Thanks to Rebels we know about Project Harvester and work the Imperials did to find Force Sensitive Recruits among their Cadet Ranks. I’m wondering what methods you think the Imperials would use (manipulative methods rather than outright torture) to test the limits of a force sensitive cadets abilities and determine is they are a fit for something like the inquisitorius or even The Emperors Hand?
Assuming they passed, what would their training consist of?
Well, if we go by Jedi: Fallen Order, then outright torture is very much a part of the conditioning of an Inquisitor, as we see in one character's flashbacks while another just casually drops how they'd been broken right after getting a hand sliced off. Granted, the game takes place roughly 5 years after Order 66, so Inquisitors at that point are all former Jedi, so brutal physical torture was probably needed to break them.
But it probably would start with psychological manipulation to ensure the cadet is and will remain loyal, along with plenty of psychological conditioning to shape the cadet's worldview into one that suits the Emperor's needs.
As far as the degree/level of training, it'd probably have some similarities to Jedi training, in particular the martial aspects, just with a much darker philosophical bent in addition to psychological conditioning to ensure the nascent Inquisitor/Hand is well and truly loyal to their Emperor. If you go with the Legends description of the role, then an Emperor's Hand would have training more focused on infiltration and assassination, as they're generally meant to be used as a scalpel, as opposed to the blunt instrument that the Inquisitors (and to no small extent Vader himself) represent.
38 minutes ago, Donovan Morningfire said:Well, if we go by Jedi: Fallen Order, then outright torture is very much a part of the conditioning of an Inquisitor, as we see in one character's flashbacks while another just casually drops how they'd been broken right after getting a hand sliced off. Granted, the game takes place roughly 5 years after Order 66, so Inquisitors at that point are all former Jedi, so brutal physical torture was probably needed to break them.
But it probably would start with psychological manipulation to ensure the cadet is and will remain loyal, along with plenty of psychological conditioning to shape the cadet's worldview into one that suits the Emperor's needs.
As far as the degree/level of training, it'd probably have some similarities to Jedi training, in particular the martial aspects, just with a much darker philosophical bent in addition to psychological conditioning to ensure the nascent Inquisitor/Hand is well and truly loyal to their Emperor. If you go with the Legends description of the role, then an Emperor's Hand would have training more focused on infiltration and assassination, as they're generally meant to be used as a scalpel, as opposed to the blunt instrument that the Inquisitors (and to no small extent Vader himself) represent.
With that in mind, outside of just resilience checks, how do I torture a Force sensitive PC?
10 minutes ago, Silverburst3 said:With that in mind, outside of just resilience checks, how do I torture a Force sensitive PC?
I'd say Medicine vs. Resilience to give bonuses (specifically not saying Boost) to the following Coercion/Discipline check.
I don't know what situation you are finding yourself in, but perhaps it would be best handled narratively, or abstracted with a single (or two) rolls, and then narrated.
If this is something that is intended to drag on for a while, then perhaps Medicine vs. Resilience (Success/Advantage/Triumph=Boost/Upgrade/Downgrade/etc.*) followed by Coercion vs. Discipline, with total success on Coercion vs. Discipline giving the PC Conflict, as they embrace their hatred and are pushed closer to the Dark Side.
*these aren't intended as direct correlations, just a list of things that might result in something from another list of things
32 minutes ago, P-47 Thunderbolt said:I'd say Medicine vs. Resilience to give bonuses (specifically not saying Boost) to the following Coercion/Discipline check.
I don't know what situation you are finding yourself in, but perhaps it would be best handled narratively, or abstracted with a single (or two) rolls, and then narrated.
If this is something that is intended to drag on for a while, then perhaps Medicine vs. Resilience (Success/Advantage/Triumph=Boost/Upgrade/Downgrade/etc.*) followed by Coercion vs. Discipline, with total success on Coercion vs. Discipline giving the PC Conflict, as they embrace their hatred and are pushed closer to the Dark Side.
*these aren't intended as direct correlations, just a list of things that might result in something from another list of things
Take a listen to the social combat episode of the order 66 podcast, it is down in the pre 20 episodes somewhere...
If you can, check out the Servants of the Empire books by Jason Fry. It's not exactly the training to become an Inquisitor, but it does a decent enough job of showing how the Empire identifies Imperial cadets it believes may be Force sensitive, and also touches a bit upon how the Empire treats those Force sensitives it has collected. I won't go too deep into detail, since I suggest people just read the stories themselves. They might be a junior reader series, but Jason Fry is pretty consistent at bringing good quality to his works.
9 hours ago, Silverburst3 said:With that in mind, outside of just resilience checks, how do I torture a Force sensitive PC?
Social combat, with Coercion and Deception being the principle skills involved and the PC defending with Discipline and/or Resilience.
9 hours ago, Silverburst3 said:With that in mind, outside of just resilience checks, how do I torture a Force sensitive PC?
Uhm... I would flat out advise that you don't torture your player characters. That is REALLY bad RP territory to go to in my humble opinion.
2 hours ago, Doppelganger said:Uhm... I would flat out advise that you don't torture your player characters. That is REALLY bad RP territory to go to in my humble opinion.
I agree. If OP still wants to pursue this, either gloss over it, or make sure their players are familiar with the X-Card RPG tool.
Yeah, for some players - not just the focus character's player - this sort of thing could be really "triggery".
I suggest speaking with all the players out of game to find out where they stand on the issue. Also, as suggested above, just glossing things over with a few dice rolls (just to see how bad it was, without giving details) is probably the best approach.
Putting your characters in situations they can't win or get demoralized in is not fun for them. If you are going to have them be tortured then make sure there is away to escape that they can attain, or have the beginning talking parts and then roll the dice to determine the rest and gloss over the details.
One of my players like to describe how he is torturing to get info and it bothers the rest of the group, so I spoke with him privately and asked if he could refrain from doing that.