Help on Skill Challenge [The House is on Fire]

[Coldaan]

Hi Folks!

MINOR SPOILER AHEAD

So last session my evil aligned players finished the "mini adventure" in Fallcrest which is presented in the DMG, they defeated the dragon and then headed to the "Silver Unicorn Inn" to party & get seriously drunk.

Now my plan is to set the Inn on fire and lure them into the basement, where they are awaited by a Doppelganger Ambush (disguised as the Inn's owner, the cook and so on). And this will finally lead them into the Catacombs aka my first custom made Dungeon.

So I was planning to create an exciting skill challenge out of this including perception checks to notice the smoke, endurance against smoke poisoning, athletics/acrobatics to jump over burning/destroyed areas and so on. Now...

Is it ok to give them a -1 to all rolls & defenses due to the alcohol abuse?

How do I keep them from escaping through a window so they somehow have to reach the basement? All other escape ways are barred with burning furniture etc. Could it be that the windows are in fact barred to keep thieves out of the Inn?

How much damage does "standing in a burning area" do?

Do you guys have any other ideas for checks involved in the skill challenge?

-Coldaan

 

[WyzardWhately]

Skill challenges are made of fail. Do not do this unless you are real clear about what's going to happen when they don't succeed. There are numerous threads on this topic. Considering how hard skill challenges are already, I'd avoid a straight-up penalty to the roll. You might have more luck simply defining the drunkenness as being what necessitates a skill challenge in the first place. If they were sober, they'd automagically succeed without checks. This way you can describe their successes and failures as due to dumb luck, perseverance, and stumbling around, rather than being so incompetent they can't reliably fall down stairs to get away from the fire.

Good luck.

 

[Webber100]

Here's what I have for that situation. Check out page 42 in the DMG for the DCs and Damage.

Setup: Inn catches fire, and they need to get out of there! The players hear a shout, "Get to the Basement!" from their friendly innkeeper.
Level: Equal to the level of the party.
Complexity: 1 (4 Successes before 2 Failures)
Primary Skills: Endurance, Athletics, Perception

Endurance (Easy): They make it through the thick smoke to progress deeper towards the basement.
Athletics (Average): Jumping over burning logs or furniture, they get closer yet.
Perception (Hard): The player spots an easier path, with less smoke or rubble! Add an Extra Success if they pass this check.

Special: Every skill failure they get, have the one taking the turn take Low Normal Fire Damage, as if they got burnt trying to avoid the fire.

Success: The players make their way to the basement covered in smoke and ash. This allows them to reach the ambush, and a chance to escape out of the basement... alive.

Failure: Local commoners watch as the building burns down. The characters are knocked prone, hit with High Limited Damage (based on level), and are unconscious for 1d4 Days. Perhaps the dopplegangers locked them up to steal their identities?

 

[Coldaan]

thanks for the quick replies!

ok I think I'll build in their hangovers somehow without giving them penalties. also thank you for reminding me that i have to think of alternatives if they fail the challenge.

concerning my "window problem" I think I'll just let them wake up in one of the finer rooms of the inn, on the top floor with roof windows that are somewhat hard/impossible to reach (also due to the smoke).