D'karr
Adventurer
During some of our judges playtest for the adventure "Into the Shadowhaunt", as part of the preparations for the D&D Worldwide Gameday, one of the judges (our own Ethernaut) mentioned that the adventure did not have a skill challenge. That was a very good comment because personally I found skill challenges to be one of the most interesting frameworks that 4e had developed upon.
So I took about an hour the next morning and wrote one up. After playtesting at the actual gameday (thanks players for being the guinea pigs), I went ahead and modified it slightly to be easier to judge. This brings to light how easy these things are to develop once you have a seed for a goal, 4e definitely succeeded in making these "non-combat" encounters playable right out of the book.
So I'm putting the skill challenge here for your comments. If you've already played Into the Shadowhaunt or more importantly judged it please provide your comments as to how this might have helped you or not.
[sblock=Skill Challenge]
Into the Shadowhaunt is the adventure provided for the D&D Worldwide Gameday 2008 as part of the launch of D&D 4e. During playtesting with the judges for the event, we noticed that the adventure did not have a skill challenge. Since skill challenges are something that all of us found very interesting about the new edition of the game, we decided to create a skill challenge for the published adventure. This skill challenge is what we are calling an extended skill challenge. It means that the challenge starts at specific locations in the adventure site. Only a small portion of the challenge is resolved during each of these “interludes”. The tally of successes and failures accrues throughout the entire adventure at each of these “interludes” so that at the end of the adventure you have either failed or succeeded at the challenge.
Goal: The goal of this skill challenge is to gain the favor of the Spirit Shadow and learn about “who he was”, learn about the opposition they may encounter, and maybe gain the favor of Bahamut for releasing one of his champions from the curse of undeath.
Setup: This is an extended skill challenge. Use this skill challenge as an interlude every time the shadowy creature appears to the PCs as explained in the adventure. Every time it appears allow the PCs to attempt to interact with it. Should the PC's earn a success; the creature will remain for another round of "negotiations". This allows the PCs to earn 2 successes per interlude. If the PC's get a failure the creature immediately dissipates with a disheartened look on its "face" and that specific interlude ends, though the skill challenge might not be complete, yet. After the second round of negotiations of an interlude the creature dissipates leaving behind some wisdom or a threat, depending on whether the characters gained success or failure on their interaction. After the last encounter of the adventure, if the skill challenge has not been completed, you may keep the creature around until the challenge ends.
Encountering the Shadow Spirit
After you have placed the statues of Bahamut and Pelor in their respective niches, the shadowy creature coalesces right above the obelisk on the Shadowhaunt Mausoleum. It stares at you with a haunting look. You notice that for the first time since encountering the creature you can discern his features. The shadow resembles a mustached man with a noble look. He raises his shadowy arm as if to halt you. He opens up his lips and tendrils of darkness seep out as he speaks, “What business do you have in this place?”
Level 2 - Skill Challenge - Extended Challenge
Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 4 failures)
Difficulty Class:
• Creature Unfriendly - Easy 15, Moderate 20, Difficult 25
• Creature Indifferent - Easy 13, Moderate 18, Difficult 23
• Creature Friendly Easy 12, Moderate 17, Difficult 22
Primary skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Religion, Perception, and Insight.
Arcana
• (Easy DCs): You notice that there is a force surrounding the creature.
• (Moderate DCs): The force surrounding the creature seems to compel him.
• (Difficult DCs): (success provides a +2 to the next Arcana or Religion roll) The creature is fighting a compulsion. You believe that this is a recent event.
Diplomacy
• (Easy DCs): You are able to determine that he does not necessarily wish to harm you.
• (Moderate DCs): He addresses you as someone that is used to being taken seriously. He will not allow any interlopers to interfere.
• (Difficult DCs): (success provides a +2 to the next Insight check) He sees that you might be a way to bring peace to his existence. He lets you know that there are dangerous creatures below (he can say nothing about them)
Insight
• (Easy DCs): You notice that this is a tortured soul.
• (Moderate DCs): The creature is not happy to be disturbed and does not like his compulsion to serve beyond the grave. (A moderate success also shows that attempting to use Intimidate against the creature is not a good idea)
• (Difficult DCs): (success in this opens up the History skill and grants a bonus to the next History, Diplomacy, or Religion check) He is haunted by the loss of his son, who died suddenly in his sleep. This sent him into a deep depression and he sought solace looking at the tomb of his son. At that time the "evil" that lurks below started haunting his dreams until he eventually committed suicide. His spirit now haunts the mausoleum. He seeks redemption and peace (suicide does not provide either) and to be united with his family under "Bahamut's wing."
Intimidate
• Attempting to use intimidate results in a failure and immediately drops the creature's attitude by one step. If the creature's attitude drops to hostile the skill challenge ends. From this point forward follow the instructions in the adventure with the creature as hostile.
History (Secondary skill - not usable until unlocked because the PCs have no point of reference)
• (Easy DCs): You are in the presence of Warlord Johan Kaius VI.
• (Moderate DCs): He is the last warlord of the Kaius line. The death of his son severed the line. The son's death was accidental (in his sleep). The rumors are that his son was killed.
• (Difficult DCs): The story is much more sinister. Johan's son, Johan VII, was smothered in his sleep by his mother. Seeing what she had done she hung herself from the rafters of their estate. Rumors are that she was haunted in her sleep by visions of infernal creatures. The death of his only son sent Johan into a deep state of depression and seeking solace at the side of his son's tomb he encountered the darkness from below. The same darkness that haunted his now dead wife. The darkness he was sworn to keep from entering this world again.
Perception
• (Easy DCs): Around his neck you notice a regal looking torc.
• (Moderate DCs): The shadow still wears the symbol of Bahamut on a regal looking torc.
• (Difficult DCs): (Success grants a +2 to the next religion check) The shadow still wears the symbol of Bahamut on a regal looking torc. This symbol still shines as if the creature has continued to take care of it even in its undeath.
Religion
• (Easy DCs): You notice the symbol of Bahamut on the torc around the neck
• (Moderate DCs): The symbol of Bahamut seems to lend the creature some form of comfort even in undeath.
• (Difficult DCs): (this provides a +2 to the next Arcana or Religion roll) The symbol of Bahamut seems to protect the creature from the compulsion effect. You believe that destroying the person that has him under compulsion will not completely release him. The mausoleum must also be consecrated after the adventure is over.
Achieving the goal
If the PCs earn a success, after each encounter with the Shadow spirit, he dissipates leaving behind some cryptic "words of wisdom" that might assist in their next encounter or some warning/threat if they have earned a failure
Interlude 1 – Occurs after the party has opened the obelisk but before they descend down the stairs
• Success : "Beware the briny flames that shine dimly"
• Failure: "Your meddling will be your destruction."
Interlude 2 – Occurs after the party has defeated the hobgoblins and honored the dead.
• Success: "Look at the structure and determine your path. If you don’t seek a path you may fail.”
• Failure: "Your destiny will be snuffed like a candle in the wind."
Interlude 3 – Occurs before the party attempts disarming the traps on the Magic Circle.
• Success: (+2 to deactivate the traps) "Look for the tendrils as they reach for the sky. Where they touch wrath comes down.”
• Failure: "Soon your souls will be shattered."
Interlude 4 – Occurs after the party has defeated Helvec. This only happens if the spirit’s attitude is friendly or helpful. If the party has gotten the spirit’s attitude to hostile the skill challenge ends in failure.
• Success: (+1 to attack rolls during the combat with the White Dragon) "The cold winds that blow from the north can not stop the blessings of Bahamut.”
• Failure: "Unfortunately your fate will soon lead you to peril."
[/sblock]
So I took about an hour the next morning and wrote one up. After playtesting at the actual gameday (thanks players for being the guinea pigs), I went ahead and modified it slightly to be easier to judge. This brings to light how easy these things are to develop once you have a seed for a goal, 4e definitely succeeded in making these "non-combat" encounters playable right out of the book.
So I'm putting the skill challenge here for your comments. If you've already played Into the Shadowhaunt or more importantly judged it please provide your comments as to how this might have helped you or not.
[sblock=Skill Challenge]
Into the Shadowhaunt is the adventure provided for the D&D Worldwide Gameday 2008 as part of the launch of D&D 4e. During playtesting with the judges for the event, we noticed that the adventure did not have a skill challenge. Since skill challenges are something that all of us found very interesting about the new edition of the game, we decided to create a skill challenge for the published adventure. This skill challenge is what we are calling an extended skill challenge. It means that the challenge starts at specific locations in the adventure site. Only a small portion of the challenge is resolved during each of these “interludes”. The tally of successes and failures accrues throughout the entire adventure at each of these “interludes” so that at the end of the adventure you have either failed or succeeded at the challenge.
Goal: The goal of this skill challenge is to gain the favor of the Spirit Shadow and learn about “who he was”, learn about the opposition they may encounter, and maybe gain the favor of Bahamut for releasing one of his champions from the curse of undeath.
Setup: This is an extended skill challenge. Use this skill challenge as an interlude every time the shadowy creature appears to the PCs as explained in the adventure. Every time it appears allow the PCs to attempt to interact with it. Should the PC's earn a success; the creature will remain for another round of "negotiations". This allows the PCs to earn 2 successes per interlude. If the PC's get a failure the creature immediately dissipates with a disheartened look on its "face" and that specific interlude ends, though the skill challenge might not be complete, yet. After the second round of negotiations of an interlude the creature dissipates leaving behind some wisdom or a threat, depending on whether the characters gained success or failure on their interaction. After the last encounter of the adventure, if the skill challenge has not been completed, you may keep the creature around until the challenge ends.
Encountering the Shadow Spirit
After you have placed the statues of Bahamut and Pelor in their respective niches, the shadowy creature coalesces right above the obelisk on the Shadowhaunt Mausoleum. It stares at you with a haunting look. You notice that for the first time since encountering the creature you can discern his features. The shadow resembles a mustached man with a noble look. He raises his shadowy arm as if to halt you. He opens up his lips and tendrils of darkness seep out as he speaks, “What business do you have in this place?”
Level 2 - Skill Challenge - Extended Challenge
Complexity: 3 (requires 8 successes before 4 failures)
Difficulty Class:
• Creature Unfriendly - Easy 15, Moderate 20, Difficult 25
• Creature Indifferent - Easy 13, Moderate 18, Difficult 23
• Creature Friendly Easy 12, Moderate 17, Difficult 22
Primary skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Religion, Perception, and Insight.
Arcana
• (Easy DCs): You notice that there is a force surrounding the creature.
• (Moderate DCs): The force surrounding the creature seems to compel him.
• (Difficult DCs): (success provides a +2 to the next Arcana or Religion roll) The creature is fighting a compulsion. You believe that this is a recent event.
Diplomacy
• (Easy DCs): You are able to determine that he does not necessarily wish to harm you.
• (Moderate DCs): He addresses you as someone that is used to being taken seriously. He will not allow any interlopers to interfere.
• (Difficult DCs): (success provides a +2 to the next Insight check) He sees that you might be a way to bring peace to his existence. He lets you know that there are dangerous creatures below (he can say nothing about them)
Insight
• (Easy DCs): You notice that this is a tortured soul.
• (Moderate DCs): The creature is not happy to be disturbed and does not like his compulsion to serve beyond the grave. (A moderate success also shows that attempting to use Intimidate against the creature is not a good idea)
• (Difficult DCs): (success in this opens up the History skill and grants a bonus to the next History, Diplomacy, or Religion check) He is haunted by the loss of his son, who died suddenly in his sleep. This sent him into a deep depression and he sought solace looking at the tomb of his son. At that time the "evil" that lurks below started haunting his dreams until he eventually committed suicide. His spirit now haunts the mausoleum. He seeks redemption and peace (suicide does not provide either) and to be united with his family under "Bahamut's wing."
Intimidate
• Attempting to use intimidate results in a failure and immediately drops the creature's attitude by one step. If the creature's attitude drops to hostile the skill challenge ends. From this point forward follow the instructions in the adventure with the creature as hostile.
History (Secondary skill - not usable until unlocked because the PCs have no point of reference)
• (Easy DCs): You are in the presence of Warlord Johan Kaius VI.
• (Moderate DCs): He is the last warlord of the Kaius line. The death of his son severed the line. The son's death was accidental (in his sleep). The rumors are that his son was killed.
• (Difficult DCs): The story is much more sinister. Johan's son, Johan VII, was smothered in his sleep by his mother. Seeing what she had done she hung herself from the rafters of their estate. Rumors are that she was haunted in her sleep by visions of infernal creatures. The death of his only son sent Johan into a deep state of depression and seeking solace at the side of his son's tomb he encountered the darkness from below. The same darkness that haunted his now dead wife. The darkness he was sworn to keep from entering this world again.
Perception
• (Easy DCs): Around his neck you notice a regal looking torc.
• (Moderate DCs): The shadow still wears the symbol of Bahamut on a regal looking torc.
• (Difficult DCs): (Success grants a +2 to the next religion check) The shadow still wears the symbol of Bahamut on a regal looking torc. This symbol still shines as if the creature has continued to take care of it even in its undeath.
Religion
• (Easy DCs): You notice the symbol of Bahamut on the torc around the neck
• (Moderate DCs): The symbol of Bahamut seems to lend the creature some form of comfort even in undeath.
• (Difficult DCs): (this provides a +2 to the next Arcana or Religion roll) The symbol of Bahamut seems to protect the creature from the compulsion effect. You believe that destroying the person that has him under compulsion will not completely release him. The mausoleum must also be consecrated after the adventure is over.
Achieving the goal
If the PCs earn a success, after each encounter with the Shadow spirit, he dissipates leaving behind some cryptic "words of wisdom" that might assist in their next encounter or some warning/threat if they have earned a failure
Interlude 1 – Occurs after the party has opened the obelisk but before they descend down the stairs
• Success : "Beware the briny flames that shine dimly"
• Failure: "Your meddling will be your destruction."
Interlude 2 – Occurs after the party has defeated the hobgoblins and honored the dead.
• Success: "Look at the structure and determine your path. If you don’t seek a path you may fail.”
• Failure: "Your destiny will be snuffed like a candle in the wind."
Interlude 3 – Occurs before the party attempts disarming the traps on the Magic Circle.
• Success: (+2 to deactivate the traps) "Look for the tendrils as they reach for the sky. Where they touch wrath comes down.”
• Failure: "Soon your souls will be shattered."
Interlude 4 – Occurs after the party has defeated Helvec. This only happens if the spirit’s attitude is friendly or helpful. If the party has gotten the spirit’s attitude to hostile the skill challenge ends in failure.
• Success: (+1 to attack rolls during the combat with the White Dragon) "The cold winds that blow from the north can not stop the blessings of Bahamut.”
• Failure: "Unfortunately your fate will soon lead you to peril."
[/sblock]
