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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Quickleaf" data-source="post: 5859299" data-attributes="member: 20323">Yeah, I think a different framework is needed. I notice you mentioned it's hard "especially when you want the PCs to succeed." What if the first questions you asked beginning an improv scene were:What are the stakes? What is at risk?Is this scene worthy of "air time"?What rules system might model this well?While these first two questions can be answered on the fly, that last one bears a little more explanation. I'm not a big fan of "one size fits all" skill challenges; I think you need to tailor the rules to your specific scenario.You list a couple in your OP:Desert Trek - The overland travel skill challenges Ive seen published suck. Largely the issue is conceptual - they dont have interesting developments, and theres no urgency, and the consequences for failure are boring. Instead I would grab your random encounters list of choice and a simple hex map and run the PCs thru 30-45 minutes of exploration style adventuring. Having random terrain tables would be good too, IOW prepare to improvise.Looking for a Hidden Encampment - Here I think a group skill check is the best choice. If the PCs fail they get ambushed by enemy scouts, fall into a trap, or spend a day searching to no avail. If they succeed they find they encampment and are undetected. Done.Tracking an Enemy - Personally I like to run tracking scenarios as group skill checks with some kind of logic puzzle or dilemma incorporated into it, and possibly a complicating encounter. For example, the assassin was bloodied and fled into a field hospital - how do they track him now when there are multiple blood trails? Then once they have the assassin in their sights he pushes an apothecary over the edge of a bridge into rapids. It may dawn on the players that the assassins route is deliberate - he's gathering ingredients to make a lethal poison - making their tracking/chase even more urgent. If they fail maybe the assassin kills himself, or maybe he strikes a secondary target?Researching in a Library - Dang it this part of my post got eaten. To sum up, I would normally just narrate this scene. However I once ran a scene in a cursed library that worked because (a) there was a looming undead threat on a timer, and (b) I prepared a codex puzzle before game. Again, preparing to improvise.</blockquote>

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