Interrogation

Inquisition – what to ask who
By: Nynaeve

When you interrogate a prisoner, there is a drop down menu with several pre-made options which you can use to ask the prisoner questions. Also, you can type more questions yourself by clicking on the conversation window and manually typing the question.

But before that the newer Inquisitors out there may be wondering what Interrogating a prisoner is good for? Well there are two main purposes to interogate a prisoner. The first to find new Lures in order to summon stronger Human parties. The second is to increase a prisoners amount of tame. Tame is gained by interogating a prisoner and has a direct relation to a prisoners Blood. The more Blood a unit has the more tame that they will gain. Likewise the more Defense that a unit has the less tame it gains. Now that we have that out of the way on to the questions.

This section describes the questions you should ask each type of prisoner.

Villeins (huntress, hunter, countrywoman, peasant):
As the villeins are easy to tame their relatives are of no interest to you, and as their rulers have a known and more or less constant party size, the only useful question you can ask refers to the possible lures:
Who gave you the basket / sickle / medicine / bottle?” (Depending on their equipment).

Archer:
As the archers and warriors are not very hard to tame, their relatives are of no interest to you.

The first question will be about lures:
“Who gave you the axe/kerchief / wand?” (Depending on the archer’s equipment).
If the kerchief is a lady lure, you can ask the archer about the size of the lady’s party by manually typing the question “Does (name of lady here) have retainers?” (Multiply retainers by 5 to get estimated party size. Take into account that the archer you are interrogating is also that lady’s retainer, so she will count herself too). Most people don’t bother asking that as they can handle any lady party by the time they start hunting ladies…
If the wand is a lure, there is no point in asking further questions, as the sorcerer’s party size is known and is more or less constant.

Warrior:
As the archers and warriors are not very hard to tame, their relatives are of no interest to you.

The first question will be about lures:
“Who gave you the axe / amulet / wand?” (Depending on the archer’s equipment).
If the axe is a knight lure, you can ask the warrior about the size of the knight’s party by manually typing the question “Does (name of knight here) have retainers?” (Multiply retainers by 5 and add 2 more to get estimated party size. Take into account that the warrior you are interrogating is also that knight’s retainer, so he will count himself too). This information is useful if your army is not strong enough to take on the larger knight parties and you are trying to decide whether to lure the knight yourself or sell the lure.

You can also ask the warrior about the equipment the knight carries if you want to know whether a knight has a potential lord lure before you lure him - manually type “Does (name of knight here) have a flag?” and as next question “Does (name of knight here) have a sword?”
if the answer to any or both of those is positive, the knight carries a potential lord lure. (This information is not very useful, as you will see the knight’s equipment after you catch him anyway, and the fact a knight has a sword / flag does not automatically mean they are active lord lures, it is just meant to satisfy your curiosity if you are curious…)
If the amulet or the wand are lures, there is no point in asking further questions, as the prostitute’s and sorcerer’s party size is known and is more or less constant.

Doctor:
You should only interrogate a doctor if she has a pearl (or if you want to tame her for sacrifice).
As the doctor does not know any details about the lord’s party, the only useful question you can ask is “Who gave you the pearl?”.

Prostitute:
The prostitute does not know any details about the knight’s / lord’s party (recently there are rumors this is about to change, but as far as I know it hasn’t yet), so the only useful question you can ask is “Who gave you the emerald / ruby?”.

Lady:
As knights and lords are harder to tame, you will also be interested in that lady’s relatives as well as possible lures.

The first question will be about the possible lures:
“Who gave you the wedding ring / gold bangle?” (Depending on the lady’s equipment).
If any of them are lures ask “Is (name of husband / brother here) a knight?” or “Is (name of husband / brother here) a lord?”
In case husband / brother is a knight you can ask about the knight’s party size by manually typing the question “Does (name of knight here) have retainers?” (Multiply retainers by 5 and add 2 more to get estimated party size. Take into account that the warrior you are interrogating is also that knight’s retainer, so he will count himself too). This information is useful if your army is not strong enough to take on the larger knight parties and you are trying to decide whether to lure the knight yourself or sell the lure.
You might want to hang on to the lady if you don’t have a Torture Chamber level 2, as having the knight’s relative (wife / sister) in prison will help you tame him faster.

You can also ask the lady about the equipment the knight carries if you want to know whether a knight has a potential lord lure before you lure him – manually type “Does (name of knight here) have a flag?” and as next question “Does (name of knight here) have a sword?”
if the answer to any or both of those is positive, the knight carries a potential lord lure. (This information is not very useful, as you will see the knight’s equipment after you catch him anyway, and the fact a knight has a sword / flag does not automatically mean they are active lord lures, it is just meant to satisfy your curiosity if you are curious…).
In case the husband / brother is a lord, there are several questions you need to ask (type manually):
“Does (lord’s name here) have knights?”
“Does (lord name here) have retainers?”

This information you will provide to the buyer of the lure if you decide to sell it or use yourself to calculate estimated party size (knights number multiplied by 20 plus retainers number multiplied by 5 - the assumptions are based on probable largest lord party sizes) if you intend to lure the lord yourself.

If you intend to lure the lord yourself and want a more accurate description of the lord’s party or are just curious, you can also ask (type manually) in addition to the previous questions:
“Does (lord name here) have a sorcerer?”
“Does (lord name here) have a sorceress?”
“Does (lord name here) have a priest?”
“Does (lord name here) have a priestess?”
“Does (lord name here) have archers?”
“Does (lord name here) have warriors?”

You will want to hang on to the lady if you lure the lord yourself and intend to tame him, or ask the buyer of the lure if he wants the lady too if you sell the lure.
If the lady has only one lure (only for husband or only for brother), ask her also “Who is your brother / husband?”, as it is possible she has one even though she has no lure for him. That information might help you if you have a knight or lord in your dungeon you have trouble taming, and that lady turns out to be his sister or wife by a lucky chance.

Knight:
The first question will be about possible lord lures:
“Who gave you the flag / sword?” (Depending on knight’s equipment).
If the flag or sword are lord lures, there are several questions you need to ask (type manually):
“Does (lord’s name here) have knights?”
This is a very important information if you want to hunt a lord. If the knight said "The lord has 2 Knights." This answer can be misleading.
To clarify all doubts, that means that including him, the Lord has 2 Knights as the knight you interrogated is still alive.
“Does (lord name here) have retainers?”
This information you will provide to the buyer of the lure if you decide to sell it or use yourself to calculate estimated party size (knights number multiplied by 20 plus retainers number multiplied by 5) if you intend to lure the lord yourself.
If you intend to lure the lord yourself and want a more accurate description of the lord’s party or are just curious, you can also ask (type manually) in addition to the previous questions:
“Does (lord name here) have a sorcerer?”
“Does (lord name here) have a sorceress?”
“Does (lord name here) have a priest?”
“Does (lord name here) have a priestess?”
“Does (lord name here) have archers?”
“Does (lord name here) have warriors?”

Having the knight will not help you tame the lord, so there is no need to keep him alive (unless you want to summon or sacrifice of course).
After you obtain all the information you need about the lord, you will also be interested in the knight’s relatives, as his wife / sister also may have knight / lord lures, so ask “Who gave you the wedding ring / knife?” (Depending on knight’s equipment).
You can ask the knight about the size of the lady’s party by manually typing the question “Does (name of lady here) have retainers?” (Multiply retainers by 5 to get estimated party size). Most people don’t bother asking that, because if they can handle a knight party they can also handle any lady party…
If the knight has an amulet, ask “Who gave you the amulet?”.

Lord:
As the lord brings all of his retainers with him, only interrogate lords if you intend to tame them, and the only useful lures he can have are for his wife and his sister, and that only if you manage to bring his tame above 60 so that he answers questions. (Do not use confess powder for this, as the tame will not go higher than 60 afterwards…).
If you decide to tame the lord, and manage to bring his tame above 60, ask “Who gave you the wedding ring / knife?” – having the lord’s wife or sister in your prison will help you tame the lord more easily. In order to facilitate the process of taming the lord, make sure his wife's/sister's blood is 1 or at red. With that, the lord's tame will drop by 1 every hour instead of dropping by 3-5 tame. In no time the lord will be tamed!
If the lord has an amulet you can ask “Who gave you the amulet?”, but take into account that all of the prostitute’s emeralds and her ruby will not be active lures, as the lord and his knights are in your prison already…

Tips:

  • Only interrogate sorcerers / sorceresses, priests / priestesses, maids and servants if you want to tame them for summon / sacrifice, as they have no lures…
  • The sorcerer or sorceress know all the information about the lord’s party, but don’t have a lord lure. If you have a blind lord lure for that area (from a prostitute or a doctor), and happen to catch a sorcerer / sorceress from that same area, you can obtain all the information needed from them (look at knight interrogation for questions you can ask…)
  • Prisoners will only answer questions if their tame is 60 or higher, and can be summoned / sacrificed if their tame is 80 or higher. Once tame crosses 80, it will never go below 80 again, and the prisoner is tamed for good.
  • The higher the prisoner’s defense the less tame he gains in each interrogation – meaning the harder it is to tame him. (Take it into account when considering whether to interrogate a knight with high defense – a knight with above 40% defense is quite a challenge even if you have a level 2 Torture Chamber…)
  • A Torture Chamber will increase the tame from each interrogation, for interrogating knights, sorcerers and priests a level 1 Torture Chamber is a must, and a level 2 Torture chamber will make the job much shorter and easier…

Both the level 1 and level 2 TCs are extremely expensive to build, but they are worth the investment.

  • A hospital increases the blood recovery of the prisoner between interrogations, therefore having a hospital will also help taming stubborn prisoners. (Take into account the hospital has an hourly upkeep of 50 gold/hour for each level, so think carefully before building one…)
  • If you have a prisoner that you cannot tame in a single interrogation, you will need to interrogate several times (interrogate every 2-3 hours, make sure the tame does not drop to 0 between interrogations – in that case you will need to start all over again).

Each time you interrogate ask questions until the prisoner’s energy drops to 0 (as the soul cost of each next interrogation is ½ of the prisoner’s energy, this will allow you to avoid wasting unnecessary soul on the taming of that prisoner). In this case it doesn’t matter what you ask / say – if you feel creative you can invent questions or statements of your own, or just go through the drop-down menu questions in a circle until the energy reaches 0 and the prisoner stops answering.

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