Thanks, RC. I think this answers another question I was wresting with - building status-quo encounter tables in 4E. I think I might look into resolving some boring encounters with skill challenges.
If I were you, I would consider expanding the skill challenge system so as to make some interesting encounters into skill challenges.
After all, skill challenges (or complex skill checks) provides a great way to deal with (say) fey encounters, or hauntings, without requiring combat....provided that the system is robust enough to maintain interest and that the outcome isn't solely dependent upon die rolls.
One of the big dangers of systems where a single encounter takes a long time to resolve is that, in order to make sure that that encounter is satisfying, the GM ceases to experiment. Rather than push the boundaries, he stays within "safe" territory -- the territory of the lowest common denominator -- so as to ensure that an encounter that takes up 3 hours of real time won't bite beans. Unfortunately, while this tactic becomes increasingly necessary the longer it takes to resolve a single encounter, it also prevents the sort of experimentation that leads to brilliance.
When WotC stated that one of the design goals of 4e was to cut down on the time it takes to resolve a single encounter, I was pretty happy with that goal. Mind you, I didn't believe that they would accomplish it based on their previews, but it was a worthy goal. There are several suggestions on EN World for meeting this goal. If I were planning on playing 4e as my game of choice, would invest heavily in playtesting any means to speed encounters.
YMMV, of course.
Personally, I would consider giving minions variable (but low) hp, so as to make them worthwhile, while giving other creatures a lower hp total, so as to prevent combat grind. But I haven't playtested this, and I am not at all sure how it would work in practice.
RC
