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Message: <blockquote data-quote="darkbard" data-source="post: 7021771" data-attributes="member: 1282">Thanks, Scriv! What I find most enlightening is pemerton's link to his discussion of the social skill challenge in the final post. That discussion is worth bookmarking (and, in fact, I have done so)!I've been running skill challenges in this more "free flow" style for several years now, after having been influenced heavily by  [MENTION=97077]iserith[/MENTION] and his frequent posts on the subject of skill challenges on the WotC forums. Pemerton's posts provide some really useful reminders about staging tension, the framing of outcomes with openness to the fluidity of those outcomes as the situation develops, etc.I'm still interested in further ideas, particularly in ways to build such a skill challenge (or, perhaps, as a series of short, likely non-combat encounters) that goes beyond the framework of a single social interaction. Specifically, I'm working on building an episode wherein the PCs are presented with multiple but competing scenarios to enlist their aid: (1) The PCs are approached by a representative of the organization (the Veiled Alliance) with the invitation to be vetted and then join the criminal arcane organization, a group that appeals to the players' sympathies towards rebellion against the repressive forces of the state and against blanket prejudice towards non-psionic magic; even though there are currently no arcane classes in the group, one character will be MCing to Sorcerer after a few levels and so the player may be tempted to tie in this mechanical advancement to this easy fictional lead. (Another character does begin play with MC Artificer feat, but this only provides a daily heal, and so this character isn't truly an arcane character.)I already have a faily good idea of how I would run this scenario should the PCs choose this route. (2) The PCs are approached by a Templar looking to crack down on the Veilled Alliance after an assassination attempt by an arcane caster on a popular poltical figure. The assassin is in no way tied to the VA but rather to a group loyal to the previous Sorcerer-King, a group whose goals include vengeance against those who deposed him and attempting to restore the deposed king to life and rule, but the Templar either doesn't know this or doesn't care since it provides a convenient excuse for violence against an organization that has been working actively against the state for centuries.I envision this scenario playing out as a relatively straightforward "hit" mission, with the PCs being hired to attack and kill (or take captive) a cell of the Veiled Alliance that Templar spies have uncovered recently. There probably will be a rudimentary investigation aspect to this prior to a combat scene (or series of short encounters). The players are unlikely to want to pursue this route as it goes against the personalities of their characters (and the players' natural inclination, as well), BUT ... the Templar can offer easy and immediate access to the PCs in meeting one of the early play "kickers," gaining access to the King's Gardens within the Golden City, a section of the city to which only Templars and those who have their favor have access. I'm trying to provide the players with tough decisions for their characters, decisions which involve layers of compromise, etc.(3) The players are approached by a representative of an influential member of a noble family, who is secretly being manipulated by a member of The True (the organization that seeks to restore the Sorcerer-King's rule), who is a minor noble and close adviser to the noble. The noble has been convinced by this adviser that the Veiled Alliance is a threat to her aims of tamping down the popular uprising and democratic movement within the city and installing rulership by the nobility. In this scenario, the PCs would be engaged to infiltrate the Veiled Alliance to the extent that they discover the identities of some of its leaders. The noble can then use this knowledge to her political advantage (winning over more of the Templars to her cause, eradicating a threat to the nobles' authority, etc.) and the adviser can enact further vengeance against a group that aided the conspirators against the former Sorcerer-King.It's this last scenario that I'm looking for aid in fleshing out some.</blockquote>

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