Noose of Confession
This 5' piece of rope looks and feels like an ordinary piece of hemp. It fits in anywhere that a normal rope would be carried and to the naked eye is nothing more. The rope will glow lightly of magic if detected and can be dispelled under normal means.
It is when this item is tied into an ordinary looking noose that its magic takes effect. Once tied, the noose is held within three feet in front of the individual that is suspected of lying or giving false impressions. The noose then radiates a magic that will cause fear in that individual. So much fear, in fact, that the person will believe he is going to be executed. Therefore, the individual will gladly tell everything he knows and answer any questions to avoid being put to death.
Only information the individual actually knows may be extracted. The person can not be led into saying anything he does not know. After a confession is completed, the noose is then taken away from the individual and untied. The victim will have no knowledge of what has just taken place. He will continue the conversation from the point just before seeing the noose in the first place, no matter what he was doing or saying. At that time the individual may be dealt with in whatever manner seems appropriate.
The magic given off by this item is such that any creature normally unaffected by this type of magic will now have to make a roll to avoid its effects. For this roll there is a 20% penalty due to the strong magic of the noose. Example: A cavalier, under normal circumstances, would be totally immune to dragon fear or other fear-type spells. But if presented with a Noose of Confession, the cavalier has a 20% chance of actually being fearful of death. And if the roll is failed, the cavalier will in turn confess to anything he was involved in or happens to know about what is asked of him.
Any creature not immune to this type of magic--and most races and creatures are not--receive no save against it. An elf's resistance to charm does not make them immune to the noose. This item can be of great use against captured enemies, especially highway men and thieves, and is used alot within large cities by the magistrates for solving crimes.
(c) John (Jake) Brunette 1996