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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Saagael" data-source="post: 4936654" data-attributes="member: 84839">Something I've had a lot of success with in the past is building skill challenges based around several small challenges. The Dragon articles on skill challenges go over this a little, but for your situation, here's what you could do.Have several defined rolls in the group, and different goals that need to be met before the PCs can get in. It looks like right now you've got one goal: break into the mall. Make up some smaller steps that go into that, each of which is represented by a small skill challenge (4 successes before 3 failures, perhaps). Here are some examples:Reconnaissance (stealth, thievery, perception): The PCs scout out the area and determine which routes are safe and which are not. They unlock doors and provide easy escape paths. A success in this challenge might let them gain a bonus to checks in other skill challenges, or provide them with an easier means of escape should they fail.Distraction (athletics, acrobatics, streetwise): The PCs set up some kind of distraction to lure the zombies away from the reconnaissance group, giving all their checks a +2. Teamwork (diplomacy, insight, bluff): The PCs try to gain help from the local residence. If they succeed, they might gain a bonus on their distraction checks, since they have recruited some of the people to help. Maybe this gives them a bonus to their reconnaissance check, because the locals know the lay of the land better.Breaking and Entering (Any skills the PCs want to use): This is where all the PCs' hard work pay off. They have done the best they can in setting themselves up for success, now they need to actually get in to the building. The PCs can choose whatever mode they want, but gain bonuses depending on which earlier skill challenges they succeeded in. If they got some locals to help, then the continued distractions give them a bonus. If they succeeded their reconnaissance check, maybe they can ignore the first failure, falling back to a pre-determined fail-safe area.The idea is that the skill challenge changes and grows depending on what the PCs do. It also gives them a chance to more accurately choose their role. This is just something to think about, because I've been part of the difficulty 5 skill challenges and they tend to get really boring after the first 5 or 6 rolls.</blockquote>

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