Herremann the Wise
First Post
When not in initiative, what does your group do? What different "modes" of play do you use?
Modes of non-combat activity for our group roughly include:
1. The Skill Challenge (*see below)
2. The Haggling Scene (trade of goods)
3. The 10 ft. Pole Scene (exploring, trapfinding, puzzle-solving)
4. The Free Roleplaying Scene (where you communicate with NPCs so long as a skill challenge doesn't get in the way)
5. The Travel Scene (where you summate 5 days of uneventful travel)
6. The Downtime Scene (where you work out with the DM the basics of what your character is doing with their time off camera).
What other non-combat stuff does your group do - I'm sure there's lots of interesting stuff I've missed.
*During our latest game night (4e), I came to the conclusion that my group in the main does not Grok skill challenges - and this from my perspective as a player. The codifying of this non-combat game mode just doesn't sit well with our group in terms of what it is used to doing. Our DM tried his damnest to get players involved but there seemed to be a constant clashing of gears with how the skill challenge was obviously written, and what our group was trying (or more to the point not trying to do). So while in theory the "Skill Challenge" mode reads well, in practice it just doesn't work with our group - it seems too difficult to get things to click - to the point where we're thinking of scrapping or curtailing skill challenges in the future.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise
Modes of non-combat activity for our group roughly include:
1. The Skill Challenge (*see below)
2. The Haggling Scene (trade of goods)
3. The 10 ft. Pole Scene (exploring, trapfinding, puzzle-solving)
4. The Free Roleplaying Scene (where you communicate with NPCs so long as a skill challenge doesn't get in the way)
5. The Travel Scene (where you summate 5 days of uneventful travel)
6. The Downtime Scene (where you work out with the DM the basics of what your character is doing with their time off camera).
What other non-combat stuff does your group do - I'm sure there's lots of interesting stuff I've missed.
*During our latest game night (4e), I came to the conclusion that my group in the main does not Grok skill challenges - and this from my perspective as a player. The codifying of this non-combat game mode just doesn't sit well with our group in terms of what it is used to doing. Our DM tried his damnest to get players involved but there seemed to be a constant clashing of gears with how the skill challenge was obviously written, and what our group was trying (or more to the point not trying to do). So while in theory the "Skill Challenge" mode reads well, in practice it just doesn't work with our group - it seems too difficult to get things to click - to the point where we're thinking of scrapping or curtailing skill challenges in the future.
Best Regards
Herremann the Wise