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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5465341" data-attributes="member: 42582">Pawsplay, I'm not going to address all your questions in this post. Others have already tackled some of them. And I've already linked upthred to the Actual Play thread where some of these issues are being discussed also.But one answer to your question about A versus B. (An answer, by the way, which has nothing to do with scaling. I think you're somewhat jumping at shadow with the scaling, for the reasons I've set out in other posts upthread.)A skill challenge structure more-or-less obliges the GM to introduce complications at various points - both in response to failed checks, and in order to establish the situation with which the players are engaging via more checks.In this respect, the structure serves a metagame purpose - by mandating repeated points of engagement with an evolving ingame situation by both the GM and the players, it forces a certain dynamism into the resolution of that situation. In my view this is similar, in general outline, to the extended contest mechanics of HeroWars/Quest.Now, you may ask "what is the attraction of a structure that mandates this dynamism?" My answer - and it is an answer I have seen from others in relation to HW/Q, in relation to Duel of Wits in BW, etc - is that this sort of structure makes unexpected developments in the narrative more likely. How does it do this? Because the mutual engagment at multiple points of an unfolding situation makes both players and GM think of things that otherwise they would not.One example - in a skill challenge negotiation between my PCs and some slavers, the PCs ended up contracting with the slavers to redeem the slaves using the treasure that the slavers told them where to find in the dungeon. This solution emerged gradually, as the players had some successes, then some failures, and were looking for ways to build on their successes while working around their failures. The offer of a contract was the way that they settled on, and that ended up resolving the challenge.Do some groups achieve this sort of dynamism without structured mechanics to support it? Well, for all I know, everyone else has been doing it for years! But for my group - and for others whom I have seen post in relation to other games like HW/Q and BW - it makes a real difference.</blockquote>

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