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<blockquote data-quote="Tervin" data-source="post: 4283653" data-attributes="member: 66491">Interesting and informative post, but it raises a number of questions:Why is stuff like this not brought up in the DMG? The DMG is meant to help the DMs after all.Does this mean that skill challenges at level 1 (where people don't have utility powers or many magic items) should be avoided or totally recalculated?And in what way does this solve the most serious problem with skill challenges, that high complexity simply means a lot more XP for what is usually a bigger chance of success. (Items and utility powers that add to more than one single die roll will actually just make this problem bigger.)I like skill challenges a lot as they mean a way to include non combat challenges in a way where you award XP for them. The idea is brilliant, but the part in the DMG feels unfinished, and the whole system needs either lots of DM prework or a mathematical touchup in order to really work. Myself I will calculate estimated average difficulty for the players beforehand based on skill bonuses, items and utility powers. From that I will know what DCs are reasonable, depending on how hard I want this to be.Then I will make sure to add extra bonuses whenever the players take actions that make the scene better - as that is the only way to make the complex challenges really worth more XP than the simple ones.I am ready to do those things, but it would have been nice to have the DMG help me doing them.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Tervin, post: 4283653, member: 66491"] Interesting and informative post, but it raises a number of questions: Why is stuff like this not brought up in the DMG? The DMG is meant to help the DMs after all. Does this mean that skill challenges at level 1 (where people don't have utility powers or many magic items) should be avoided or totally recalculated? And in what way does this solve the most serious problem with skill challenges, that high complexity simply means a lot more XP for what is usually a bigger chance of success. (Items and utility powers that add to more than one single die roll will actually just make this problem bigger.) I like skill challenges a lot as they mean a way to include non combat challenges in a way where you award XP for them. The idea is brilliant, but the part in the DMG feels unfinished, and the whole system needs either lots of DM prework or a mathematical touchup in order to really work. Myself I will calculate estimated average difficulty for the players beforehand based on skill bonuses, items and utility powers. From that I will know what DCs are reasonable, depending on how hard I want this to be. Then I will make sure to add extra bonuses whenever the players take actions that make the scene better - as that is the only way to make the complex challenges really worth more XP than the simple ones. I am ready to do those things, but it would have been nice to have the DMG help me doing them. [/QUOTE]

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