Okay, so here's another "find the hidden dungeon" type skill challenge I used a few months ago for a trip through the swamp.
[sblock]TO THE ZIGGURAT
Level 8 Skill Challenge
XP 1750
Setup: The pcs attempt to reach the ziggurat, moving through the Lithski Fens. Moving into the swamp is slow, landmarks are hard to find, swamp gas severely limits visibility and insects constantly bite and sting.
Every three days is a round for this skill challenge. Each round, every pc must make one check of their choice. At the end of each round, each pc must also make an Endurance check to avoid exposure to disease; see Complications, below. Note also that certain of the possible random encounters in the swamp may also have an effect on the skill challenge.
Because of the harsh environment of the Lithski Fens, it is typically very difficult to take an extended rest. Doing so takes a full three days of time (finding a suitable place, managing to stay dry and comfortable and then returning to the trail of the yuan-ti), during which time random encounter checks will be made as normal. There simply aren't many safe places to hole up; however, after three, five, eight and ten successes, the pcs pass by one of the landmarks on the map, which offers them a bit of a better resting place. See Landmarks, below. In short (assuming the pcs gain one success per round):
Rounds 1-3: Standard
Round 4: Split willow
Round 5: Standard
Round 6: The Algae-Choked Pond
Round 7-8: Standard
Round 9: The Cranberry Bog
Round 10: Standard
Round 11: The Blue Mud
Round 12: Standard
The pcs should have an explicit understanding of the mechanics of this skill challenge before it begins.
Level: 8
Complexity: 5 (requires 12 successes before 3 failures)
Primary Skill: Nature
Nature (DC 20 or 30; 1 success or 2 successes; only one character per round can earn successes): The character manages to keep the party headed in the right direction. Slowly but surely, the party makes progress. Alternatively, the character can attempt to find shortcuts and use a more direct route than that indicated on the map, choosing the higher DC but a chance of gaining two successes.
If the characters have the map and follow it (using the lower Nature check DC), they gain a +1 bonus from it. Failure on either check results in a single failure accruing.
When the pcs find the landmarks, they have certain other options; see Landmarks, below.
Secondary Skills: Athletics, Endurance, Heal, Nature, Perception
Athletics (DC 19): The character pushes hard into the brush and muck, helping to clear a path. The primary Nature check for the day gets a +1 bonus. Only one character may grant this bonus each round.
Endurance (DC 8): The character focuses on avoiding filth, keeping dirty water out of his eyes and mouth and so on in order to avoid exposure to blinding sickness. A successful roll means that the character need not make an Endurance check at the end of the round, although a natural 1 is a failure even if the end result is above 8.
Heal (DC 16 or special): The character ministers to one ally, helping her avoid exposure to blinding sickness. Success means that the character need not make an Endurance check at the end of the day, although a natural 1 automatically fails this check.
Alternatively, a character can use a Heal check to help someone already suffering from blinding sickness, in which case the character's Heal check replaces the victim's own Endurance check against the disease.
Nature (DC 20): The character aids the primary Nature check. Success grants a +2 bonus; failure indicates that the primary Nature check takes a -1 penalty. As many characters can aid the primary check each round as wish to; all modifiers are cumulative.
Perception (DC 14): The character attempts to aid the primary Nature check by spotting landmarks, watching for troublesome terrain and similar things. Success grants a +2 bonus to the primary Nature check for the round; failure inflicts a -1 penalty. Any number of characters may attempt this check each round.
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Landmarks: When the pcs reach the map's landmarks (a huge split willow, a large algae-choked pool surrounded by three rock piles, a cranberry bog and an area of blue mud) they have several additional options. First, at a landmark the pcs can stop and take an extended rest in a single day, and there are places to rest safe from random encounters (located on a single Nature check, DC 20). Second, each of the landmarks offers the pcs other options.
The Split Willow: This landmark is a large split willow on a high mound of dirt and swamp grass. It is relatively dry. On the round during which the pcs pass by the willow, they have the following additional option:
Athletics (DC 12): That willow sure is tall! If a pc climbs it, they can see which direction the land falls in, which (according to the map) leads to the second landmark. The pcs can earn one success this way; a failure results in the pc falling when 40' up, suffering 4d10 points of damage, but does not count as a failure for the skill challenge.
The Algae-Choked Pool: This large pile, surrounded by piles of gravel and rocks, is in a wetter area. The pcs must really slog to make progress, and their speed of travel slows to a crawl in this area. However, a bunch of herbs useful in healing poultices and similar things grow around the pool. Additionally, there is a rickety boat On the round during which the pcs pass by the algae-choked pool, they have the following additional options:
Heal (DC 15): The character gathers herbs that will help protect against the various bugs, swamp foot and other challenges of swamp travel. This allows the pcs to move faster, earning them one success on the challenge. A failure does not count against the challenge and carries no penalty.
Thievery (DC 19): If characters wish to take the boat, they can speed up their progress. However, it is old and in terrible shape. Characters skilled with their hands can try to repair and improve it with the materials available. Making the boat usable at all requires two Thievery checks, DC 19; until the pcs make two such successful checks, the party cannot take the boat. (Note that these checks count as the pcs' checks for the round.) Once the boat is usable, the characters get a +2 bonus on their primary Nature checks until they reach the cranberry bog, where they must disembark.
The Cranberry Bog: This area is tangled with cranberry bushes, which grow in shallow, swampy water. The boat cannot move through these; the pcs are back to slogging on foot. The cranberry bog goes on for a mile, which is a full six days' travel (two rounds in the skill challenge). It is full of small poisonous snakes, which are a constant hazard while the pcs travel through it. Unless they take steps to avoid the snakes, each pc loses a healing surge during this journey and gains a sensitivity to venom (vulnerable 5 poison). Each character gets a saving throw at the end of each additional round of the skill challenge to throw this off. During this period, the pcs have the following extra options available to them:
Acrobatics (DC 19): The character avoids being snake bitten.
Athletics (DC 20): The character helps cut a trail through the bog, making everyone's journey slightly quicker. The party gains a success. Failure carries no penalty. The party can gain one success with this skill in the cranberry bog.
Endurance (DC 21): Although she is bitten like everyone else and loses a healing surge, the character avoids gaining venom sensitivity.
Heal (DC 19): The character treats one ally, removing its venom sensitivity.
Nature (DC 14): The character avoids being bitten by snakes.
The Blue Mud: The characters reach a higher area of bluish clay and mud. Those areas above the water hold tracks quite well, and almost immediately the pcs spot an area that has obviously been cleared of vegetation and rocks have been set up to provide firmer footing or perhaps seating. A large stone altar topped with an enormous serpent's skull dominates the scene. The blue mud goes on for miles; although travel is quicker here than in most of the wetter areas, it is also quite treacherous, sucking at boots and feet. The pcs have the following additional options while in this area:
Athletics (DC 20): If the group makes a group Athletics check this round and succeeds, they earn a success by moving quickly through the mud. The group earns one success this way; failure does not earn a penalty, but the party wastes the round. The party may delay one day while one pc makes a Thievery check instead (see below).
Endurance (DC 20): Likewise, the party may make a group Endurance check to earn a success, although in this case it is sheer perseverance that does the trick and swamp shoes do not aid the party.
Thievery (DC 10): The character lashes together branches to form swamp shoes (think snow shoes for a marsh). This gives the primary Nature check for this round a +2 bonus. Alternatively, one character can make a Thievery check to aid a group Athletics check (see above), in which case the party is delayed one day but each pc gains a +2 bonus on their Athletics check. However, the character that makes this Thievery check is considered to fail the group Athletics check.
Complications: At the end of each round of the skill challenge (every three days), each pc must make an Endurance check, DC 8, or be exposed to blinding sickness. (A natural 1 on this check results in exposure even if the final result is above 8.) Make an attack: +12 vs. Fortitude; Hit: the target suffers the initial effect of blinding sickness (DMG 49). However, rather than making an Endurance check each day, the character need only make one per round of the skill challenge (three days).
Success: The pcs find the Ziggurat of a Thousand Serpents- but did they find it in time? Take note of how many primary checks the pcs had to make in order to determine how many days it took to find and reach the pyramid and consult the Timeline (see above).
Failure: If the characters accrue three failures on the skill check (and note that only failures on primary Nature checks count for this purpose), they cannot find the ziggurat and become hopelessly lost in the swamp. See Lost! below, for details.[/sblock]
You'll notice one thing about both this and the "find the island" skill check that I posted earlier that violates all the skill challenge advice you normally get- they are actual real challenges to getting to the dungeon, and if you fail- you don't get there. One thing about many skill challenges that I find annoying is that they are meaningless. The whole "a skill challenge should never be an impediment to finding the adventure" approach is fine, but it's like the secret door that leads to the hidden dungeon level: if the pcs are automatically going to find it, it's hardly hidden! Since I run a sandbox with lots going on in the world, sometimes the exploration component of finding that one place is as much a part of the adventure as actually delving into that one place, and I absolutely do not mind if pcs miss that hidden dungeon level- because it may come up later, with the same group or another. It's like the search for the Fountain of Youth; if anyone can find it first time out, it's not much of a search.
In contrast to the one I posted above, this SC was explicit, with a handout holding most of the details given to each of the players. They didn't get the details on the landmarks, though.
How this played out- the pcs basically made every possible check and IIRC never failed a one! What made this challenge cool was the amount of roleplaying along the way. The challenge took about 1/3 of a session because of the exploration component and all the rp; that's fine by my group, we sometimes have several sessions in a row with no combat (albeit rarely).
There were a couple of random encounters interspersed along the way, and IIRC there were a couple of extra bonuses picked up when they negotiated their way through some bullywugs.
Mostly the pcs did as expected, though I do recall the warden using form of eagle's splendor or whatever it's called to gain some air in order to get a look around a few times. And that's okay- I don't mind if I predict the pcs' approach pretty well, it makes my job easier!
