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Message: <blockquote data-quote="steenan" data-source="post: 5134185" data-attributes="member: 23240">One of things that make challenges fun and exciting is the feeling that every action taken matters. That is how it works in combat - we use powers, we maneuver around the battlefield, we make tactical decisions. Each success and failure has a clearly visible consequence. When it stops being so - and the only thing that matters is removing enemy's HPs fast enough - we call it grind and mark as a thing to avoid.That is the weakness of most skill challenges. One makes rolls and describes actions, but there is no perceivable success or loss until the whole is decided. To make it fun, the DM must take an proactive role and start to push the PCs. Let the players feel that not only the final result matters, but each situation encountered on the way. Each action, each roll, each skill choice should be a chance of gaining or losing something, not necessarily big, but significant nonetheless. This way you may lose, but still feel that you did a lot. Or win, but with a cost high enough that you doubt if it was worth it.Of course, it will not work for each group. It requires putting what the PCs value at stake and quite a lot of people don't like it, feeling entitled to what they managed to earn in play or what they created as the character background. But many players enjoy the emotional engagement that comes from challenging not only their tactical ability, but also the relations and possessions they deem important. I'll give a few examples to make clear what I have in mind.Let's say that an elf ranger in the party sees wild animals as his brothers, of no less value than any sentient creature. Now, during a skill challenge of crossing the wilderness in time to stop the BBEG he encounters a wolf caught in a trap, hurt and bleeding. He may continue on his path or help the animal. Both give a success, though healing the wolf may be a harder roll. But no matter what he chooses and if he succeeds, it will be something important for him.Another example. With the BBEG defeated and his magic disrupted, the levitating fortress the PCs are in starts to fall apart. They are running to their flying ship to get out of there. The rogue's turn comes up and you describe as through a widening crack in a wall he sees a small chamber, gold glistening in it. Will he go for the treasure, with no benefit in the skill challenge, or help the party get out in time?Or this: The party is doing some detective work to find a traitor in the king's court. But, in questioning various people, they not only learn things about the traitor - they also learn things about other people. They uncover things somebody would rather keep secret. They discover issues some people have that they may help with later. They make friends and enemies - depending on which skills they used and how good they rolled. When a botched attempt at bluff may turn you into a bad guy in chancellor's eyes and a good approach to questioning the princess can give you not only the information, but also a night in her chamber, each individual choice and roll starts to matter.</blockquote>

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