Carrying around prisoners?

[Xhosant]

So, let's assume your characters are into taking prisoners. Maybe it's bounty-hunting, maybe they'd rather lock them up than off them.

But, hog-tying and carrying people around is troublesome. They can mess up future encounters, they can escape, and all sorts of other trouble. And let's assume, for this case, that teleporting them to your prison instantly is not an option (because your place is in another plane and you can't set up a local outpost, for example). You have to keep them around till adventure's end.

So, what kind of spells or magic items are there for the job?

[Mordaedil]

Rope trick is pretty handy for stashing away up to 8 people for the duration of an encounter or the night. Consider putting a guard with them so that they don't escape while your eyes are not on them.

For items, there's not a lot of great options, but a pearl that creates an otiluke's resiliant sphere can make sure they can't run off or be killed while you are busy dealing with something.

[Uncle Pine]

Depending on your alignment and how whole your prisoners need to be, cutting a few limbs in order to make their escape unlikely and seriously hamper their chances to meddle with your operations could save your day and a lot of headaches.

[Quarian Rex]

Well, first remember that tying someone up is pretty damn effective. Not sure if you are using 3.5 or Pathfinder, but 3.5 is a Use Rope check with a +10 bonus (vs. Escape Artist) to get out of, and with Pathfinder it is a DC 20+CMB of the person who tied them. Both are pretty good options so long as you have the most capable person do the binding.

Floating Disk is a great transport option. You can fit at least 4+ people sitting on it, just tie them to each other and/or to the disk (more if you are high enough level and start stacking them like cord-wood) and you have a long duration, hands-free prisoner transport option that only costs a 1st level spell. You can even have multiple in use at once.

Stupor (1st level spell from BoVD) is another great prisoner transport spell. Long duration and they follow along quietly. Has the downside of being single target and allowing a save (but it is a Fort save, unusual for mind-affecting, so useful on mages and rogues).

To that end, Charm Person (or Monster) is also a great option. Long duration (becoming days/level with Charm Monster) and co-operative prisoners is a great combo. May not be an option depending on how you acquired the prisoners (they get a +5 to save if they are being threatened or attacked by you) and may be completely undone if one of the party wants to assert his 'authori-tay' since, "Any act by you or your apparent allies that threatens the charmed person breaks the spell".

Master Ring (costing 40,600 gp, BoVD) paired with Slave Rings (500 gp, BoVD, cannot be removed except by the user of the Master Ring keyed to this Slave Ring) allows the master to inflict 3d6 damage at will to anyone wearing a Slave Ring (and send Messages 3/day to slave wearers). The master Ring is usually keyed to 10 Slave Rings but that could be altered to an arbitrary amount (determined during creation I suppose). Prisoners who value not randomly dying could suddenly become quite co-operative.

[Dezea]

For D&D, as long as you don't play with optionnal rules likes system shock, and as long as you got some Wealth, simply killing them, stuffing them into a bag of holding and getting them out later works pretty well. No need to worries about them escaping, feeding them, guarding them...Or getting them killed in an encounter, when you think of it ;D

If this is not an option, I found that forcing him to get a ring of sustenance, a necklage of adaptation and then Stoneshaping him into a wall, then putting the wall into a bag of holding is actually great fun...If you don't mind too much about your alignment.

(Flesh to Stone Obviously works better, but it clearly not as fun.)

[Lvl 2 Expert]

Ooh, can we merge this thread with this one (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?552994-A-green-dragon-surrenders)? :smallbiggrin:

[Jack_Simth]

Depends on level. Smokey Confinement (Complete Mage, p. 117) is pretty much made for this.

[Darth Ultron]

Mundane ways:

A prison wagon will work.

Also, you might want to get a whole prisoner transportation unit. Say like six folks who have the job of guarding the captured prisoners. They can stay ''nearby'', but don't literally have to stay five feet behind the PCs at all times.

Magic:

Ability drain/damage- the best here is Dex 0, as then they can't even move. But, in general, lowering ability scores down past ''8'' or so, makes it hard for a character to do a lot of things. Even at say ''6'' in an ability, that character is not going to be ''breaking out'' of anything, ''climbing or sneaking'' out of anything or even ''thinking'' of a plan to escape. And ability drain/damage does not 'hurt' and they can be all recovered (or you can cure them) by the time you get them back to wherever.

Shrinking-make them tiny, like doll sized.

Polymorph- you can make them all sorts of creatures that don't have hands and will have a hard time escaping and running away. Lots of big, slow animals work here. ''The Rules'' don't overly let you do a ''fish out of water'' trick...maybe. But you still might be able to get around that. For example if you polymorph a person into a dolphin, and keep them wet somehow, they will be helpless in the back of a wagon. And even if they could ''flop'' out of the wagon, they won't get far on the ground....and can't survive on land.

[Uncle Pine]

Magic:

Ability drain/damage- the best here is Dex 0, as then they can't even move. But, in general, lowering ability scores down past ''8'' or so, makes it hard for a character to do a lot of things. Even at say ''6'' in an ability, that character is not going to be ''breaking out'' of anything, ''climbing or sneaking'' out of anything or even ''thinking'' of a plan to escape. And ability drain/damage does not 'hurt' and they can be all recovered (or you can cure them) by the time you get them back to wherever.

True, if you happen to have a pet scorpion or a wizard/psion which knows shivering touch/ego whip, ability damage is pretty handy to keep your prisoners helpless, paralyzed or unconscious. Thanks for reminding me! :smallamused:


I'll add to the list "dealing vile damage to the target equal to its max health" to the list. Here (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?411538-Sources-of-vile-damage) is a list of sources: the vile lance spell, a vile shuriken or a huge amount of rats of Bane created via Touch of Hate all seems convenient.

[Falontani]

Chained up in a portable hole with the hole just open enough to give them air works wonderfully. Alternatively the spell stasis

[Vizzerdrix]

Shackles with minor servitor cast on them.

[Xhosant]

Depends on level. Smokey Confinement (Complete Mage, p. 117) is pretty much made for this.

We have a winner! Thanks, all!

[Jack_Simth]

We have a winner! Thanks, all!
I'm glad to help.

[BearonVonMu]

Depending on your alignment and how whole your prisoners need to be, cutting a few limbs in order to make their escape unlikely and seriously hamper their chances to meddle with your operations could save your day and a lot of headaches.

They even have a feat and class for it.
Improved Sever lets you hack off enemy limbs on the fly.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/combat-feats/improved-sever-combat/
The prestige class Butcher focuses on using that feat to its utmost during combat.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/butcher/

[Uncle Pine]

They even have a feat and class for it.
Improved Sever lets you hack off enemy limbs on the fly.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/3rd-party-feats/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/combat-feats/improved-sever-combat/
The prestige class Butcher focuses on using that feat to its utmost during combat.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/3rd-party-prestige-classes/4-winds-fantasy-gaming/butcher/

I can't help but shake my head thinking about mechanics allowing to mutilate enemies mid-combat without requiring them to be already helpess (read: 1 full-round action from being dead). Give any of these to a bunch of NPC and you're bound to wind up with several frowning players.

[SirNMN]

Mundane ways:
Magic:

Ability drain/damage- the best here is Dex 0, as then they can't even move. But, in general, lowering ability scores down past ''8'' or so, makes it hard for a character to do a lot of things. Even at say ''6'' in an ability, that character is not going to be ''breaking out'' of anything, ''climbing or sneaking'' out of anything or even ''thinking'' of a plan to escape. And ability drain/damage does not 'hurt' and they can be all recovered (or you can cure them) by the time you get them back to wherever.


if your good and they are evil touch of golden ice will do reduce there dex and it is based on just touching them

[Xhosant]

if your good and they are evil touch of golden ice will do reduce there dex and it is based on just touching them

Nice and tidy, and I am in fact good and usually addressing evil enemies. But, purely mental actions (such as psionics) can still occur.

In actuality, the plan is to be able to drag the beaten villains back to our extraplanar tavern/quest hub/headquarters where I can put them in an Energy Transformation Fielded, adamantium-built luxury-suit-like cell, where my Emissary of Barachiel cohort can take his time turning them good.