Balesir
Adventurer
I'll start by noting that I don't entirely concur with [MENTION=82106]AbdulAlhazred[/MENTION]'s view of surprise in 4E to begin with. Several fights with surprise on one side or other find the surprised party dazed (or worse) on their first turn, IME, and that can severely cramp your style from the outset.It's easy enough to execute the scenario: a group check or two determine surprise or a Skill Challenge determines whether the PCs go into an encounter at a more significant advantage or disadvantage, or even whether or which encounter they face next. But the PCs' abilities still remain very relevant in determining that.
Having said that, if you want to make a bigger deal of surprise 4E suggests several possible mechanisms. One that I have had some fun with is "Skill Challenge Minionisation". It works like this:
- Select a complexity of skill challenge at the level of the encounter; this is the task required to gain surprise with a good attacking position. If you want to be avant garde, let the players select the complexity in a given range: higher = harder to succeed but more effect (see next).
- If the PCs succeed at the skill challenge, reduce the difficulty of the encounter by (a) giving the PCs surprise and (b) making some or all of the Standard creatures in the encounter Minions instead. Each level of complexity of SC = 1 Standard creature "minionised", and higher complexities may give additional intelligence (i.e. set up the combat map more completely before having the players select PC starting positions, and give more freedom in starting positions).
The challenge skills should guide/be guided by the benefits; more intel on the monster disposition means some Perception and Lore checks, more freedom in positioning at battle start means stealth checks from those going for "advanced" positions, etc. Some approach routes might call for Athletics or similar checks, and (as usual, at least in our game) Powers and Rituals might help on certain checks, making them easier or even automatic.
This mode of "blending" skill challenges and combat was never really explored in the published 4E stuff, but it has worked pretty well, for us.