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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fissionessence" data-source="post: 4418316" data-attributes="member: 63357">Looks cool! My players like to pretend they don't have to worry about things like eating and sleeping, so forcing them to make endurance checks and perform a skill challenge for traveling long distances could be a breath of fresh air for me. Also, a challenge like this could make 'random wilderness encounters' not so random, as they are instead the result of a failed skill check.Anyway, here's one I used at my most recent session. I like to play things by ear, so I'm not actually writing any of this up until now; excuse it if it's a little rough:The players defeated Rapture, a succubus leader of a beauty cult, while searching for a mysterious source of power about which they know nothing . . . except that it should be somewhere around there. They suspected that it may have been contained in the pouch at Rapture's waist.When they defeat her, Rapture collapses and a humming emanates from her corpse as a strange orb rips open her abdomen and rises, hovering, above the gaping wound it just created. One of the PCs was standing adjacent, and he is immediately subject to a +11 attack vs Reflex. Hit: 2d8+4 force damage; Effect: The target is pushed 1 square and knocked prone.It is a complexity 2 challenge :: 6 successes before 3 failures. Its DCS are based on the levels 7-9 row of the DCs table, but consider awarding more XP considering the more dangerous nature of this particular challenge (it's half trap!)Acrobatics DC 13: Approach or retreat from the orb without being subject to an attack. Success does not count toward the challenge, nor does failure, but failure means the approaching/retreating character is attacked with the attack as defined above. If the character approaches successfully, he may immediately try another skill, before immediately making another Acrobatics check to retreat safely.Arcana DC 19: While adjacent to the orb (requiring Acrobatics), a character may make this check to exert magical force against the orb to weaken it. Success counts toward the challenge.Arcana DC 24: As above, except that the character can attempt to exert arcane energy from 2 squares away (thus avoiding the necessity of Acrobatics checks).Thievery DC 19: As Arcana DC 19, except that instead of exerting magic force, the character uses knowledge of traps, magic items, etc., to weaken it. Success counts toward the challenge but also makes further uses of Thievery useless until a successful Arcana check has been made.History, Insight, Perception, etc. DC ?: Various other checks may be made to learn about the orb, at DM discretion, but do not count as successes or failures.Success: When two successes have been accumulated, the attack bonus of the orb lowers to +9 and the damage to 1d8+4. With four successes, lower them to +7 and 4 damage. Each failure counts against the successes for these purposes. With a total success, the orb ceases humming and blasting energy; it drops harmlessly to the ground to be retrieved by the PCs, plus they can grab the bag at Rapture's waist (an impressive treasure parcel!)Failure: The orb explodes violently, destroying any building it may be in and knocking the PCs unconscious, possibly draining healing surges and/or hit points. In addition, Rapture's body is disintegrated and her bag of holding destroyed (don't count destroyed treasure against the party's parcels per level). In order to get the item they sought, the party must engage in another skill challenge to gather the ambient energy of the orb into an expensive item such as a gem.~ fissionessence</blockquote>

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