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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5437803" data-attributes="member: 42582">Dice4Hire, there's a big debate about skill challenges on the "Real reason the game has changed" thread - I wouldn't say it's worth reading (a lot of tedious back and forth) but it has helped me clarify a few things about running skill challenges.I think there are 2 or 3 key things: (1) you as GM have to have a very clear idea of the situation the PCs are in, and ways in which it might develop in response to their actions; (2) when thinking about those ways it might develop, don't be locked into thinking of it just in terms of ingame consequences of failed skill use - be prepared to use a failed skill check, or even a failed skill challenge, as an excuse to introduce some complication which is (from the point of view of the gameworld) causally unrelated, but is (from the point of view of the players at the table) thematically/story appropriate; (3) don't railroad - so even though you've worked out a few ideas in advance, be prepared to follow the lead of the players, and to push the situation (and the PCs) in unexpected directions.For an example of number (2) above at work, look at the sample of play in the Rules Compendium, if you've got it. At the end of that challenge, the players fail a Streetwise check to investigate a building, and therefore fail the skill challenge overall (3rd failed skill check). In response, the GM has some thugs turn up and attack them even though the thugs weren't hanging around and weren't part of the Streetwise check. Earlier in the challenge the thugs had been brushed off by a successful Intimidate check. So what the GM has done here is to respond to the failed challenge by introducing a complication which is thematically/story relevant - these thugs have been introduced earlier in the challenge, and so their aggressive return makes a nice way of ending the challenge with a meaningful failure.</blockquote>

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