Kidnapping a PC?

[Strigon]

All right; the playground has helped me with a lot in my GMing attempts, and my players seem to enjoy our sessions, which are often at least partially made of advice I took from here (Thank you to anyone who has put forth their opinion on any of my previous threads; you've all been great!). So, I wanted to run an idea by you guys, in terms of a plan against my players.

The BBEG of my campaign is in charge of his country, but the PC's have information about him that could cause enough of an uprising to overthrow him. He knows this, but he doesn't know the full extent of who is in the party (He knows them all, but he doesn't know he knows them all.), and he's labeled them as traitors, to be caught and executed, as well as hired several skilled bounty hunters to track them down. Lately, though, I've been toying with the idea of him capturing and interrogating one of the PC's, in order to get information on the exact extent of this information leak.

My questions are:
1) Does this make sense? Are there any obvious reasons why he wouldn't do this, that would cause a lack of consistency?
2) Is this a good idea, from a gameplay perspective? Would it be a fun story arc? Would it be better to capture them all (I doubt it, but you never know.)
3) What can I do to keep the prisoner engaged? A couple interrogation and bribery scenes might be fun, but depending on exactly how good the PC's are at locating and rescuing the prisoner, that might become old hat long before he is busted out. I can't very well just have him do nothing, so is there anything I could do to keep things interesting for him?

[Thrudd]

I would recommend you don't have them get captured. You might have a group of hunters show up attempting to capture one or more of them, but let the players' performance and the dice decide the outcome. Imprisoning a PC without giving them a fair chance to avoid it is taking away all agency from the player.
In general, I don't like splitting up the PC party, because now the group just sits and watches while the captured player does his or her bit, and then he or she sits there while the rest if the group plays the rest of the session without him or her. That is no fun, and cuts down the total play time for everyone.

If someone must be captured and interrogated, have it be an NPC that is an ally or acquaintance of the PC's, and they can try to rescue them.

[Beta Centauri]

My questions are:

... all dependent on your player.

1) Does this make sense? Are there any obvious reasons why he wouldn't do this, that would cause a lack of consistency?

Not to me, but your player may feel differently. If they do, this won't work very well. Just capturing the character against the player's will is likely to prove difficult; it can't be automatic or the character will complain, and if the player has even a slight chance to avoid capture, they probably will.

2) Is this a good idea, from a gameplay perspective? Would it be a fun story arc? Would it be better to capture them all (I doubt it, but you never know.)

It certainly could be, but again this depends on the player.

3) What can I do to keep the prisoner engaged? A couple interrogation and bribery scenes might be fun, but depending on exactly how good the PC's are at locating and rescuing the prisoner, that might become old hat long before he is busted out. I can't very well just have him do nothing, so is there anything I could do to keep things interesting for him?

You should get his input on this.

People here might offer ideas, but there's a chance that none of them will work as anything more than suggestions. As this is central to one particular player talk to him about it.

Some ideas are:

Executing elements of an escape plan.
Serving on a chain gang that's sent into dangerous areas.
Training or being trained by another prisoner.

My question is: what will the BBEG actually accomplish? All the player has to do is say "I refuse to tell him." You could gin up some rules about the NPC getting what he wants if the PC fails some skill checks or something, but that seems like something that would bug most players.

Anyway, talk to the player about this. You'll find out if it's a good idea, and if it is, the player will help you refine it.

[Acacia OnnaStik]

Yeah, this has the potential to go badly wrong if your players aren't on board with the idea, no matter how much plot sense it makes. You're the one who plays with them, have they complained about similar plots before? Enjoyed them? Is there some way you could get their feedback without making them too suspicious?

Give some thought to (trying to) capture them all. Cooperatively and proactively escaping a prison is a lot more interesting than being forced to wait for the rest of the party to find and save you.

And the idea of having an NPC kidnapped instead might be a good one. Are there any NPCs your players are especially attached to? That are in the party's confidence? That, being under your purview instead of theirs, might be actually at risk of breaking down under interrogation? Because that would give you the rescue plot without risking the players' sense of agency.

[Strigon]

These are all good points.
I certainly wouldn't force it on them; I'd likely have the bounty hunters try to kidnap them, then switch to lethal attempts if things go sour. Also, the one who would be most likely to become captured, by way of being most susceptible, is one who is pretty heavy into the whole role-playing stuff; it would probably turn into a situation where he's trying to get information from the villain without giving any up himself, and vice versa.
The idea of an NPC has merit, although they're still trying to be in hiding at the moment, so their list of allies is quite thin. It would also be harder to justify, as the king has personally seen them, but it would be difficult for him to discover their allies without also having the party's location, and if he has the party's location, why not just send out someone to kill/capture them directly?

[Gavran]

A possible alternative: is there any NPC "attached" to the party? You could capture them and still let the players be witness to those scenes (perhaps playing the captured NPC by committee?) without actually taking a PC out of the game at any point. You could run it as something like a 4E Skill Challenge, where too many failed skill rolls result in the big bad finding out everything and killing the NPC, but enough successful rolls means big bad doesn't find out anything but spares the NPC to try again later. Or anywhere along that scale, suiting your game of course.

I dunno, just a thought from a guy who hasn't done anything like that before.

Edit: Oh geez Acacia already totally covered that. I skimmed. .-.

[Bob of Mage]

Kidnapping a PC should be plan B. Plan A is for the PCs to beat the kidnappers. If the PCs fail at the task they should run the risk of being kidnapped. However don't forget that the other PC will make an effort to save their right off the bat, and can lead to the PC never making it to the BBEG.

If the PC were to be grabed it would be good to have said player run a second PC until the resuce. That would allow the PC to do stuff until the main PC is back. The secondary PC could then become a backup for later, and play a round in the backround.

How evil is the BBEG? Would he torture a PC? If not then I would not make any check as he tries to get info out (sense motive for lies still works). If torture is an option then you should make a check every so often. On a what would happen would be based on how the PC fails. Minor fail is damage and the next check is harder. Major fail and the PC would tell the truth. At the same time the BBEG would make a check to see if the PC was lying. If the PC can bluff him, he would stop since he would believe the lie (atleast until disproved). This would give the other PCs a deadline, as the want to save the PC before he breaks.

For the NPC option, you could have the BBEG find out that an NPC is his enemy from an unrelated matter. So something like the traffic cops stop the NPC for a broken tail light, and see something odd in the car. A careful search reveals that the NPC is forgot to remove something that links him to a crime or whatever the PCs are up to. Now it's unlikely there are traffic cops, but just have some bad luck happen and an NPC gets themselves caught. It could be for something unrelated (the NPC moonlights as a murder, thief or jaywalker), but the PCs fear he could spill the beans anyways.

[Acacia OnnaStik]

It sounds like you've got good reasons not to go with an NPC. A winnable encounter sounds good, as long as you've got an idea of what you'll do instead if they do win it!

Good luck, whatever you end up doing

[neonchameleon]

This is heading extremely close to the line for D&D. You do not deprotagonise the PCs. So speak to the players (or the target player) out of game and ask what they think of it. Generally IME if this was sprung as a surprise in a D&D game a player would fight it tooth and nail, but if you talk to them and tell them what you are trying to do they will go for it.

[SgtCarnage92]

Roving murderhobos are not the easiest individuals to capture...

So I'm liking the idea of having it be a winnable scenario. If you can avoid the classic "powerful bandits attack you on the road in the woods" scenario however. The bounty hunters are going to wait till their target is vulnerable to strike. This means messing around with the party after they make camp or whatever you decide the hunters strategy is. Don't pull punches, let the dice fall.

IF the party member is captured remember the rest of the group will likely try to get them back ASAP and that's okay. As soon as he's captured, the clock is ticking on "team BBEG" getting what they need. Keep things short and sweet and you should be fine and minimize "split-party syndrome."

Have a backup playable NPC available for the character who is captured may not be a bad idea, even if it's just for the short term. Could be a good addition to your GMs arsenal later.

[JusticeZero]

3) What can I do to keep the prisoner engaged? A couple interrogation and bribery scenes might be fun, but depending on exactly how good the PC's are at locating and rescuing the prisoner, that might become old hat long before he is busted out. I can't very well just have him do nothing, so is there anything I could do to keep things interesting for him?

How about this: Preplan it with the player. Arrange an NPC or something for them to run in the meantime. Have a couple breakaways with the person captured. Give them opportunity to get helpful info. Give them a bunch of XP and stuff for helping.

[Strigon]

So I'm liking the idea of having it be a winnable scenario. If you can avoid the classic "powerful bandits attack you on the road in the woods" scenario however. The bounty hunters are going to wait till their target is vulnerable to strike. This means messing around with the party after they make camp or whatever you decide the hunters strategy is. Don't pull punches, let the dice fall.

Yeah, the bounty hunters have a wizard, so my plan was:
Scry, so that the bounty hunters know exactly what I know.
Test the waters; have them be around one of the bounty hunters, who may make contact just to test the PC's
Try to figure out their next move, if plausible for the bounty hunters.
Set up an ambush, or surprise attack them in the middle of the night.

Now that you mention it, maybe talking to one of them beforehand isn't so bad. I was hoping to catch them off guard with it, but in truth it would work just as well with only the rescuers being surprised.

[endur]

So when Han Solo was captured and frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader and Boba Fett, Han's Player got to run an NPC, Lando Calrissian.

So I think that can work, but definitely give the player of Han Solo a chance to avoid being captured.

I also prefer information sources that aren't PCs. i.e. kidnapping a party friend. You can also use the kidnapped party friend as the bait for a trap to capture the PCs.

In the Hobbit, the PCs got captured a lot (by the trolls, by the goblins, by the spiders, by the elves, etc.), but they usually got captured as a group, not as an individual separated from the group.

[Strigon]

In the Hobbit, the PCs got captured a lot (by the trolls, by the goblins, by the spiders, by the elves, etc.), but they usually got captured as a group, not as an individual separated from the group.

Well, I was planning on having them having an "Oh crap, this is bad" moment, which I feel would be better with one missing.

A single player being captured turns it into a "Saving Private Ryan" level of urgency, whereas I've found many jailbreaks seem to be... lackluster.

"Oh, no. We've been captured. How shall we ever escape this prison?"
"I'll start digging..."

Vs.

"Okay, we made it out. Jason, care to do some healing now? ... Jason? JASON?"
"Where did he go? What's happened?"

And then later...

"We have to get him out of there before he dies/gives away vital information leading to our doom!"

[Red Fel]

The biggest problem that arises is that of the split party. In terms of combat, a split party is weaker. More importantly, in terms of scene time, a split party is a huge burden to both parts. Any side that isn't in the immediate scene is left out, and could easily become bored. You, as the GM, have the burden of keeping your player engaged, and this burden becomes substantially more difficult when you have to turn to one or more players and say, "Sit there and entertain yourself while we do this scene."

That's not to say it can't be done. In fact, if you have a separate session with the player whose PC has been abducted, he gets his single focus and you can then spend the main session focusing on the rest of the party. But the most important aspect, as others have mentioned, is clearing it with the players first. Removing a PC from the action can be extremely infuriating for a player who has to sit on the sidelines.

There is also the matter, as stated by others, of whether the PCs will let the abduction happen. Doing it by fiat is fairly frowned upon around here, so assuming you respect player agency, you'd probably have to play out the abduction. And that means giving the PCs a chance to fight back.

Now, let's take a moment to embrace verisimilitude. Say I'm a BBEG who has instructed some minions to capture one of my enemies alive. There are several instructions I could give him.

1. Capture him alive. Don't bother coming back until you do.
2. Capture him alive, but if he resists, fall back and await further orders.
3. Capture him alive, but if he gives you trouble, kill him.

#1 basically means that the would-be abductors will fight the PCs to the death in order to capture the PC in question alive. That seems silly to me, but believable. #2 means that the would-be abductors will attempt to capture the PC, but flee if it looks bad. That also makes sense. Here's the thing, though: #3 is the most pragmatic. Why? Because if I'm a BBEG, and my nemeses have been a constant thorn in my side such that I want to capture one to learn their secrets, and my minions have the chance to kill him if capture is too difficult, why wouldn't I let them kill him? I can try to capture another. If capture is too difficult, killing should be an option. Either way I'm better off.

In other words, if the PCs fight back, what's stopping the abductors from simply saying, "The heck with this," and going for the murder option?

Here's the thing to keep in mind. I know it sounds awesome from a narrative perspective. But sometimes what would make for a good story doesn't make for a good game. You need to keep in mind what would be fun for everyone involved, not just what would make for an awesome moment in your narrative. Definitely clear it with the players first.

[Strigon]

All right, so I've consulted the player who will be (attempted to be) kidnapped, and he thinks he could have a lot of fun with it.
It's certainly not going to be by fiat, but the group doing the attack will be roughly on par with the actual group, from a level and numerical perspective, though the actual party will likely have more items. Thus, if the party can remain focused on what is actually happening, they may notice that the group seems intent on just one member, and if they respond accordingly, they stand a good chance of driving off the bounty hunters, possibly even killing them. On the other hand, if they can't figure it out before it's too late, the four bounty hunters should not have difficulty in subduing one member and running off with him.

Either way, everyone will be compensated with a fair share of loot and exp.

[goto124]

When the PC gets kidnapped, distract the player with pizza :P

[Acacia OnnaStik]

All right, so I've consulted the player who will be (attempted to be) kidnapped, and he thinks he could have a lot of fun with it.

Awesome! Let us know how it went?

[Strigon]

Awesome! Let us know how it went?

Certainly!

[Segev]

Big thing, I think, is to run the kidnapping attempt fairly. The bounty hunters have known stats. Plan their assault, and the timing thereof, and give the PCs a fair chance to react. This means relevant perception-type rolls, ability to try to run or fight, etc. But it doesn't mean they have to get all the possible chances. High stealth and low perception could mean the party's sleep-gassed or whathaveyou and the hunters have the PC gone before anybody's the wiser. But the fair chance should still be there, if only to detect the incoming attempt to KO the party.

To keep the player engaged, either give him an NPC to run with the party, or ... well, that's my best idea, really. I suppose you could swap scenes regularly to give him screen time in his prison cell, especially if the BBEG's interactions with him are interesting.

Maybe the BBEG sent a doppelganger to replace him so the party would be none the wiser? That could be a fun thing for the player to play. Maybe.