D&D 5E Exploration Rules You'd Like To See

[Frostmarrow]

Even challenges on a grand scale can easily be resolved. Say the characters lead an army laying siege to an enemy fortress. The impetous characters decide to assault the fortress instead:

Assault the Fortress (100 pp).
1. Each character loses 1d20 men under their respective command.
2. Each commander risks 1d10 damage. 10% chance of being hit by arrows and accidents.

Adam: Trained in warfare, commanding 40 shock troops. 1d10+Cha (+1).
Bertil: Trained in healing, commanding a small retinue of 10 chaplains. 1d10+Wis (+4). (Chaplains in the rear guard are protected from harm. This ruled negotiated with the DM).
Caesar: No skill. Commanding the 100 regulars. 1d4.
David: Trained in archery, commanding the 40 archers. 1d8+Int (+1).

24.

After a couple of rounds Adam's shock troops are likely to have been annihilated. Adam can still fight on his own but since he lacks the tool for the job his contribution will be reduced to sheer effort. 1d4.
He could of course return to his own lines and relieve Caesar of his command and continue the onslaught with the remaining regulars. 1d6+Cha (+1). Alas, with the shock troops lost the DM decides the chaplains are no longer safe from harm. -Will the commanders continue to press the attack or will they retreat?

 

[Frostmarrow]

When designing challenges within this context you can skew the numbers in order to convey a feeling. If you want something resolved quickly just set the progression points at 1. If you want to drag things out into pure tedium, such as when travelling through a barren landscape, set the pp to 200 and make every round cost a single hp. Lots of room for storytelling here. I don't know about you but I never divulge how many hit points a monster has left and I don't intend to tell them how many progression points are needed either.

You can make a challenge with an egg shell, that is; looks horribly difficult after the first round but becomes easier after round two. By the same token you can make a challenge that becomes increasingly more difficult.

We don't need to invent resources in order for this system to function we can get by with the resources already in place, such as gold, time, spell slots, hit points, equipment, and consumables. We can add role-playing opportunities, combat, haggling with NPCs, negotiating with the DM, come up with new ways to use old skills - anything goes.

All we need is a headline, a progression point goal, and one or two backlashes. By utilizing the graspable scale above players and module writers are free to come up with just about anything.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

We don't need to invent resources in order for this system to function we can get by with the resources already in place, such as gold, time, spell slots, hit points, equipment, and consumables. We can add role-playing opportunities, combat, haggling with NPCs, negotiating with the DM, come up with new ways to use old skills - anything goes.

All we need is a headline, a progression point goal, and one or two backlashes. By utilizing the graspable scale above players and module writers are free to come up with just about anything.

I really like this idea and think there should be a thread devoted to it, as this mechanic could be used in any edition of the game {and actually in pretty much any RPG}

I think the biggest issue would be guidelines for DMs to set up challenges, but that could be done with a large number of examples and a small handful of tables.

 

[Ferghis]

I think combat in D&D is pure genius. Despite its inherent simplicity, or maybe thanks to, combat is fun, engaging and exciting. -And has been so for forty years.

A good skill challenge could very well follow the same formula. But instead of reducing a monster to 0 hp you try to rack up a preset number of progress points.

A challenge is of course risky and does something bad to those who participate until resolved. A snow storm might inflict 1d3 points of frostbite until weathered. A villain might travel to the next village and carry out a dastardly deed.

Now, what can we use to gain those progression points? In combat we use weapons. Naturally we should use tools in a skill challenge. Since a lot of situations call for no tool at all we need to back up the system with something else. I suggest level, gold and/or class abilities. (Rangers could be good at surving storms for instance.) Also we have an inbuilt DM in the game that can make a call, if given a graspable scale.
[...]
With a graspable scale (mentioned above) I could see something like this:

Sheer effort 1d4
Trained skill and basic tool 1d6
Trained skill and silver standard tool 1d8
Trained skill and gold standard tool 1d10
Trained skill and platinum standard tool 1d12

Now, we can easily adjudicate any situation. -Healing a wounded friend: Sheer effort represents bringing blankets and hot water, and trained skill and gold standard tool might represent medical training and surgeon's tools. -Traversing the wilderness: Sheer effort represents trodding along, trained skill and silver standard tools represents Wilderness Lore and tried proven wilderness gear. -Persuading the king: Sheer effort is begging and pleading while 1d12 can be rolled while employing diplomacy wearing ermine cloak and sporting a golden scepter.

Feel free to add your ability score modifier to the roll. Don't necessarily bother rolling checks. The backlash of the challenge takes care of failure in its own way.
[...]
When designing challenges within this context you can skew the numbers in order to convey a feeling. If you want something resolved quickly just set the progression points at 1. If you want to drag things out into pure tedium, such as when travelling through a barren landscape, set the pp to 200 and make every round cost a single hp. Lots of room for storytelling here. I don't know about you but I never divulge how many hit points a monster has left and I don't intend to tell them how many progression points are needed either.

You can make a challenge with an egg shell, that is; looks horribly difficult after the first round but becomes easier after round two. By the same token you can make a challenge that becomes increasingly more difficult.

This is vaguely how I first imagined skill challenges in 4e, before the actual ruleset came out. Nice job detailing it out!

We don't need to invent resources in order for this system to function we can get by with the resources already in place, such as gold, time, spell slots, hit points, equipment, and consumables. We can add role-playing opportunities, combat, haggling with NPCs, negotiating with the DM, come up with new ways to use old skills - anything goes.

I do think that the resources that are depleted must not be easily renewable. HP are relatively easy to renew. Time is only occasionally an issue. Spell slots are limited only limited for one day, unless components are being tracked and are required for spells. I would love to see official fatigue and injury rules, a pool of supplies (or consumables) and components that can be replenished at cities (smaller cities and towns may have limits on how much you can recover there each day). These can also make companions more interesting. An alchemist may help your components go a little farther, but requires food and gold. A donkey may help carry supplies, but will consume food. And so on.

 

[Frostmarrow]

I'd like to say a few words on the quality of tools. What is a silver standard tool? -It's a tool payed with silver. The numeral cost of an item is set, but the currency is different depending on quality. Basic tools are payed with copper. So imagine horses costing 30 coins. A common horse costs 30 cp. A silver standard horse costs 30 silver pieces. The finest horse in the world is payed with 30 platinum pieces. When rolling for travelling, if you have the ride skill, you roll 1d6 when riding a common horse but you roll 1d12 with an excellent destrier.

This system works with any object. A rope costs 5 coins. A grappling iron 7 coins. And so on.

This means that it's always a good idea to upgrade your equipment. If you have no skill you always roll 1d4. If you cannot ride, the finest animal in the world will make no difference when it comes to you travelling. You can just as well walk.

So to sum up: First you need to be skilled, then you need to know the quality of your means, and then you add your ability score bonus (where applicable). But you can always chip in with sheer effort rolling a humbling d4.

There is no upper end to item cost. A lunar lander might cost a billion. Yet a billion platinum will be a lot better than a lunar lander payed with copper.

Imagine a character finding a treasure consisting of 100 gp and 5 pp. The character can now afford 20 gold standard ropes (dry-spun hemp) and one platinum standard rope (elfin silk). The silk rope will perform slightly better in challenges where a rope can be used for good results.

Now, how does magic items fit in? I suggest magic items are given a set value instead of a die. Say a magic rope adds 10 progression points to a given challenge. The rope does all the work. Also, spells similarily adds a set number. Levitate might add a flat 10 progression points to a climbing challenge. Magic weapons that sometimes can be used for non-combat uses can likewise be converted to a metal standard depending on the DM judgement. A dwarven thrower could be used to make a ladder and the DM might decide that a dwarven thrower functions as a gold standard hammer in construction endeavors.

I realise it is a mouthfull calling this set of lock picks gold standard or this livestock silver standard. It's easy to call the quality levels common, fine, excellent, and perfected instead. So you would say that you found fine lock picks, or perfected lock picks instead. It's handy for the DM when describing loot. "You find a goat. It's a fine goat."