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No problem! I would never suggest my way was best. Only that it is mine. I feel that the maps and the planning helps me be organized, which I typically am not. By doing as much prep work a head of time, it helps me stay on track and keep a handle of the situation. Not that I don't let my...

I think we do and that they are! Any time! I enjoy a good discussion. Honestly, this thread has put the free-form DMing in a better light for me, and helped me understand the concepts of it better, so thanks to all of you who have made this a pleasent little discussion!

The system, if nothing else, does inspire different ways to do things. I will take what I feel comfortable integrating and drop the rest. No problem at all. Perhaps my "agree with Derren" statement was a little to non-specific. I see where he is coming from, and it is from a similar DM style...

You may have just nailed it. I would have the success of player's actions determine the effect of those actions on the guard, but unless they take advantage of those actions and continue to move out of the city or to some other safe place, then no number of successful rolls will get them out...

Indeed it is limitind a character by player ability. And in the case of someone who did have a killer streetwise (which I might concede to a 1st lvl character with streetwise trained and skill focused and who had a high stat for it), I would have them roll the check before heading down the...

They are equally acceptable. Please don't think I am bashing on 4e in all of this. I am mainly listing the ways in which 4e's potential use of skills differs from the way I play the game. I am a strong supporter of 4e and I can fully see how this skill system would help a great many DMs and...

Again, it is a matter of order. If the player says, "I want to find some side alley I can duck down and escape out of." I would have them make a streetwise check and tell them which alley that is. It might not be an alley they can get to on this turn...it's too far down the street. If the...

In 4e guildlines perhaps, but not how I play. If the player makes his streetwise check before picking where is going, then yes, he knows the right alley to go down (and he can then decide to go down that alley or not...this streetwise check is for information only. Nothing else comes of it)...

And this is where I don't like the 6 success FTW idea in this sort of situation. As I said before, I would run it so that the only way a player gets out of the city is if they get out of the city. I agree that there are ways that the party could get 6 successes in Town Square and make it...

It does take a great deal of time for me to create a scene like this. That is two maps: one for me with everything marked on it in great detail and one for my players which has much less detail and little bits being filled in as they go. I do, however, know my players very well. I know what...

I, as the DM, decided which alley has the way out, not which one the player runs down. Even the dice don't determine which alley the player runs down. Only the player makes that decision. If the players were in the market place in a game I was running, and they needed to flee from the guards...

I agree: a streetwise character who makes a successful check would know that info. Where my taste and 4e seem to diverge (in spirit! I'm not saying I can't do this in 4e if I continue to DM via my own style) is with this one point: - In 4e, it seems as though the guidelines for using skills...

Our biggest disagreement is simply DMing style (which is nothing to argue over, so please don't think I am starting an arguement over it!). The point of my post was that, while Derren and I seem to have similar DMing styles, I very much disagree with him that 4e deters from that style. This...

If something comes up that I had not thought of, I do ad lib it. The thing is, more than likely, I know if there is a whoozit nearby or not before hand. Every dungeon and area I create has an ecology. If there is a carrion crawler, I know what it is eating and how it get's it's food. If...

Here is one place I agree with Derren. I don't know the location of all secrets and NPCs in the world at all time. I do need to think on my feet. If I were to run an Escape Scene like the one here, I would however know the exact location of all secrets and all exits. I would know what was...

Not that I know for sure, but I think your assumption that you can pick 3 DCs just to climb over the same wall is where you went wrong. If all you are trying to get over a wall, it's DC X as set by the DM in relation to the wall's characteristics. Not every skill check needs a level of...

From my reading, the main problem with the idea was presentation. In Derren's example, the idea that a PC ran down an alley and it was a dead-end. He rolled streetwise check, succeeded, and suddenly knew of a hidden escape route through that alley. Even if that is what happened in the Sembia...

Enjoy!

This sounds more like a DM decision then a edition decision. Anyone in 3e could have done the same thing: make a check, there is a secret passage. In 4e, the same thing could be taken away. One thing about this encounter that needs to be taken into account was that it was designed to be run...

Not that I can comment on the balance issue of the ability, but it seems that your biggest issue is the name and flavor. That "careful" requires too much time (as flavor) more than +4 is too much (which is something difficult to determine even at this point). I'd be more likely to call it...