[Stalker0 Skill Challenge]Please Assess My First Challenge

[SableWyvern]

So, this is my first attempt at a skill challenge, and I am using the Stalker0 System 1.8.

Originally, I had set this up as a single challenge, but decided that the two elements were distinct enough that the challenge could be divided into two seperate but concurrent challenges. PCs will be able to divide their attention between the two challenges, or deal with one first and the other second.

The challenges occur after a goblin raid on the PCs town. The goblins had fire beetles with them, and the town is now on fire. One challenge is fighting the fires, the other is providing medical attention, both to those injured in the fight, and those injured in the ensuing blazes.

Fighting the Fire
Objective:Put out the fires, minimise damage.
Complexity; 3 (7 Success/5 Fail)
Difficulty: Easy DC 14 -- Moderate DC 18 -- Hard DC 23
Primary Skills
- Athletics or Endurance: Carry water, shovel dirt, move flammables away.
- Perception: Spot critical areas, notice people that can be tasked. When used by the Guiding Light, provides a +3 bonus.
- Intimidate: Get individual people working, convince them to take risks
- Streetwise: Identify best routes to move supplies/water, identify likely spread of fire. Unlocks Diplomacy.
------ Diplomacy: Put a coordinated plan into action (if successful on the first use, counts as two successes)

Triage
Objective:Treat injuries and minimise casualties
Complexity; 2 (5 Success/4 Fail)
Difficulty: Easy DC 14 -- Moderate DC 18 -- Hard DC 23
Special:: If the Fighting the Fire challenge is failed while Triage is ongoing, all further Triage checks suffer a -2. If the Fighting the Fire challenge is passed while Triage is ongoing, all further Triage checks gain a +2.
Primary Skills
- Perception: Spot people in need of attention, or who can be tasked. When used by the Guiding light, provides a +3 bonus.
- Diplomacy: Establish a central hospital (removes Streetwise requirement from Heal), subsequent uses allow tasking people to assist with triage.
- Heal: Treat injuries. Until a central hospital is formed, a Heal check only counts as a success if an easy Streetwise check is also made, otherwise the character spends too much time locating and moving between patients to be of signfiicant use. The Streetwise check may be made by the character using Heal as part of the same action, or by another PC as their action.

I am thinking that if the PCs go an entire round focusing on only one challenge, I will warn them that the other problem risks escalating. Any further round in which that challenge is completely ignored will result in one failure towards that challenge.

Comments and feedback would be most appreciated.

Also, thanks to Stalker0 for his system, as well as to everyone who participated in his and the other skill challenge threads.

 

[shinmizu]

What are the results of failures, or partial success? For example, with the fire fighting, would partial successes "steer" the fire away from residential areas, perhaps, or reduce the number of squares currently on fire, and would that have any impact on future successes?

(It seems like consecutive successes should offer some sort of bonus to further firefighting efforts, and perhaps conversely allowing the fire to burn unchallenged for a few rounds would apply a penalty, as the flames neared the limit of what a group could reasonably manage.)

Perhaps a bit more description, something like:

• 1 failure: the smithy becomes completely consumed
• ---
• 4 consecutive failures: in addition to the three above, the local inn, bank and temple are consumed. The fire has spread into the residential district, which contains mostly wood and straw construction, applying a -2 (or -4 or more) penalty to further attempts to control the fire.
• ---
• Failure, 4+ successes: If the skill challenge is failed, but at least four successes were acheived, then the following structures were spared: *list of structures*, the following important NPCs survived: *list of NPCs*.

I like the idea of dual challenges that require both to be simultaneously handled.

 

[SableWyvern]

[Delete entire post and redo, having read shinmizu's post properly]:

Yeah, I like that idea for margins of success will probably add something along those lines.

Not sure I want to be adding too many further penalties into the ongoing challenge, though.

 

[gonesailing]

I like them. I think tying Streetwise to Heal in the second check is interesting, but might penalize a normal cleric or other player as Streetwise probably won't be a common skill. Perhaps add a +2 bonus to heal checks if an Easy Streetwise check is passed?
Also, I like adding addtional effects at the next to last failure (Time of Trials) kind of like the Bloodied Mechanic in combat. (but don't add penalties to rolls as that defeats the purpose) Maybe something like: In the Time of Trials, pass an Endurance Check each round (does not count toward pass/fail) or Use a Healing Surge.

 

[Stalker0]

the one thing I would change off hand is to lower the +2/-2 DC for triage to +1/-1. Even a small change in DC makes a difference. Otherwise, looks great!

 

[SableWyvern]

Cheers for the responses.

I might go with that End check during time of trials, for Fighting the Fire only. I'll definitely heed Stalker0's advice and drop the Triage mods to +/-1.

I'm not too worried about the possible effects of Streetwise on the Triage Trial. It should become fairly clear in the first instance that running around the town willy-nilly isn't going to be an effective way to help people, and if the group doesn't look for an alternative plan, well, they suffer the consequences. OTOH, a character with Streetwise can always team up with a Streetfoolish Healer and overcome the inherrent problems.

 

[gonesailing]

Cheers for the responses.

I might go with that End check during time of trials, for Fighting the Fire only. I'll definitely heed Stalker0's advice and drop the Triage mods to +/-1.

I'm not too worried about the possible effects of Streetwise on the Triage Trial. It should become fairly clear in the first instance that running around the town willy-nilly isn't going to be an effective way to help people, and if the group doesn't look for an alternative plan, well, they suffer the consequences. OTOH, a character with Streetwise can always team up with a Streetfoolish Healer and overcome the inherrent problems.

That's fair enough, I didn't catch the first time that any character could make the the Streetwise check. I'd also appreciate your feedback on the 1 1/2 challenges I have completed here: http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=230819 . The last week and the next two in my life are crazy, but I am also trying to accumulate some challenging Challenges for my players.