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General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Skill Challenges: How Much Have They Improved?
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<blockquote data-quote="LostSoul" data-source="post: 5200300" data-attributes="member: 386"><p>Because when your character uses Diplomacy he is taking one type of action in the game world; Intimidate is another beast. That means the response of the NPC in the case of success is going to be vastly different.</p><p></p><p>I don't just look at the success or failure of the die roll, but <em>how</em> the character achieved that success (or failure). <em>What the character does <strong>matters</strong>.</em></p><p></p><p>In order to consider Armand vs. Brutus trying to get past the guard, we also need to know what kind of guy the guard is. The DM can make a snap decision (it's his job) based on the game world, the genre, or roll on a table. I think I'll do the last - using the two tables in the DMG on page 186. He taps his fingers and has a distinctive posture, very rigid. So I decide he's an anxious guy.</p><p></p><p>(I'll also define some skill challenge stuff - I've decided that I do want to run a skill challenge with the guard and then a combat encounter inside, so the Goal is to get past the guard.)</p><p></p><p>Now let's look at some actions:</p><p></p><p>Armand might come up all friendly, saying, "Hello friend, do you mind if I get by?" Success might mean that the guard is pleasantly disposed to Armand, while failure means that this twitchy guard is wondering what this guy wants from him.</p><p></p><p>Armand might say something like, "Hey, how's it going? Nice day. Have a drink with me. I always like to have a sociable drink before getting into the spice, know what I mean?" In which case the guard might take the drink on a successful roll, or at least be socially disarmed; on a failure he might get all squirrely and wonder who this weirdo is.</p><p></p><p>Brutus might say, "Get lost loser, unless you want to catch a beating." Success might mean that the guard is even more nervous; failure might mean that he's nervous but also hostile, probably reaching for his weapons.</p><p></p><p>Brutus might just reach for the door handle and when the guard checks him, he can say, "What are you doing?" A more subtle form of intimidation.</p><p></p><p>Still other Intimidate actions: Laughing at him, staring him in the eyes, making fun of his posture and nervous tic, putting your arm around him in a "friendly" gesture... the guard's response is going to be different in each case.</p><p></p><p>After one roll, the guard is:</p><p>-friendly to Armand</p><p>-having a drink with Armand</p><p>-wondering who this guy is and why he wants to get by</p><p>-pissed off at another junkie trying to make friends</p><p>-cringing from the threat of physical violence</p><p>-having to defend the fact that <em>he</em> is supposed to be guarding the door</p><p>-drawing his sword</p><p>-getting in the face of Brutus</p><p></p><p>And the next action is going to play into that, changing the situation more.</p><p></p><p>I think that's where the value of a skill challenge lies. A single skill check isn't going to have as much texture and detail to it; either he opens the door for you or not. A skill challenge, even a really fine-grained one like this, is going to add details to the game world, and it means the situation will change in unexpected ways.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="LostSoul, post: 5200300, member: 386"] Because when your character uses Diplomacy he is taking one type of action in the game world; Intimidate is another beast. That means the response of the NPC in the case of success is going to be vastly different. I don't just look at the success or failure of the die roll, but [i]how[/i] the character achieved that success (or failure). [i]What the character does [b]matters[/b].[/i] In order to consider Armand vs. Brutus trying to get past the guard, we also need to know what kind of guy the guard is. The DM can make a snap decision (it's his job) based on the game world, the genre, or roll on a table. I think I'll do the last - using the two tables in the DMG on page 186. He taps his fingers and has a distinctive posture, very rigid. So I decide he's an anxious guy. (I'll also define some skill challenge stuff - I've decided that I do want to run a skill challenge with the guard and then a combat encounter inside, so the Goal is to get past the guard.) Now let's look at some actions: Armand might come up all friendly, saying, "Hello friend, do you mind if I get by?" Success might mean that the guard is pleasantly disposed to Armand, while failure means that this twitchy guard is wondering what this guy wants from him. Armand might say something like, "Hey, how's it going? Nice day. Have a drink with me. I always like to have a sociable drink before getting into the spice, know what I mean?" In which case the guard might take the drink on a successful roll, or at least be socially disarmed; on a failure he might get all squirrely and wonder who this weirdo is. Brutus might say, "Get lost loser, unless you want to catch a beating." Success might mean that the guard is even more nervous; failure might mean that he's nervous but also hostile, probably reaching for his weapons. Brutus might just reach for the door handle and when the guard checks him, he can say, "What are you doing?" A more subtle form of intimidation. Still other Intimidate actions: Laughing at him, staring him in the eyes, making fun of his posture and nervous tic, putting your arm around him in a "friendly" gesture... the guard's response is going to be different in each case. After one roll, the guard is: -friendly to Armand -having a drink with Armand -wondering who this guy is and why he wants to get by -pissed off at another junkie trying to make friends -cringing from the threat of physical violence -having to defend the fact that [i]he[/i] is supposed to be guarding the door -drawing his sword -getting in the face of Brutus And the next action is going to play into that, changing the situation more. I think that's where the value of a skill challenge lies. A single skill check isn't going to have as much texture and detail to it; either he opens the door for you or not. A skill challenge, even a really fine-grained one like this, is going to add details to the game world, and it means the situation will change in unexpected ways. [/QUOTE]
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