Bodhiwolff
First Post
My gang doesn’t “do” roleplaying – they came late to the party, and are enjoying 4E strictly as a tactical miniatures game, boardgame, storyboard sort of thing. But they don’t do roleplaying, and they hate coming up with their own ideas, and thinking out of the box. They don’t initiate their own ideas, and they are all very passive. (give ‘em time, give ‘em time …)
However, skill challenges still represent a great non-combat, story-driving, character-centered activity which everybody can get in on.
Setup: The party had been taken to a tavern in a small, walled town. They were interviewed for a job (break into the prison-city of Wheloon and investigate some goings on there), and were found to be acceptable candidates by their (somewhat shady) contact. When asked how they should go about actually breaking into the city, their contact cryptically replies “well, I am fairly sure that even if you do nothing at all, you’ll find yourself accomplishing at least the very first step of your task”. With that, their contact left, absent-mindedly tossing a sheaf of rolled up papers on their table. When they unrolled the papers, they found a pile of “wanted posters” with their names, likenesses, and information on them. As they quietly rolled the papers back up, they realized that some of the outlying tavern patrons were muttering and pointing to them, and things were getting a tad tense.
I announce a skill challenge – “Escape the (possibly) Angry Town!”, and I write out a list of potential skills for them. I tell them that they need 5 successes before they get 3 failures. I don’t tell them which skills lead to successes, and which ones merely give bonuses, or which ones will be “used up” with one success and which ones can be attempted multiple times. They know where they’re starting (in the tavern, at 9:00 at night, in the middle of a walled and closed-up town), and they know that they have to decide which skills to test. The skills list was Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Insight, Intimidate, Stealth, Streetwise.
One player chooses “Bluff”, and succeeds. I announce “The party manages to quietly pay their cheque, and stagger their individual actions while leaving, obscuring the fact that they are actually making a getaway from both the table and the tavern. Before the tavern as a whole knows it, the party is already out the door and on the main thoroughfare”.
Another player chooses “Insight”, and succeeds. In my notes I see that this merely gives a benefit to the next success-oriented check, so I announce “You read the crowd outside, comparing it to the tavern patrons, and you don’t feel that they are particularly suspicious – at least, not yet. You’d best not do anything to tip your hand. Gain a +2 bonus to your next check”.
One player wants to use Athletics, and I explain that this would involve running through the crowd and testing their prowess (a bit of a hint that athletics might alert people, seeing as they had just passed their Insight check). They figure that running through the crowd might actually raise a few eyebrows, so they’ll save that skill in case they really need it.
They choose “Streetwise”, and get a success. I tell them “The rogue, having run from a crowd or two in his day, has already subconsciously mapped out the town’s general layout, and thinks he knows a good route towards the gate. It isn’t the shortest route, but he feels it will be the quietest.” I cross out streetwise on their list.
They choose “Stealth”, and succeed. I tell them “The rogue and the ranger scout ahead, quietly keeping an eye on the alleyways and intersections. They manage to get you halfway to the Gate without incident, but figure that the next area is too well-lit and patrolled to be tackled in the same way.” I cross Stealth off their list.
They choose “Insight” again, and succeed. I cross it off their list, and I tell them that “The patrolled area is not going to be as easy to deal with. General tensions are a bit higher, and you don’t think that sneaking is a good option. Gain +2 on your next check”. I remind them that there are now only a few skills left to choose from (and Insight, with its bonus upon success, is now crossed off .. they can’t gain any more help by simply reading the crowd, ‘cause they know the patrolmen’s state already, and it isn’t likely to change!). However, they are within striking distance of the Gate, where they can just make out two guards standing in front of a wall plastered with Wanted Posters!
Throwing caution to the wind (and knowing that they have a bonus to use) the party chooses “Athletics”, and succeeds. I tell them “Racing down the street, you barrel through the intersection, zipping along at a frantic pace. Before the outer patrolmen even realize what is happening, you’ve closed the distance to the Gate and the Guards, the faster of you helping the less-speedy members to keep up.” They have one skill success left to finish the challenge, and they’re racing down on the gate.
They choose “Intimidate”, and succeed. I tell them, “As you bear down on the two unsuspecting guardsmen, you don’t even break stride as you draw your weapons and make as if you are charging them, ready to kill them where they stand. You scream out a hasty challenge, warning them to stand down or face the consequences. The two guards, unwilling to risk their lives in the face of 5 charging madmen, jump to the sides of the gate and briefly retreat, leaving the gate unguarded for a precious few seconds. You whip the bar off the inside, and run cackling into the night, leaving a stunned constabulary behind you, not knowing the rich rewards they might’ve gained had they captured you instead of letting you go!”
////////////
Okay, so there was no roleplaying. The players didn’t initiate any descriptions of actions, and nobody came up with any cool uses of a skill. Instead, everything is mechanical, and mathematical.
However, as a DM I can interpret and nudge and adjust, lending narrative to the mechanics that the players offer, weaving a picture of how their actions impact the world around them, and encouraging them to come up with their own self-initiated actions in future challenges (hopefully, hopefully).
And in the end, everybody remembers the cool story about how they managed to get out of town cleanly, without having to fight anybody, and without any trouble. The story becomes the thing they remember, not the die-rolls.
However, skill challenges still represent a great non-combat, story-driving, character-centered activity which everybody can get in on.
Setup: The party had been taken to a tavern in a small, walled town. They were interviewed for a job (break into the prison-city of Wheloon and investigate some goings on there), and were found to be acceptable candidates by their (somewhat shady) contact. When asked how they should go about actually breaking into the city, their contact cryptically replies “well, I am fairly sure that even if you do nothing at all, you’ll find yourself accomplishing at least the very first step of your task”. With that, their contact left, absent-mindedly tossing a sheaf of rolled up papers on their table. When they unrolled the papers, they found a pile of “wanted posters” with their names, likenesses, and information on them. As they quietly rolled the papers back up, they realized that some of the outlying tavern patrons were muttering and pointing to them, and things were getting a tad tense.
I announce a skill challenge – “Escape the (possibly) Angry Town!”, and I write out a list of potential skills for them. I tell them that they need 5 successes before they get 3 failures. I don’t tell them which skills lead to successes, and which ones merely give bonuses, or which ones will be “used up” with one success and which ones can be attempted multiple times. They know where they’re starting (in the tavern, at 9:00 at night, in the middle of a walled and closed-up town), and they know that they have to decide which skills to test. The skills list was Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Insight, Intimidate, Stealth, Streetwise.
One player chooses “Bluff”, and succeeds. I announce “The party manages to quietly pay their cheque, and stagger their individual actions while leaving, obscuring the fact that they are actually making a getaway from both the table and the tavern. Before the tavern as a whole knows it, the party is already out the door and on the main thoroughfare”.
Another player chooses “Insight”, and succeeds. In my notes I see that this merely gives a benefit to the next success-oriented check, so I announce “You read the crowd outside, comparing it to the tavern patrons, and you don’t feel that they are particularly suspicious – at least, not yet. You’d best not do anything to tip your hand. Gain a +2 bonus to your next check”.
One player wants to use Athletics, and I explain that this would involve running through the crowd and testing their prowess (a bit of a hint that athletics might alert people, seeing as they had just passed their Insight check). They figure that running through the crowd might actually raise a few eyebrows, so they’ll save that skill in case they really need it.
They choose “Streetwise”, and get a success. I tell them “The rogue, having run from a crowd or two in his day, has already subconsciously mapped out the town’s general layout, and thinks he knows a good route towards the gate. It isn’t the shortest route, but he feels it will be the quietest.” I cross out streetwise on their list.
They choose “Stealth”, and succeed. I tell them “The rogue and the ranger scout ahead, quietly keeping an eye on the alleyways and intersections. They manage to get you halfway to the Gate without incident, but figure that the next area is too well-lit and patrolled to be tackled in the same way.” I cross Stealth off their list.
They choose “Insight” again, and succeed. I cross it off their list, and I tell them that “The patrolled area is not going to be as easy to deal with. General tensions are a bit higher, and you don’t think that sneaking is a good option. Gain +2 on your next check”. I remind them that there are now only a few skills left to choose from (and Insight, with its bonus upon success, is now crossed off .. they can’t gain any more help by simply reading the crowd, ‘cause they know the patrolmen’s state already, and it isn’t likely to change!). However, they are within striking distance of the Gate, where they can just make out two guards standing in front of a wall plastered with Wanted Posters!
Throwing caution to the wind (and knowing that they have a bonus to use) the party chooses “Athletics”, and succeeds. I tell them “Racing down the street, you barrel through the intersection, zipping along at a frantic pace. Before the outer patrolmen even realize what is happening, you’ve closed the distance to the Gate and the Guards, the faster of you helping the less-speedy members to keep up.” They have one skill success left to finish the challenge, and they’re racing down on the gate.
They choose “Intimidate”, and succeed. I tell them, “As you bear down on the two unsuspecting guardsmen, you don’t even break stride as you draw your weapons and make as if you are charging them, ready to kill them where they stand. You scream out a hasty challenge, warning them to stand down or face the consequences. The two guards, unwilling to risk their lives in the face of 5 charging madmen, jump to the sides of the gate and briefly retreat, leaving the gate unguarded for a precious few seconds. You whip the bar off the inside, and run cackling into the night, leaving a stunned constabulary behind you, not knowing the rich rewards they might’ve gained had they captured you instead of letting you go!”
////////////
Okay, so there was no roleplaying. The players didn’t initiate any descriptions of actions, and nobody came up with any cool uses of a skill. Instead, everything is mechanical, and mathematical.
However, as a DM I can interpret and nudge and adjust, lending narrative to the mechanics that the players offer, weaving a picture of how their actions impact the world around them, and encouraging them to come up with their own self-initiated actions in future challenges (hopefully, hopefully).
And in the end, everybody remembers the cool story about how they managed to get out of town cleanly, without having to fight anybody, and without any trouble. The story becomes the thing they remember, not the die-rolls.
