Looking for some skill challenges

[avin]

Hi folks, I'm planning a small game for my wife, my brother and his fiancée, being the last couple new to 4E.

Without stepping into story, which is still being created for lv 1 players, I'm looking for one or two smal and fast skill challenges for showing them how it works. I don't plan using any social challenge, just physical or knowledge ones.

So far group is:

- Eladrin Rogue (my wife)
- Human Cleric of Bahamut (my brother)
- Doppelganger Spellsword (his girlfriend)

The places they will be in are:

- Some half burned housed where they will need to find some documents;
- A temperate, pine forest where they will be looking for some clues of the burners (goblins, but kobolds battled them at the same place);
- Some rocky ground, with some runes carved in, where a rift to Shadowfell has been opened.

All people from this settlement will be gone, found as zombies or fresh-skeletons at forest.

Thanks!

 

[Mengu]

Searching for clues in the forest may be a good place for a skill challenge. Primary set of skills would be something like:

Athletics - to overcome obstacles, or gain good vantage points
Nature - identify paths, poisonous plants or bear caves to avoid.
Perception - find clues

Secondary Skills:
Stealth - to avoid detection (give them a chance to avoid an encounter when they get a failure)
Endurance - to push on longer (give them a chance to push on when the challenge results in time lost)

If they fail the challenge and fail to stealth their way, you can run a random encounter. Or you can say they've been delayed if they fail to push on with endurance, and may spend a restless night, starting with one fewer healing surge in the morning.

I'm not sure what all skills your players have, but if they are missing a lot of these skills, you may have to change the nature of the challenge a bit.

 

[LostSoul]

A good skill challenge needs conflict.

What is the antagonist in these situations? It doesn't have to be an NPC, it can be the weather or environment.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I've just written one for the first thing that happens in my campaign that involves the players being in a gorge when a dam bursts.

It involves each player making a series of tests:

1. Perception to hear the damn breaking and knowing they need to start running.
2. Athletics to run as fast as one can
3. Endurance to keep running
4. Athletics/Acrobatics to climb out of the gorge
5. Athletics to swim for all those who didn't make it out, and those who did escape can be creative in which skill to use to help the swimmers escape.

For each test, if a player does really well, they can either get a +2 on their next test, or they can go help another character. If they choose to help, can add an appropriate attribute bonus (cha for encouraging them to run faster, wis for running in front finding the least congested terrain, str to help another climber, etc.) to the other players roll, but both helper and helpee then use the modified roll for whether the skill test is passed or not.

Failing the skill challenge will cause players to be banged around and loose healing surges and potentially some equipment.

Let me know and I can send you a more detailed version of the mechanism I use. I'll be running the adventure on the 3rd, so I can let you know how it goes. I expect it to be a nail-biter, what with a Warlord, a Cleric and a Paladian all likely in heavy armour, and a Wizard who likely won't be trained in any of the skills.

DCs are 15 to do really well (and get the bonus), 10 to pass, 5 to fail without major consequences, and less than 5 gives them a penalty on the next test. If they pass 1 or less of the first 4 tests, they suffer no ill consequences - for each additional failure, they loose healing surges and/or minor gear (say, their rope, or their tent, or...)

Dr. Ruminahui, shrink with a spear