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Message: <blockquote data-quote="giant.robot" data-source="post: 5276048" data-attributes="member: 93119">I liked the skill challenge system in 4E so much I ported it to a bunch of different types of games, including Star Wars SE before it was officially added. Skill challenges are similar to Chases in Spycraft. The checks need to match up with narrative elements but provide a nice structured way to determine the outcome of some actions. As was mentioned a second read through the DMG2 would be recommended to anyone who simply declares SCs broken beyond repair. I think they tend to work pretty well in many cases. Here's some methods I've used to make them flow a bit better in games.1. Group challenges contemporaneously and have them execute simultaneously. For instance characters need to talk to two different NPCs but have to do so at the same time so there's a physical limit on Aid Another since the characters end up dispersed.2. Require by some narrative device that different challenges be done by different people. This way the skillful Rogue or Ranger don't end up dominating a challenges and everyone else just sits them out. I try to give each character a check to make and usually something they're good at.3. Failures are penalized in modifiers to subsequent checks depending on the magnitude. Just barely failing a check might not get a penalty but really screwing up will have the recheck be even harder. I don't get sadistic about it but I find it adds tension because players are willing to spend action points to reroll a check rather than have it end up harder than the first time.4. I reward players for giving good narrative descriptions of how they're going about the check. If they get really detailed and involved in their character's action I give them bonuses on the actual check. I'll rarely penalize a player for not describing their actions well but I make sure they know I want them to really get involved and will be rewarded for doing so. If they go all out in their description I'll just have them take 20.5. I'll also run abstracted skill challenges where the characters have to act as a group. I have them all roll and take the lowest or mean value. This works well for something like the characters sailing a ship where they each need to do something similar. Every check spans a long period of time and the job only gets done as well as the worst person doing it. Failures increase the challenge for everyone and increase the time it takes to do the challenge overall. 6. I use skill challenges to let the characters attempt to completely non-combat and non-ritual related. I think this is way better than skills in underwater basket weaving and cake baking. Besides the obvious like sailing or haggling prices of things I let them try their hand at fishing or repairing a thatch roof for a farmer. In these cases I have failures simply add to the time it takes to get it done since these aren't usually life-or-death situations. I also have the action itself take place off-camera and we simply say some time passed and they accomplished their job.7. Think about the thing the characters are trying to accomplish and come up with creative uses for skills. I like to include Endurance and the Knowledge skills to help all the characters get into the act. I think of this as the Goonies method of skill challenges. The different challenges faced by the Goonies in the caves were solved by different characters' specialties. Mouth could read the map, Annie could play the organ, Data's gadgets helped slow down the Fratellis.</blockquote>

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