Group skill checks

[Riastlin]

The way I've handled the group skill check is to simply assume that the better PCs are helping the less skilled PCs. So in the stealth example, if they are trying to sneak through the forest, you might have the ranger pointing out to the fighter and cleric where to step and warning them of potentially bad places to step. For an endurance check, the heartier PCs are keeping an eye on those who are more frail, or encumbered with armor, and showing them techniques to get through the chill or fight off the heat, etc. Sometimes though, there's only so much that you can do to help somebody out, so they still fail (represented as less than half the group making the check).

In my experience, I've seen a pretty decent mix of succesful and failed group skill checks. I don't use them real often, but when I do, its not automatic as to what the result will be. Now Aid Another on the other hand can quickly become a problem -- particularly when you hit paragon and the DC 10 is nearly automatic for almost all skills. Now that I am in Paragon tier I don't always leave the Aid Another DC at 10 for skill challenges, or I might limit the number of people who can aid, or better yet, force them to tell me exactly how they are aiding the wizard on the arcana check. Just because the fighter has a +7 to his arcana check at level 14 doesn't necessarily mean he knows how to assist the wizard with her +20 or so to the check.

 

[Dan'L]

Now Aid Another on the other hand can quickly become a problem -- particularly when you hit paragon and the DC 10 is nearly automatic for almost all skills.

A little while back they gave errata on the aid another DCs. They are now 10+ 1/2 level of the person being aided. So at Paragon tier there is a minimum DC of 15 to aid another of your level, and it progresses up as the characters progress. Basically, the more progressed a character is, the more capable they are in their own right, and so it is harder to provide them meaningful aid.

This came out at the same time they instituted a -1 penalty applied to the primary skill check when the aid check fails.

-Dan'L

 

[S'mon]

I am looking for inspiration on how to do group skill checks where a single low roll penalizes the entire party (like stealth) and a single high roll benefits the entire party (such as perception).

How do you handle checks such as these?

Thanks in advance!

Our Savage Worlds DM takes a good approach:

Stealth: PC with lowest skill rolls.
Perception: PC with highest skill rolls.

You can get the same effect by using the passive/take 10 numbers.

 

[S'mon]

For a stealth skill challenge; I'd suggest PCs roll stealth, 1 success/fail per stealth, on a fail the PCs who succeeded can roll Perception to spot what the failees are doing wrong and help them, 1 success/fail per roll, repeat until # of successes or failures racked up.

That mirrors my experience of trying to stealth during army field training. I'm quite good at it, we were in a dark wood at night & I remember spotting another soldier whose uncovered metal wristwatch gleamed brightly. I told him to cover it, unfortunately I failed my Charisma check & he just threatened me and didn't cover it up, so IRL we'd probably have been massacred.

 

[corwyn77]

Our Savage Worlds DM takes a good approach:

Stealth: PC with lowest skill rolls.
Perception: PC with highest skill rolls.

You can get the same effect by using the passive/take 10 numbers.

Hey that's what I do in my SW games as well. I may try them soon for my dnd game as well.

 

[MrBeens]

Our Savage Worlds DM takes a good approach:

Stealth: PC with lowest skill rolls.
Perception: PC with highest skill rolls.

You can get the same effect by using the passive/take 10 numbers.

So you pretty much always fail stealth checks and pass perception?

 

[S'mon]

So you pretty much always fail stealth checks and pass perception?

Not IME, no. Appropriate DCs are set.

 

[keterys]

A d20 provides a heck of a lot of variation. Even the worst stealth can roll high, and the highest perception roll low...

 

[delericho]

It really depends on the circumstances.

Suppose the party is engaged in a "Lost in the Desert" challenge. In this case, I might require each PC make an Endurance check each 'round' (hour, day, whatever). Those who succeed can then take other actions potentially working towards the successful resolution of the challenge; those who fail are entirely engaged in just keeping up with the others. (That said, in a challenge like that, I'd not do "X successes before Y failures"; I'd do "X successes needed" with each 'round' having some associated cost.)

Suppose instead that the party had to put on a dramatic production to impress the local lord (odd one, I know; just go with it!). In that case I'd go with the simple rule: everyone rolls, if 50% pass then it's a success; otherwise it's a failure.

For a "weakest link" check (like Stealth), I might well have only the PC with the highest skill roll. But... if any character has a negative modifier on the skill, I would apply that negative as a penalty to the roll. (Not 100% certain about this... might be better to have the weakest character roll, with the others being able to "aid another"...)

For a "strongest link" check (like Perception), I'd just have the PC with the highest skill roll.

(But bear in mind that in a 'surprise' scenario, it is possible for part of the group to be surprised and others not. So in this case, they'd all roll, and each take their own result.)

 

[delericho]

Just had another idea, that might be a better implementation of the Stealth example.

The player with the best score rolls normally.

However, each other character has to make a check at the "aid another" DC. If the succeed, nothing happens. However, any character who fails this check applies a -2 penalty to the primary roll.

This represents the primary character using his expertise to help the group as a whole, but despite his best efforts some characters still might not be able to do it...