Cyberpunk RED skill
Interrogation
Interrogation is a skill in Cyberpunk RED: Applying pressure until someone tells you what you came to find out.
Last reviewed
Key facts
- Stat
- COOL
- Category
- social
Overview
Interrogation is getting information out of a subject who does not want to give it. That covers the full range from patient professional questioning to open intimidation, and Cyberpunk RED does not pretend the ugly end of that range is not part of the setting. At the table it is the fast, expensive option. Conversation takes an evening and leaves the source usable; Interrogation takes ten minutes and leaves you with a person who knows exactly what you did and will tell someone. It is the skill for a captured guard on a timer, a witness who is protecting the wrong person, or a contact who has already sold you once. Use it when speed matters more than the relationship.
How it works
Linked Stat: COOL Category: Social Resolution: 1d10 plus COOL plus skill level, usually opposed by the subject's Resist Torture and Drugs or by their own COOL and WILL. A natural 10 rolls again and adds; a natural 1 rolls again and subtracts. What it produces: Pressure yields answers, not necessarily true ones. A subject under enough duress will say whatever ends the situation, so GMs frequently pair a successful Interrogation with a Human Perception check to sort truth from surrender.
Tips and playstyle
Best for: Lawmen and Solos, and crews that take prisoners rather than leaving them. Character concepts: A detective who works a room without raising their voice, a corporate security specialist, a gang enforcer, a Medtech who knows exactly which pressure is unbearable. Synergies: Human Perception separates a real answer from a desperate one. Streetwise tells you whether what you were told is plausible, and Conversation is the version of this skill that does not cost you the source.
Frequently asked questions
Does Interrogation mean torture?
Not necessarily. It covers professional questioning, psychological pressure, and intimidation as well as violence. Many tables agree in advance where the line sits, and the skill functions the same either way.
Is the information reliable?
Not automatically. Pressure produces answers, and frightened people invent things. Most GMs let you verify with Human Perception, which is why the two skills pair so often.
Interrogation or Conversation?
Interrogation when the clock is running and you accept burning the source. Conversation when you want the same information and want to be able to come back to that person later.