Optional Skill Challenge Sheets

[keterys]

This looks really great - I'd be leery of making my own, except maybe for a serious published product, but I'd love to have a book full of 'em.

 

[AFCErik]

Thanks, folks!

I will try to whip up several more examples and a template this weekend.

PS:
I'm copying this from the original thread for reference:

Primary Social skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate
To detect the target's reactions: Insight
To impress someone with physical ability: Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance
To raise a pertinent fact: Arcana, Dungeoneering, Heal, History, Nature, Religion, Streetwise

So, 14 skills that could conceivably be used by someone in a social situation. More than enough to support robust skill challenges.

However, it looks like the system might fall down for other situations.

THIEVERY Skill Challenges

The TRAPS preview example gives a skill challenge using only Thievery. Roll 4 successes before you roll two failures? Where's the fun in that? What other skills could you include in a trap skill challenge? Acrobatics for some larger traps, I guess. Endurance for underwater traps? Perception, maybe? But, it's not nearly as robust as the social situation.

CHASE Skill Challenges
This one seems doable. Seems like the following skills would be usable:
Acrobatics, Athletics, Endurance, Stealth - for obvious reasons
Bluff - to trick the opponent into going the wrong direction
Dungeoneering, Streetwise, Nature - to use the surroundings to aid in your escape
Perception - to notice a shortcut, etc.

WILDERNESS TRAVEL Skill Challenges
Seems like skill challenges would be good for finding your way in the wilderness. Each success gets you x miles closer, while every failure gets you y miles further away. Skills you could use:
Athletics, Acrobatics, Endurance - to use a shortcut across some difficult ravine, river, etc.
History - to recall a legendary path through the mountains
Nature - to find the best route through the forest
Perception - to notice the deer trail

SEARCH A ROOM Skill Challenge
Are there enough skills to enable this? For every X successes you get before you get Y failures, find one hidden item. This could simulate the inability of the PCs to think of any more places to search for things.
Arcana - to remember that wizards often put important things out of reach of familiars
Athletics/Acrobatics - to wriggle your way through some rubble to find the stash
Dungeoneeing - to realize that crack in the wall could easily expand into a large, hidden cache
History - to remember that the ancient Knights of Kelliark often placed valuables in their helmet visors.
Insight - to survey a room, extrapolate the personality of the inhabitant, and then deduce where they might like to hide things
Nature - to realize that mold shouldn't be there, maybe something is damp behind that wall
Perception - obviously
Religion - to know there are always 4 miniature holy censers, not just 3 like you have found
Thievery - obviously

 

[Nail]

Good stuff, AFCErik!

Yoink!

 

[djdaidouji]

I think that I might add more rules to the intimidation auto-fail for my own means. Basically, if a PC tries to intimidate and rolls a 1, he sucks so badly that the Duke laughs. Not a success, but not a failure, though the duke would tire quickly if it happened again.

 

[AFCErik]

I haven't gotten the template done yet, but here's an update to the skill challenge Bill Slaviczek put up - H1 Keep on the Shadowfell Skill Challenge.

There's nothing wrong with his skill challenge. It's very neatly designed to provide a few PCs with something else to do besides attack the bad guys while not impacting their ability to be involved in the combat (since each skill challenge action is a free action).

I just added a lot of complication to his skill challenge. Made each attempt a move action (although you still might want to allow each PC only one attempt per turn), added Thievery, Insight, etc.

Let me know what you think.

Oh, and this contains spoiler information for the Keep on the Shadowfell adventure. Players should not read this:

 

[Melfast]

Good Format -- All the Info is in One Place

I think this is is a good way to show the skill challenge and to help me think out a skill challenge.

With this layout in a template, you could fill one in on the fly as the party comes upon a skill challenge or have a more detailed one already developed.

I tend to add things (i.e., make them up) to the adventure as it goes based on the Party's actions and ideas. Occasionally, this will take me off into large tangents that then become very important parts of the adventure later.

So, having the template to add new skill uses as the party thinks them up, and then to record how I let them work so I can remember what I "added" later would be helpful.

I look forward to seeing the final template -- preferably in Word or Excel so I can edit the size of the boxes and number of required success/failures.

Thanks for putting this together -- I've added your KOTS Skill challenge into the adventure in place of the original WOTC one.

 

[beverson]

AFCErik, did you ever complete a template for these? I'm very interested in using it, if you have.

thanks!

 

[mac1504]

Bump as I like this as well, and would definitely love to have this template to use.

 

[mac1504]

Free Visio Knock-Off

For anyone interested in making their own version of this, and can't get a hold of a copy of Visio (the program the OP used), there's a free online tool called Gliffy that allows you to fundamentally do the same thing. It requires that you sign up, and you are only allowed to make up to 4 documents with their free trial, but that should be enough since you can go back and modify the documents without any limitations.

I'm working on my own version right now that emulates AFCErik's version, and it is turning out quite nice. I will post a screenshot when I have finished.

 

[Bayonet_Chris]

Thanks!

This is really, really useful. Good work - I will be using this format in my games.