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<blockquote data-quote="Pbartender" data-source="post: 5391606" data-attributes="member: 7533">I've tried skill challenges a lot of different ways, and have thoroughly mixed results all around.&nbsp; I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that the problem is not any specific method of running them, but rather trying to apply the same method to every skill challenge.&nbsp; I'm finding that certain methods and styles of &quot;skill challenge&quot; (I find it hard to call them all that, since the methods can be so very different) are better for in some situations, but not others.The trick is recognizing when to use which one.Something I've considered recently is looking at skill challenges in the same vein as the Victory Points system that was used in Red Hand of Doom...&nbsp; That is to say, a climactic scene is approaching, and the PCs can proactively do things ahead of time to influence that scene for better or for worse.&nbsp; In a nutshell, when the skill challenge ends would not be triggered by the number of successes or failures, but by some other event...&nbsp; A time limit, or by the PCs visiting a certain location, for example.&nbsp; Also, PC action earns successes, but not failures.&nbsp; Failures would instead be earned by the enemy -- the PCs fail to thwart an enemy action that gives the enemy an advantage.&nbsp; At the end of the skill challenge, successes and failures are tallied up, and the total of each determine the extenuating circumstances of the critical scene.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Pbartender, post: 5391606, member: 7533"] I've tried skill challenges a lot of different ways, and have thoroughly mixed results all around. I'm beginning to come to the conclusion that the problem is not any specific method of running them, but rather trying to apply the same method to every skill challenge. I'm finding that certain methods and styles of "skill challenge" (I find it hard to call them all that, since the methods can be so very different) are better for in some situations, but not others. The trick is recognizing when to use which one. Something I've considered recently is looking at skill challenges in the same vein as the Victory Points system that was used in [I]Red Hand of Doom[/I]... That is to say, a climactic scene is approaching, and the PCs can proactively do things ahead of time to influence that scene for better or for worse. In a nutshell, when the skill challenge ends would not be triggered by the number of successes or failures, but by some other event... A time limit, or by the PCs visiting a certain location, for example. Also, PC action earns successes, but not failures. Failures would instead be earned by the enemy -- the PCs fail to thwart an enemy action that gives the enemy an advantage. At the end of the skill challenge, successes and failures are tallied up, and the total of each determine the extenuating circumstances of the critical scene. [/QUOTE]

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