Mastermind's Manual - Skill Challenges

[Hand of Vecna]

In the Mastermind's Manual, it introduced several "Skill Challenges." Challenges reflect a capable character’s ability to perform some tasks with superior panache and efficiency. They allow heroes to achieve greater results by making already difficult checks harder. To take a Challenge, you increase the DC by +X (or suffer a -X penalty to the skill check), and in exchange you gain an extra benefit.

Some example Challenges are the Perfect Blance Acrobatics Challenge (increase the DC by +5, and you retain your Dodge bonus to Defense while balancing), the Comat Diplomacy Diplomacy Challenge (by accepting a +10 modifier on the DC, you can make a Diplomacy check in combat as a full-round action; opponents in combat are considered Hostile, but get them to Unfriendly and they won't attack unless you give them a reason to, Indifferent foes stop fighting altogether, and Helpful ones actually join your side), the Hide Tampering Disable Device Challenge (add +5 to DC, and anyone inspecting the widget your disabled must make an opposed Disable Device check against your result to notive the tampering), and the Accurate Notice Challenge (in return for a -5 penalty on a Notice check, you can treat a non-Accurate sense [like normal human hearing] as Accurate for one round).

Will the use of these Challenges be allowed in the Living Supers game?

If so, will the Challenge feat -- Choose one Challenge, you can perform it without the check penalty or increased DC -- also be allowed?



edit: speeling

[hero4hire]

Meh..I thought skill challenges were an interesting rule. I have always used something similiar in d20. The Feats with it were only really useful if you had maxed out your skill though.

for 1pp I can negate a -5 to a skill roll for a specific task.

for 1pp I can add +4 ranks to a skill for ALL tasks

I'd take the later.

[Velmont]

I've not yet put my hand on Mastermind's Manual, but I've seen teh skill challenge elsewhere and I like the idea.

But as H4H told, the feat would be interesting only for the maxed skills.

[Hand of Vecna]

In some cases, the Challenge feat is definitely worth the 1pp that could normally be spent on +4 ranks.

*re-checks book*

Okay, in 4 out of the 31 Challenges presented it'd be definitely worth it.... :\

Though the Challenge feat can also be of use to characters who are really, really good at one particular aspect of a skill but not in overall use of the skill.

[Velmont]

I don't have a problem to see an underpower feat added, and I like teh idea of the challenge. i'll take a look at teh book once I get my hand on it before voting, but most likely it will be for.

[hero4hire]

I will vote yes. Nothing unbalancing AFAICT.

[rgordona]

Are all the challenges defined or are they just GM imposed modifiers, I am guessing they are defined so would we need to list them all somewhere so they could be looked up?

The advantages of the feats seems to be that you could stunt for one, if you know that you are going to be disabling a device but want it to remain unnoticed it is better to stunt the feat off your super speed than the improved skill.

[Hand of Vecna]

Yeah, MASTERMINDS MANUAL defines them all. I'll work on listing them.