WotBS Tell me about WotBS

[Blackbrrd]

...I haven't seen a single skill challenge I liked...

Some of my groups best moments have been with the skill challenges. It might be because they are a break from combat and gives plenty of opportunities for role playing.

I haven't changed the skill challenges, but I haven't been very strict with the rules. If you can talk me into allowing a skill, you can use it. For instance after failing to help the dwarves with some mechanical stuff they wanted the characters off the whole thing before it got totally messed up, but one of the players used diplomacy (and some good role playing) to be allowed some more time.

I was quite sceptical to the skill challenges before I ran them, but if you run them a bit loose they work really well.

 

[UnknownAtThisTime]

Some of my groups best moments have been with the skill challenges. It might be because they are a break from combat and gives plenty of opportunities for role playing.

I haven't changed the skill challenges, but I haven't been very strict with the rules. If you can talk me into allowing a skill, you can use it. For instance after failing to help the dwarves with some mechanical stuff they wanted the characters off the whole thing before it got totally messed up, but one of the players used diplomacy (and some good role playing) to be allowed some more time.

I was quite sceptical to the skill challenges before I ran them, but if you run them a bit loose they work really well.

I would be content to not have a skill challenge for several sessions in a row. When I do run them, I am of two minds:

1) (and many will cringe at this...) Just roll em. Quick. Get your 6 success before 3 failures, and we move on. In fact, this is basically how I ran the "Dwarven engineering challenge" blackbrrd mentioned above. And I omitted the kobold bit entirely.

2) The narrative skill challenge with loose interpretation as blackbrrd mentions. In fact, my group had a fantastic skill challenge with "convincing Shealis". Their role playing and reasoning were SPOT ON and matched perfectly with the various skill checks. On the part of the players, it showed both an understanding of the larger story, and an investment in the success of the challenge. The result was more satisfying than any battle in recent memory.

 

[Primitive Screwhead]

I use Stalker0's Obsideon system for skill challenges, which.. once my players got used to the idea, has worked out very well.

Skill challenges are really hard to write into an adventure, and are the least fleshed out portions of 4e despite being one of the main building blocks of the marketting campaign. I understand WoTC is looking to revamp them in the near future... which makes alot of sense.

I think the hardest part of using them is defining when to use them, instead of using a complex skill check, or simply hand-wave. The second hardest part is determining the cost of failure since 4e is not an attrition model.
IMHO there are two 'good' outcomes of a skill challenge:
- Lost healing surges similar to a combat encounter
- change of the challenge level of the upcoming encounters

Both of these mean the skill challenge has a mechanical effect on the game.

But I digress

WoBS in 4e can be a bit shaky as the writers were/are relatively new to the system and the conversion from 3x is not as simple as it may first appear. They have gotten better as they get to experience more of running/playing 4e, and the encounters are being better written.

 

[GuJiaXian]

All of this discussion has been very helpful in my decision as to whether or not to run this AP. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I subscribe to EN World, I gain immediate access to the entire pdf AP (for 3.5, at least), correct?

 

[Morrus]

All of this discussion has been very helpful in my decision as to whether or not to run this AP. Correct me if I'm wrong, but if I subscribe to EN World, I gain immediate access to the entire pdf AP (for 3.5, at least), correct?

No, not quite - it's not our intention to give away the whole thing for $3. You can buy the entire 3.5 saga separately for $60-ish. Or you can subscribe for $3, and get the adventures at the same rate as those getting the 4E version (i.e. all up till #7 so far, and the rest at the same time as the 4E versions are released).

 

[GuJiaXian]

Is there any point to doing the $60-ish option? The b&w hardback is $50, and doesn't it come with a coupon for a free pdf of the book?

I'm especially eager to know, because I have the green light from my wife to make the purchase. She hates dungeon crawls (she prefers gaming sessions where few, if any, dice are rolled), so my summary of WotBS intrigued her. I just want to make sure I'm getting the best possible deal for my gaming dollar.

 

[Rilvar]

No, not quite - it's not our intention to give away the whole thing for $3. You can buy the entire 3.5 saga separately for $60-ish. Or you can subscribe for $3, and get the adventures at the same rate as those getting the 4E version (i.e. all up till #7 so far, and the rest at the same time as the 4E versions are released).

Is there any story summary of the adventures (specifically 8-12 lol) that goes into more detail than the campaign guide? A lot of the main plot lines don't seem to resolve until the last adventures, and it would be very helpful to see them in depth for campaign planning.

 

[Morrus]

Is there any point to doing the $60-ish option? The b&w hardback is $50, and doesn't it come with a coupon for a free pdf of the book?

That's the best deal available at present, yep (in my opinion, at least).

 

[Morrus]

Is there any story summary of the adventures (specifically 8-12 lol) that goes into more detail than the campaign guide? A lot of the main plot lines don't seem to resolve until the last adventures, and it would be very helpful to see them in depth for campaign planning.

No, but we can answer questions! Fire away!

 

[GuJiaXian]

Thanks for the reply (and all the various answers to my questions), Morrus. I think you just made a sale (and, hopefully, a happy gaming group).