Interrogation
From GURPSworld Wiki
This house rule allows users of Interrogation to make their own rolls when using that skill. (If you like this house rule, you might also be interested in the Detect Lies house rule.)
Interrogation
IQ/Average
Defaults: IQ-5, Intimidation-3, or Psychology-4
This is getting a person to talk about something through mental and psychological persuasion. E.g. threatening to pursue perjury charges, offering amnesty to turn states evidence (your threats and offers need not be genuine), getting them to talk about something tangentially related so they slip up and reveal what you’re really after, etc. When they talk, they may or may mot be telling the truth. Interrogation Skill assumes the individual being questioned has a compelling reason to keep information from you. If getting the information is merely a matter of overcoming antisocial behavior, then a simple Influence Roll [p. B359] or Requests for Information [p. B560] will suffice.
A successful Interrogation roll gets someone to open up about a topic you’re interested in. The person being interrogated gets a chance to defend using their Will or Fast Talk (but not Acting). If the victim makes their Will or Fast Talk roll by more than you made your Interrogation roll, then they hold to their lie; otherwise, the truth comes out. Since you won’t know the results of their Will roll, you won’t know for sure which. (For that, use Detect Lies.) An unsuccessful Interrogation roll means the victim doesn’t talk or doesn’t reveal anything new. A critical failure means you give up or the person you're interrogating clams up.
| Will or Fast Talk Roll Succeeds By More | Will or Fast Talk Roll Succeeds By Less or Fails | |
|---|---|---|
| Interrogation Roll Succeeds | Victim holds to their lie | Victim reveals the truth |
| Interrogation Roll Fails | Victim reveals nothing new | Victim reveals nothing new |
Each use of Interrogation skill requires 5 minutes and effectively answers one question.
Since the Interrogation Skill assumes that the subject of an Interrogation will not simply get up and leave, a good reaction might first be required to get them to stick around. In that case, various influence skills can come in handy. However, Reaction Rolls [p. B494] are no substitute for Interrogation skill during an interrogation [p. B562]; neither can Influence Rolls be so used (unless they can be used at a default for Interrogation).
Interrogation + Fast-Talk [p. B195]: Fast-Talk is generally used as an Influence Roll [p. B359] whenever you’d prefer that to a Reaction Roll [p. B494]. As such, it can not be used as a substitute for Interrogation skill during an interrogation [p. B562], but it can trick someone into talking so that you can then use Interrogation Skill on them. Of course, Fast Talk can be used as a Requests for Information [p. B560] when providing you the information poses no problems for the NPC.
Interrogation + Intimidation [p. B202]: Intimidation is generally used as an Influence Roll [p. B359] whenever you’d prefer that to a Reaction Roll [p. B494]. Interrogation defaults to Intimidation-3, so Intimidation can be used (at a -3) instead of Interrogation when appropriate. Intimidation can also be used to scare someone into staying put, so you can use then use Interrogation Skill properly.
Modifiers: see p. B202
Example 1: When You Also Have Detect Lies
You have Detect Lies at 13 and Interrogation at 14; a punk kid has Fast Talk at 15. You want to know if the juvenile delinquent stole the candy bar. Luckily, he’s in the mood to talk to strangers, so no influence rolls are necessary to keep him from avoiding your interrogation attempt. After 5 minutes of questioning, you roll against your Interrogation skill. If you succeed, you got him talking about the candy bar, but he gets a Fast Talk (or Will, if that's better) roll. If he makes his Fast Talk roll by more than you made your Interrogation roll, his conversation indicates he didn’t steal the candy bar; otherwise, something in his conversation indicates he did steal the candy bar, e.g. there are too many inconsistencies, he makes Freudian slip, he mentions something that he’d know only if he stole the candy bar, etc. Whatever he ends up saying, you could use Detect Lies to try and determine his veracity (but at a -1 penalty for using two skills at once).
Example 2: When You Don’t Have Detect Lies
You’re a defense lawyer with Interrogation skill at 15; witness for the prosecution has Will at 10. You know the witness just lied under oath. You intend to “break her under the cross’”. You roll against your Interrogation skill. If you succeed, the witness elaborates, but she gets a Will roll. If she makes her roll by more, then she persists in her lie; otherwise she caves in or slips up, revealing the truth. Depending on your margin of success, she might let slip a slight discrepancy or be reduced to a defeated blubbering wreck.
See Also
2d Damage optional | Combat Maneuvers | Detect Lies | Meditation | Stealth | Tactics