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Hacking GUMSHOE for a skill challenge
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<blockquote data-quote="Balesir" data-source="post: 6136514" data-attributes="member: 27160"><p>I have done a fair bit of tweaking of skill challenges recently, and my inclination would be not to stick rigidly to "three strikes and out" but to look to the xp equation. What I mean here is, allow a check for every secondary clue, but assess penalties for failures equivalent to the xp for the challenge for every 3 failures. So, breaking it down in one possible way, every failure leads to an attack by creatures with an xp value equal to 1/3 the value of the skill challenge. More interestingly, perhaps, you can first generalise this to "every failure leads to consequences assessed at 1/3 the total xp value of the challenge", where "consequences" can mean anything from damage equivalent to 2-3 rounds (1-2 hits, say) from a challenge-level creature to traps and actual assailants, and then modify so that multiples of the 'penalty encounter aliquot' are reserved and trigger every 2-3 failures (so, a 2/3 xp penalty after 2 failures or a full xp penalty after 3). No xp are actually awarded for the 'penalty encounters' - they are just the 'price' for failure.</p><p></p><p>Your current scheme looks a little bit like this sort of system, but rigidly giving one penalty per failure, tied specifically to that location. Some of that might be fine, but it might get a bit samey/predictable. A bit of flexibility/structured variation might actually add interest. For example, the summoned air elemental (or whatever) might trigger after 2 failures in areas that don't have specific consequences tied to them, making it a potentially more nasty critter (while still "fair") and unpredictable in timing (as befits such a fast moving creature).</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Balesir, post: 6136514, member: 27160"] I have done a fair bit of tweaking of skill challenges recently, and my inclination would be not to stick rigidly to "three strikes and out" but to look to the xp equation. What I mean here is, allow a check for every secondary clue, but assess penalties for failures equivalent to the xp for the challenge for every 3 failures. So, breaking it down in one possible way, every failure leads to an attack by creatures with an xp value equal to 1/3 the value of the skill challenge. More interestingly, perhaps, you can first generalise this to "every failure leads to consequences assessed at 1/3 the total xp value of the challenge", where "consequences" can mean anything from damage equivalent to 2-3 rounds (1-2 hits, say) from a challenge-level creature to traps and actual assailants, and then modify so that multiples of the 'penalty encounter aliquot' are reserved and trigger every 2-3 failures (so, a 2/3 xp penalty after 2 failures or a full xp penalty after 3). No xp are actually awarded for the 'penalty encounters' - they are just the 'price' for failure. Your current scheme looks a little bit like this sort of system, but rigidly giving one penalty per failure, tied specifically to that location. Some of that might be fine, but it might get a bit samey/predictable. A bit of flexibility/structured variation might actually add interest. For example, the summoned air elemental (or whatever) might trigger after 2 failures in areas that don't have specific consequences tied to them, making it a potentially more nasty critter (while still "fair") and unpredictable in timing (as befits such a fast moving creature). [/QUOTE]
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Hacking GUMSHOE for a skill challenge
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