Reply to thread

Message

<blockquote data-quote="Wik" data-source="post: 5145439" data-attributes="member: 40177">A few things I learned from this most recent Skill Challenge:1)&nbsp; Keep it loose.&nbsp; I arranged this encounter on a loose framework, with each &quot;round&quot; of the challenge (there were five rounds) having a sort of theme to it.&nbsp; The skills for each round were not set in stone (I actually had no idea what they were) but I generally listened to the players and rolled with their ideas.&nbsp; I also tried to change the nature of events, so that it wasn't a matter of &quot;I roll athletics... again.&quot;&nbsp; 2)&nbsp; Attack rolls can be used in a skill challenge (OR &quot;You don't need to only use skills in a skill challenge).&nbsp; There were parts where the rogues were shooting at gears to prevent a door from closing.&nbsp; Or where the Bard &quot;jousted&quot; with a Drow Aberration.&nbsp; And so on.&nbsp; 3)&nbsp; Keep the role-playing in there.&nbsp; We had some moments of interaction, where the PCs were trying to get the NPCs involved in aiding the escape (as opposed to just hiding in the cart).&nbsp; My favourite part was where one of the NPCs was using his bow to fire at the giant spider chasing him.&nbsp; The minotaur, upset that the NPC wasn't helping, grabbed the bow and threw it away.&nbsp; A moment later, archers started shooting at the cart, and the NPC shot a look at the minotaur that basically said &quot;hey, if only I had a bow right now....&quot;4)&nbsp; Get animated.&nbsp; ONce I started moving, miming the actions of some of the PCs, I got super excited in the challenge.&nbsp; And it carried to the PCs.&nbsp; The first round was very much a &quot;skill challenge&quot;, with players looking at their sheet and trying to figure out a rationale for their skills.&nbsp; By the last round, I don't think they were seeing it as a skill challenge.5)&nbsp; Fudge.&nbsp; I fudged this encounter, by figuring out what each player likes and dislikes, and tailoring some of the DCs to reflect that.&nbsp; For example, I messed with the numbers a bit so that the bard would get knocked underneath the cart, hanging on for dear life (he got to put his spider climb boots to good use!).&nbsp; And any time a PC was hit with a negative status effect that was no fun (Dazed, for example), I'd say &quot;Hey, if you can come up with a reason to get rid of this status effect and pay a price, I'll let you&quot;.&nbsp; Which worked out well, and I'll be doing from now on.6)&nbsp; Don't be afraid of auto successes... and auto failures.&nbsp; Our paladin trying to use diplomacy to get the NPCs to help push was destined for failure, since he didn't speak their language (and insisted on doing it when he was reminded of this fact).&nbsp; The Bard throwing a vial of alchemists fire at a swarm of tiny spiders to slow them down.... auto success.&nbsp; Pushing the brake on the cart to slow it down - auto success.&nbsp; And so on.&nbsp; ***Anyways, I'm busy trying to figure out what my next skill challenge will be.&nbsp; I have a hazy idea, but once it's done, I hope it works out okay.&nbsp; I have a sneaky feeling it'll be an Indiana Jones &quot;red line&quot; sort of skill challenge, which is an entirely different beast than this one was.&nbsp; But it could be interesting - imagine a skill challenge where the PLAYERS dictate the scene?&nbsp; (So the PC that wants to use a diplomacy check decides to stage a scene where he's negotiating safe passage, while the endurance-using guy describes carrying the party's gear on his lonesome up a long mountain so everyone else can move at a fair pace....)</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Wik, post: 5145439, member: 40177"] A few things I learned from this most recent Skill Challenge: 1) Keep it loose. I arranged this encounter on a loose framework, with each "round" of the challenge (there were five rounds) having a sort of theme to it. The skills for each round were not set in stone (I actually had no idea what they were) but I generally listened to the players and rolled with their ideas. I also tried to change the nature of events, so that it wasn't a matter of "I roll athletics... again." 2) Attack rolls can be used in a skill challenge (OR "You don't need to only use skills in a skill challenge). There were parts where the rogues were shooting at gears to prevent a door from closing. Or where the Bard "jousted" with a Drow Aberration. And so on. 3) Keep the role-playing in there. We had some moments of interaction, where the PCs were trying to get the NPCs involved in aiding the escape (as opposed to just hiding in the cart). My favourite part was where one of the NPCs was using his bow to fire at the giant spider chasing him. The minotaur, upset that the NPC wasn't helping, grabbed the bow and threw it away. A moment later, archers started shooting at the cart, and the NPC shot a look at the minotaur that basically said "hey, if only I had a bow right now...." 4) Get animated. ONce I started moving, miming the actions of some of the PCs, I got super excited in the challenge. And it carried to the PCs. The first round was very much a "skill challenge", with players looking at their sheet and trying to figure out a rationale for their skills. By the last round, I don't think they were seeing it as a skill challenge. 5) Fudge. I fudged this encounter, by figuring out what each player likes and dislikes, and tailoring some of the DCs to reflect that. For example, I messed with the numbers a bit so that the bard would get knocked underneath the cart, hanging on for dear life (he got to put his spider climb boots to good use!). And any time a PC was hit with a negative status effect that was no fun (Dazed, for example), I'd say "Hey, if you can come up with a reason to get rid of this status effect and pay a price, I'll let you". Which worked out well, and I'll be doing from now on. 6) Don't be afraid of auto successes... and auto failures. Our paladin trying to use diplomacy to get the NPCs to help push was destined for failure, since he didn't speak their language (and insisted on doing it when he was reminded of this fact). The Bard throwing a vial of alchemists fire at a swarm of tiny spiders to slow them down.... auto success. Pushing the brake on the cart to slow it down - auto success. And so on. *** Anyways, I'm busy trying to figure out what my next skill challenge will be. I have a hazy idea, but once it's done, I hope it works out okay. I have a sneaky feeling it'll be an Indiana Jones "red line" sort of skill challenge, which is an entirely different beast than this one was. But it could be interesting - imagine a skill challenge where the PLAYERS dictate the scene? (So the PC that wants to use a diplomacy check decides to stage a scene where he's negotiating safe passage, while the endurance-using guy describes carrying the party's gear on his lonesome up a long mountain so everyone else can move at a fair pace....) [/QUOTE]

Verification