My players have captured several people in their time at this point and I've noticed they almost always end up torturing those people.

Now don't get me wrong, everyone's a scumbag in this scenario. Their most recent victim being a Trandoshan with an appetite for Twilek lekku. But it is starting to become kind of routine and boring (atleast IMO anyways).

Any suggestions to make the inevitable next torture session more interesting or varied?

My advice? Have some bad guys capture your players and spend the next 2-3 hours explaining in detail how little pieces of them are cut off. That should reduce the size of their torture boners.

Well, there are several ways to answer this question:

About the time the person dies is when you've tortured them too much.

Generally, I would have some problem if my group did as you say. I wouldn't be okay with it at all, really.

I don't know, if you have a problem with it, maybe limit their ability to actually capture people and torture them? If they then go out of their way to continue, then maybe there are some RL problems. Maybe they've just found that it's an easy way to get info, and if it's denied to them they'll move on.

The least confrontation way would be to de-emphasize torture. Remember, you only have to make people role or narrate a scene that's overall important. You could simply just hand-wave the scene and move on.

For example: "After several hours of.. aggressive interrogation, you find out that the Marshal is as crooked as a circle." or "Even after your best efforts, humane or otherwise, the guy doesn't seem to budge. Your usual methods don't seem to phase him. But he's willing to make a deal in exchange for his participation"

It might help send a subliminal message when you don't ask to roll the dice for the things you aren't interested in going over.

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

Sorry, problem isn't the game, it's the gamers you're dealing with.

Maybe do more ship combat? Social encounters not presenting torture as an option? Running gun battles where there is only get away as an option? Smuggling runs?

Their enemies get wind of their torturous methods and the ones that hold information have a cyanide-like false tooth like in the movies for when they are captured. Solves the torture scene issue by introducing the fact that those who they are against have read up on their fairly evil ways of extracting information and have resolved that they will beat them at their own game. No torture scene, greater intrigue due to dead ends on some of their leads. They might consider an alternative means of learning things.

Yeah, that makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it.

Their enemies get wind of their torturous methods and the ones that hold information have a cyanide-like false tooth like in the movies for when they are captured. Solves the torture scene issue by introducing the fact that those who they are against have read up on their fairly evil ways of extracting information and have resolved that they will beat them at their own game. No torture scene, greater intrigue due to dead ends on some of their leads. They might consider an alternative means of learning things.

Even better, the enemies get wind of their ways and they send in a throw down dupe with a remote thermal detonator set to explode when their pain centers are activated for a prolonged period of time....

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

Um. Try talking to them. Let them know that you're *definitely* not cool with that sort of thing, and if they keep it up you'll stop running the game.

Seriously. If your players are creeping you out to this degree, and they can't respect you enough to stop, you probably want to find a new group.

If you're not actually willing to stop running the game, just remember one little detail about torture. It's not *just* a bad idea because you've got to be an evil ****** to want to do it. It's a bad idea, because you don't actually get any actionable intelligence out of it. Someone being tortured will tell you what they think you want to hear. In explicit detail. With *absolutely* no regard for whether it bears any resemblance to the truth as they know it.

You torture your victim(s):

They think you want to hear about Imperial fleet movements?

They'll tell you, in great detail, how the 183rd fleet is traveling to he Anoat sector for the Emperor's visit. Half the Grand Moffs of the Imperial Navy will be present for some sort of award ceremony, and the local Imperial Army commander feels like he's getting the short shrift by not receiving equal recognition, and the rumor mill says he's shorting their protective details as a result. They'll tell you that their source is their own grandmother, who works as a secretary for some mid-eschelon official who routes communications for the commander.

They've got a *great* bit of intel there, right? So much possibility to strike a blow against the Empire! Huzzah!

The reality? The 183rd fleet *exists*. It may or may not be anywhere *near* the Anoat sector. The Emperor most certainly *isn't* gathering half the Imperial Navy's high command in a backwater part of space for some ceremony. The Army commander? He's real, but he's hardcore loyal to the Empire, and wouldn't *imagine* doing anything to endanger it's command structure. He keeps double the marines on the customs ships in the sector, and insists that *every* ship be boarded and inspected. No exceptions. He won't hesitate to order the destruction of a bus full of nuns if they try to avoid the boarding, or resist the troops.

The victim of the torture? He's just making **** up. He wants the pain to stop. He's going to say whatever he thinks will make the pain stop. After all, if you're willing to do that to get information from him, he's not expecting to survive the experience anyway.

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

Um. Try talking to them. Let them know that you're *definitely* not cool with that sort of thing, and if they keep it up you'll stop running the game.

Seriously. If your players are creeping you out to this degree, and they can't respect you enough to stop, you probably want to find a new group.

Thanks guys

I'm not sure if it's the same issue, but I had a player who was upset that he had to make a Coercion roll to get an NPC to talk because he was holding a blaster to the NPC's head. His idea was that he could just up the narrative ante to get what he wanted rather than risking failing a die roll. I had to explain it doesn't work that way, the Coercion roll is whether the other guy believes you'll pull the trigger or whatever.

So is it just gratuitous sickness, or do they think they're going to get more information if they go to greater lengths?

They could begin to Acquire a "Bad Reputation" losing Jobs and not being wanted in Certain establishments.... More hunted by the law....

Potential employers want employees that know how to be more restrained and discrete,

Hey tortured, and possibly killed the Nephew, son daughter niece of Some one with a Lot of Resources available to Hunt them down... and Make SURE they Know it is because of the tortures they have preformed.

Make it like the real world. Torture usually only gets the people being tortured to tell you what they think you want to hear. The person being hurt usually lies. No reason you have to let the PCs know the NPC is lying. Those that don't lie, just choose to die instead. Perhaps they have a suicide pill or manage to break loose just enough to end it.

Make and NPC that gets off on it and try to ruin the experience. Turn the position of power from the PC to the NPC. The players are likely getting off on a feeling of power and control and taking that away should lessen the fun. When it stops giving the players info and stops being fun, they should stop doing it.

Worst case, start having PCs captured and brutally raped and tortured. If they want torture porn, they can be on the receiving end.

Best advice though is to talk to them and let them know that it crossing a line. They can make a roll and find out what info they get, with the details of how they did it off screen. It even calls out in the rules not showing that kind of thing "on screen"

Edit:

Page 294 of EotE states: "A crucial aspect of running a Star Wars game is making it feel like something seen on the movie or TV screen...Gruesome scenes explained in graphic detail are not expected. That isn't to say they could never be used -there are occasional graphic moments in the movies- but they should not be the norm."

Some people don't Lie Intentionally... Your torturing to make them Talk... So they Talk, they tell you what they think you want to hear to prevent or stop the torturing.

Torture is an Unreliable form of interrogation.

Here's an idea that popped into my head... not just narratively but game mechanics wise, torture would probably fall under the "spend a destiny point" kind of thing.

It's pretty messed up to torture someone, I mean, you walk into that room with evil intentions to harm them, to do what is "necessary" to get your information (which may or may not be factual).

There are consequences to all actions in life, I would say your PCs turning a bit more to the dark side of alignment and having to RP that (whether they are Force Users or not) would go hand in hand with torture. I mean, the only people in Star Wars that do torture are "evil". Just look at The Empire Strikes Back.

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

Okay... honestly, I think it's gone past the point of no return. There are always new groups forming up on these forums, as well as /r/swrpg on Reddit. If that doesn't work, I'm part of a multi-GM group and we always reserve 1 spot for guests each session, sometimes 2.

The worst we've had in terms of torture was when the PCs were captured by the sadistic older brother of a crewmate. I ended the session there and explained that any torture that happened to each character was completely optional and could be added to our RPol PbP site. We explained away the varying degrees of treatment as the brother focusing on a few PCs, and saving the rest for later. Seeing that part of the adventure and/or participating in it was at each player's discretion. When we picked up the next week with the second half, it was clear what had happened to some of the crew. However, while the characters were deeply affected by what happened, the players themselves didn't dwell on all that and moved on with the rest of the mission.

We also had a mission, The Laws of War , where the whole plot revolved around the PCs protecting two Imperials from being tortured by an overzealous Rebel lieutenant. If you have a free weekend, give Shadow of the Broker a try .

The other thing about torture is that the recipient may very well believe the lie that he tells. He doesn’t know that this is something that his brain cooked up to try to get the pain to stop, so even if you were to put him through an accurate lie detector process (and there is no such thing), he would come out as telling the truth — as he knows it, or thinks he knows it.

Are there four lights, or five? How can you be sure? Maybe there’s actually just three lights and both of the choices being offered are false, but you’ve been tortured to the point you can’t see that.

First, you talk with them. Social acceptance and the contract between players and GM should have the highest priority. If you find it boring, you should be able to stir the players clear of it, or just using "cinematic screen wipes" to just skip over to the next scene.

Secondly, make them a surprise next torture scene-

A. Strong dramatic scene from the victim. Tears, begging, and all sorts of mental breakdown.

B. Shenanigans... He has a dead man trigger bomb, poisoners gas, spontaneous combustion...

C. Victim doesn't give info and just dies.

I'm going to try real hard to NOT get political here. Forgive me if I slip.

I had a group of kids (13-19) do the same thing with some captured fanatics in a Pathfinder game.

When the Lawful good Paladin had the guy tied up and upside down ready to cut the prisoners nose off I put a stop to it. Game over for the night. Go home and think hard about why GOOD characters would be using torture.

The problem isn't the game or your GM style. The problem is with what we conciser to be right and wrong in the 21st century. Those of us in our 30's and 40's had shows like the A-Team, Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider and others to numerous to mention where even if the good guys opened fire on the bad guys no one got hurt. The heroes would growl and flex muscles which was enough to get the bad guys to spill their guts.

Today kids see villains gunned down, survivors tied up and cut in private places until they talk. And that's on BROADCAST! Cable and Pay Per View is even worse. The so called Good Guys do worse things than the Villains in our Cartoons did. Heck, Cobra Commander wasn't half as evil as Liam Neison's latest "hero" character. Reality is even worse. Horrific actions taken by people who get government paychecks aren't even swept under the rug, they are admitted to and we are told it's ok because of how bad the so called bad guys are.

So your players going all Jack Bauer isn't unusual. We have devolved or culture back to the Dark Ages. The only difference is now the Inquisition is on Prime Time.

How to fix it? I've no idea. Time for the sane people to move to Mars and let the lunatics have the asylum.

I'd actually be a lot happier not doing it at all. The other day they went into detail about cutting off a dudes nipples and I genuinely got creeped out but just don't want to say anything. Taking away their details might make them leave. This being my only available group puts me at a disadvantage if we disagree on things :/

What the ****?

Dude, send these immature twats packing and find a new group.

Are there legitimate solutions to the problem? Sure, and they have been suggested in the thread if you are hard set on playing with these assholes, but no game is better than a **** one if you ask me. It's more their loss than yours.

So, as I think most other people have pointed out the issue is with the players, and to be honest it's not that rare to have players go full murder hobo in an RPG. Many (dare I say most?) players of computer games are the same. Some people just go "it's not real so morality is irrelevant" and they have no interest in the role-playing side, they just want to shoot and loot.

Obviously step 1 would be to talk to the group as adults (assuming they are?), and step 2 would be abandon the group and find better players who share your taste in games, but it sounds like neither of those are valid options for you.

So, working within the confines of the game, I would suggest word gets around that the group are torturers. Make sure they run into some NPCs that treat them with horror and disgust because of their deeds, and make them lose out (useful allies abandoning them, the Empire hunting them more thoroughly, nobody trusting them...) because of it, and make sure they know it's because everyone knows they are torturers. As soon as they find their actions are having negative effects that they care about (lost loot, harder missions) they'll have a reason to straighten out.

Ooh, of course, the other thing you can do is totally negate the usefulness of torture by using the exact reason intelligence agencies don't actually use torture: it doesn't work . The victim simply tells the torturer whatever they think the torturer wants to hear. So next time they torture someone have the victim tell the players anything the victim thinks they want to hear. Have the victim change their story halfway through and generally be obviously inconsistent as they try to find anything they can say that will make the torture stop. Rather than having the victim resist the torture and say nothing (which will simply make the players try harder) have them break and flood the players with too much information so that cannot work out what's true and what's not.

My advice? Have some bad guys capture your players and spend the next 2-3 hours explaining in detail how little pieces of them are cut off. That should reduce the size of their torture boners.

Nah, that would only make it grow... They need a hug! ... Force power hug!

The next guy they torture has (unknown to the players) a surgically implanted bomb in his chest linked to his nervous system. To much pain and the bomb goes off.

BOOM.

Near TPKs are exiting, no?

I think your players need to get laid...