How can you restrain a magic user?

[pabelfly]

Let's say you had to restrain someone that can cast spells without killing them. What options are available to do this?

[Tzardok]

Gag them, bind their hands, take their focuses and material components away. That takes care of most spells.

For more security, I remember antimagic shackles or manacles somewhere.

[Daisy]

Shackles of Silence (Magic Item Compendium p184) is one way, but given the number of spells only requiring one or two types of component and the feats/metamagic that allow you to bypass them, I personally think the best bet is to keep them unconscious as long as possible. Drug or non-lethal strike them continuously. Prisoner's rights be damned!

[Anthrowhale]

Exalted Deeds has the antimagic shackles. I recall they are quite expensive.

A good approach for a jail is casting Energy Transformation Field which eliminates spells, SLAs, and SUs in a 40' radius spread.

[GeoffWatson]

Make a deal: Promise that if they stick around they'll get a fair trial. If they escape, they'll be declared enemy of the state, with bounty hunters and adventurers sent after them.

[St Fan]

Given enough time, a Spellthief of equivalent level (or a multiclassed Spellthief with the Master Spellthief feat) can drain all and every spells from an unconscious spellcaster. (The Spellthief has no need to cast the spells herself, she can just discard the energy as they are drained.)

There are also quite a few states that will prevent a spellcaster from using magic without harming them. Baleful polymorph comes to mind; makes them easily portable too. Just have a birdcage ready, or pick an animal that can't run away fast, like a tortoise.

Smoky confinement is another handy option. Flesh to stone is more cumbersome and potentially dangerous. Amber sarcophagus might be an option too, though I'm not sure how transportable it is.

[hewhosaysfish]

Make a deal: Promise that if they stick around they'll get a fair trial. If they escape, they'll be declared enemy of the state, with bounty hunters and adventurers sent after them.

I was going to say something like this.
A lot of the solutions for cutting out *all* spellcasting are pretty extreme: 24-7 gagging and restraint (and maybe blinding); a permanent coma; petrification; death (plus efforts to prevent True Resurrection).

So you could get a lot of mileage out of telling a captive mage "If we find that you have left the Nice Cells, then we have to put you in the Nasty Cell."

Admittedly, a cunning and resourceful mage could try to be sneaky. They could teleport out of the cell and back, carry out business in disguise, wipe the memory of the anyone who caught the use illusions to pretend they are still in the cell. Buuuut... if their sneakiness is that much ahead of your investigative capacity then you probably didn't catch them in the first place.

[Doctor Despair]

Antimagic shackles are great, but expensive as noted.

At lower levels, you can blindfold them, bind them, gag them, and take away their components and spellbook. No verbal, somatic, or material components, and no line of sight makes casting very difficult.

Easier due to 3.5 silliness is, as noted, keeping them unconscious. You don't want to kill them, as then someone else might true resurrect them elsewhere. The unconscious condition is just the easiest method though -- any action-denying mechanism works here. For example, you could have someone with the Imperious Command feat demoralize them as a standard action every round so that all they can do is cower in fear.

[Deepbluediver]

Gag them, bind their hands, take their focuses and material components away. That takes care of most spells.

For more security, I remember antimagic shackles or manacles somewhere.
The Bard solution- grab them and pin their hands to the wall, then engage in sloppy makeouts 💋

Caster neutralized!

[Maat Mons]

Simple, cast Greater Bestow Curse on them. As per Book of Vile Darkness page 28, one of the options is “The target cannot cast spells, use spell-like abilities, or activate spell completion or spell trigger items.”

[Ramza00]

rest and rain

rest-rain

restrain

every wizard is seven days away from starving if no food and no magic items, and a wizard is seven days away from being a grump if they do not get a good night rest

[Inevitability]

Apply ability damage to the relevant casting stat; Minor Created Poison is probably the easiest and cheapest way to bring this about.

[Troacctid]

This feels like the setup to a joke. How do you stop a barbarian from charging? How many artificers does it take to change a lightbulb? How do you get down off of a Tarrasque? How can you restrain a magic-user?

1. Take away her USB cable.
2. Five. One to unscrew the lightbulb, one to hold the ladder, and three to figure out where the spare lightbulb is listed in their inventory sheets.
3. You don't get down off of a Tarrasque, you get down off of a goose.
4. Robe of powerlessness.

[Metastachydium]

Apply ability damage to the relevant casting stat; Minor Created Poison is probably the easiest and cheapest way to bring this about.

There's also disease. Mindfire and cackle fever cover INT and WIS. No showers allowed should help with CHA.


I personally think the best bet is to keep them unconscious as long as possible. Drug or non-lethal strike them continuously. Prisoner's rights be damned!


Easier due to 3.5 silliness is, as noted, keeping them unconscious

…which is technically a Good act, because it gives Monks a job that lets them feel strong and important!

[MaxiDuRaritry]

IIRC there's at least one creature (likely more) that cannot use arcane magic, and another that cannot use divine magic. I don't recall which, but I could swear I've seen 'em around.

Just PAO your victim prisoner into whichever is appropriate and take steps against it escaping from there.

[Thunder999]

If they're charisma or intelligence based just Feeblemind them so they lack the ability score to cast, ability drain to the relevant ability score will also work (damage could, but heals naturally so requires constant reapplication), Bestow Curse can work, but only if they started with low enough casting ability score.

I'd say draining them down to 9 in their casting score is the best method, lets you keep them conscious and mentally close to a normal human, meaning you can interrogate them, attempt to reform them, have them be aware of their punishment or whatever other thing you want to keep them captive for.

Unconsciousness is easier, but there's not much reason to take someone alive if they're not going to be conscious, if you're worried about resurrection then Flesh to Stone is a much better option.

[Darg]

Baleful polymorph works as they lose their spellcasting feature.

[Inevitability]

IIRC there's at least one creature (likely more) that cannot use arcane magic, and another that cannot use divine magic. I don't recall which, but I could swear I've seen 'em around.

Just PAO your victim prisoner into whichever is appropriate and take steps against it escaping from there.

Karsites can use neither arcane nor divine, those weird negative energy gargoyles from faerun can't use divine.

[Tzardok]

IIRC sarkriths (from Fiend Folio) can't use arcane magic.

[Metastachydium]

Unconsciousness is easier, but there's not much reason to take someone alive if they're not going to be conscious, if you're worried about resurrection then Flesh to Stone is a much better option.

Yes, but think of those poor Monks! (Also, I bet they work cheaper than anyone who can cast that.)


those weird negative energy gargoyles from faerun can't use divine.

The Kir-Lanans called and they want you to know they are TOTALLY not Gargoyles and divine magic is BAD anyhow for… Um… Reasons!

[Darg]

Yes, but think of those poor Monks! (Also, I bet they work cheaper than anyone who can cast that.)



The Kir-Lanans called and they want you to know they are TOTALLY not Gargoyles and divine magic is BAD anyhow for… Um… Reasons!

Well, if you're so conscious of monks, just have any schmuck off the street nonlethal UAS them every 8 hours to keep them unconscious.

[RNightstalker]

Build a prison (cell) in a dead magic zone. Of course getting them there could be a problem. I haven't seen Magic Jar listed yet either; unconscious players always fail the Will save.

[Pugwampy]

Same way you get a date with a cavegirl . Bonk Em on the head with a club .