Well, I've got something you may want to add, or work off of, or something. I decided I wanted a new torture mechanic for the purpose of a sort of inquisition. Although I would like to note that this ability is overly complex, like most of my dnd creations along these lines.
The idea was that there was an organization of 'good' NCPs, which would be fighting evil any way it possibly could, including taking good people and torturing them for information on anything with any connection. Here is the ability, if you want to take a look, which the Inquisitors of the Red Dusk use to probe peoples minds:
Spoiler
Inquiry: This is a special ability of the Inquisitors of the Red Dusk to draw out any useful information. Inquiry is not any simple ability that one just uses; it is a method of interview that takes place over a longer period of time. When somebody feels scared and threatened, anything they are asked about comes forward into their mind, making it easier to find if one is attempting to draw information out of their minds. Inquiry is a method which often involves torture. While the Inquisition of the Red Dusk claims that torture is a last line of use, some Inquisitors are quite malicious in their attempts to find evil. At any time during the inquisition, the Inquisitor may attempt to read the mind of the victim. The victim must make a will save with a DC equal to the inquisitor’s level + the victims current ‘fear’ score or have his mind torn open for the Inquisitor to see and read. When the victim fails this save, they must make a second will save (same DC) or take a permanent 1d3 Intelligence and Wisdom damage. Often this mind-reading is attempted first.
The main aspect of Inquiry is the fear portion. Any victim who knows of the damaging aspect of the mind-reading automatically starts with a fear score of 3. During the inquiry, the Inquisitor makes an intimidate check, often using torture devices to improve the check, against a will save of the victim. The victims fear score increases (or decreases) by ½ the difference between the checks, round fear up. Your fear score cannot go lower than -2.
For example: Bob is being investigated. He doesn’t know about the damaging aspects of the mind-reading, so he starts with a fear of 0.
The inquisitor makes an intimidate check, and gets a total of 20. Bob makes a Will save, and gets a total of 15. This is a difference of 5, in favor of the inquisitor, so Bob’s fear score increases by ½ that, which rounded up is 3.
Next, the inquisitor makes another intimidation attempt. He gets a total of 10 this time. Bob makes a will save of 15. This time, the difference is still 5, but in Bob’s favor, so Bob’s fear score decreases by ½ the difference. Because the fear score is always rounded in favor of fear, this is rounded down, to 2, when cut in half. Because the advantage is Bob’s, his fear decreases by 2, and becomes 1.
An Inquiry session can only have a number of stages equal to ½ the Inquisitor’s level, round down. A stage of inquisition is either a torture and intimidation attempt, or a mind-reading attempt.