Skill Challenge Play Examples?

[babinro]

I find myself using skill challenges simply to fill in gaps in the adventure. One of the more common uses is simply getting from point A to point B.

For example, the party aims to reach the top of a mountain in order to kill/obtain something. The skill challenge is used along with the general narration of their climb up the mountain. Typically, failed checks would lead to encounters on the mountain side or loss of healing surges. If the overall challenge is a success, than the final confrontation is often either made slightly easier, or some environmental change will provide the party an edge that wouldn't be there otherwise.

I would say the main problem to my system is that the overall success of the challenge is not necessarily obvious. Especially in a case like the one described above. In the event your challenge ends with some form of human interaction, then success is made all the more clear based on how the PC ultimately reacts.

The system works fine in my opinion, but players will not always contribute based on skills. Thankfully, any nature oriented challenge has tons of options which keeps the entire party involved. The above can easily use Athletics, Acrobatics, Endurance, Perception, and some knowledge checks. Enough for everyone to be able to do something.

If you start a challenge like this while the party is at base camp...then you immediately add in all the social components as well as they get information on the mountain prior to physically climbing it. This challenge then becomes something all players can shine at, and is broken up by several encounters to complete the overall adventure.

 

[Nytmare]

Agreed. Blegh. I try to address this by having the DC rise by one every time a person (or in short challenges, the group) uses the same skill.

So far, with the limited experience I've had running skill challenges (and those only with Obsidian) we've had each person only use each skill once. The thought process we cling to is that the roll is for how your skill plays out over the course of the three stages of the challenge, not in just for a single instance.

 

[Pbartender]

Hmm. I think your example, pbartender, might be a good idea on when to become more "open" with how the skill challenge works.

Oddly enough, it seems to work the opposite for my group -- and that specific challenge was one in which I was more open about it than usual. That is to say, if I clearly lay out which skills are useful, they will choose one or two of those skills and not bother to branch out.

When I'm less obvious about it being a skill challenge tends to be when my group starts thinking outside the box a little more.

 

[Tai]

One other thing skill challenges do that in someways is a bit controversial, but that I think is invaluable, is to turn plot-direction from annoying railroading into a trail of sweeties. In the old days, if you want the party to go check out a goblin mine, you drop a hint on their heads, and they know they have to go there. Now, you put in a skill challenge to find out about it and get there, and the party *wants* to go there. Not only has the mine become a more logical plot progresion, they even get XP for getting there!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Oddly enough, it seems to work the opposite for my group -- and that specific challenge was one in which I was more open about it than usual. That is to say, if I clearly lay out which skills are useful, they will choose one or two of those skills and not bother to branch out.

When I'm less obvious about it being a skill challenge tends to be when my group starts thinking outside the box a little more.

Okay, I took your description you were not explicit (hinting at it seems not explicit) and they came only up with one idea. In that case - explicit challenges don't seem to work for them, right.
Or maybe you have to force them to try different venues - allow only a limited number of successes with each skill, for example. I generally think that creates interesting twists - adding conditionals to use for individual skills in a challenge. Of course, this has to be guided by what makes sense for the scenario. In your case, multiple Diplomacy checks didn't really make sense, at least not if they really say the same thing every time.