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<blockquote data-quote="iserith" data-source="post: 7350065" data-attributes="member: 97077">I think you've correctly identified, in part, how the D&amp;D 4e style skill challenge goes against the D&amp;D 5e paradigm. I love D&amp;D 4e and I particularly love skill challenges (the WotC board were full of my advice on them plus loads of examples), but the players pushing to make ability checks in D&amp;D 5e is not as much of a fit in this edition as it was in the previous one. People can play that way if they like it, of course, and the game isn't going to explode if they do, but I don't think that method works as smoothly in D&amp;D 5e.That all said, if someone is using this method anyway, I think that an ability check can be trumped by a good idea or a spell. Per the D&amp;D 4e Essentials Rules Compendium, which in my view is the authority on skill challenges in that game, &quot;A skill challenge should not replace the roleplaying, the puzzling, and the ingenuity that players put into handling those situations.&quot; In other words, grant automatic success if a player comes up with an idea or uses a resource that obviously overcomes the complication. Stone shape on that stuck door you mentioned should, in my opinion, definitely just be an automatic success.While I don't structure or deliver my skill challenges in the same way in this edition of the game, I fully expect that players will try to use these resources to increase their odds of success. After all, in D&amp;D 4e, race or class features or utility powers could be used to modify the result of a skill check, plus the D&amp;D 4e skill challenge mechanic included Advantages which could further be used by players to lower DCs, remove failures, and count one success as two (among other things). If one wants to port D&amp;D 4e skill challenges into this edition, I see no reason why these options should not also be permitted.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="iserith, post: 7350065, member: 97077"] I think you've correctly identified, in part, how the D&D 4e style skill challenge goes against the D&D 5e paradigm. I love D&D 4e and I particularly love skill challenges (the WotC board were full of my advice on them plus loads of examples), but the players pushing to make ability checks in D&D 5e is not as much of a fit in this edition as it was in the previous one. People can play that way if they like it, of course, and the game isn't going to explode if they do, but I don't think that method works as smoothly in D&D 5e. That all said, if someone is using this method anyway, I think that an ability check can be trumped by a good idea or a spell. Per the D&D 4e Essentials Rules Compendium, which in my view is the authority on skill challenges in that game, "A skill challenge should not replace the roleplaying, the puzzling, and the ingenuity that players put into handling those situations." In other words, grant automatic success if a player comes up with an idea or uses a resource that obviously overcomes the complication. [I]Stone shape[/I] on that stuck door you mentioned should, in my opinion, definitely just be an automatic success. While I don't structure or deliver my skill challenges in the same way in this edition of the game, I fully expect that players will try to use these resources to increase their odds of success. After all, in D&D 4e, race or class features or utility powers could be used to modify the result of a skill check, plus the D&D 4e skill challenge mechanic included Advantages which could further be used by players to lower DCs, remove failures, and count one success as two (among other things). If one wants to port D&D 4e skill challenges into this edition, I see no reason why these options should not also be permitted. [/QUOTE]

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