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A Skill Challenge I plan on using.

Talysian

Explorer
I was hoping for some polish help. The following is a skill challenge I plan on using in the first adventure of my game.

Does this sound like an interesting encounter for a level 1 group?

Halfling Down. Complex Skill Challenge 12 before 3



Situation a Halfling has collapsed in the players area and they are tying to find out what is wrong and heal him.

Phase 1 Determining the Problem
Heal DC 15 (can be used 2 times)
Perception DC 17
Nature DC 10
Nature DC 15

The first heal check is a damage assessment, it allows the players to realize that the arrow has punctured the halfling’s lung. The first Perception check allows the players to notice a funny looking substance on the arrow. The first Nature DC is to allow the players to identify that goblins (in my setting) often use poisons to coat their arrows. The harder secondary nature check allows them to identify the poison. The second heal check allows them to know of a antidote.

Next Section Obtaining the Antidote.
Streetwise 16 or Nature
Heal 12
Athletics, Endurance, Streetwise, Nature 15
Socials (Variable) or Perception/nature 15
Athletics, Endurance, Streetwise, Nature 15

The first streetwise check lets them know that an old wise woman in town is likely to have the antidote. The heal check lets them know the poison is fast spreading and they don’t have much time. If they fail the Streetwise the Nature check also allows them to know the antidote grows in place x near them. The athletics/endurance/Streetwise/Nature all are used to navigate to whatever the appropriate site is. The old woman’s place or where the plant grows. Then it would fall into socials and or perception Nature. Followed by another check to get back, Obviously while this is going on for each minute they take, the healer must be making a dc 10 heal check to keep the Halfling stable.
Final phase the operation.
Nature –how the herb is prepared. (may be assisted)
Heal to apply (assisted)
Heal to remove the arrow (assisted)

Obviously players will want to use skills other then these. I allow that if they have a logical thought process. I will either let it be a success or add a bonus, or remove a failure. Also every player will have action points. I allow these to either reroll a check, or if it was only missed by 1-2 points, pass it. At the point this happens some players may have 2 ap’s. I allow players to spend more than 1 ap an encounter but limit it to 1 per turn. Critical Success either adds 2 successes or negates a failure.

If they get more then 3 failures but less then six. They heal the halfling, however he is still poisoned and they get reduced xp. More then that and they fail and it goes into a CSI type skill challenge to figure out what happened.
 

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Infiniti2000

First Post
What skill system are you using? It seems like the DCs are kind of high. I'd say that 12 successes before 3 failures is an auto-failure. They can't hope to succeed.

I don't see any timing constraints on this and that's the most critical thing. An additional heal check (low DC) in the first phase should also be available to tell them how much time the halfling has. The only problem with your answer is that it may greatly affect what the party can or think they can do. For example, if they actually find out there are two options, woods or old lady, to find the antidote then they'll naturally only go towards what they perceive as the faster option. If, for example, you tell them the halfling has 1 hour and they figure that it'll take 45 minutes to acquire the components and 20 minutes to brew the antidote, then they'll just give up.

Of course, if you don't have really good timing, then the skill challenge itself will not be tense. Either they'll feel like they can't succeed or like they can't fail. Either option is poor, so you have to get it just right.
 

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