am i understanding skill challenges?

[Quickleaf]

Does this example seem to model the 4e approach to skill challenges?

Situation: PCs chase a hag and her merrow servitors who have taken something (or someone) of value to them.

Start: The scene begins with the hag diving off a 60' cliff into the cold lake below during an evening rainstorm. To pursue PCs make Athletics/Acrobatics check to negate/reduce damage of dive.

Each turn PCs make 2 checks. One is a chase check, a reasonable skill of their choosing, compared against the chart below (round down). The other is an Endurance check (10) against cold and fatigue, with the Difficulty cumulatively increasing +2 with each check. A failed Endurance check incurs a -2 cumulative penalty on chase checks. Encumbered PCs suffer -10 on chase checks to swim.

CHASING THE RIVER HAG
Possible Skills: Athletics (swimming), Nature (using a canoe)

5 Not only do you drop out of the chase, but you immediately begin drowning. Any nearby ally can help you, but must drop out of the chase to do so.

10 You are losing ground, and must make an Athletics check (12) to avoid drowning. You can choose to drop out of the chase to stop drowning.

15 You’ve kept up with the hag long enough to see that she is heading toward an island shaped like a mare’s head. If you choose to continue following you and your allies gain +2 on your next checks. (cumulative)

20 You’ve managed to triangulate or otherwise reduce the distance you must cover, gaining +4 on your next check. You are able to call out to your allies to keep them on track, granting them +2 on their next checks. (cumulative)

25 You have kept pace with the hag and reach the entrance to the caverns underneath the mare’s head shaped island she has fled to. You can create a signal for your allies to follow, granting them +4 on their next checks. (Go to the Hag’s Lair in Chapter 7)

 

[VBMEW-01]

I don't know if that's right, but it looks fine to me

 

[FadedC]

That's not quite the way a skill challenge works, but I'm sure it's still quite legal for a 4E chase scene. A skill challenge usually involves players making rolls that either succeed or fail and then the challenge is won or lost based on weither they get x successes before x failures.

I think skill challenges are often designed to be more abstract, while your hag chase scene is more specific. Not that this is a bad thing.

 

[Irda Ranger]

I have no idea whether or not your example is rules-accurate, but it looks good to me.

The one thing I would do differently is that the numbers you need to hit would be a dynamic Defense based on the Skill that the Hag was using to avoid you. So if her relevant Defense was 12, the effects would kick in at -10, -5, 0, +5, +10.

 

[Quickleaf]

That's not quite the way a skill challenge works, but I'm sure it's still quite legal for a 4E chase scene. A skill challenge usually involves players making rolls that either succeed or fail and then the challenge is won or lost based on weither they get x successes before x failures.

I think skill challenges are often designed to be more abstract, while your hag chase scene is more specific. Not that this is a bad thing.

So with a skill challenge would are there three levels of maneuver you can try: Easy (10), Medium (15), and Hard (20) -- each level has its own results for failure or success according to the level of risk involved. Is that right? Is it assumed the PCs start at a baseline of 0, and an easy check adjusts them +/-1, a medium check +/-2, and a hard check +/-3 ?

Something like this...

* You drop out of the chase and begin drowning. An ally may help you, but must drop out of the chase to do so.
* You are exhausted and lagging. You suffer -4 on your next chase and Endurance checks. If you fail your Endurance check you begin drowning unless an ally comes to your aid (suffering a -4 on their next chase check).
* You are losing ground. -2 on your next chase and Endurance checks.
* Starting point. PCs are barely keeping up, and will eventually lose track of the hag in the stormy night waters.
* You’ve kept up with the hag long enough to see that she is heading toward an island shaped like a mare’s head. If you choose to continue following you and your allies gain +2 on your next chase checks. (cumulative)
* You’ve managed to triangulate or otherwise reduce the distance you must cover, gaining +4 on your next chase check. You are able to call out to your allies to keep them on track, granting them +2 on their next chase checks. (cumulative)
* You have kept pace with the hag and reach the entrance to the caverns underneath the mare’s head shaped island she has fled to. You can create a signal for your allies to follow, granting them +4 on their next chase checks. (Go to the Hag’s Lair in Chapter 7)