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<blockquote data-quote="Jimmy_631" data-source="post: 4525047" data-attributes="member: 64701">I started introducing skill challenges by stopping the game and describing everything about them and then saying go.&nbsp; The better roleplayers asked for it to be more natural.&nbsp; I think as DM you have to make sure your players know how to conduct a skill challenge, we take for granted that players know how to conduct a combat encounter.&nbsp; So for me, this obvious and explicit approach was a great start.I won't bring up skill challenge DCs or all the other skill challenge argumentes, but I think the best thing about the updated skill challenge is the 3 failures.&nbsp; This way the party doesn't need to know complexities or levels, just that 3 failures will always be a challenge failure. I will bring up one house rule, we play that a failed assist or aid results in a -2 just as a success results in a +2.&nbsp; This makes all the roles count, adding tension to every players turn.I focused on the word natural, and it has worked out great!&nbsp; The party knows there will be skill challenges in my campaign, so after a clear theivery check success I say, &quot;You have managed to loosen the cogs of the trap, but it will require some more work to disable it entirely.&quot; Then the rogue knows what's going on.&nbsp; I suggest using skills that open other skills, like in the DMG examples.&nbsp; Making the first obvious check lets the party know they can try something maybe not so obvious.&nbsp; And even if you say &quot;magic&quot; 20 times describing the trap, after a round or two you can just tell the wizard an arcana check would also help.&nbsp; We use initiative cards, and I use them in skill challenges too.&nbsp; It helps each player get their fair turn and we play they can delay and ready, which is more of a initiative mechanic than anything else.&nbsp; My players say I describe success and failures pretty clearly.&nbsp; But they never have the same success/failure amounts that I have, so on a success, I &quot;ding&quot; like when the airport PA comes on and on a failure I shake my head side to side until everyone sees. You'll do great if you just play the skill challenge the same way you do everything else.&nbsp; If you start a combat encounter with lots of flavor information, start your challenges that way.&nbsp; If you start an encounter with detailed mechanic information, you can start your challenge that way.&nbsp; I like to start an encounter with, &quot;The elf ranger spots fey panthers approaching the party from two sides, Elf ranger it's your turn what would you like to do?&quot;&nbsp; And then the players ask the questions they want to ask and I volunteer information I think they will need and we go turn by turn, round by round.&nbsp; Skill challenges are really fun, you have 30 levels to find the style you and your players enjoy.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Jimmy_631, post: 4525047, member: 64701"] I started introducing skill challenges by stopping the game and describing everything about them and then saying go. The better roleplayers asked for it to be more natural. I think as DM you have to make sure your players know how to conduct a skill challenge, we take for granted that players know how to conduct a combat encounter. So for me, this obvious and explicit approach was a great start. I won't bring up skill challenge DCs or all the other skill challenge argumentes, but I think the best thing about the updated skill challenge is the 3 failures. This way the party doesn't need to know complexities or levels, just that 3 failures will always be a challenge failure. I will bring up one house rule, we play that a failed assist or aid results in a -2 just as a success results in a +2. This makes all the roles count, adding tension to every players turn. I focused on the word natural, and it has worked out great! The party knows there will be skill challenges in my campaign, so after a clear theivery check success I say, "You have managed to loosen the cogs of the trap, but it will require some more work to disable it entirely." Then the rogue knows what's going on. I suggest using skills that open other skills, like in the DMG examples. Making the first obvious check lets the party know they can try something maybe not so obvious. And even if you say "magic" 20 times describing the trap, after a round or two you can just tell the wizard an arcana check would also help. We use initiative cards, and I use them in skill challenges too. It helps each player get their fair turn and we play they can delay and ready, which is more of a initiative mechanic than anything else. My players say I describe success and failures pretty clearly. But they never have the same success/failure amounts that I have, so on a success, I "ding" like when the airport PA comes on and on a failure I shake my head side to side until everyone sees. You'll do great if you just play the skill challenge the same way you do everything else. If you start a combat encounter with lots of flavor information, start your challenges that way. If you start an encounter with detailed mechanic information, you can start your challenge that way. I like to start an encounter with, "The elf ranger spots fey panthers approaching the party from two sides, Elf ranger it's your turn what would you like to do?" And then the players ask the questions they want to ask and I volunteer information I think they will need and we go turn by turn, round by round. Skill challenges are really fun, you have 30 levels to find the style you and your players enjoy. [/QUOTE]

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