Designing SKill Challenges
- Thread starter Rechan
- Start date
I'm hoping this article can help here. I'm designing a two-part skill challenge:
The Players traveling into the heart of a volcano, and the players escaping the volcano once it starts to erupt.
(Subsequently I'm trying to find a good, reskinnable monster to represent the angry volcano god/demon/spirit living in the volcano, but that's not related to the skill challenge).
The Players traveling into the heart of a volcano, and the players escaping the volcano once it starts to erupt.
(Subsequently I'm trying to find a good, reskinnable monster to represent the angry volcano god/demon/spirit living in the volcano, but that's not related to the skill challenge).
Asmor
First Post
It starts with 4 tips on what to do and not to do in skill challenges. To summarize:
1. Don't punish the players if they manage to avoid one
2. Use a variety of skills
3. Use a variety of obstacles
4. Skill challenges can and, if appropriate, should take place over days or even weeks.
He then begins giving an example as he works up a skill challenge for his Greyhawk game, though he only gets through the first two tips and promises the conclusion next month. Seems like kind of a let-down to me, personally, but the meat of the article really is the first part.
Have you looked at Menace of the Icy Spire in Dungeon 159? There's a skill challenge in it for players traveling through a blizzard. It looks to me like a good starting place for other environment-type challenges.
hvg3akaek
First Post
Can't help but be a little annoyed that this is 'subscription only' info. If it merely added to what was given, fine. but at the moment, it sounds like they are still bandaging up the mess that was the released Skill Challenges.
And, take place over days or weeks? Aren't the penalties for loosing encounters things like "loose a healing surge"? If each check takes place in a different day, that penalty is non-existant. I had the issue last game, as my party tried to find their way through the wilderness. Failed a check, lost a surge, but by the time they took another check, it was the next day, so the penalty was removed...?
And, take place over days or weeks? Aren't the penalties for loosing encounters things like "loose a healing surge"? If each check takes place in a different day, that penalty is non-existant. I had the issue last game, as my party tried to find their way through the wilderness. Failed a check, lost a surge, but by the time they took another check, it was the next day, so the penalty was removed...?
Kobold Avenger
Legend
I see each check as being variable in length of time depending on the check. It could be 1 round, or 1 minute, or 1 hour, or 3 hours or 1 day per check.
The length of a skill challenge depends on the parameters of the scene involved. And I could see a skill challenge as having other encounters even combat happening in between checks.
Disable a trap. the skill challenge is a matter of rounds.
Going to a ball it's a matter of hours as it's an entire night.
And even within the same challenge, 1 check is not necessarily the same length of time as another.
For travelling through the wilderness, if it takes days, then it could simply be defined in the challenge that healing surges do not replenish with an extended rest.
The length of a skill challenge depends on the parameters of the scene involved. And I could see a skill challenge as having other encounters even combat happening in between checks.
Disable a trap. the skill challenge is a matter of rounds.
Going to a ball it's a matter of hours as it's an entire night.
And even within the same challenge, 1 check is not necessarily the same length of time as another.
For travelling through the wilderness, if it takes days, then it could simply be defined in the challenge that healing surges do not replenish with an extended rest.
Asmor
First Post
It's all just advice, there are no new rules or anything.
I came up with a patch for that: fatigue points, which allow for long-term loss of healing surges.
