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Skill Challenges: Please stop
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<blockquote data-quote="Storminator" data-source="post: 5473996" data-attributes="member: 305"><p>Last Sunday's session had 3 skill challenges and 2 combats.</p><p></p><p>The PCs are a bunch of goblins and they're on their way to the rival clan's headquarters to kidnap a weaponsmith. </p><p></p><p>Last session the group figured out the general area the smithy is in, so this session was trying to get there without tipping off the clan. I let the group know up front that no matter what the results of the skill challenge, they would get to the smithy - the challenge is to get there with surprise in tact. In previous skill challenges I had given out the list of skills I thought appropriate, with the caveat that I can be convinced to add skills/powers/etc. This time I just said "I have a list of skills I think appropriate." I didn't tell them the list, and instead asked "what do you want to do?" The bard talked a pass phrase out of a local (streetwise), the monk snuck a head and scouted routes (stealth), the cleric inferred the best way from foot traffic patterns (insight), the warden found the exhaust vents from the smithy (dungeoneering), the ranger rigged some ropes to climb down the tunnels around the vents (athletics), the wizard calculated the location of the supply entrance (dungeoneering), and the assassin scouted the door guards (stealth). They arrived at the door without any failures, meaning few and lax guards.</p><p></p><p>I didn't even announce the second challenge - getting in the front door, navigating the tunnels and entering the smithy. The group RPed out a combination of using the pass phrase, bluffing the guards, killing the guards and navigating the halls, while I kept track of successes and failures and called for the occasional skill check or attack roll.</p><p></p><p>In the smithy there was a big combat with the smiths, the guards, the reinforcements and the forge fire brought to life. When the bad guys were defeated and the smiths convinced to join the PCs' clan I started the last skill challenge, which was escape the entire clan when the full alarm goes off.</p><p></p><p>This challenge was complexity 5 (12 successes) as the group ran thru the goblin city escaping their enemies. Again, I didn't suggest any skills, but there was athletics, acrobatics, bluffing down side tunnels, endurance, attack rolls, stealth, thievery to set traps and others I've forgotten. At various points group endurance checks were called for, there was an ambush which I ran as a group attack check, and a trap that made attacks against the PCs. In the end they made it out to "civilization" where they got attacked by a 3rd clan, which stalled them long enough for their enemies to catch up and chase the PCs away.</p><p></p><p>I'm really liking building the sessions around skill challenges. As an added benefit, with SCs and quests it pads out the XP without forcing me to send fight after fight after fight at the group to get them to level.</p><p></p><p>PS</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Storminator, post: 5473996, member: 305"] Last Sunday's session had 3 skill challenges and 2 combats. The PCs are a bunch of goblins and they're on their way to the rival clan's headquarters to kidnap a weaponsmith. Last session the group figured out the general area the smithy is in, so this session was trying to get there without tipping off the clan. I let the group know up front that no matter what the results of the skill challenge, they would get to the smithy - the challenge is to get there with surprise in tact. In previous skill challenges I had given out the list of skills I thought appropriate, with the caveat that I can be convinced to add skills/powers/etc. This time I just said "I have a list of skills I think appropriate." I didn't tell them the list, and instead asked "what do you want to do?" The bard talked a pass phrase out of a local (streetwise), the monk snuck a head and scouted routes (stealth), the cleric inferred the best way from foot traffic patterns (insight), the warden found the exhaust vents from the smithy (dungeoneering), the ranger rigged some ropes to climb down the tunnels around the vents (athletics), the wizard calculated the location of the supply entrance (dungeoneering), and the assassin scouted the door guards (stealth). They arrived at the door without any failures, meaning few and lax guards. I didn't even announce the second challenge - getting in the front door, navigating the tunnels and entering the smithy. The group RPed out a combination of using the pass phrase, bluffing the guards, killing the guards and navigating the halls, while I kept track of successes and failures and called for the occasional skill check or attack roll. In the smithy there was a big combat with the smiths, the guards, the reinforcements and the forge fire brought to life. When the bad guys were defeated and the smiths convinced to join the PCs' clan I started the last skill challenge, which was escape the entire clan when the full alarm goes off. This challenge was complexity 5 (12 successes) as the group ran thru the goblin city escaping their enemies. Again, I didn't suggest any skills, but there was athletics, acrobatics, bluffing down side tunnels, endurance, attack rolls, stealth, thievery to set traps and others I've forgotten. At various points group endurance checks were called for, there was an ambush which I ran as a group attack check, and a trap that made attacks against the PCs. In the end they made it out to "civilization" where they got attacked by a 3rd clan, which stalled them long enough for their enemies to catch up and chase the PCs away. I'm really liking building the sessions around skill challenges. As an added benefit, with SCs and quests it pads out the XP without forcing me to send fight after fight after fight at the group to get them to level. PS [/QUOTE]
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