someone and they don't even know what information they're looking for and are planning to kill the NPC no matter what. Not my idea of a good time, and realistically not an effective way to get reliable information from someone. I have a feeling that a lot of groups do such a thing on a semi-regular basis though, keep the last minion alive, dismember them while asking random questions, and then execute them...not very heroic.
I'm so glad you found this helpful!! This was a tricky vid to make because there isn't a whole lot information already out there on how to run these scenes well. So I had to invent a few tip...Let me know if it works out for you!
Great ideas. I plan to use this soon. I appreciate that you’re covering topics like these that are commonly challenging for DMs. And I like how your hacks stick to the spirit of 5e. Keep it up!
Thanks for watching!! :)
Matt Alford did you use it? How did it work?
I read the DMG cover to cover, same with every other 5e book I've acquired
I remember reading an article about how real life torture doesn't work while in DnD interrogations usually do.
That's pretty funny. Matches my experience. Not ... with real torture, obviously, but insofar as any research and such, and definitely with D&D torture.
Personally I just have torture resulting in the one being interrogated saying what ever they think will make them stop.
Really great video. I ran an interrogation recently, and it was a debacle. The players had agreed that they were not going to go all evil, but they didn't have any idea how to get a prisoner to reveal things he didn't want to. It was neither dramatic, nor productive, nor fun. This might have helped.
I know the pain - it's why I made this!! The next time you try an interrogation, let me know if these methods help!
SPOT ON. I can't wait to try this out. I have already added it to our House Rules. Great work!
Fantastic!
Yes!! Zipperon uploads! It’s a great Friday!!
Spend a few weeks out of town - glad to be back in the swing of things!
As a novice DM, about to run a session with a guaranteed interrogation scene, this is exactly what I was looking for. Thank you for your clever insight, and for keeping the potential murder hobos at bay!
How did it turn out for you??
Wow, this was so insightful! Why have I never gone through those minion bits before!
Fantastic video, will definitely be incorporating something like that into my games. Till now I've always had an internal groan whenever the players capture someone. "Great, time to waste another 20 minutes of this session." Hopefully that can change now :)
Great! Let me know how it works out for you!
Every player in my group is intelligent. And yet, aside from one, the paladin, they each turned into bloodthirsty killers when an interrogation didn't yield an adequate response in just a few short seconds. They killed the bandit captive so quick, there wouldn't have been an opportunity to run this sensible system. In fact, they went full murder hobo, and killed everything that moved in all but our last session. And that included intelligent monsters that had information they were specifically looking for. Even after two additional attempts to put the information into their hand without just saying, hey, here's the info you need, they killed everything that had it. That forced me to put them onto a quest path they wouldn't have chosen to do, in order to get said info.
Now they have it, but they have been faced with additional problems where they are. When we pick up next weekend, will they stay and solve the immediate problems in the area, or will they beat feet back to the town they've been operating from, knowing they are on a time restraint to rescue someone? Who knows at this point lol.
I like your idea. I will let you know how it goes. Taking my players through "Temple of Elemental Evil" so cultist should have a couple interogation sessions both ways. Thanks once again. Keep the videos coming. Good stuff.
I really like this system! It takes a bit of work, but the payoff is really worth it!
Dude! Awesome. I am sure this will come in handy . You are so right. This come up a lot. Thank you. Solid contribution.
That's my goal!
Very well done sir!
The new mechanic seems really interesting, I'll definitely give it a go sometime.
You mentioned the dissonance between PCs mid session, as one character does a thing which another really dislikes. Personally I would let the player who spoke first do what they intended if I believe that it'll move the scene forward, instead of letting them bicker about it. Success or fail - I'd rather things move forward.
My favorite trick is something I learned from Matt Colville, the power of time: ua-cam.com/video/j6MLI30n7Ak/v-deo.html
@@ZipperonDisney
Good tip. Time is a powerful tool and in some cases splitting descriptions will diffuse a problem.
This will not work all the time. In some cases, giving the rest of the party time to react simply means they will start arguing about something else.
In these cases, using your power over time to quicken it, merging all of these actions into one description will help the session progress.
You would be amazed what people will say for a revivification spell or when you introduce rot grubs to their foot and offer a cure disease spell.
Good video and information
With a lawful good paladin In the party, there is no torture.
For something that comes up so often, there really isn't a lot of tools to deal with it. So I made my own!
Great video, just what I was looking for!
One of my one-shots uses an interrogation as an initial encounter, but I am not letting any actually participate except the character with relevant skills. The idea is they have immediate questions they want answers for quickly, but the level of success they have is how quickly they get the info. That way, the reason WHY they want the info in the first place limits the time they can put into interrogation. They are forced to decide what they think is most important to get, and will not waste time without feeling the pressure. Interrogation won’t ever be necessary for progression either, but it CAN mean the difference between life & death, success & failure.
That sound like a cool mini-game to try!
A good video. The only problem I see is that I have never had a interrogation work, because the players would not invest in the situation or mechanics.
It's like a Taylor Swift song, ya know? Players gonna play
Thank you for this video! This is very much an issue for my games and some great ideas
I've always returned to the idea of using rules when the RP falls short - it is a good safety blanket for players and using the loyalty system like this makes total sense :-)
Another solution could be too look elswere. Pathfinder has an interesting system for verbal duels that could (if desired) be refit to 5e.
How does that work?
Just about to run an session where I want PCs to interrogation multiple npcs! Thanks!
Best of luck! Let me know if this helped!
This was really helpful- thank you so much.
Glad it was helpful!
Totally stea-... Ahem, borrowing these rules for my next Sunday's game! Great stuff.
Made the rules to be used :) Let me know how it works out!
cool rules. I wanna try out that cooperation/loyalty thing you recommended.
Thanks Eric!! Let me know how it works out :)
You sound like you know what you're talking about with this stuff, man.
I'll never tell ;P
I like the proposed rules! It's something I'd be willing to try in my game.
I think the most important thing for an interrogation is to know the NPCs motivation. Like you said, if they only joined the bandits to feed their family they will probably be really forthcoming if the players offer them enough money.
If the NPC wants to rise through the ranks and become the boss, they might give the players information on their rivals within the group so that the players remove some competition.
That is a classic scenario! Yeemik the goblin is a brilliant inclusion in the starter set adventure because it shows new players there is always more than one path
Great topic. Great video.
I'm glad you found it useful! I gotta say, this system has helped me out quite a bit :)
Interrogations often fall flat for the same reason that you might have a random npc interaction not come together: you need to know what does this NPC/enemy know and what is he willing to tell. If you as a DM don't have answers to those questions beforehand, then the players are going to feed off of your unsureness and not give out clear questions.
Don't get me wrong, most players will resort to a Joel, last of us, kind of torture anyway. But at least it would have substance with it.
I like the mechanic. It may not work but I'll give it a try. It does seem like there's going to be a lot of work involved and questionable payoff.
I've found making just a truncated version on the fly works pretty well too, as an improv tool
What?! You mean it's not always threats of death, followed by death by murderhobo regardless of cooperation? Huh.
Well...that's what I'm hoping for at least :)
What about monsters? Like you captured an intelligent monster and want information from them? Humanoids are simple enough, but monsters generally will be less willing than others right (Especially if they are naturally "evil")?
I'd use they same system for intelligent monsters. Maybe adjust the starting point or DC if they are more hostile.
my players always kidnap people and then carry them around forever bc they never want to kill them or let them run.
my players' favorite way of making friends is through kidnapping
Can anyone tell me where to find the original thumbnail image?
Actual hack at 11:24
Read the whoIe thing cover to cover forgot most of it tho.
As soon as they cut a finger OFF he’s screaming and bleeding incoherent nonsense for a couple hours. It’s at least ten minutes before he can speak and how often does he pass out?
restoration..... magic always defies reality in that way. i mean I agree its not very heroic and I would try to convince any player under my GM screen to be heroic. I think the cooperation score does that very well. but always ways around things if the players want to be murder hobos
Made up Scores and extta modifiers and more numbers is exactly what d&d doesnt need. Let em role play it. Cut it short. Avoiding the uneasiness to torture is just a.way for.the dm to control and railroad.players.
A party trying to torture info out of a prisoner and saves lives while paladins and clerics argue not to is better.drama than 99% of orc battles
I think it's really a matter of preference. some people really like number crunches and rolling on tables to get results.
what if I'm playing a character that is specialized in information gathering and investigation? like an order cleric, inquisitive rogue, or whispers bard? part of the fantasy for my character is getting bad guys to tell me information. I'm not very good getting people to tell me stuff, but my character is. he has abilities and skills that help him do that, so in this hypothetical I would really like a system that turns into a game I can roll dice on.
i think d&d is best when roleplay and rollplay are supported by eachother. dice rolls add unexpected consequences and add new ideas and directions for the roleplay. roleplay motivations add tension and consequence to dice rolls.