Sanglorian
Adventurer
During the development of Orcus, I had a lot of ideas for tweaking 4E - or changing it in more profound and radical ways.
I (mostly) resisted the urge at the time, but I wanted to share some of these ideas now. I'd also love to hear about your 4E/Orcus house rules. I'm most interested in major changes to the game, but feel free to share any house rule big or small!
The first one is a way to do extended challenges, like skill challenges in 4E or the victory point system in Pathfinder 2E.
During the development of Orcus, I had a lot of ideas for tweaking 4E - or changing it in more profound and radical ways.
I (mostly) resisted the urge at the time, but I wanted to share some of these ideas now. I'd also love to hear about your 4E/Orcus house rules. I'm most interested in major changes to the game, but feel free to share any house rule big or small!
The first one is a way to do extended challenges, like skill challenges in 4E or the victory point system in Pathfinder 2E.
Reactive challenges
The heroes might explore a vast, perilous swamp; piece together clues to catch a serial killer; or try over days to negotiate a complex peace settlement between two implacable foes.
These challenges are too important and intricate to be resolved with a single skill check. For these, the GM should outline a “reactive challenge”.
Background
I've never been happy with skill challenges (or extended challenges as they are called in Orcus). They seem very artificial, mostly a chance for each hero to roll skill checks and feel like they've "contributed", rather than pose a puzzle or genuine challenge, or reflect what is going on in the story.
When I read YUM/DM write about the clever three-stage reaction roll chart from the 1983 Mentzer Basic Set, it switched on a lightbulb for me. It is broadly applicable to any kind of challenge, and roughly breaks down into: positioning, resolution and an optional "Hail Mary" if resolution fails. What I particularly like about it is that it is dynamic: after each roll, the PCs get feedback on how they have performed that they can usefully incorporate into their next effort.
Reactive challenges are a replacement for extended challenges that borrow that old reaction roll structure. In a nice bit of parallel evolution, they also work a lot like moves in Powered by the Apocalypse games. There are also bits of Strange Flight's challenge crawls in the mix.
Example reactive challenges
The Duke’s intervention
Setup: The Duke needs to be convinced to send his soldiers to search for villagers that have been abducted by bandits.
Obstacles:
Time pressure: The villain arrives at the bandits’ camp in three days, and it will take about two days for the Duke’s soldiers to find the camp – leaving just one day to convince the Duke (each PC may make one attempt every eight hours).
Win time by delaying the villain's arrival, like setting up a distraction or booby trap, or blazing a trail to the bandit camp so the soldiers do not need to waste time searching for it.
Escape the Kingport guards
Setup: The the city guard are in hot pursuit.
General perils: The guards catch sight of one of the heroes; a merchant is incensed at damage to his stall; a loose roof tile slips, causing a climber to slide towards the edge; the guards call out to citizens to stop the heroes.
Obstacles:
Alternative obstacles: If the heroes decide to disguise themselves, seek refuge or hide instead of running, they may have to bluff their way through, convince others to help them or find good hiding places.
The heroes may use their knowledge of the city to identify shortcuts or alternative routes, such as through the sewers.
Time pressure: A second group of guards arrives at the city gate after three minutes, closing off the escape route and lending more eyes to the search (each PC may make one attempt every minute).
Win time by delaying one or both groups of guards, like setting up a distraction or booby trap.
The burning building
Setup: The heroes come across a burning building, and are told by the crowd that there are three children still trapped inside.
Obstacles:
Time pressure: The building will burn down within about three minutes (each PC may make one attempt every minute).
Win time by fighting the fire.
Individual tests
Heroes overcome the challenge by defeating each obstacle. Usually, different heroes can work on different obstacles: one can look for leverage over the Duke while another tries to line up a meeting with him. Or one hero finds one child and climbs out of the building with them while another peers through the smoke looking for another.
However, to be overcome an obstacle usually needs two successful skill checks: one to get into a favorable position to overcome the obstacle and the next to actually overcome it.
In the dynamic challenge rules, this is the difference between being in a good position and success.
Implicit in each of these actions is a cost. At the very least, this is time – which could have been spent doing something else. But it can involve other resources too.
When you maneuver into position, make a skill check and compare it to the DCs for your level.
When you are in a good position and you exploit your position, make a skill check and compare it to the moderate DC for your level.
Generally, once the obstacle is overcome a hero returns to a neutral position for the next obstacle. But follow the fiction here – if they are well-placed for the next step of their plan, then they are in a good position.
Losing your good position does not literally mean you always return to the same place. If you got into a good position by climbing through a second-story window, you probably don’t fall out the window if you lose your good position. But you may lose your bearings within the house, or take so long searching that the smoke grows thick and muffling.
When you attempt to escape peril, make a skill check and compare it to the hard DC for your level.
Heroes will also want to help each other out. When you help someone in a worse position than you (they are in peril and you are not, or you are in a good position and they are not), make a skill check and compare it to the Moderate and Hard DCs for your level.
This may seem too generous, but consider that the helper is also spending time – time that they could spend overcoming obstacles instead.
---
There's more detail over on the Orcus site about designing and arbitrating reactive challenges, but I figure this is enough detail to get your head around the system.
As I said above, would love to know what you think.
I (mostly) resisted the urge at the time, but I wanted to share some of these ideas now. I'd also love to hear about your 4E/Orcus house rules. I'm most interested in major changes to the game, but feel free to share any house rule big or small!
The first one is a way to do extended challenges, like skill challenges in 4E or the victory point system in Pathfinder 2E.
During the development of Orcus, I had a lot of ideas for tweaking 4E - or changing it in more profound and radical ways.
I (mostly) resisted the urge at the time, but I wanted to share some of these ideas now. I'd also love to hear about your 4E/Orcus house rules. I'm most interested in major changes to the game, but feel free to share any house rule big or small!
The first one is a way to do extended challenges, like skill challenges in 4E or the victory point system in Pathfinder 2E.
Reactive challenges
The heroes might explore a vast, perilous swamp; piece together clues to catch a serial killer; or try over days to negotiate a complex peace settlement between two implacable foes.
These challenges are too important and intricate to be resolved with a single skill check. For these, the GM should outline a “reactive challenge”.
Background
I've never been happy with skill challenges (or extended challenges as they are called in Orcus). They seem very artificial, mostly a chance for each hero to roll skill checks and feel like they've "contributed", rather than pose a puzzle or genuine challenge, or reflect what is going on in the story.
When I read YUM/DM write about the clever three-stage reaction roll chart from the 1983 Mentzer Basic Set, it switched on a lightbulb for me. It is broadly applicable to any kind of challenge, and roughly breaks down into: positioning, resolution and an optional "Hail Mary" if resolution fails. What I particularly like about it is that it is dynamic: after each roll, the PCs get feedback on how they have performed that they can usefully incorporate into their next effort.
Reactive challenges are a replacement for extended challenges that borrow that old reaction roll structure. In a nice bit of parallel evolution, they also work a lot like moves in Powered by the Apocalypse games. There are also bits of Strange Flight's challenge crawls in the mix.
Example reactive challenges
The Duke’s intervention
Setup: The Duke needs to be convinced to send his soldiers to search for villagers that have been abducted by bandits.
Obstacles:
- The heroes have no way to speak to the Duke directly.
- They have no leverage over him if they do get to speak to him.
Time pressure: The villain arrives at the bandits’ camp in three days, and it will take about two days for the Duke’s soldiers to find the camp – leaving just one day to convince the Duke (each PC may make one attempt every eight hours).
Win time by delaying the villain's arrival, like setting up a distraction or booby trap, or blazing a trail to the bandit camp so the soldiers do not need to waste time searching for it.
Escape the Kingport guards
Setup: The the city guard are in hot pursuit.
General perils: The guards catch sight of one of the heroes; a merchant is incensed at damage to his stall; a loose roof tile slips, causing a climber to slide towards the edge; the guards call out to citizens to stop the heroes.
Obstacles:
- The long, narrow Sturgeon Street with fishmonger stalls on either side, leading to ...
- The Twisting Bazaar, a maze of colorful tents filled with hawkers and shoppers, leading to ...
- Crown Square, a plaza ringed on all sides with terraced houses, beyond which is the city gate.
Alternative obstacles: If the heroes decide to disguise themselves, seek refuge or hide instead of running, they may have to bluff their way through, convince others to help them or find good hiding places.
The heroes may use their knowledge of the city to identify shortcuts or alternative routes, such as through the sewers.
Time pressure: A second group of guards arrives at the city gate after three minutes, closing off the escape route and lending more eyes to the search (each PC may make one attempt every minute).
Win time by delaying one or both groups of guards, like setting up a distraction or booby trap.
The burning building
Setup: The heroes come across a burning building, and are told by the crowd that there are three children still trapped inside.
Obstacles:
- One child is on the second floor. She knows where the child lost in the smoke is, putting the hero that rescues her in a good position to rescue that child too.
- One child can be heard, but can't be seen among the smoke.
- One child is trapped under a fallen beam.
Time pressure: The building will burn down within about three minutes (each PC may make one attempt every minute).
- After the second round, the heat intensifies: all heroes in the building lose a recovery.
Win time by fighting the fire.
Individual tests
Heroes overcome the challenge by defeating each obstacle. Usually, different heroes can work on different obstacles: one can look for leverage over the Duke while another tries to line up a meeting with him. Or one hero finds one child and climbs out of the building with them while another peers through the smoke looking for another.
However, to be overcome an obstacle usually needs two successful skill checks: one to get into a favorable position to overcome the obstacle and the next to actually overcome it.
In the dynamic challenge rules, this is the difference between being in a good position and success.
Implicit in each of these actions is a cost. At the very least, this is time – which could have been spent doing something else. But it can involve other resources too.
When you maneuver into position, make a skill check and compare it to the DCs for your level.
- Beat Hard DC by 5 or more: Success. The hero does so well, they get into position and overcome the obstacle all in one.
- Beat Hard DC: In a good position. The hero is well-placed to overcome the obstacle.
- Beat Moderate DC: Try a different way. The hero failed but may attempt something different.
- Beat Easy DC: In peril. The hero must escape the peril or suffer some kind of loss or damage.
- Fail: Peril realized. The hero suffers some kind of loss or damage.
When you are in a good position and you exploit your position, make a skill check and compare it to the moderate DC for your level.
- Beat Moderate DC: Success. You overcome the obstacle.
- Fail: Lose your good position.
Generally, once the obstacle is overcome a hero returns to a neutral position for the next obstacle. But follow the fiction here – if they are well-placed for the next step of their plan, then they are in a good position.
Losing your good position does not literally mean you always return to the same place. If you got into a good position by climbing through a second-story window, you probably don’t fall out the window if you lose your good position. But you may lose your bearings within the house, or take so long searching that the smoke grows thick and muffling.
When you attempt to escape peril, make a skill check and compare it to the hard DC for your level.
- Beat Hard DC: You escape peril.
- Fail: The danger is realized, and you suffer harm or damage.
Heroes will also want to help each other out. When you help someone in a worse position than you (they are in peril and you are not, or you are in a good position and they are not), make a skill check and compare it to the Moderate and Hard DCs for your level.
- Beat Hard DC: Their position improves by one step (in peril => neutral => good position)
- Beat Moderate DC: You cannot help them in this way.
- Fail: Your position worsens by one step.
This may seem too generous, but consider that the helper is also spending time – time that they could spend overcoming obstacles instead.
---
There's more detail over on the Orcus site about designing and arbitrating reactive challenges, but I figure this is enough detail to get your head around the system.
As I said above, would love to know what you think.
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