How much information will you give to players about Skill Challenges?

[direkobold]

So how much information are you going to give players about skill challanges? Are you going to reveal to them:

1- That they're even in a skill challenge?

2- The result they're hoping for?

3- How many successes they need?

4- How many failures will end the challenge?

5- Which skills they can use?

I don't see much reason to not reveal 1 and 2 to them, but I'm torn on 3 and 4. I could see knowing that they're only one failure away could create quite a bit of tension. But I also seeing it like 3.5 dying rules where if you know you have three failures to go makes the entire thing boring.

As for 5, I assume that the main skills will be obvious based on the nature of the challange, and that those skills which are not obvious should be kept secret to encourage creatvity.

Thoughts?

 

[Thasmodious]

1. Most of the time. Sometimes, like the one that opens my new campaign, they won't know it.

2. They should know this as they will initiate it, and its usually obvious. When it isn't, but needs to be defined, we will.

3/4 Depends on what would be more fun/dramatic. Sometimes not knowing would fit the situation (like when they know exactly what they are doing or need to do, like disarming a trap during a combat). A good example of one where i wouldn't tell them would be a chase. Much more fun to not know when the thing is suddenly going to end and they catch their quarry or they get away.

5. Often a couple will be mentioned, the primaries.

 

[Traken]

I really haven't decided yet.

On the quiet side: There's a good chance that the player's will have no idea what's going on.

On the loud side: "Welcome to the Escape Skill Challenge! Come on down and roll us some DC 17 checks!"

Maybe that's a bit extreme, but that's what I imagine happening when someone announces a skill challenge.

 

[direkobold]

I really haven't decided yet.

On the quiet side: There's a good chance that the player's will have no idea what's going on.

On the loud side: "Welcome to the Escape Skill Challenge! Come on down and roll us some DC 17 checks!"

Maybe that's a bit extreme, but that's what I imagine happening when someone announces a skill challenge.

Yeah, that's kind of what I was thinking. I can see good points on both sides...