Not everyone does what he’s told. Sometimes, more forceful means are needed to gain compliance. In many societies, specialized enforcement equipment is controlled by and restricted to the legal authorities (LC2).
Lawmen sometimes supplement technique with technology in their quest to solve crimes and protect citizens from sociopaths and terrorists. Of course, many of their tools can be put to sinister uses – notably torture and illegal surveillance.
Restraints are used to hold someone still or to prevent escape. They sometimes serve as a way to cause deliberate discomfort, too – whether alone or as part of more elaborate torture (see Torture, p. 131). Options range from a simple cord around the wrists to metal manacles and shackles.
Someone with his hands bound behind his back can’t perform tasks that require free use of the arms and has -1 to DX in general. He can attempt things that require only the hands, but at -4 to DX – and he must work blind if trying to manipulate something behind his back. A successful Acrobatics or Escape roll lets the prisoner bring his legs up and slip his arms around to the front.
Someone with his hands bound in front of his body suffers no general DX penalty and -1 on tasks that use only the hands. Activities that require free use of the arms (including most one-handed attacks) are still impossible, but twohanded attacks and weapons wielded with the hands close together – pistols, two-handed swords, etc. – incur no penalty. Other weapon use is at -1 to -4 to skill. Someone who’s completely trussed up is immobile. Treat him as both grappled and pinned (see p. B370).
Rope or cord (see Rope, String, and Thread, pp. 23-24) is the most common way to bind a prisoner. Divide his BL by 50 to determine the needed weight of rope in pounds. Make a Knot-Tying roll to estimate this amount and tie him up. Failure means he’ll wiggle free as soon as nobody is looking. Critical failure lets him burst out immediately!
For a successfully bound prisoner to escape, he must untie the knot, loosen the bonds so that he can wriggle free, or break the cord. If his hands are bound, then the only way to untie the rope is using the teeth. Roll a Quick Contest of Knot-Tying between captive and captor. The prisoner is at -3, and must win to free himself. If he’s gagged or unable to touch hands to mouth, this option isn’t available to him.
Loosening the bonds requires the prisoner to win a Quick Contest between his Escape and his captor’s Knot- Tying. Wet leather strips (TL0) contract while drying, giving -1 to Escape. Metallic wire (TL2) gives -2.
Breaking the bonds requires the prisoner to win a Quick Contest between his ST and the rope’s effective ST; he may use extra effort (pp. B356-357). To calculate the rope’s ST, treat its dynamic load limit as its Extra-Heavy encumbrance level, take 1/10 of this as BL, and find ST from BL (see p. B17); in one step, ST is square root of (dynamic load limit/2). Each extra coil around the prisoner (about 2 yards of rope for a normal-sized man) gives +1 to the rope’s ST. Losing means remaining bound – and if the bindings are thin wire, they bite into the skin, causing 1 point of cutting damage. Critical failure on the ST roll means a temporarily crippled arm (pulled muscle). Each try takes a minute and costs 1 FP; repeated attempts have a cumulative -1.
These work like bonds (above), with a few differences. First, shackles are metal, and cannot be broken with normal human strength – their load limit is 1,000 lbs. As well, they’re locked or riveted closed, so they can’t be untied. If they have a lock, this can be opened with the right key or by making a Lockpicking roll at the lock’s usual modifier, with an extra -3 if trying to open your own shackles. If they’re riveted shut, then only blacksmithing tools will release them. Finally, it’s possible to slip out of shackles with an unmodified Escape roll. DR 4, HP 10. $50, 2 lbs.
These are a pair of hinged wooden boards with either two holes for the ankles or three holes for the wrists and neck. The victim is thus restrained while undergoing whatever punishment is meted out. If his ankles are restrained, he sits on the ground with the soles of his feet exposed for abuse. If his wrists and neck are restrained, he’s free to walk around while being abused. Treat stocks as shackles (above) when trying to break free.
This device involves stocks (above) attached to a pole or a wooden frame so that the victim’s hands and head are restrained, and he’s forced to stand, exposed to the elements (see Cold, p. B430 and Heat, p. B434) and unable to move. The prisoner is also exposed to projectiles and filth thrown by hostile crowds, and will eventually suffer from lack of food and sleep (see pp. B426-427) . . . with possibly fatal results. Thus, the pillory was reserved for serious crimes. It was also used as a whipping post, holding a criminal in place while punishment was administered (see Torture, p. 131).
This consists of a hinged wooden barrel with a hole for the neck. One type has a solid bottom so the prisoner is forced to crouch in his own filth. The other has an open bottom, enabling the victim to walk around to face ridicule and abuse. It was commonly used to punish drunkards.
Early handcuffs were shackles – a one-size-fits-all affair. Ratcheting cuffs were invented in the 1860s. These made it possible to adjust the fit, providing a tighter and more secure hold on the wrists.
Someone with his hands cuffed behind his back can’t perform tasks that require free use of the arms and has -1 to DX in general. He can attempt things that require only the hands, but at -4 to DX – and he must work blind if trying to manipulate something behind his back. A successful Acrobatics or Escape roll lets the prisoner bring his legs up and slip his arms around to the front.
Someone who has his hands cuffed in front of his body suffers no general DX penalty and a mere -1 on tasks that use only the hands. Activities that require free use of the arms (including most one-handed strikes) are still impossible, but two-handed strikes and weapons wielded with the hands close together – pistols, two-handed swords, etc. – incur no penalty. Other weapon use is at -1 to -4 to skill.
Shackles (TL5). Crudely fitted metal wrist restraints. Make an unmodified Escape roll to get free. DR 4, HP 10. $50, 2 lbs. LC4.
Handcuffs (TL6). Metal, key-locking cuffs give -5 to Escape. DR 4, HP 6. $50, 0.5 lb. LC4.
Flex Cuffs (TL7). Flexible plastic loops give -1 to Escape. DR 1, HP 2. Pack of 10: $5, 0.25 lb. LC4.
Law officers often put criminals in leg irons when transporting them. Someone in leg irons suffers effects identical to Crippled Legs (p. B141). Activities that require free use of the legs (e.g., kicking) are impossible. Getting free requires an Escape roll against non-ratcheting leg irons (TL5), an Escape roll at -5 for ratcheting models (TL6-8). Triple cost to add a 50-lb. iron ball on a 6’ chain; the prisoner must carry the ball, which is a hefty bit of extra encumbrance! DR 4, HP 10. $40, 2 lbs. LC4.
The straitjacket (or strait waistcoat) was first used in England in the 1700s for restraining violent prisoners and mental patients – known then as “lunatics.” By the 1950s, most institutions had eliminated it. More recent models are generally props or novelties.
A straitjacket is a heavy canvas or leather coat with long sleeves that are wrapped around the body and buckled or tied behind the back. Someone restrained this way is in the same predicament as if he were handcuffed behind his back (see Handcuffs, see left), with two additional restrictions. First, he cannot use his hands; they’re encased in the sleeves. Second, because the sleeves are buckled tightly against the body, there’s no possibility of slipping the arms around to the front.
Ease of escape from a straitjacket depends greatly on the competence of those who strapped it on; magicians and escape artists use an oversized model, applied by a novice. On average, Escape rolls are at -10. $100, 3 lbs. LC4.
Torture was part of many cultures’ justice systems. Death sentences were commonly carried out by agonizingly painful methods, while less-lethal torture was considered a legitimate means of extracting information or a confession. Indeed, the Romans didn’t consider a slave’s testimony to be legitimate unless obtained through torture.
As explained under Interrogation (p. B202), torture need not involve physical injury. Exposing someone to his phobia is torture; so is depriving him of sleep. The techniques described here are mainly forms of physical torture, though. All give +6 to Interrogation rolls. Many involve specialized equipment. Simply displaying such an instrument to the victim is worth +1 to Interrogation – more, if he suffers from appropriate disadvantages (Cowardice, Phobias, etc.). Implements hideously decorated with spikes and monstrous faces (see Decorated Equipment, pp. 37-38) might give another +1 for this initial display.
There are many ways to torture someone with water. The simplest is to hold his head underwater – or place a cloth over his face and pour water onto his mouth and nose – and drown him slowly (see Suffocation, pp. B436- 437). Another is to force him to swallow an excessive amount of water (inflicting agony) until intoxication causes death. These methods are TL0. Such torture is risky at TL0-4, when techniques to clear the lungs and restart breathing weren’t generally known (see Ventilation, p. 154.). A mistake may mean that your victim dies before you intend.
A water dungeon is a water-filled chamber. One version involves placing the victim in such a prison so that only his head is above water. After a few days, he develops skin sores and muscle deterioration. Roll vs. HT daily; each failure means -1 ST and -1 DX. Another variant involves continually pumping in water and giving the prisoner a hand pump. As long as he continues to operate the pump, he won’t drown. These tortures were TL4 in the real world.
Most fanciful was so-called “Chinese water torture.” This allegedly involved dripping water on victim’s head continuously for weeks until he went mad. Supposed examples appeared at TL4.
The whip is a simple, direct torture method, provided that the victim is restrained and unable to flee. Whipping, or flogging, was also a common form of corporal punishment. Caning is similar, but uses a thin cane rather than a whip; it was more common in Asia. These methods call for little more than the Whip skill (p. B209) and a suitable weapon.
If using a weapons-grade implement, the victim will suffer damage as if he were in combat and is unlikely to survive for very long. Thus, less-lethal whips and canes are commonly used for torture and punishment. A light, flexible cane, a knotted rope, or similar specialized device does 1d-4 crushing damage, and is $10, 2 lbs.
Punishment whips do less damage but cause great pain. After being hit, the subject suffers moderate pain for the next second only – but if struck repeatedly over successive seconds, this progresses a step a second to severe pain, terrible pain, and agony. Further blows extend the agony’s duration. For rules for pain and agony, see p. B428. Flogging customarily involves the target being pinned or tied down and lashed until he’s in agony, giving agony’s usual +3 to Interrogation and Intimidation if you stop and make demands.
This is a wooden frame with wrist and ankle restraints attached to either end. The top restraints can be adjusted by means of a roller and ratchet system. The victim is slowly “stretched” to death as the restraints are ratcheted up, suffering extreme pain at first, then dislocation of joints, and finally separation of limbs from body. Each time the rack is adjusted, roll a Quick Contest: the rack’s ST vs. the higher of the victim’s ST or HT. If the victim loses, inflict swing crushing damage for the rack’s ST on each limb and the spine (see GURPS Martial Arts, p. 137). Natural DR with the Flexible or Tough Skin limitation has no effect on this damage. A ST 20 rack: $800, 150 lbs.
This consists of a variety of small devices for causing pain: knives, pincers, hammers, metallic slivers or bamboo splinters, irons for heating in a fire, vises for crushing bones (e.g., thumbscrews), etc. Only the torturer’s imagination limits variety and complexity! $150, 8 lbs.
Surgical equipment (pp. 147-149) can also be used as improvised torture equipment.
Reputedly used in medieval Europe, this grisly device was in fact a Victorian fabrication. As customarily described, it was an iron box shaped in the likeness of a woman, its halves hinged and equipped with adjustable, inward-protruding spikes. The victim was placed within, the box closed, and the spikes slowly inserted, causing much pain… but avoiding the vitals to prevent a quick death. If a torturer did have such a device, he could inflict 1 point of impaling damage whenever he liked on any body part except the vitals. $5,600, 300 lbs.
Investigators employ a combination of methods to determine whether a suspect, witness, or victim is telling the truth. Initially, they speak casually with the subject, perhaps under the guise of clarifying a report; this is an application of Detect Lies (p. B187). If they want to probe further, they call in the contact for an interview, which often includes carefully choreographed and rehearsed actions in an environment designed to compel the interviewee to tell the truth – a use of Interrogation (p. B202). “Lie detectors” are typically the last resort.
In 1908, Dr. James Mackenzie, a London cardiologist, invented the polygraph – so named because it monitored multiple physiological processes and graphed them. Polygraphs developed since the 1930s track heart rate, respiration, blood pressure, and skin conductivity, and display the values on a paper graph or (at TL8) a digital display. These readings indicate the subject’s degree of relaxation. In theory, since the act of lying causes tension, this means the machine can help spot a deception. The device doesn’t decide that a lie has been told, though; the operator does this, by carefully interpreting the data.
Psychologists have debated the polygraph’s accuracy since its invention. The premise that lying causes stress might not be true. In many circumstances, speaking the truth causes more discomfort than telling a lie. Certain pathological liars have no compunctions about spouting falsehoods. Furthermore, people have devised many methods for throwing off a lie detector’s calibration, ranging from relaxation techniques to stepping on a tack hidden in the shoe. The value of such tricks is itself debatable.
This controversy is also visible in practice. Some institutions, including British military intelligence and most courts of law, place no value on polygraph results. Others – notably, nearly all Federal agencies in the U.S. – routinely use polygraphs in security checks.
If the GM decides that these devices work as advertised, then a polygraph gives a modifier to Interrogation. Roll a Quick Contest between the operator’s Electronics Operation (Medical) skill and the subject’s Will. The interrogators get a bonus or a penalty to Interrogation equal to their margin of victory or loss. The polygraph operator and questioner need not be the same person; a technician with Electronics Operation and an interviewer with Interrogation can work as a team. The GM should make all of these rolls in secret.
People with the Compulsive Lying disadvantage always appear to be telling the truth on polygraph tests. The interrogators automatically have -5 on machine-aided Interrogation rolls! For appearance’s sake, though, the GM should make all the usual rolls.
If the interrogators wish, they may make two Interrogation rolls per question: one with the polygraph’s aid and one without. They have only their intuition (and possibly Intuition) with which to choose the more accurate result, however.
Polygraph (TL6). A suitcase-sized device with rubber tubing for the arm and chest, and coils of wire leading to a skullcap. $8,000, 25 lbs., external power. LC4.
Polygraph (TL8). A small box plugged into a laptop running Complexity 3 software. The subject wears a clip on his finger, a blood-pressure cuff on his arm, and a band across his midriff. $1,500, 1 lb., S/8 hrs. LC4.
The U.S. Army began researching the possibility of remote lie detectors in the 1960s. In 1970, three retired Army officers formed Dektor Counterintelligence and Security and marketed a new lie-detection system called the Psychological Stress Evaluator. This “voice stress analyzer” (VSA) could supposedly detect a liar by the “microtremors” in his voice. In 1988, a software-based computerized voice stress analyzer (CVSA) came on the market. With a VSA, nothing is attached to the subject’s body. It can be used without his knowledge and even applied to a high-quality recording. Its effectiveness and scientific validity are hotly contested, however – especially by proponents of the polygraph. For game purposes, treat a VSA as a polygraph that has half the usual effect on Interrogation.
VSA (TL7). A briefcase unit with a cassette tape recorder and a tape-strip analyzer. $25,000, 15 lbs., external power. LC4.
CVSA Software (TL8). Professional software that typically runs on a laptop. Requires a microphone (p. 41) and/or a tape recorder (p. 41). Complexity 4. $5,000. LC4.
Forensic equipment analyzes crime-scene clues – a subject covered in detail in GURPS Mysteries. Two extremely widespread items appear below.
The friction ridges on the hands and feet are unique to each person and remain consistent throughout life. The prints these leave – especially fingerprints – are therefore a useful means of identification. Prints are called patent if made in ink, blood, etc., or latent if created by sweat or body oils.
Various chemicals and powders are useful for revealing latent prints. Prints can be recovered (“lifted”), with varying degrees of success, from many surfaces – including human skin. Recovery isn’t possible from rough materials like brick, unpolished stone, unfinished wood, and cloth. At TL7-8, a computerized database can compare recovered prints to those on record relatively quickly. This may still take hours or days. Note that the computer merely selects likely candidates for a human expert to study – it doesn’t provide a definitive match.
A pocket-sized fingerprint kit is a case containing a small amount of powder, two brushes, several transparent “lifters,” and a pad of ink. A Scrounging roll might turn up powders and cellophane tape that qualify as improvised equipment. $50, 1 lb. LC4.
A case containing a tape measure, a magnifying glass, evidence bags and tubes, markers, gloves, syringes for collecting liquid specimens, scissors, tweezers, and a penlight. $150, 10 lbs. LC4.
The work of explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) technicians, oft-romanticized in fiction, could form the basis of an exciting campaign. Beyond a flashlight (p. 52) and an EOD tool kit (costs and weighs as much as an Armoury kit; see Tool Kits, p. 24), two other items are important.
This is a tube-shaped device mounted on a tripod. The EOD technician uses a laser beam to aim it at the bomb or bomb component he wants to destroy. He then triggers it remotely, via a long cable, to fire a 12-gauge frangible slug (p. 167). On a successful Explosives (EOD) roll, this neutralizes the target. Critical failure causes the bomb to explode! $200, 1 lb. LC3.
This machine uses X-rays to see inside objects, and is designed for inspecting suspicious packages and helping EOD teams defuse bombs. It includes an X-ray source (which resembles a video camera) and an X-ray receiving unit. Receiver and source go on either side of the item being inspected, directly opposite one another. Via a 150’ cable or a wireless connection, the laptop control unit can display the X-ray video image from the receiver, allowing the operator to look at the target’s internal components in real time. This gives +4 to Explosives (EOD) when defusing a bomb and +5 to Search when examining a package or vehicle’s contents. The system comes with its own backpack, and has rechargeable batteries that last for three hours. $50,000, 25 lbs. LC3.