How do you guys narrate the results of the group checks? It's always seemed like a huge stretch to me saying "Two of you are slower than the monster, but the two fast ones pulled them along by the hand" or "two of you can't jump the chasm, but the other two showed you the diving board by the side" or whatever. That's why I've been thinking of
making the succeeding characters make skill checks to make up for the other characters' failures.
It has only been in our last session that I've more or less settled on how we handle this. We tried several different ways. What I like for group checks is that we treat the whole thing as one big monster check, using our normal resolution:
1. State the intent of what the group wants to accomplish, and briefly the method how.
2. Everyone roll at once.
3. Narrate the results based on the rolls and the nature of the situation and characters.
Then repeat as needed to resolve the situation.
Now, I have a large group, and I'm always looking for ways to keep thins moving. But I rather like the dynamic of this even outside that large group framework. We only had five players last session, and it created some tense moments for us.
We used to do everyone roll in turn, then resolve, and let people react. But I found that this caused at least one person (not the same one) to pay less attention, and took long enough that it racheted down the tension. When everyone rolls at once, you lose a bit of that, "hey the spotlight is on me right now." But you gain extra "spotlight" overall, because everyone is semi-focused on everyone else. I'm making my roll, and I'm also worried that the elf might fail her stealth and the wizard might not make that hard arcana check. And we need both of them to make it, because what I'm doing is tough.
It was also easier for us to narrate effectively. Basically, once the results were in, I'd narrate briefly what this meant to the overall situation (how it had changed), and then the players can chime in with any relevant details that weren't apparent from their statement of intent earlier. Since each player knows in step #3 who succeeded and who failed, their narration can take into account something other than themselves. Often, I have to provide all of the linking narration, but with this method, the players can contribute here.
Finally, and this might not apply to everyone, for us this removed some analysis paralysis. Planning is done during step #1. Once the dice are grasped, planning is officially over. No freaking out over the elf's roll and trying to change your mind. I don't know why this never occurred to me before. Simultaneous combat has long been an option that worked for some groups to stop analysis paralysis. So of course it can work the same way with a group engaged in a bunch of skills.
