skill challenge complexity

[Master Witch]

I am a new DM and am trying to figure out skill challenges. My biggest problem is the “skill challenge complexity” rating. It seems to me that by the numbers the PCs are going to fail most of the time. As the skill challenges can change the direction of the game and this seems like a big deal. When I plan out a fight I assume the PCs will win. I would like to be able to assume the PCs will win skill challenges as well unless a run of bad luck blows it for them.
At first level a DC of easy is 15, of moderate is 20, hard is 25. I assume that most DC will be 20. However when I look over my player’s skill states the best any of them has was a +9 (trained) and that was rear. Most of them only have a +7 (trained). This seems to me that a player has less then a 50% chance to succeed on any role and as they need 2 successes for every 1 failure. It just does not seem right to me. Can someone please explain to me what I am missing?
Thanks

 

[Mort_Q]

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=230357

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=230567

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=231075

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?t=229919

 

[Dalzig]

The short version: Give them so many bonuses they can't fail.

Did they roleplay well? +2. Aid Another? +2. Did they bring fritos/doritos/***tos? +2.

Note: *** is a wildcard, not a curse. -_-

 

[mach1.9pants]

or knock the DCs back by 5

or increase the number of failures to equal number of successes

It is broken; I am fixing it using 5 less on the DCs and reducing the XP gained by half if they succeed

 

[Master Witch]

Ok so I have been reading over everything I can find and took into account what was said here and in the other threads. This is what I see as part of are groups problem we don't yet understand that this stuff takes team work and a lot of it. I think what the book has works if people do their part. For example if I am looking for a lost temple in the forest, I have a +9 on perception, If 2 people help me out when we are looking for stuff (a +4) I have a 85% (easy DC:15) chance of getting a successes. However I would need +8 to make the 85% mark on a DC 20. Yet if my team set down and rolled a couple of bonuses from nature, history, and found that bit of information in town, say a map or a bit of legend, I could have another +2 or +4.
So a +4 from 2 team members, a +2 for some bit of legend, +2 nature, and a +2 history =+10, that would give a 95% chance of success on a DC 20 (only 75% on a hard). I know that does not count in the 2:1 split of successes: failure but it’s a start. As far as I can see the split is around a 66%-67% chance of failing (for every 3 rolls you will get 1 failure on a 50% chance) but that’s a rough number. I know this is just an example and numbers may very but I did not even use the DM +2 or mode the DC levels below the easy DC of 15.
The only real problem I have with this whole mess is I hate role-playing. I am a smash the monster give me stuff kind of player. However my players and other players I play with seem to love the stuff so I need to make it work. They went through all the trouble of making combat less work for the DM and found a way to create more work with the skills. Now I have to make up way to give bonuses (more role-playing stuff, gggg) and force my players to work as a group. Do you have any idea how hard that is? This group is so role focused that if someone in game offends it might take 2 months of weekly gaming to even have the PC speek to each other. I made up a chart that shows the % chance for success so I hope at the minimum I can get them to see that if you don’t have enough points in a skill don’t role it in a skill challenge you will fail. This game was so much simpler when I was a kid. Ugg I smash … I like fighters ..lol
By the way thanks for the help.

 

[Master Witch]

my % role chart

This is just a fast over view of what bonuses a PC need to have a chance of making a role.