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You're right AA - I've forgot about the errata changes. Instead of upping the DC Difficulty to increase the SC Level (ie. Moderate to Hard), they simply have you go up one row on the chart, and assign the Level as the midpoint of the next bracket up - so to make a "Hard" Level 1 SC Encounter...

I just posted a blog on this topic - essentially substituting a Skill Challenge to replace Combat with a single, nearly equal level enemy - I think it would work well for most DMs. D&D 4e Skill Challenge: Assassination

Absolutely iconic - but with respect, it also means its cliche. So keep the lava pits and add fumeroles that do a Burst 2 Poison Gas at various points around the room between the pits. Add trembling sections of the room that are not only Difficult Terrain for any non-large creature to...

I don't think that it's a big deal as everyone seems to think it is. Potions of Resistence are specified by energy type upon creation and you can't have more than one at a time active - and they don't stack with other resistences. If you have the red dragon mincing about a room filled with...

From my understanding a Level 1 Complexity 1 Skill Challenge using Moderate DCs is worth 100xp - using easy DCs (ie 10) would reduce the Level by 1 - whereas high DCs (ie 20) would make it a Level 2.

Two possibilities: 1) the bored sentinel is a minion and a quick kill 2) the bored sentinel is a normal bad guy and is nearly the equivalent of any member of the adventuring party in threat - and is not a quick kill I could see giving the sneaky character an auto-hit and normal damage -...

Your merit system for equating roleplaying with exp reward is a good one, but don't be too formal about it. Don't keep track of points, but only offer the 10% bonus to one PC per session and make sure your Players know that they need to impress you to get it. Competition inspires people...

I would imagine some airborne toxins/spores in say, a cavern or swampy setting, might make Weakened a realistic option. If the Characters are buzzed they are swinging badly or casting poorly, which might explain their effects being less damaging.

That does sound disapointing and given your rural location, I can imagine how rough the logistics can be. The only thing I might recommend to enhance your experience, since it's rough to get folks together like that, is to make it more of an event than just a game. Taking a page from my SCA...

Came up with 2 versions (one good one evil) of this fey "hag", basing them upon the scottish legend of the Glaistig. Quillian's Folio of Fantastic Fauna Please check them out and let me know if there is room for improvement. *tosses the bonnie fey wenches into the forum cuisnart* Btw...

Not to get off topic too much, but was your surprise scenario based then upon Party Active Bluff vs. Slaver Passive Insight? Seems like an interesting example of a surprise encounter not based upon Active Stealth vs. Passive Perception, which so many of them are.

Agreed. The rule for granting the No Action Healing Surge using the Heal Skill is at its most useful when dealing with an unconscious ally. One could "force" a conscious ally to take a No Action Healing Surge, and there might be a few situations where that is useful, but nothing beats stopping...

Agreed, even level mobs can seem N+2 or N+3 if you grant them favorable tactical conditions vs. the PCs. Even something as simple as putting them on high ground behind a parapet or behind a door flanked by murder holes, both common fare in real castles and medieval fortifications, and the...

I always find it a little sad that so many are obsessed with finding the "best" race for a particular class. I agree with many others here that the "best" race is almost certainly a dwarf due to the statitic bonuses and the racial abilities. But remember that D&D is a role-playing game...

Infiniti is correct - they don't stack, even from the same ability. You just have to think of each individual use of that ability as a "different source", as it would if they came from a different class. So if you got 3 tmp hp from Sacred Flame, and you took 2 hp, your next Sacred Flame would...

While I can't deny that there are dynamic encounters in some of the modules, I still hold to my assertion that there are more static ones. And I agree that potions can aide in providing some healing during combats, but it's still not as potent as healing wands had been. It feels like it...

I completed a blog today regarding Dynamic Character Development in D&D, exploring how we develop the personalities for our Characters. I'd appreciate it if folks could give it a read, and check out the poll I have about their own experiences with Character Personality Development. Any and...

Am curious if folks find that D&D Encounters in 4e are too Static- ie. little or no interaction between encounter elements in a dungeon? So you have one encounter, wait, rest, continue to the next in a very MMO style of dungeon delving. I wrote some ideas down in my blog trying to make my...

It's one or the other, I'm afraid - there is a listing describing which actions are "shared" and which are independent., and while movement can be done by both ranger and companion, and in different directions if you like, attacks come from either the ranger or the beast.

It's not exactly the same, because the spread is not always 2-3 points lower. Check out good old low level Goblins for instance. I see quite a few defenses that are only 1-2 points down from AC, not 2-3, which means that weapon based exploits are 5% to 10% more likely to hit. Or want a...