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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6031698" data-attributes="member: 6696971">@<a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/members/greyice.html" target="_blank">GreyICE</a>My permission was granted when I posted it for you so have at it <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />  Given your elaboration above, no, I definitely wouldn't use the fireswarm in your Skill Challenge as it seems that it may compromise the thematic thrust (and possibly pacing) of your Skill Challenge and would be problematic (to say the least) for your pyromancer. If you have a boss fight at the end of the combat, and you wish to consider the Smoke Inhalation/Exposure condition track there are a few things to this part:1)  The Condition was a short-term condition and could be moved upward one state by a Short Rest (with a successful 1st party Endurance or 3rd party Heal Check equal or better to the condition DC) or automatically removed completely by an Extended Rest.2)  Dazed was (save ends) with a save moving you back to the prior Condition of - 1 Defenses, Skills/Ability Checks, Attack rolls.  Any PC suffering from the final state of Dazed on their turn accrued an automatic failure in the Skill Challenge.  In your ensuing fight you would have a dazed (save ends) (potentially...no one may be affected depending on your Attack vs Fort and End/Heal DC...I set them to hard...the Skill Challenge was devised as the equivalent of a + 4 encounter) or it could be removed by way of a power that removes daze or a standard action 1st party Endurance Check or 3rd party Heal Check (track DC).  What might be more concerning is PCs suffering from the - 1.  What you may want to do is treat that secondary state as an Aftereffect (save ends) and then have the PCs reach the initial stage upon the save, lose a healing surge and the effects of the exposure are removed.  Its a short term condition that is supposed to have temporary implications mechanically (pacing and difficulty) and within the resultant fiction (fear, desperation and urgency).  Further, unless your boss fight is going to take place in a burning building, they wouldn't be exposed to it any further and suffer the possibility of re-exposure or moving further down the track.  If you want the fight to be in a burning building and want the track to affect the encounter then I would suggest treating it as a + 1 or + 2 (dependent upon the DC you set) by itself for your total encounter formula.  One last thing to note, if you use this, it does have action denial and debuff consequences.  Besides the obvious extra danger imposed, it (I'm sure you could extrapolate this easily enough) has "grind-enhancement" functionality so be wary of using enemy brutes and/or consider some really fun, and powerful, Limited Use Terrain Features that industrious PCs can take advantage of to augment their damage capabilities. There is nothing like the PCs 1st party deployable resources being "nerfed" momentarily to get the PCs to ardently look for Limited Use Effects/Terrain outside of their proficiency (and therefore unmolested by their "nerfed" state).  In my scenario I used a nearby river where the settlers had installed a system of wooden levees (one of these levees was used/disengaged during the Skill Challenge for 2 successes) to prevent flooding during the wet season and a reservoir during the dry season.  While one of the PCs fought off the raging elementals the other two engaged in a mini-skill challenge to disengage the other levees (thus (i) flooding the plain which ultimately saved the forest and (ii) caused a heavy damage, slide 5 attack on the elementals and an ensuing damage 7, - 2 defenses aura to them as well) while the final PC deactivated the portal.* Edit:  Located the Condition Track.  It was lvl 11 so this may need to be shifted for your game.Smoke Inhalation/Exposure                                                            Level 11 ConditionExposure:  You make an Athletics or Endurance check in an area that is Lightly Obscured by Smoke or you are in an area that is Heavily Obscured by thick smoke.  Attack:  + 13 vs FortitudeStage 0: The target recovers from the condition.Stage 1: Initial Effect: The target loses a healing surge.Stage 2: The target takes a -1 penalty to Attack Rolls, Defenses, and Skill/Ability Checks.Stage 3: Final State: The target is dazed (save ends)Check: At the end of each short rest, the target makes an Endurance check or a third party makes a Heal check.  Each time the exposure condition is met while the target is currently afflicted with the condition, the target must roll an Endurance check (The target's stage of the condition cannot decrease from this roll.).16 or lower: The stage of the condition increases by one.17-20: No change.21 or higher: The stage of the condition decreases by one.</blockquote>

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