Search results

What exactly do you mean by "tailored for his exact requirements"? If the character's requirements are a +2 Frost Weapon, then doesn't the merchant's weapon match the requirements? If the costs are equal, then it really doesn't matter what the source is. Do you mean that the character is in...

Exactly. This isn't 3e.

Maybe you just need to change your narrative focus. In the case of Exploits, it's sometimes better to assume that the cause of the effect is not the person initiating it. This is counterintuitive, since many Powers in 4e are easily assumed to be grounded in the character. The character is...

Zerakon, Read the first post in this thread (at the least, you can read more if you like): http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=230357 It points to the same problems you've identified.

This. I love the idea of a Dragonborn Rogue with poison gas breath!

Frankly, Keith, your response (which I've only excerpted here) doesn't really address the substance of the criticism against the skill challenge system. I saw in your journal post that you include the +5 DC to skill challenges which is the heart of Stalker0's mathematical analysis and the major...

Pssthpok, rest assured that the Gambler's Fallacy has already been raised once as a possible challenge to Stalker0's math and has been soundly discredited by several mathematicians and laypeople. Unless you're trolling this thread, you should let this particular criticism go.

My answer to you, Entropi, is a variation on this theme. Ultimately this is where you and I will probably diverge, as will most reasonable people. Yes, a DM is free to ignore or "massage" the DCs found in the table on pg. 42. The DM is the one who determines DCs for a skill challenge and the...

I think this comment is too short-sighted. 4e skill challenges are not nearly as complex as 4e combat. For example, there are no "skill challenge conditions", like dazed, weakened, or immobilized. The DM sets a DC, PCs have a modifier to their roll drawn from a very limited group of sources...

Ok, then I can safely say that I (a non-math person) understand what's contained in the OP. :) I still find the implications of your last sentence fascinating. More competent characters will succeed less as the complexity goes down (if I'm reading that correctly?). Hardly intuitive! You're...

Right, I think we're in agreement about Table 2. It does include the +5 DC footnote. But the numbers in PWRBA average out to around 95% or so, after we account for the wonkiness of 1st and 7th level (WTF is up with 7th level in Table 2 anyway??). That's not quite the same as an 80%-100%...

Ok, so help me with this scenario: Let's assume a conscientious DM who wants to give each character a chance to shine (meaningfully contribute) in every skill challenge. Table 3 shows that, with the +5 DC footnote stripped out, a skill challenge with 5 "medium" characters has very respectable...

Do the Table 3 conclusions assume that each PC making a skill check is "medium", as per your initial assumptions?

Stalker0, In all the excitement, I've forgotten a point which you've probably covered elsewhere. Could you briefly remind me what the effect of removing the controversial +5 to skill checks footnote has on the math? :) Thanks.

Don't worry about the tone; I'm thick-skinned. ;) I hear what you're saying. Ultimately, we can all just follow the IceBear solution: The mathematical analysis helps identify the problems and, if need be, provide the better suggested DCs that are the starting point for Icebear. Most of us...

But this argument cuts against the RAW skill challenge just as easily. Has the RAW skill challenge been analyzed over “months by dozens of different ppl”? It hardly seems likely that WotC had a dozens of mathematicians crunching numbers over months. I have no first-hand knowledge of how the...

Surely you've read the math thread and can answer your own question? EDIT: This response was too quick and glib. There are valid questions to be answered about whether things like initiative order or powers or items provide bonuses or advantages which undermine the analysis in the math thread...

Why is the DM presenting skill challenges in which one or more PCs have insufficient skills? I agree that it's avoidable in some cases. It might stretch believability that every king with which the PCs negotiate has a fondness for Acrobatics that can influence his mood. It's a bit silly that...

Any voice of moderation is a welcome one, but I think you might be overly generous to the RAW. If you read the math thread, you’ll see several anedoctal reports from people who have used the RAW skill challenge system. Most of the reports are negative, reflecting complaints raised by the math...

You'll note that the first response in this thread by person who initiated the math thread, Stalker0, does seem to care about your point. He admitted that it was something he should have looked at closer and he promised that he would. As anyone who read further than the first page in the...