Paladin Captured by Drow Slavers

[InnaBinder]

Female Paladin, to be exact, and the Drow are actually Spellwarped Drow, if that matters in the discussion. 

By virtue of their choice to follow flavor text (again  ) rather than the main plot, my players ended up spelunking into the upper reaches of the Underdark.  Their endeavors were noted by the paranoid Spellwarped Drow, who came to investigate and found said Paladin dangling from a rope, well out of easy range of aid.  So, after a brief struggle, she was captured.

My notes for this eventuality indicated that, if one of the characters were captured, the Drow slavers would carefully, slowly, and methodically torture the captured individual, possibly including sodomy and involuntary genital piercing.  Given my group, I anticipated that this would get some uncomfortable stares from one or more player, a couple off-color jokes (WRONG HOLE! WRONG HOLE!), everyone would be somewhat amused while still understanding the nature of their adversary, and we'd move on.  My notes failed to take into account the likelihood that the captured party member would be the Paladin who is 1)the sole representative of the female gender among my players at the moment 2) generally squeamish about torture (won't watch R-rated movies if they're rated so for violence, as an example of squeamishness) 3)the fiance of the other person at the table who DMs from time to time.

I feel slightly 'stuck', for lack of a better term.  If I ease up on what the Drow are intended to do to their prisoner, I might make them seem less menacing than I want to - and I'd be marginally going against canon as far as the famed Drow cruelty goes.  If I follow through with the level of torture I'd originally noted, I'll run right over and through the Paladin player's 'ick' factor.  I don't want to make the gaming table uncomfortable for her, and I don't want her reactions to make my friend, her fiance, feel obligated to have a little 'chat' with me about my storyline heading into inappropriate territory either.  Ideas?  Suggestions?

The BG 'Sode on Sex in Gaming was what ultimately convinced me to pose this quandary here.

[AndyJames]

Can't you sort of gloss over it? Like.

"They captured you and you spend the next week being tortured and most likely sexually assaulted. This is DROW we are talking about, after all. Are any of you other guys going to do something about it?"

[AfterCrescent]

Perhaps you could try talking to her before the session...

Not right before, but a day or two in advance. Something like "Okay, so you've been captured by the evil drow. They're going to do some really evil things to you, but I don't want to gross you out, so I was hoping we could find a way to go over it without making you want to leave the table."

[InnaBinder]

Can't you sort of gloss over it? Like.

"They captured you and you spend the next week being tortured and most likely sexually assaulted. This is DROW we are talking about, after all. Are any of you other guys going to do something about it?"

Because I know the player in question - and her fiance - I can say with reasonable certainty that glossing it over in that fashion would result in 'hold on, WHAT?!?  Sexually assaulted?!!!  Geez, [Binder]....'

Perhaps you could try talking to her before the session...

Not right before, but a day or two in advance. Something like "Okay, so you've been captured by the evil drow. They're going to do some really evil things to you, but I don't want to gross you out, so I was hoping we could find a way to go over it without making you want to leave the table."

Given her schedule and mine, the only way that I could reasonably expect to talk to her about it ahead of time would be to visit her or call her at her work.   :-\  I'm not exactly sure that'd be a discussion she'd want to have while working.  It's a decent idea otherwise.

[AndyJames]

Because I know the player in question - and her fiance - I can say with reasonable certainty that glossing it over in that fashion would result in 'hold on, WHAT?!?  Sexually assaulted?!!!  Geez, [Binder]....'

Yeah. Geez, Bind-her!




You might want to try email to let her down easy, then (expanding on AC's idea).

[PhoenixInferno]

There's other kinds of depravity that doesn't include sexual assault/rape.  There are kinds of depravity that don't even involve physical contact.

[Ubernoob]

I think PI hit the nail on the head.  Extended use of the torture rules in BoVD make a decent start, but ideally you'll want an effect that does mental stat damage/drain.

[Sinfire Titan]

I think PI hit the nail on the head.  Extended use of the torture rules in BoVD make a decent start, but ideally you'll want an effect that does mental stat damage/drain.

Best form of torture=Drain Bamage.

[Prime32]

Well, what about "They captured you, and after a week of the things they do to you, you basically want to be put out of your misery. This is DROW we are talking about, after all. Are any of you other guys going to do something about it?"

[woodenbandman]

I vote for the psychological torture route. Describe that and then at the end tack on "and other things to grizzly to mention"

[Prime32]

I vote for the psychological torture route. Describe that and then at the end tack on "and other things to grizzly to mention"

You might want to check your dictionary.

[CountArioch]

See, in my world evil people typically dispatch anyone they suspect as being a paladin right away due to them being hard-headed and generally intractable.

[Ubernoob]

See, in my world evil people typically dispatch anyone they suspect as being a paladin right away due to them being hard-headed and generally intractable.

Your villains aren't evil enough.  The greater the fall the hero makes the greater the achievement for the villain.

[CountArioch]

Yeah, well my villains tend towards pragmatism.  They in general are less interested in esoterica and more interested in what's practical.

[InnaBinder]

Good stuff, here, all.  Keep it coming.

Note: In my gaming world, Drow don't torture people to get information from them or to convert them to their way of thinking; both of those are sort of optional extras.  Drow torture people because they can, and because they really enjoy it.

[Sunic_Flames]

See, in my world evil people typically dispatch anyone they suspect as being a paladin right away due to them being hard-headed and generally intractable.

Your villains aren't evil enough.  The greater the fall the hero makes the greater the achievement for the villain.

Plus Fucking One. It's called Bluff and Undetectable Alignment.

If you can't get the Paladin to willingly help you in your schemes, you fail at evil. At least sic them on your rivals, then you can't lose either way.

[Ubernoob]

[LE Outlook]

Yeah, well my villains tend towards pragmatism.  They in general are less interested in esoterica and more interested in what's practical.

Selfishness is not automatically evil.  Just because something is difficult does not mean it is not worth doing.

[/LE Outlook]

[Zeke]

The whole scenario is fairly de-protagonising. Remember this is D&D, you get to do something every round, she could constantly be trying to break free, cast spells etc. The capture itself sounds suspiciously like DM fiat to me. How far way were the other PCs? why couldn't she fight? She should at least have been able to hold them off for a little while if the chalenge was appropriate.

I think there is a place for games where your character gets traumatized and then you have to deal with it, but D&D is NOT it. It is an action adventure game, where "time passes and you get hurt" without a roll is not OK.

[InnaBinder]

The whole scenario is fairly de-protagonising. Remember this is D&D, you get to do something every round, she could constantly be trying to break free, cast spells etc. The capture itself sounds suspiciously like DM fiat to me. How far way were the other PCs? why couldn't she fight? She should at least have been able to hold them off for a little while if the chalenge was appropriate.

I think there is a place for games where your character gets traumatized and then you have to deal with it, but D&D is NOT it. It is an action adventure game, where "time passes and you get hurt" without a roll is not OK.

The other party members were 90' up, holding the rope and being the lookout, respectively, except the Psychic Rogue, who was also on the rope.  Nobody's Darkvision was able to extend to 90', and they didn't choose to give the two on the rope any light sources to aid sighting - probably because they're used to being able to see via Darkvision.   I glossed over the combat that did take place, which was 3 Drow versus the two of them; the Drow were using a DEX poison and the Paladin, despite Dwarven blood and Paladin saves, failed the saves.   So did the Psychic Rogue, who had secured herself (DMPC/groupthink PC) to the rope.  The Paladin had chosen to leap off the rope to the opening from which the Drow attacked, rendering herself unable to quickly reach the rope to signal for help.  They had arranged for a tug-signal should they encounter trouble, but neither of them chose to use it before engaging the Drow.  I can see how a glossed-over version sounded like DM fiat; hopefully this explanation makes it seem less so.

[Zeke]

It's allitle clearer, still... any way what about now? why are we proceeding directly  to torture? If 'twere my PC I would dragging out every dirty trick to escape and playing every second in combat time. (honestly this aproach might solve your problem)