Reminds me of why torture as a means of information gathering is ridiculous.

I will absolutely tell you what I think you want to hear when you start stabbing me, whether its the truth or I ever knew it at all.

But I also hate you for torturing me, so If I do happen to know the thing then I also know enough about the thing to alter the answer to something false but plausible for a moment of relief while you act on it, because we all know if you're torturing me, you have no intention of letting me out alive.

This is why the lets be pals/wine and dine approach is more effective.

You can either tell me what I want to know, or your corpse can. slaps Speak with Dead Scroll against palm

Reasons why I like systems that have rules for this sort of thing.

"Sure, you can torture the captive. That's a rank 8 check against Violence, so go ahead and roll. Oh, you don't want to risk any mechanical consequences for your horrible actions? Ok then"

I feel like there's a lot of overlap between powergaming min/maxers and war crime doers. It really keeps players in check without having to resort to hand wave-y deus ex machina like "it turns out the bartender is a level 20 barbarian lol"

*Taps shoulder

"It's actually five. I thought you were asking about someone I cared about. Like you or the Paladin."

Neutral Cleric of Gozreh

Holy fuckin shit that's the coldest Intimidation roll I've seen in fifteen years

jester and nott basically