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<blockquote data-quote="Camelot" data-source="post: 4967962" data-attributes="member: 82617">I don't think you should revert to being transparent.&nbsp; I know I never do that, and it works out fine.&nbsp; It's a pleasant surprise for the players when they get XP for what they thought were just some skill checks and roleplaying!&nbsp;Here are some of my thoughts as to how you can adapt to your players in medias res.&nbsp; When they all want to roll the same skill check, you can approach it in a number of ways.&nbsp; If they want to talk about it as a group, you can have them all roll, then give them a success if at least half the group succeeds or a failure if less than half succeeds.&nbsp; If you want only one player to make the check, you can discourage others from trying as well by saying that making a bad check could lead the group in the wrong direction, subtley hinting that a failed check gives the group a failure.&nbsp; For example, when a character makes a Nature check to find the farms, and another character speaks up saying he'd like to do the same, tell him, &quot;You could, but you don't know as much about Nature as the other character, so if you were to speak up, you might confuse the group by arguing with the other character, which might result in you not being able to find the farms.&quot;&nbsp; The character would hopefully rethink his actions after that.&nbsp;You told your players ahead of time how skill challenges would be run, and they agreed to it, so there should be no arguement about it later.&nbsp; If everyone agrees that, in practice, such a policy is not ideal, then maybe you should consider changing it.&nbsp; However, don't change your rules just because the players want it to be easier to win.&nbsp; Change the rules so that your players will have more fun.&nbsp;The Dungeon Master's Guide 2 builds a lot on skill challenges from the first DMG.&nbsp; I highly recommend it for DMs and players alike.&nbsp; It will help you design skill challenges to avoid situations like these and give you tips to combat unruly players while still letting them have fun.&nbsp; The best is the &quot;Yes, and...&quot; trick.&nbsp; When a player asks if she can make a check that you don't want them to make, let them make it, but instead of adding a failure, maybe make the group stumble across a monster's lair, or have them lose healing surges for getting lost.&nbsp; Or, let them complete their goal, but it doesn't turn out how they expected.&nbsp; &quot;Yes, you find the ancient ruins, however, all the treasure has been stolen or moved, and kobolds now live here.&quot;&nbsp; Feel free to stretch your skill challenges out over long periods, even interrupting them with combat or other skill challenges.&nbsp;I've rambled on long enough, so I think you get my point.&nbsp; I hope I was of help.&nbsp; Good luck with your game!</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Camelot, post: 4967962, member: 82617"] I don't think you should revert to being transparent. I know I never do that, and it works out fine. It's a pleasant surprise for the players when they get XP for what they thought were just some skill checks and roleplaying! Here are some of my thoughts as to how you can adapt to your players in medias res. When they all want to roll the same skill check, you can approach it in a number of ways. If they want to talk about it as a group, you can have them all roll, then give them a success if at least half the group succeeds or a failure if less than half succeeds. If you want only one player to make the check, you can discourage others from trying as well by saying that making a bad check could lead the group in the wrong direction, subtley hinting that a failed check gives the group a failure. For example, when a character makes a Nature check to find the farms, and another character speaks up saying he'd like to do the same, tell him, "You could, but you don't know as much about Nature as the other character, so if you were to speak up, you might confuse the group by arguing with the other character, which might result in you not being able to find the farms." The character would hopefully rethink his actions after that. You told your players ahead of time how skill challenges would be run, and they agreed to it, so there should be no arguement about it later. If everyone agrees that, in practice, such a policy is not ideal, then maybe you should consider changing it. However, don't change your rules just because the players want it to be easier to win. Change the rules so that your players will have more fun. The Dungeon Master's Guide 2 builds a lot on skill challenges from the first DMG. I highly recommend it for DMs and players alike. It will help you design skill challenges to avoid situations like these and give you tips to combat unruly players while still letting them have fun. The best is the "Yes, and..." trick. When a player asks if she can make a check that you don't want them to make, let them make it, but instead of adding a failure, maybe make the group stumble across a monster's lair, or have them lose healing surges for getting lost. Or, let them complete their goal, but it doesn't turn out how they expected. "Yes, you find the ancient ruins, however, all the treasure has been stolen or moved, and kobolds now live here." Feel free to stretch your skill challenges out over long periods, even interrupting them with combat or other skill challenges. I've rambled on long enough, so I think you get my point. I hope I was of help. Good luck with your game! [/QUOTE]

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