OOC - Mad King's Monkey (Thread Closed)

[Scott DeWar]

If you have any thoughts as to how the chase went, let me know. I have a couple:

1. Next time try Turns rather than Rounds maybe?
2. Next time incorporate some form of Perception check / range penalty I think as distances open up. If all the chasers fail the perception check, the quarry has escaped/evaded.

thotd

1. that sounds like a good idea.
hang on, dog getting in trouble.

false alarm, thankfully.

2. I have seen some skill challenges work with a sliding scale like this:
a. full victory - exceeds dc by 5
b. partial victory - makes the dc
c. partial failure - misses the dc by less then 6
d. full failure - misses dc by 5 +

in this scenario it would be:

a. 3 full victories = catch the prey
b. 2 partials = 1 full
c. 1 partial fail cancels 1 partial victory
d. 3 full fails = lose the prey; either:
aa. perception to find foot prints or catch sight of prey
bb. survival for same with +2 on next skill challenge check
cc. knowledge nature to notice , say birs suddenly flying off from being spooked by pray
dd. intimidate check to give orcish bellow to scare the pray into revealing himself
ee. or any other skill the player can come up with and role play well enough to convince the dm.

 

[Electric Wizard]

Skill challenges are fun. I like the idea of partial successes but not simply as half of a "full" success. Seems kind of like it has more potential. Maybe a partial success would be doing something that has good and bad consequences. Maybe on a partial success you are able to jump on the ledge and corner the gnoll, but you're standing on an unstable ledge and you have to make a save or fall down to where you were before.

 

[Scott DeWar]

Skill challenges work best if announced like this one. I was in a thread were the dm did not say as such and every one was confused. It does require a heavy amount of describing by the dm, so requires a dedicated approach by said dm.

 

[Axel]

I thought it went reasonably well - though I am partial to skill challenges so may not be the best judge here.

Good bits:
1. Challenging DC for each task. Easy tasks are pointless and just slow a game down. "What, I have to make a DC2 listen roll to notice the bar fight??".
2. "Burn stats" made those DCs achievable for anyone that cared enough to try.
3. Immediately apparent results keep you coming back for more next round.

Less good bits:
1. No disincentive to not shoot/magic the target. Adding a perception check (DC = distance/5?) may just be layering rolls and slowing things down, but it is PbP (not exactly known for speedy rounds of 30 seconds for the combat). Fail by <5, target has partial cover (25% miss chance?). Fail by >5 and target has better cover (50% miss chance?). A fluffed roll wouldn't render your action pointless, but would make it less effective.
2. Given the typical 'posting round' for PbP, I would've thought a smaller set of 'successes' would've been more appropriate for resolution. Otherwise there is potential for months of d20 rolling and describing an action sequence so long that even Bruce Willis would struggle to act it out.

Also, sorry for my slow posting. RL is still kicking me in the nuts. The past three weeks I have barely sat down, and have travelled all over the state... I was excited about the public holiday tomorrow but am working. Again. Have worked every public holiday this year except New Year's Day so far...

 

[Scott DeWar]

rl problem. will need to move [again]

 

[doghead]

rl problem. will need to move [again]

Sorry to hear that. I am moving soon as well. It just a local move,and its my choice to do so. But not looking forward to the hassle.

thotd

 

[doghead]

Glad to hear people generally liked the skill challenge. I like to look for ways to stretch the characters, and to make the investments that you have made in terms of skills and abilities work for you. I also like giving players the option of choosing their level of risk and return - burn attributes to improve the chance of catching the gnoll but at the cost of penalties to future actions.

I haven't tracked which attributes characters burnt. I thrust that you will apply as required until the characters have a chance to properly rest. Remember it has been several days since the PC's last slept properly.

When I have a moment I will look more closely at the feedback. I might come back at you with some questions.

thotd

 

[Scott DeWar]

rl problem. will need to move [again]

Sorry to hear that. I am moving soon as well. It just a local move,and its my choice to do so. But not looking forward to the hassle.

thotd

life is strange - problem may resolve, hopefully won't need to move.

 

[doghead]

life is strange - problem may resolve, hopefully won't need to move.

Right. Will keep my fingers crossed for you.

thotd

 

[doghead]

Apologies for the lack of IC response. The usual stuff. Should have something up in 24 hours.

thotd