NPC help needed: amateur or expert advice on paranoid schizophrenia

[Dr TPK]

A player is playing a solo adventure and I'm the GM. He kidnapped a young woman with paranoid schizophrenia. It would be easy for her to cry for help and maybe escape unassisted because the PC is doing poor job in guarding her.

But people with such condition think that everyone is plotting against her. Why would such a person cry for help? There would be only more "bad people". Can someone give me an opinion, educated or not, how should I play this NPC? Her condition is severe and she has never been medicated and she has never received proper therapy. Actually the "therapy" she has received has only worsen her condition.

[Geddy2112]

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional or anybody with any formal psychological/psychiatric education.

It depends on what here paranoia, delusions and hallucinations are. She could have an imaginary friend telling her the government is out to get her, or her co worker is poisoning her, or she may believe that she can fly and is a very powerful wizard.

Paranoid does not mean off the bat that everybody is out to get you, but it has to be an irrational fear of something happening. Delusions should be something that the NPC believes despite evidence that would convince a normal person otherwise. They could be delusions of grandeur or negative.

Auditory hallucinations might be a single person, or just voices, or come and go. For example, if she saw a group of people talking in a market, she may instantly assume the conversation is about her, and then "hear" negative things about herself.

If you want some inspiration, watch "A Beautiful Mind" with Russell Crowe. If you are familiar with the Criminal Minds series, Dr. Reed's mother is a paranoid schitzophrenic and is also a good example.

[Gritmonger]

I was told by a friend with a diagnosed and medicated condition to watch "Donnie Darko" for a subjective view. Events appear to have solid connections that are not apparent to everybody else. Sometimes the diagnosis itself is seen as part of a conspiracy.

[Battlebooze]

Is she holding herself hostage?

Hah!

Just kidding.

If she is paranoid as part of her mental condition, she might yell for help then attack/bite/kick anyone who then shows up. Logic and a disturbed mind do not necessarily meet. Honestly, if she is paranoid she would attempt to escape and find a place where she can be alone, away from "the bad people."

[gom jabbarwocky]

The delusions that characterize paranoid schizophrenia can vary wildly from case to case. At its most basic, schizophrenia is a failure of the subject to differentiate between reality and fantasy. I would suggest, for this NPC, you have to figure out what other kinds of characteristics this character has, and extrapolate from these the kinds of fantasies she would latch on to.

Among paranoid people in general, a common delusion is that there is some vast conspiracy ruling the world, like the Illuminati, which exerts control through various mediums ("water fluoridation is a means for communist mind control!"), and has subverted structures of authority/infiltrated the highest seats of power. Delusions of grandeur are also associated with paranoid schizophrenia, so the subject will often believe they personally are a target of this Illuminati or possess some secret knowledge. Other symptoms and delusions common to schizophrenics include auditory hallucinations (e.g. hearing voices), disorganized thinking (e.g. word salad), and clinical depression. The delusions may not even be internally consistent, so logical thinking isn't necessarily required or even realistic.

In this particular case, this young woman may not seek out help because she fears that any legitimate authority that would come to her aide would be an agent of some conspiracy out to get her. Depending on the conditions she was in before her kidnapping, she might view the PC as a sort of bizarre liberator, and try to draw him into her fantasy world. On the other hand, her delusions might be of a completely different nature - then she would have absolutely no compunction against calling the cops on this guy. Or, if the PC has been particularly crappy to her, she might call the cops anyway, in spite of her insanity; not everything insane people do is crazy, after all. Or she might be lacking in motivation to do anything, and listlessly do whatever the PC says, or just wander away aimlessly when the PC isn't looking. Almost anything is possible - personally, I would recommend whatever makes it more interesting or challenging for the player to deal with.

*Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist. Any knowledge I have of abnormal psychology comes mainly from amateur research and many years of running Call of Cthulhu games.

[Battlebooze]

*Disclaimer: I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist. Any knowledge I have of abnormal psychology comes mainly from amateur research and many years of running Call of Cthulhu games.

All I know about abnormal psychology comes from observing other gamers too!

[Maglubiyet]

A player is playing a solo adventure and I'm the GM. He kidnapped a young woman with paranoid schizophrenia.

Well sounds like a laugh a minute in that campaign. I wonder what you do for an encore after kidnapping mentally-ill women.

Schizophrenics come in all shapes and sizes. It's kind of like asking whether a blonde would cry for help. Schizophrenic does not mean stupid. She may call out for help, or in anger, or to yell at the voices in her head, or out of terror (real or hallucinatory). She may babble incoherently, sit watchfully, try to befriend her persecutor (or berate him, or try to enlist him in her schemes, or shrink in fear from him, etc).

[Battlebooze]

Well sounds like a laugh a minute in that campaign. I wonder what you do for an encore after kidnapping mentally-ill women.

Schizophrenics come in all shapes and sizes. It's kind of like asking whether a blonde would cry for help. Schizophrenic does not mean stupid. She may call out for help, or in anger, or to yell at the voices in her head, or out of terror (real or hallucinatory). She may babble incoherently, sit watchfully, try to befriend her persecutor (or berate him, or try to enlist him in her schemes, or shrink in fear from him, etc).

Hey, it's all in lighthearted fun. This is just a typical session of S&S (Snatchers and Schizophrenics) the cheery roleplaying game of kidnapping and mental disease.

Ok, giving the OP a break, maybe the PC was just trying to save the girl. In many medieval cultures the mentally ill were often abused or mistreated.

[SowZ]

I have a very close friend with schizophrenia and my mother is a mental health nurse who's worked in multiple institutions. So I have some second-hand knowledge?