Languages and slipping up.

[Tim]

I'm wondering how the folks on the list would do a certain effect?

The effect is the classic interrogation technique of talking to the subject for a while in one language then slipping in a question in the prisoners native tongue causing him to answer reflexively without thinking.

 

I want to pull this stunt on my players, their characters (scifi) game have infiltrated an alien world and know just enough of the native language to get by. The bad guys have been alerted that they might be there so if they get captured, the interogator will speak in English at some point in the interrogation. (Since none of us can speak an imaginary alien language, I can't just roleplay it.)

 

I'm thinking about either rolling an INT roll for the characters myself, then informing those that make it that they realize the question was in English, BEFORE they answer.

Or haveing them make the roll and continueing as above.

 

Does this sound fair to the players and characters? If not, what's a better way?

[Monolith]

I did this once during a Champions game, only I role-played it. I had all the questions written out on 3x5 cards and I gave them to the player one at a time and made him answer them. Then in the middle of the card questions I “asked†the player a question, seeming to him out of character, instead of giving him a card. The player immediately answered. I then made an Interrogation roll for the villain and had the player make a Skill vrs Skill EGO roll based on the negative modifiers of the Interrogation roll. The player failed the EGO and I explained what happened to him. He was not happy, but everyone else thought it was funny.

 

It is the kind of trick which only works once though.

[RadeFox]

Very slick and nice, Monolith. I like!

[keithcurtis]

If you want to be more subtle about it, you can use the "accent" method of foreign language. Simply stated, whenever your character is speaking a foreign language, pick an accent to represent it. Try to be really heavy on the accent too; it makes for a good cognitive dissociation.

Then, while you are in the middle of the questioning, drop the outrageous French accent and ask something in a normal voice, almost as if you were asking out of character.

 

Keith "Zhoost a soozhest-ee-on" Curtis

[Tim]

Well they've already been on planet for a couple of seesions, and I really haven't been using an accent yet. I'm not sure if they'd catch it if I did.

[Farkling]

Mechanics Observation::

 

INT/PER roll to spot it.

EGO roll to keep from blurting out an answer to the question in their native tongue.

 

You should interroagate them all at once...they'll think they are being allowed to spot something.

 

Mastermind:: "so, Mr. H, you are not actually Captain Dylan Hunt of the starship Andromeda in disguise?"

 

GM:: "Everyone make a PER roll, who didn't make it?"

"Those of you who made it, roll an EGO roll, those of you who failed, roll an EGO roll. Your missed PER roll counts as a penalty."

 

GM:: "Duncan, you failed by how much? You blurted out the answer in Tellurian Prime. I think you just blew your cover."

 

Mastermind:: "ah...so our spies were correct"

 

As a side note...anybody making a roll by half (or -10, whichever your rule) should be allowed some leeway/response to assist others in the room.

 

This method without the INT/PER roll also works for a Mind Control or Telepathy based attack of limited ability.

 

Oh, and give them a bonus on successive EGO rolls to resist this tactic, but penalize the PER roll based on the length of questioning, level of torture and sleep deprivation, yadda yadda yadda.

[Killer Shrike]

Hand out 3*5 cards. Tell the players that when they hold the card up in their off hands they are remembering to speak the alien tongue. When they speak otherwise it is in their native tongue.

 

I myself have some Interrogation training from my days as an Intelligence Specialist. The interrogators will prolly get more info out of the prisoners just by recording their conversation when no aliens are in the room.

 

As a side note, my wife is Czech, and English is like her 5th language. When she gets pissed or is tired, sometimes she'll switch into Czech without even noticing. We're all like: "What?".....

[Killer Shrike]

If a player slips up and forgets to raise the card to talk, allow them a counter Interrogation roll to "remember at the last second". The best way to defeat an Interrogator is to be familiar with Interrogation techniques.

[zornwil]

I'd do it as INT-based rolls, PC vs NPC. What I'd do in addition is for the character who is speaking the other language (the one doing the slip to mess up the one being interrogated) is modify their INT roll as follows (bear in mind this is top of head):

 

1 point in language = don't even try it (or if you're like me and tend to be overly-sympathetic and let people try stuff, I'd do a -10 for sure)

 

2 points in language = -6

 

3 points in language = -4

 

4 points in language = -2

 

5 points in language = 0 (yeah, that's right, it's a big-deal trick and it's the one idea where I think you could justify that 5-point investment - otherwise i've never really seen a reason to buy more than 4 points, but you just provided it!)

 

+2 per +1 point over 5 points (if for whatever odd reason the character bought extra)