Running Combat Using Skill Challenges?

[takasi]

I know this may sound like a 'house rule' discussion, but it seems like a lot of modules will handle certain fights by reducing healing surges as the result of a skill challenge failure. A typical example is investigating a thieves guild. A module presents the challenge as the adventurers looking for information. The author wants to guarentee that the party finds the information, so the penalty is that the guild is aware of them. Rather than make the DM add a new encounter or change the following encounters to reflect this awareness, the author may just say the party was jumped by thugs without actually running the combat.

This got me to thinking: how can you run D&D without tactical combat, using skill challenges alone?

A disclaimer: Although this is a forum and I have no way of preventing anyone from sharing their opinion (save from reporting for a code of conduct violation), whether this would be enjoyable or not isn't as important, to me, as suggestions for how this could be done. Personally, I could see this being helpful in IM games, specifically with cell phones when remote players are not available to use VTTs.

At its most basic form:

1.) Roll for init and go in order.
2.) On a player's turn they choose to either attack or heal.
2a.) If a player attacks they use their class's primarily skill typically associated with their combat style. Athletics or Acrobatics (martial classes), Arcana (arcane classes), Religion (divine classes), Nature (primal classes). If they beat the combat DC they win a success.
2b.) If a player chooses to heal they can use the heal skill to remove a failure.
3.) Players can use powers to enhance their skill rolls. Encounter powers could add a +2 to their skill check and dailies a +5. The power must use the same ability score as the base of the skill. Rules for powers like 'healing word' also apply.
4.) Players can apply item bonuses to their skill rolls. The item must be usable with a basic attack or at will power that uses the same ability score as the base of the skill.

You can do this as a traditional skill challenge, or if you want a longer fight and more consequence you can base successes and failures on healing surges. For the most part, multiply the number of enemies you're narrating by 4 to get the number of successes needed (to simulate 'surges' being removed). Each person loses a healing surge each time they fail their roll, so the 'combat' can continue until players run out of healing surges (in which case they die). Remember that a heal check can remove a penalty, but to add challenge you can require that the check be made during the round of the penalty.

Setting the monster DCs can be tricky. If you want a more dynamic battle, you can reduce the DC after x number of successes to simulate enemies falling in combat.

One thing that's really nice about this approach is that you have a lot of narrative freedom to describe pretty much anything. The main drawback is the lack of player strategy, but in some ways imagination and strategy are always going to be, in some ways, at odds with one another. This method allows you to move more mental energy from tactics over to narration.

This is especially true for the DM. He would not have to roll or come up with much (except modifying DCs), but he would be in charge of narrating events if a player fails a skill check.

 

[takasi]

Another thought is to modify player options based on role.

1.) Leader. This role is distinct because they can remove failures.
2.) Defender. This role is distinct because it has more healing surges.
3.) Striker. This role could be more distinct with a +2 bonus on attack skill checks from its extra damage ability (curse/quarry/etc).
4.) Controller. This role could be more distinct if it can try multiple successes (up to 3) with a -5 penalty for each additional attempt. Any failure results in the loss of a healing surge, but the character can only lose one healing surge per turn.

The DM is also entitled to throw in additional modifiers as the combat is described. A failure can trigger any type of action by an NPC. For example, let's say the wizard failed its arcana check. The DM could describe the spell (the player announced it was a magic missile) as hitting a cauldron. A nearby orc might see this and be inspired to tip it over, and with a random roll the DM could pick someone to give an acrobatics check. If the player fails, he takes a -5 penalty to its next skill check.

 

[Mistwell]

In open grave, there is a skill challenge that includes dodging attacking zombies while trying to escape a zombie-infested town or make your way to a temple to try and end the infestation. I think with some minor tweaking, that scenario could be taken all the way to the concept you are going for.

Most checks would involve athletics or acrobatics, since those give you physical means to attack or defend.

Some could involve others however. Arcana might reveal that a creature is vulnerable to loud sound, while History might give you the knowledge of a bell in a tower that could be used to drive off the creatures. Intimidate could be used to make creatures back down, and Diplomacy to get them to let you by.

So yes, I think it could be done, and it might be fun.

 

[PrecociousApprentice]

Why not just use the attacks of the powers being used (Str vs AC, Int vs will, whatever) and the defenses as the DCs. For each turn, you roll an attack, and a defense. Succesful attacks get you successes, successful defenses avoid failures. Powers that hit gain a number of successes equal to their number of [w] damage or equivalent. Allow multi-attacks to count as a success per [w] times area plus 1 for burst, a success per [w] times area minus 1 for blast (burst 1 is two successes times number of [w] in attack, burst 2 is 2 times [w], blast 3 is 2 successes per [w],...I know, it isn't quite an even translation).

You would need to turn monsters attacks into passive attacks (just like turing perception into passive perception), and players defenses into active defenses (the reverse of making something passive).

You could get multiple successes each turn, possibly multiple failures each turn, and it could happen simultaneously.

Require a certain number of successes to win, and have each failure lead to the loss of a healing surge. Healing recovers a healing surge.

There you go. Completely simplifies the combat system into a skill challenge type system. Needs a little work, but allows characters like leaders or controllers, who don't always have either athletics or acrobatics, to help out.