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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 6076760" data-attributes="member: 336">I love the character builder for the fact that I don't have to worry about the &quot;mechanics&quot; of the character, only the flavor.&nbsp; However, I use the offline one, and modify it when I want to add a house rule.&nbsp; For example one of my players ended up &quot;reanimating&quot; a twig blight and wanted to use it as a companion.&nbsp; I tweaked the Fey Beast Tamer theme and added a twig blight.&nbsp; Awesome solution, though it could have easily been written on the sheet.My &quot;philosophy&quot; on skill challenges is that they provide me with a framework for rewarding non-combat encounters.&nbsp; That is all.I run them pretty much in the same manner that I used to run non-combat encounters in past editions - very free-form.&nbsp; The difference is that when I start the challenge I assign it a level and difficulty.&nbsp; Sometimes this is based on the PC level, sometimes based on the NPC level, sometimes based on the situation, and sometimes based simply on gut instinct. Most of it is a give-take between the DM and PC, based on the situation.&nbsp; The difficulty for a check is always based on the situation.&nbsp; The more difficult something seems to be the harder the DC.&nbsp; The player only knows the difficulty as we discuss it, not the target number.&nbsp; That allows me to adjudicate without tipping the balance in the DM or PC favor. When they complete the challenge, whether successful or not, they get rewarded (XP) based on the outcome.&nbsp; They also &quot;suffer&quot; the consequences of success or failure.&nbsp; I can add &quot;complications&quot;, or &quot;boons&quot; during the challenge based on the circumstances.My players get into a lot of non-combat situations, and this has been a very solid framework to use for adjudication.&nbsp; This has created a more organic use/feel to the skill challenge framework, and provided me with what I didn't have before - a consistent way of rewarding that type of play.When I use a &quot;published&quot; skill challenge I always &quot;flip&quot; it to work in this manner.&nbsp; The skill challenges seem to work better when they are organically merged with the actions of the characters trying to achieve a goal, rather than simply a list of &quot;approved&quot; skills.&nbsp; I run the challenges in a way similar to how I run combats.&nbsp; The description of what is happening is very important to the pacing, and the feel of the encounter.&nbsp; That shift in &quot;philosophy&quot; got rid of the &quot;suckiness&quot; of the skill challenges as presented in published format.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 6076760, member: 336"] I love the character builder for the fact that I don't have to worry about the "mechanics" of the character, only the flavor. However, I use the offline one, and modify it when I want to add a house rule. For example one of my players ended up "reanimating" a twig blight and wanted to use it as a companion. I tweaked the Fey Beast Tamer theme and added a twig blight. Awesome solution, though it could have easily been written on the sheet. My "philosophy" on skill challenges is that they provide me with a framework for [B]rewarding[/B] non-combat encounters. That is all. I run them pretty much in the same manner that I used to run non-combat encounters in past editions - very free-form. The difference is that when I start the challenge I assign it a level and difficulty. Sometimes this is based on the PC level, sometimes based on the NPC level, sometimes based on the situation, and sometimes based simply on gut instinct. Most of it is a give-take between the DM and PC, based on the situation. The difficulty for a check is always based on the situation. The more difficult something seems to be the harder the DC. The player only knows the difficulty as we discuss it, not the target number. That allows me to adjudicate without tipping the balance in the DM or PC favor. When they complete the challenge, whether successful or not, they get rewarded (XP) based on the outcome. They also "suffer" the consequences of success or failure. I can add "complications", or "boons" during the challenge based on the circumstances. My players get into a lot of non-combat situations, and this has been a very solid framework to use for adjudication. This has created a more organic use/feel to the skill challenge framework, and provided me with what I didn't have before - a consistent way of rewarding that type of play. When I use a "published" skill challenge I always "flip" it to work in this manner. The skill challenges seem to work better when they are organically merged with the actions of the characters [B]trying to achieve a goal[/B], rather than simply a list of "approved" skills. I run the challenges in a way similar to how I run combats. The description of what is happening is very important to the pacing, and the feel of the encounter. That shift in "philosophy" got rid of the "suckiness" of the skill challenges as presented in published format. [/QUOTE]

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