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<blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5437030" data-attributes="member: 42582">Your reference here is not to the example of play, but the descrition of the skill challenge preceding it.You read it as a set of restrictions. I read it as analagous to a GM's encounter notes - the GM has described a set up, and made some notes as to the likely options the players will choose for their PCs, and how these might play out. It's a bit like the sample scenarios at the back of the narrator's book for HeroWars, which describe some scenarios, the contests that are likely to arise within them, and how a GM might handle them being played out.The most striking thing here is that the GM has decided that the first time a PC succeeds in generating some sympathy from the NPC (via successful use of the diplomacy skill), the NPC will reflect on a relevant historical fact, which the PCs can then build upon to further get the NPC onside. This is analgous to notes for a dungeon room that say &quot;Orlaf the ogre will genrally attack, but if a PC attempts to parley by mentioning that s/he once new Orlaf's brother Rolaf, Orlaf will delay his attacks by at least one round.&quot;Some people thinks those sorts of encounter notes help play. Others don't. Personally I don't mind making a few such notes in advance, if I think of something that seems like it will be interesting at the table. I've never prepared a skill challenge in the same degree of detail as the publihsed examples do, but then in nearly 30 years of GMing I've never written up a location in the same degree of detail as published modules do, either.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="pemerton, post: 5437030, member: 42582"] Your reference here is not to the example of play, but the descrition of the skill challenge preceding it. You read it as a set of restrictions. I read it as analagous to a GM's encounter notes - the GM has described a set up, and made some notes as to the likely options the players will choose for their PCs, and how these might play out. It's a bit like the sample scenarios at the back of the narrator's book for HeroWars, which describe some scenarios, the contests that are likely to arise within them, and how a GM might handle them being played out. The most striking thing here is that the GM has decided that the first time a PC succeeds in generating some sympathy from the NPC (via successful use of the diplomacy skill), the NPC will reflect on a relevant historical fact, which the PCs can then build upon to further get the NPC onside. This is analgous to notes for a dungeon room that say "Orlaf the ogre will genrally attack, but if a PC attempts to parley by mentioning that s/he once new Orlaf's brother Rolaf, Orlaf will delay his attacks by at least one round." Some people thinks those sorts of encounter notes help play. Others don't. Personally I don't mind making a few such notes in advance, if I think of something that seems like it will be interesting at the table. I've never prepared a skill challenge in the same degree of detail as the publihsed examples do, but then in nearly 30 years of GMing I've never written up a location in the same degree of detail as published modules do, either. [/QUOTE]

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