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<blockquote data-quote="napoleonbuff" data-source="post: 4389038" data-attributes="member: 69901">1) I very much agree that in most circumstances time should be the key element for a skill challenge, not failures.&nbsp;2) I like the idea that it's only a failure if it's 5 or more below, and agree that in most situations a failure should not impact the chance of the group's success but rather be a penalty of some sort (for instance, on a trap, a miss by 5+ could cause a needle to shoot out and stab the player for 1d4 damage, or if the players are on something trying to disable the trap, the something they are on could shake, forcing everyone to check acrobatics).&nbsp; In some instances I would even do away with the idea of a failure/penalty (just players struggling against the clock, such as trying to disarm a trap during a combat or a trap that is harming some if not all members of the party).&nbsp;1 &amp; 2 encourage player participation.&nbsp;3) Why not as a counterpoint to the 5 below failure/penalty idea, have a 5 or 10 above bonus?&nbsp; Perhaps you'd get two successes, or the ability to counter one failure/penalty by another player, or an additional die roll, or a personal reward, etc (vary it based on the particular challenge, as with failures/penalties).&nbsp; This would encourage skill training and focus.&nbsp;4) Would it help to compress the range between easy, moderate and hard (and you could perhaps add really hard!) -- perhaps base #s such as easy 7+, moderate 10+, hard 13+, really hard 16+ for all checks (this is before +5 for skill checks).&nbsp;5) I also think skills could be linked sometimes, such as perception underground could be modified by dungeoneering (+1 for training, additional +1 for focus) when appropriate (e.g., use this for detecting secret doors/traps in a stone wall but not for finding a secret compartment in a desk); nature could do the same outdoors, and streetwise in a city; arcana training and focus could help similarly with a magical trap or a magic secret door; on and on.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="napoleonbuff, post: 4389038, member: 69901"] 1) I very much agree that in most circumstances time should be the key element for a skill challenge, not failures. 2) I like the idea that it's only a failure if it's 5 or more below, and agree that in most situations a failure should not impact the chance of the group's success but rather be a penalty of some sort (for instance, on a trap, a miss by 5+ could cause a needle to shoot out and stab the player for 1d4 damage, or if the players are on something trying to disable the trap, the something they are on could shake, forcing everyone to check acrobatics). In some instances I would even do away with the idea of a failure/penalty (just players struggling against the clock, such as trying to disarm a trap during a combat or a trap that is harming some if not all members of the party). 1 & 2 encourage player participation. 3) Why not as a counterpoint to the 5 below failure/penalty idea, have a 5 or 10 above bonus? Perhaps you'd get two successes, or the ability to counter one failure/penalty by another player, or an additional die roll, or a personal reward, etc (vary it based on the particular challenge, as with failures/penalties). This would encourage skill training and focus. 4) Would it help to compress the range between easy, moderate and hard (and you could perhaps add really hard!) -- perhaps base #s such as easy 7+, moderate 10+, hard 13+, really hard 16+ for all checks (this is before +5 for skill checks). 5) I also think skills could be linked sometimes, such as perception underground could be modified by dungeoneering (+1 for training, additional +1 for focus) when appropriate (e.g., use this for detecting secret doors/traps in a stone wall but not for finding a secret compartment in a desk); nature could do the same outdoors, and streetwise in a city; arcana training and focus could help similarly with a magical trap or a magic secret door; on and on. [/QUOTE]

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