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<blockquote data-quote="Obryn" data-source="post: 4908904" data-attributes="member: 11821">I'll note, I have no problem at all with my players &quot;breaking&quot; my encounters!&nbsp; I love it when they do!&nbsp; Heck; sometimes I set them against odds that are impossible if they confront the encounter head-on - although this is usually for Call of Cthulhu and not D&amp;D. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile&nbsp; &nbsp; :)"&nbsp; data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />Taking the OP's scenario, I would figure out the level of the encounter, first.&nbsp; Let's say, since the PCs are level 5 and it was intended as dramatic, it's level 7 or 8.&nbsp; I want to make all the DCs Hard - this is arbitrary, but as far as I can tell, the Hobgoblins are behind a wall, in a fortress, on the alert.&nbsp; So DC 19, at a minimum, possibly adjusted upwards for the circumstances.Since this is a replacement for an entire encounter, I'll make it a Complexity 3 challenge.&nbsp; Or 4 - I'm indifferent either way.&nbsp; But it's certainly more dramatic than a simple check.&nbsp; So we're looking at either 9 or 12 successes before 3 failures.&nbsp; Tough, but doable.Clearly, Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate are the main skills.&nbsp; Maybe add in Insight. too.&nbsp; Diplomacy is kind of the redheaded stepchild here - no matter how much a guard likes you, they aren't going to let you in because you have a pretty smile.&nbsp; So limit that one to 3 successes, with the remainder as Bluff or Diplomacy.&nbsp; Insight won't count towards the successes, but it can give you hints about their attitudes or expectations and give bonuses to future Bluff or Intimidate checks.And... well, that's that.&nbsp; That's a skill challenge on the fly, with literally less than 30 seconds' thought.&nbsp; For a Complexity 3 challenge, I'd give somewhere around 75% XP.&nbsp; For a Complexity 4 Challenge, a full 100%.-O</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Obryn, post: 4908904, member: 11821"] I'll note, I have no problem at all with my players "breaking" my encounters! I love it when they do! Heck; sometimes I set them against odds that are impossible if they confront the encounter head-on - although this is usually for Call of Cthulhu and not D&D. :) Taking the OP's scenario, I would figure out the level of the encounter, first. Let's say, since the PCs are level 5 and it was intended as dramatic, it's level 7 or 8. I want to make all the DCs Hard - this is arbitrary, but as far as I can tell, the Hobgoblins are behind a wall, in a fortress, on the alert. So DC 19, at a minimum, possibly adjusted upwards for the circumstances. Since this is a replacement for an entire encounter, I'll make it a Complexity 3 challenge. Or 4 - I'm indifferent either way. But it's certainly more dramatic than a simple check. So we're looking at either 9 or 12 successes before 3 failures. Tough, but doable. Clearly, Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate are the main skills. Maybe add in Insight. too. Diplomacy is kind of the redheaded stepchild here - no matter how much a guard likes you, they aren't going to let you in because you have a pretty smile. So limit that one to 3 successes, with the remainder as Bluff or Diplomacy. Insight won't count towards the successes, but it can give you hints about their attitudes or expectations and give bonuses to future Bluff or Intimidate checks. And... well, that's that. That's a skill challenge on the fly, with literally less than 30 seconds' thought. For a Complexity 3 challenge, I'd give somewhere around 75% XP. For a Complexity 4 Challenge, a full 100%. -O [/QUOTE]

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