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Message: <blockquote data-quote="RichGreen" data-source="post: 4411088" data-attributes="member: 2039">Hi,I've been working on a 4e adventure set in my <a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?p=3962029#post3962029" target="_blank">new campaign city of Parsantium </a>which involves the PCs solving the murder of Ashna, an orphan girl. I thought it would be a good idea to have the first part of the investigation be a skill challenge and it would be great to get some feedback on how to do this better. My first draft follows:The Water Boys Houseboat: Skill ChallengeThe Water Boys are a group of around 20 orphaned human children of mixed (but mostly Sahasran) origin, aged between seven and fourteen that live on a large ex-fishing boat in Flotsam. These kids get by begging, running errands and messages, pulling stuff out of the water to sell, and by the odd bit of pickpocketing and petty theft. Their informal leader is Girish, the oldest at 16 at the most responsible; he makes sure that everyone gets something to eat and that any disputes among his charges are resolved either peacefully or at least after a brief bout of fisticuffs.SettingDescribe houseboat, all the orphan kids living there, sleeping in hammocks and on crude cots below decks. Lots of stolen goods (eg lamps, tapestries, silk cushions, stuffed birds etc)Set-up: this encounter is resolved by a skill challenge; if the PCs succeed they will gain valuable clues from the Water Boys.Level: 1stComplexity: 2 (6 successes before 3 failures)Primary Skills: Diplomacy, Heal, ReligionHeal (DC 10): with a success, a PC examining Ashna’s body can tell she’s been strangled.  With a second success he notices blood and skin under Ashna’s fingernails – it looks as if she fought back against her killer, scratching him. Religion (DC 15): unlocked if Heal is used successfully. With a success, the PC knows that strangulation is the mark of the thuggee.Diplomacy (DC 10): with each success, the PCs can find out the following information from the Water Boys:•    Ashna liked to sit and listen to Tew Pennyfeather playing tunes on the dockside at night•    Ashna had a row with Girish a few days ago and ran off into the night. She didn’t come back until morning and seemed very on edge when she did. She wasn’t herself up until her death.•    Ashna fell out with Shivji (another Water Boy) over some loot a week ago. Girish ruled in the other kid’s favour and this is why Ashna argued with him. •    Shivji made up with Ashna yesterday; she really wanted the hippo carving they had argued about so he gave it to her in an attempt to cheer her up. They became friends again but Shivji could tell something wasn’t right with her.Intimidate (DC 10): by threatening the Water Boys, the PCs can learn the same information but a failure closes off this approach and increases Diplomacy DCs to hard (15)Success: the PCs gain a vital clue. Girish shows them Ashna’s personal possessions, hidden under her mattress in a small leather bag. Among these are a piece of charcoal, a crude charcoal drawing of a pelican sitting on top of a doorway, some gold and copper coins, a greenstone carving of a hippopotamus , a couple of fancy stones and a cheap tin whistle (given to her by Tew)With a successful Intelligence check (DC 20) a PC might remember seeing this pelican before – over a doorway not far from the Black Dolphin’s Wake Tavern.Any feedback gratefully received!CheersRichard</blockquote>

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