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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 5410931" data-attributes="member: 2011">From my perspective, most skill challenges are poorly designed (as per the one in Hammerfast which is a WotC product and the skill challenge is still poorly designed).It's a real art to design a good skill challenge. One that I have seen very few DMs (myself included) capable of doing well (not that all DMs are incapable of doing so, it's just not something that I have seen ever done well, I'm sure there are exceptions to the rule).The ones in the DMG and all of the ones that I have seen in WotC products were not very good, and some were downright bad.I dislike Aid Another as well.I think the DC for Aid Another should be the minimum DC of the skill goal -5 instead of a set simple DC that PCs can easily and eventually automatically get.Ditto for Group Skill Checks. They have the same mechanical flaw.If the skill DC is 20, the Aid Another should be 15. If the skill DC is 30, the Aid Another should be 25.As a real world example, the Brain Surgeon attempting a difficult operation shouldn't be helped by the Janitor walking into the room and saying "Hey, could you use a scalpel?".As a game example, the Historian attempting to figure out the deities of an ancient culture shouldn't be helped out by the Fighter whose vast historical knowledge consists of knowing that Kobolds stink.The same applies to group skill checks.Sure, you can handwave the illogical aspects of this away, but I prefer a more logical and consistent game than one that is nonsensical because of the flawed mechanics of a silly rule.</blockquote>

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