Skill Challenge Depot

[Manbearcat]

Alright. So I've been pondering opening up a thread for all of us to serve as a repository for Skill Challenges we've recently done or Skill Challenges we've thoroughly enjoyed. I proposed it in JC's new thread about his second session and he seemed to think it would be helpful, so here we go. I'll go ahead and start and post a recent one. Folks can use whatever format they like but it would be helpful to provide a little context/stakes and discretely convey mechanics, technique, narrative implications. If folks want to do more than just document their own skill challenges for people to take ideas from (such as conversation over technique, etc), then by all means! Ok, first one.

Beginning of Epic Tier. Campaign has basically resolved itself to an "Abyss on Earth" theme. The Lords of the Abyss are literally infiltrating the prime world in attempt to draw it into the Abyss over time. The exploitation of the 7 Deadly Sins and the corruption of The 7 Virtues are Ritual Components for these events. Sort of D&D meets Dogs in the Vineyard with the PCs as Dogs. PCs equal Eladrin Bladesinger (won't go into all of the various other build info), Human Rogue/Ranger, Elven Druid/Shaman. This takes place in a large manor-house that served as an extremely large orphanage for abandoned children and war orphans. Benefactor turned out to be possessed by a powerful demon and several staff members were possessed by minor demons (I hate when that happens!). At Bloodied of the fight with the BBEG demon and his minions, this begins. The Skill Challenge takes place when the entire, very large, orphanage is literally being swallowed by the Abyss. It is in a state of wild conflagration and it is being squished into an event horizon simultaneously. It is overtly clear what is going on and at this point, the PCs are explicitly advised they are in a Skill Challenge. Their mission is to get the children out of the orphanage and flee before all of them are swallowed. Unfortunately, the PCs are in the throes of a nasty tustle with a (now) Bloodied Elite Demon, 3 remaining minions (Abyssal Hounds), and a roiling, collapsing, balcony-laden, inferno of a Common Room. They decide that the Bladesinger is going to stand his ground and fight it out with these guys (he easily has the resources to do so, his sentient, ancestral blade was the Companion Character we were using to complete the 4 PC budget, and most immportantly, he has the damage reduction means to deal with the fire aura and the fire damage), while the Rogue/Ranger (hereafter as R) and Druid/Shaman (hereafter as D) run off to locate and round up the orphans and exit stage left. We begin the Complexity 3 Skill Challenge:

Panel 1

(D) + Nature vs Medium DC. An impenetrable wall of fire greets the PCs as they exit the Common Room and enter the Vestibule. Smoke chokes their breath away and fire licks at their skin. The Druid calls upon the primal spirits for a wave of water (Grasping Tide) to create a momentary path through the wild conflagration.

1:0

Panel 2

(R) + Acrobatics vs Medium DC. The floor is literally giving away, and glimpses into the Abyss can be found here and there. The Rogue leading the way in a mad dash makes it to the burning stairwell to the upper floors (where the children are known to be) but the stairwell collapses beneath his feat, plunging headlong into the Abyss. He runs barely ahead of the crumbling staircase, navigating a thin, crumbling, burning bannister that falls apart after every foot leaves it. He deftly switches back over 3 staircases and 2 landings and is on the flame-choked balcony.

2:0

Panel 3

(D) - Athetics vs Medium DC turned into + by Rogue reroll (Dungeoneer's Guidance - Immediate Interrupt to roll Dungeoneering for the Druid's failed Athletics). Quick as a cat (truly), the Druid sprints toward the interface of the balcony with the wall, the Rogue running headlong to meet her, grabbing something from a standing suit of armor on his way. In stride, she shapeshifts into a leopard leaping at the two adjoining, sheer, walls! Alas, the distance is two high as her second bound off the wall can't get her to the top! Except...out of nowhere a sword comes thunking in the wooden wall and she uses it as a spring to vault safely onto the balcony. A moment later, the area beneath her is swallowed by the abyss, the structure of the the great house shaking violently as its foundation is compromised.

3:0

Panel 4

(Group check) + Endurance vs Medium DC with half group (either player - Druid passes while Rogue fails) passing equals success. The oppressive, searing heat and the smothering smoke here is beyond bearing for any mortal. A commoner would give up, pass out, being overcome by any combination of terror, asphyxiation, or heat stroke. Not 4e heroes destined to fight Demon Lords! These dorks are pro at stifling a cough, wiping a brow and setting their thoughts to heroic deeds! Like finding children in a giant burning, crumbling manor house and making like Moses. Healing Surges spent though (1 per character for the Rogue failing). Thems the breaks.

4:0

Panel 5

(R) - History vs Medium DC. The Rogue has been to many a nobleman's house in many a city. He tries to recollect the various popular archetectural styles in an attempt to extrapolate the floorplan of this manor house. He isn't certain so he goes with his gut...which just so happens to get them lost...ending up in the Kitchen; a burning room with fire demon minions, some ruthlessly torturing the screaming and burning staff while the others chant in Abyssal as an Immolith pulls itself out of a burning red circle that opens momentarily in the floor. PCs each lose a healing surge and a raucous (of-level) battle in a collapsing, burning Kitchen ensues. Players rout the demons but lose precious time, a few more surges and a daily apiece.

4:1

Panel 6

(D) + Heal vs Hard DC (buffed by Speak with Spirits). The Kitchen help are all eviscerated or burned beyond recognition...save one who is only...mostly dead. The poor servant is bound for the afterlife but may have a good deed as her last act to send her on her way to her God. The Druid consults the primal spirits, quickly rummaging her salves, unguents, poutices. She finds the right one, applies it and rouses the servant for a final breath. "Where are the children so we may rescue them?" An answer. A final drawn breath and the Druid lays her head on the ground, saying a generic prayer to an unknown God. They're off to locate the children in the atticspace.

5:1

Panel 7

(R) Successful Support action, Thievery vs Easy DC, for + 2 for Panel 8. Reaching the top of the stairwell, the heavy, iron-bound, thick wooden door is scorching hot, likely expanded due to the heat. Debris may be blocking it. Its immovable. With a nod to the Druid, the Rogue gets out his trusty crowbar, sticks it in the tiniest of recesses and leans into it trying to get as much leverage as possible for...

5:1

Panel 8

(D) + Athletics check using 1st Advantage for a Medium DC instead of High (as Athletics was used prior by the Druid). ...the druid to shapeshift into a bear, bellow a mighty roar, and charge through the fire, smashing through the heavy wooden door, leaving fallen timbers and debris in her wake. The children are all in the huge attic-space but human demon-worshippers have a grand circle drawn and are chanting finalizing the Ritual that is sending them all into the Abyss! Level n - 1 combat ensues and PCs quickly rout the cultists in mid-seance.

6:1 and 1 Advantage used

Panel 9

(R) + Diplomacy check using Advantage for an Easy DC. The children are terror-stricken, in sheer panic as the building collapses around them. There seems to be no escape. After ending the ritual and slaying the childrens' captors, an orderly, expeditious escape is required. After the heroic rescue, the Rogue is easily able to get their attention, calm them and corrall them toward the 3rd story window where egress comes in the way off...

7:1 and both Advantages used

Panel 10

(D)+ Dryad's Trees Daily automatic success. ...a mighty tree exploding from the floorboards. Telling the children to look out the window, she points to a second, like tree that has just manifested in the courtyard below. Giving them an example, she steps through a large nodule at the tree's base and reappears at the base of the second tree in the courtyard. The children all follow suit, finally followed by the Rogue as the final wood planks of the attic floor erupt in fire and collapse. The Bladesinger, after vanquishing the greater demon and his hounds, emerges from the collapsing structure, sprinting away a moment before the Abyss swallows it completely and the portal blinks out of existence (a la the movie Poltergeist).

8: 1 Skill Challenge Successful. Children saved, Ritual stopped, Abyssal portal closed, Demon and cabal routed.

Alright. There is the first one. Hopefully this thread gets some use and folks post their own successful Skill Challenges for people to use as inspiration or for delving into techniques for successful noncombat, conflict resolution. I'll update with others as I have time.

 

[JamesonCourage]

Alright. So I've been pondering opening up a thread for all of us to serve as a repository for Skill Challenges we've recently done or Skill Challenges we've thoroughly enjoyed. I proposed it in JC's new thread about his second session and he seemed to think it would be helpful, so here we go.

Nice, you made the thread! I want to put my Shadowfell Portal skill challenge here, but that was my first session, so I don't know all the details. As I play more, I'll transfer some interesting skill challenges over.

As far as the Shadowfell Portal, the PCs had just killed a necromancer that was doing some sort of dark magic with a portal to the Shadowfell (they were level 1). Upon the necromancer's death, the portal began to go out of control, and it was there job to shut it down. Since I don't remember all the details, I'll mention some stuff that stood out:

(1) The Wizard using Arcana to learn about the portal successfully.
(2) The Wizard using Dungeoneering to spot how to collapse part of the cave ceiling onto the portal, slowing it down and stopping any creatures that might come through it.
(3) The Fighter throwing his warhammer at the ceiling with Athletics, bringing down rocks onto the portal to damage it (as it was solidifying) and hurting any creatures on the other side.
(4) The Fighter using Intimidate to scare any creatures thinking about coming through, stalling them from coming into his world until the others could control the portal.
(5) The Fighter using Endurance (and an advantage) stand over the Monk, absorbing the necrotic energy that had dropped her (reversing a failure and bringing her back into the skill challenge and out of dying).
(6) The Warpriest (and Ordained Priest) using Religion to pray to The Raven Queen, directly asking for her intervention against the Shadowfell portal. The check failed, and he felt the very Evil presence of another god suppressing his ties to The Raven Queen until the portal was closed.
(7) The Warpriest using Heal to help smooth out wounds the party was taking from the necrotic energy of the Shadowfell portal, as he was out of healing spells.
(8) The Monk using an encounter power to fly at and attack the portal with an Athletics check, only making the check because I gave her a +4 for the encounter power (though she dropped to dying right after this check, due to the Warpriest's failure, above).
(9) The Monk using Thievery to "disable" the damaged portal, much like she would disable a magical trap, ending the skill challenge.

There were some other uses in there, but this one stood out to me because it felt very tense, the players were very invested, and it was generally just pretty fun. Sorry I don't remember more of the specifics, but I hope that it helps kick off other people posting in the thread, if nothing else. Thanks for starting the thread (can't XP again so soon yet).

 

[the Jester]

Ahh, I love this kind of thread.

So I'll start with one that I've posted previously. The setup is that the pcs were looking for Tscire Nobi, an island hidden in a lake called White Lake because of how frequent and thick the fogs are. Add to this magical cloaking, and hey presto, it's hard to find.

One thing I'd like to highlight about this SC is that the consequences of failure are "A day wasted, spend more money, try again tomorrow." A persistent party will eventually find Tscire Nobi, but the challenge determines how long and how expensive the process will be.

(Note that I detail possible approaches, but allow the pcs to try anything that they can think of and am good at adjudicating on the fly.)

FINDING THE ISLAND (Level 11 Skill Challenge and one or more EL 9 encounters; total xp 3800 or more)

The pcs should be able to hire a boat to take them out on White Lake for a couple of gold pieces, but the island itself is cloaked by a combination of illusions and weather magic (cloaking it in fog). In order to find it, the pcs must defeat this magic by completing a skill challenge.

RUNNING THE SKILL CHALLENGE

Finding the island is a level 11, complexity 3 skill challenge. To successfully complete it, the pcs must achieve 8 successes before 3 failures. Once the pcs get close (after they have achieved 5 successes), see Complications, below.

Since a combination of illusion and weather hide it, the pcs' possible approaches to finding the illusion include the following:

Search Grid: The lake is truly too large to divide and search without immense manpower, but the pcs can spend six hours to eliminate everything within a few miles of the Delphinate proper. Doing this doesn't require any skill checks or gain a success or failure for the party, but gives all further checks in the skill challenge a +2 bonus.

Pierce Illusions: A character that expresses the belief that illusions are involved may attempt to see through them with an Insight check (DC 27). Success means that the character earns a success; though they cannot see through the veils of mist, they can make out which ones are illusory. Failure ensnares the characters further in the misty magic; they gain a failure.

Countermagic or Follow the Flow: A character trained in Arcana may attempt to sense the presence and direction of flow of the magical energy that cloak the island (DC 19); doing this earns one success for the party, while failing earns the party a failure. Once the presence of the magic has been sensed, a trained character may attempt to countermand the cloaking spells here in order to eliminate them, but doing so is very difficult (DC 29). A character that makes this check earns two successes, while failing it gains only a single failure. A character that uses dispel magic against the fog earns an automatic success for the party.

True Navigation: The characters may attempt to simply use their Perception (DC 23) or knowledge of Nature (DC 19) to navigate. Using such a skill earns either a success or failure for the party. Alternatively, a character could make a History check (DC 19) to remember details on the locations of the lake's islands; the party can earn only one success this way (although they could conceivably earn multiple failures!).

Watch the Ghouls: During and after the attack of the sodden ghouls (see Complications), a pc could try to discern the direction of the island by watching their behavior using either Insight (DC 19) or Religion (DC 19). A daring character might also swim in pursuit, using Athletics (DC 20). The characters earn successes or failures for any of these instances.

Rituals: Using a divination or weather control ritual earns the pcs one to three successes, depending on the ritual, its level and how cleverly the party uses it.

Complications: As the pcs get closer to the island, they enter a more active layer of the island's defenses. After their 5th success, the party is ambushed by a trio of sodden ghoul wailers (OG 154; level 9 soldiers), who attack from the water, attempting to pull the boat's pilot into the water before dealing with the pcs themselves. The round after they attack, two more sodden ghoul wailers grab the boat from under the water and attempt to tow the vessel away. Each round until that the ghouls tow the boat, the pcs lose one success.

As soon as the pcs defeat the three sodden ghoul wailers above the water, the other two retreat into the depths unless any pcs are in the water, in which case they attempt to drag them under and slay them. If the pcs want to attack the two ghouls under the water, they must enter the water or hole the deck of the boat.

Each time the pcs achieve a 5th success, they are attacked by another group of ghouls unless they are still dealing with the first group. In practice, this means that they must continue to work on the skill challenge while fighting the ghouls, or they will end up fighting group after group of them without ever making headway.

Success: When the pcs achieve their 8th success, read the following:

In the mist ahead, a rocky island starts to resolve itself. A short pier, inexpertly constructed of wood, bobs above the waves, with three small rowing craft attached. You can see the suggestion of a steep upward slope, but the thick vapor in the air makes it impossible to tell more.

Failure: The pcs become hopelessly lost. It is full dark by the time they finally find shore, and it takes until almost 2 a.m. to return to the Delphinate. The pilot who took the pcs on this journey, if still alive, must be impressively compensated or he swears off the party thereafter.

 

[Manbearcat]

As I play more, I'll transfer some interesting skill challenges over.

Please do and thanks. Hopefully it can be a resource to new players and tenured players trying to refine their skills in executing Skill Challenges.

<snip>

There were some other uses in there, but this one stood out to me because it felt very tense, the players were very invested, and it was generally just pretty fun. Sorry I don't remember more of the specifics, but I hope that it helps kick off other people posting in the thread, if nothing else. Thanks for starting the thread (can't XP again so soon yet).

That was my sense of it when I read your post. You clearly executed it well and your players "got it". The latter part is as much, if not more, important than anything else. The only thing more important would be skillful GM execution of framing and evolving the scene, generating genre-relevant complications that clearly focus pressure on the PCs, and handling the mechanics as openly, clearly and functionally as possible (so the players can make informed decisions from both a fiction and mechanical perspective).

@the Jester Great stuff. If this thread accomplishes nothing else you've given me an idea for an Abyssal Lake scene! Thanks!

 

[JamesonCourage]

Please do and thanks. Hopefully it can be a resource to new players and tenured players trying to refine their skills in executing Skill Challenges.

Hopefully! That would be cool to contribute to. I also hope that I can learn a few things / new styles from other people that post here, too.

That was my sense of it when I read your post. You clearly executed it well and your players "got it". The latter part is as much, if not more, important than anything else. The only thing more important would be skillful GM execution of framing and evolving the scene, generating genre-relevant complications that clearly focus pressure on the PCs, and handling the mechanics as openly, clearly and functionally as possible (so the players can make informed decisions from both a fiction and mechanical perspective).

Stuff like this is good to post in the thread, since it'll give some direction for what to do. After my first session, you also mentioned "Evocative, and fun Skill Challenges that are mechanically fully functional and intuitive for the players from a fiction first (not Pawn stance) perspective." I think that's also good advice for what to aim for with skill challenges. I'm also curious what certain other posters might add (like [MENTION=42582]pemerton[/MENTION] or [MENTION=20323]Quickleaf[/MENTION], as I think they can probably both make a tight list of things that they look to include, and stuff that I (and others) might find useful.

the Jester Great stuff. If this thread accomplishes nothing else you've given me an idea for an Abyssal Lake scene! Thanks!

Very cool indeed. A lot more structured than I run them, but that's not bad. I might experiment with something like this in the sessions to come. We'll see...

 

[Quickleaf]

Love it! Good stuff guys, let's keep it up!

Here's a fun one we ran from my Dragon Mountain conversion. It's simple, but is interesting because it involves movement of characters across a map.

Escaping Collapsing Mines (level 12, complexity III, xp 2,100)

The PCs are caught underground as mines start to collapse....in the case of my group triggered by the "cast first, ask questions later" wizard casting spectral ram on some mine supports to squash a black pudding and a hive of kobolds riding rust monsters. However the collapse gets triggered, now the PCs need to run for it to escape!

Sample Strategies: These can either be player initiated, or the DM can use these as example obstacles to throw at the players.

• Navigate back to the elevator (Dungeoneering)
• Run/scramble over debris (Athletics)
• Push thru choking debris (Endurance)
• Dive thru collapsing archway (Acrobatics)
• Tip-toe past unstable passage barely supported by weakened supports (Stealth)
• Get a mine cart which fits two working (Thievery)
• PCs thought to mark their trail somehow (auto-success)
• Blast a path thru with force magic dealing at least 30 damage (auto-success)
• Expend an encounter/daily power granting increased movement (auto-success)

Failed check: The PC is subject to an attack from the cave-in hazard (DMG p.91). If it hits they are also buried under rock until escaping or being rescued.

Success: The PCs reach the elevator shaft out of the mines. If the elevator is still operational, they escape. If the cable was cut by kobolds or PCs, then they must make a DC 16 group Aghletics check to climb out in time; if less than half succeed, they take 5d10 damage from falling rocks before escaping.

Failure: All creatures remaining in the mines are buried under stone for 10d10 damage. Survivors must make a DC 20 Endurance check to survive the lack of fresh air long enough to be excavated (a 6 hour process), otherwise they suffocate to death. Additionally, the PCs' escape route is blocked and they must divert to the tunnel connecting to the Great Chasm.

How It Ran With My Group: I forget the blow by blow, but the gist was one PC got buried under rock and rescued during the escape. Then they were at 7 successes and 2 failures, with most of the PCs out of the mines except for the paladin who failed. At that point, one of them used a reaction power in a non-conventional way to force movement on the paladin, so I counted that as an advantage to undo a failure, and the entire party escaped.

 

[JamesonCourage]

Love it! Good stuff guys, let's keep it up!

Yep, I hope we hear from more people (and I'm glad my summoning spell for you worked!).

Here's a fun one we ran from my Dragon Mountain conversion. It's simple, but is interesting because it involves movement of characters across a map.

Escaping Collapsing Mines (level 12, complexity III, xp 2,100)

Nice stuff! My players are just about to go into a cave, so I might actually adapt this. Thanks for posting it; it's one more thing of yours I might use

How It Ran With My Group: I forget the blow by blow, but the gist was one PC got buried under rock and rescued during the escape. Then they were at 7 successes and 2 failures, with most of the PCs out of the mines except for the paladin who failed. At that point, one of them used a reaction power in a non-conventional way to force movement on the paladin, so I counted that as an advantage to undo a failure, and the entire party escaped.

I like the ending, and the whole thing sounds quick, tense, and fun (with an exciting ending). This definitely has the feel of something I'd like to run, and I think I'll try to. Perhaps when we play again, tomorrow night, it'll come into play. If it does, I'll post about it in my thread, but I'll try to post here, too. Thanks for posting this bit.

 

[the Jester]

This one is a little more complex. Again, note that the courses of action I list are predictions of what the pcs might do rather than an exclusive list.

A hexagonal pool full of earth rests in this chamber. The earth within it ripples like water stirred by a strong breeze.

This is the pool of an earth weird named Groolool, a soothsayer of death and wealth. A creature with a passive Arcana or Nature of at least 23 will recognize it for what it is and allow a skill challenge to first, persuade the weird to manifest, and second, persuade it to prophesize.

If at any point the pcs accumulate 3 failures in the skill challenge, Groolool will sink into a deep sleep and cannot be woken for a year and a day.

Skill Challenge Part 1: First, getting the weird to manifest requires at least 4 successes with skill checks. Creatures that simply sit out this part of the skill challenge leave Groolool unimpressed and incur an automatic failure. Possible approaches include:

Arcana: Use arcane skills to persuade (DC 22) or force (DC 26) it to manifest. Creatures can only gain 2 successes using Arcana.

Athletics: Vigorously stirring the earth in the pool (DC 24) gets the weird's attention.

Diplomacy: Speaking to the pool in Primordial, a creature might persuade the weird to manifest (DC 21; +5 bonus if the speaker asks the weird to prophesize; only three successes possible).

Insight: With a DC 22 Insight check, a creature does not gain a success, but can remove a single failure by speaking soothingly to the pool. This can only happen once during the challenge.

Intimidate: Threatening to break the pool (DC 28) or spread its earth around outside the pool (DC 23) is an effective tactic, though the weird will not be friendly. Creatures can only get 2 successes with Intimidate.

Nature: Like Arcana, this skill can coax (DC 21) or force (DC 25) the weird forth.

Skill Challenge Part 2: The weird manifests as a naked woman made of earth, with a serpentine lower body. She does not even speak until the pcs gain 3 more successes on the skill challenge (7 total); at that point she will declare that “You have little time left.” She will answer very limited questions, giving only the following basic information as laconic replies to the right questions:

My name is Groolool. I am an earth weird- a prophet of death and wealth.

I was brought here to avoid my use as a cheat in the casino by its customers. I once dwelt in nearby mountains.

I want for nothing, but accept tribute in wealth or death and disaster.

Only after the pcs obtain another three successes (10 total) can they persuade her to prophesize. During the second part of the skill challenge, possible approaches include:

Offer Sacrifice: A sacrifice of a living creature of at least paragon level or of treasure worth at least 1,000 gp earns the pcs an automatic success. Only two successes can be earned this way.

Arcana: A creature trained in Arcana can demand compliance and prophecy, similar to using Nature. The DC is 21, but only one success can be gained with this skill in this part of the skill challenge.

Athletics: Vigorously stirring the earth in the pool (DC 24) helps the weird awaken enough to speak and prophesize.

Diplomacy: A creature can awaken the weird and persuade it to prophesize by speaking to it in Primordial and making a DC 18 Diplomacy check. Creatures can earn any number of successes this way.

Insight: A DC 16 Insight check in this part of the challenge allows a creature to realize that Groolool is simply very sleepy, and thus hard to get to speak. The creature also realizes that her deep topor can be alleviated by staring her in the eyes in an attempt to make “contact” with her. This will earn one success or eliminate a failure, but can only earn two successes and remove one failure altogether in this part of the challenge.

Intimidate: Continuing to threaten the pool (DC 28) or to remove the earth from it (DC 23) are still effective tactics, but only sufficient to gain one more success in this part of the challenge.

Nature: Using Nature to invoke the laws governing prophesy and demand that Groolool give her name (before she has spoken) and then offer up prophecy (after she has spoken) (each is a DC 16 check). Creatures can only gain one success with each of these tactics.

Success: If creatures earn a total of 10 successes, they earn the skill challenge's xp and the earth weird prognosticates for them, giving the following prophecy (speaking in Primordial):

“An island in the silver sea
Upon which the dead enlivened
Scurry and burrow in the body
Of the master to whom they're driven
A word to end the maddened mind
A word to break the perfect cog
Seeking lost to all to find
Swallowed in the Stygian bog
Ossified in sunless void
Unknown unseen unprayed profane
Until the lost tool is employed
Undead returned undead and bane
For ages lost the stars align
A cross around a darkened moon
To allow return malign
When time is right with offered boon
Dark zenith on the longest night
Conjunction winks and then is past
Wand directs the souls in flight
From maw to isle where at last
Where stone will stir neath sunless sky
And dead undead undead again
With lust that all that live will die
Vengeance found in spread of pain.”

 

[Quickleaf]

[MENTION=1210]the Jester[/MENTION] Very evocative! What would be the consequences for failure to awaken the earth weird/convince her to prophecy?
[MENTION=37609]Jameson[/MENTION] Courage I think when I ran the Escaping Collapsing Mines challenge, I may have made it timed to collapse after 3 rounds and anyone still in the passage would be crushed. So there was no X number of failures results in defeat as per RAW, rather I went with a more Obsidian style challenge (thanks to [MENTION=5889]Stalker0[/MENTION]). Instead, I just had individual consequences for failure.

 

[Manbearcat]

@the Jester Those are both great and its pretty clear how the various possibilities will be actualized in play. I know this is asking a wee bit much, and if you don't have the time then don't sweat it, but if you do have the time, do you think you could do a quick write-up on how things emerged in play for your group? That would be great to map the two and probably a very useful tool for folks who follow your format. Appreciated if you can and understand if not.