New to the DFRPG, question on silly, unorthodox tactics

[GrayJester23]

So, I'm running a game online with some friends from out of town via email.  I started them out on the pre-generated adventure Night Fears, in which the characters are all high school kids trying to spend the night in a haunted house.  By the end of the scenario, they decided they liked their characters enough to keep playing with them, and I've been running solo GM-wise since then.

Since all the characters and events revolve around the high school, we're trying to keep the tone of the game light-hearted and fun, without bringing a lot of the dark, gritty elements into play.  The scenario I'm running, the players have run into a couple of fellow students who are focused practitioners, who have just been running amok with their new-found abilities.  They've managed to glean that one of the teachers at the school is a wizard who is gathering a following among the students and is teaching magic.  They just don't know which teacher it is, and are trying to find out.

In a recent conflict the party managed to capture one of the apprentice wizards, and want to interrogate her to find out who the wizard-teacher is.  While trying to find a means of interrogation that wouldn't fall into that grim, gritty category, the party's resident trickster/comedic relief suggested tickle torture.  Feeling this was appropriate, the other players agreed.

I, for one, am curious to see where this goes, but I'm unsure how to go about running a conflict about tickling someone.  What stress track would be used?  I'm tempted to think physical, but I could also see how mental stress could be a factor.  What skills would be involved?

Anybody have any input or suggestions as to how this scene would play out mechanically?

[Centarion]

In order to keep the game light-hearted you have basically re-skinned torture, this may mean it uses some skill other than Intimidate, but otherwise I would run it the same way torture is normally run in the book. 

[GrayJester23]

The book has rules for torture?  o.0  I haven't come across them.  Where would I find that section?

[Mr. Death]

Make it a social conflict instead of a mental one.

Instead of threatening physical pain, threaten to reveal that he has a crush on the head cheerleader. Instead of waterboarding, make it look like he wet his pants in front of everyone. Stuff like that.

[Centarion]

As far as I could tell, being in a position of complete control and having/using torture implements allows one to use intimidate to inflict mental stress. If you actually want this tickle torture to be analogous to real torture, with it just looking more light hearted, use those rules. If you want to actually use alternate methods I agree with Mr. Death.

Basically, from your post, I got the sense that what they wanted was to torture this guy, but it is high school and they are not evil monsters, so you wanted the torture to have a nicer fluffier narrative description, while being similar mechanically. This is a case of inflicting mental stress. If that is not true, there are plenty of social type attacks that would work, you could try to chat it out of him with Rapport, you could try to lie to him to get him to reveal his secrets, all the standard social stuff. Again, if you don't want it t be torture re skinned, but still want it to have that type of feel (threats and sudo violence) do what Mr. Death said.

[admiralducksauce]

I only think social stress and consequences work if other people know about the tickle torture. Otherwise, yeah, I'd go with mental, as weird as that is. Consequences could be stuff like "Pissed myself laughing".

[Sanctaphrax]

Talking somebody into doing something is social conflict.

Might make more sense as mental conflict, but that's not what the book says. Unless I'm reading it really wrong.

But tickle-torturing someone for information actually seems pretty reprehensible to me. Funny or not, you're still taking somebody captive and forcing your will onto them.

Not sure if it's reprehensible enough for mental stress...do you think that being tied up and tickled for info could cause trauma?

[Centarion]

The only reason I suggested mental stress in this instance is that it seemed to me that the intent was for this to just be torture, but re-skinned, so we just use the torture rules.

If someone were to do this in a normal game, where real torture would be allowed or something the players could do, I would certainly call it a social conflict.

Basically, there are two ways to pry information out of someone, torture, which is a mental conflict with mental stress; and other interrogations/talking to people which is social. 

[atavistic]

If you've ever scene what happens to someone who's tied down and tickled without reprieve and with malicious intent, you'll understand that its sure as hell actual mental stress inducing interrogation. (seriously look up tickle torture at your own peril.)  Almost any activity that strips away a person's autonomy, dignity and sense of control and leaves them feeling helpless and violated is pretty damned awful, (think about what happens to "making love" when done this way)it should probably feel pretty dark and gritty or it becomes acceptable, leading to kidnap and torture termed detainment and enhanced interrogation and you need a bigger shelf for your collection of ears.

 If you want to treat it as 'light hearted' then make such physical actions against him act only as maneuvers and play it out as a normal social combat, with the detainee making counter attacks using empathy (pick out the most defenseless interrogator) rapport ("please stop, please"), intimidate ("you guys will be in so much trouble when I tell") or deceit ( bad intel, "I've got a heart condition", "just untie these ropes and I'll tell you what you want) and then see how much stomach your players characters have when they start eating consequences for continuing till they get what they want.

 Remember that being tied up is far less of a weakness in a social or mental conflict when you can't actually pull teeth with pliers or work their ribs with a tire iron and leave them no defense to use.  And I wish you luck.

[Orladdin]

... If you want to treat it as 'light hearted' then make such physical actions against him act only as maneuvers and play it out as a normal social combat, with the detainee making counter attacks using empathy (pick out the most defenseless interrogator) rapport ("please stop, please"), intimidate ("you guys will be in so much trouble when I tell") or deceit ( bad intel, "I've got a heart condition", "just untie these ropes and I'll tell you what you want) and then see how much stomach your players characters have when they start eating consequences for continuing till they get what they want.

 Remember that being tied up is far less of a weakness in a social or mental conflict when you can't actually pull teeth with pliers or work their ribs with a tire iron and leave them no defense to use.  And I wish you luck.

Wow, great ideas! 

A lot of people often forget that when someone's tied up, they can still act.  I'm going to keep this post in mind the next time my players want to dredge the depths of torture.