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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 3255059" data-attributes="member: 3424">In his <a href="http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/ab/20060728a" target="_blank">Adventure Builder</a> article, Wolfgang Baur mentioned various challenges that could be put into an adventure. Essentially (paraphrasing, not quoting):1. Skill Encounters: Creatures or obstacles that can be defeated by stealth or skill. 2. Pure Combats: No-negotiation, straight-up combats. 3. Magical Challenges: Challenges that can be overcome with a spell, or a spellcaster skill such as Knowledge, Concentration or Spellcraft. 4. Divine Challenges: Challenges that can be overcome with undead turning, Knowledge (Religion), or Knowledge (Nature). 5. Puzzles or Traps: Challenges that can be overcome by the party rogue, or puzzles that the party can solve. 6. Roleplaying Encounters: Challenge that can be overcome by the right social skills, bribes, exchange of services, or clever conversation. 7. Mook Encounters: Combats against many weak foes that play to Cleave and area-effect spells. 8. Bigger Fish: Overwhelming encounters that the party can't handle without serious risk of a total party kill.However, the classification of some of these challenges are rather party-role specific. For example, "arcane" and "divine" challenges are meant for arcane and divine spellcasters, "trap" encounters are meant for rogues, "roleplaying" encounters meant for bards, etc.If you ignored party roles and simply focused on the types of challenges, how many different types can you think of? Offhand, I've managed to come up with the following:1. Combat: This includes a wide variety of combat challenges, including straightforward fights, battles with creatures using special abilities, mook encounters, etc. 2. Bypass Obstacle: Challenges that can be overcome by skills such as Balance, Climb, Open Lock, Jump, and Swim, and similar spells and abilities. 3. Persuasion: Challenges that can be overcome by skills such as Bluff, Diplomacy, and Intimidate, and similar spells and abilities. Roleplaying encounters can be lumped under this category. 4. Acquire Information: Challenges that can be overcome by skills such as Decipher Script, Gather Information, Listen, Knowledge, Search, Sense Motive, Speak Language, Spot and Spellcraft, and similar spells and abilities. Puzzles can be put under this category. 5. Stealth: Challenges that can be overcome by skills such as Disguise, Forgery, Hide, and Move Silently, and similar spells and abilities. 6. Endurance: Dangers that cannot be detected or avoided (in parties without a rogue or some other character with Trapfinding, traps would fall under this category), and must be mitigated by skills such as Heal and Survival, defensive and curative spells and abilities, or simply by having good saving throws or a large number of hit points.Are there any other types of challenges that you can think of?</blockquote>

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