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Why I like skill challenges as a noncombat resolution mechanic
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<blockquote data-quote="calprinicus" data-source="post: 5976724" data-attributes="member: 6696956"><p>There are many ways to handle narrative events. I know my group prefers to actually just roleplay it out without any mechanics behind the scenes, which is fine. However these can be done just as easy with a mechanic for those that prefer that method.</p><p></p><p>Note: At the end of each round the DM throws in hazards and decision points that are not related to what the players say. These can be planned out by the DM prior to the event taking place.</p><p></p><p>--------------</p><p></p><p>Events are all handled the same way. For this example lets do a standard event. There are 3 rounds to complete this event, If at the end of the third round the PCs haven't completed the event, the PCs fail. There are also 3 players, giving a total of 45 hp (5hp per player per round) to the Event.</p><p></p><p>Example Premise:</p><p>"The players are given a appointment with the King at Dinner! The event is to inform the King about a gang of barbaric Dragonborn that taking over one of the villages on the edge of the kingdom. You have been sent to convince the King of this worthy cause inorder to gather reinforcements to help slay the troublesome Dragonborn"</p><p></p><p>Win Condition: "The King agrees to the cause! He sends reinforcements. This will make the fights against the Dragonborn easier when you return."</p><p></p><p>Lose Condition: "King is not persuaded. You may have to complete a separate task for the king before he helps you, or return only to take on the dragonborn by yourself which is a harder CR. (DM's Choice)"</p><p></p><p><strong>ROUND 1:</strong></p><p></p><p>* All players discuss a plan of action with each other *</p><p></p><p>Player 1: </p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• "I want to Persuade the king that his reach as ruler is so great that even the people in the country follow his words, however these people are also now in trouble as a band of dragonborn are now attacking their homes. They wish for your help our Majesty". </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a Diplomancy check, and succeeds. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• DM determines it's "helpful", and tells him to roll 2d6. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls 9 damage, reducing the event to 36.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>(The DM might choose add dialog from the King throughout the event, i will not for this example)</p><p></p><p>Player 2:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " I want to use spell my dancing lights and ghost sounds to make an illusion of vicious dragonborn slaying helpless women and children with no defenses as Player 1 gives his speech."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls Arcana as he casts the spell, but fails.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM says: "The illusion is blurry and too abstract for the king to understand, which only distracts from Player 1's speach. No Roll."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>Player 3:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " I want to use History to see if there are events like this in the past where a King didn't help those in need and it caused trouble for the ruler afterwards."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls History and is successful</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM says "There was such an event about a band of goblins who assembled and ended up taking out 3 hamlets in their destructive rampage."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM determines this is "helpful" and tells the player to roll 2d6 dice. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a 8, reducing the event to 28.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>DM:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• "As you negotiate at Dinner, the wine and beer have an effect on those drinking it (increasing the difficulty of the checks against a sober king). One of the King's assistants however begins to choke on his food."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p><strong>ROUND 2</strong></p><p></p><p>* All players discuss a plan of action with each other *</p><p></p><p>PLAYER 3: (There is no real turn order)</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " Without delay I run up behind the assistant, wrap my arms around his gut, and preform the Heimlich"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a basic STR check and succeeds.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM determines this is "helpful" to the event, and tells him to roll 2d6.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a 5 reducing the event to 23.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>Player 2:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " I want to intimidate the king that without support from the king, the town people will lose faith in their ruler and look else where for support (he mentions the rival kingdom also close to village's terratory)"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls an intimidation check and it was successful.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM determines that the mention of his rival over his controlled terratory is "very helpful", he tells the player to roll 3d6.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a 15, reducing the event to 8.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>Player 1:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " Well since your illusion didn't work I want to use the food from around the table to be used as visuals to help aid illustrate the distance of king's territory in relation to the village and rival kingdom."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He a Dexterity as he quickly grabs food and shapes it. it was successful.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM determines that the king sees this as child's play and that it is "not very helpful", roll 1d6.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a 2, reducing the event to 6.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>DM:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">•" The Vizier overhears the conversation and stands next to the King whispering into his ear. The king announces that the troops are to be sent off for much needed training and they cannot afford soldiers for this mission unless it's an emergency to the kingdom."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p><strong>ROUND 3</strong></p><p></p><p>* All players discuss a plan of action with each other *</p><p></p><p>Player 1:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " I want to use Diplomancy to influence that there is no better training than real combat. He should just send the troops to the village for 'Real' training."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• Player 3 interrupts:</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• "I want to help Player 1 on his action to sending the trainies to the village"</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• Player 1 rolls his check and it fails (probably from the penalty of the wine of both players being a little drunk).</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM says: "The King knows better than to send trainies into the heat of battle. No Roll."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>Player 2:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• " I want to roll a bluff check saying that his rival will probably gladly send troops in return for rule of the land you refuse to help."</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a bluff check and is successful.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• The DM Decides that this is very helpful and tells the player to roll 3d6, however using his rival as leverage was already used, so he only deals half damage.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">• He rolls a 14, dealing 7 damage, completing the event.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>The win condition is triggered since they completed the event before the third round ended.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="calprinicus, post: 5976724, member: 6696956"] There are many ways to handle narrative events. I know my group prefers to actually just roleplay it out without any mechanics behind the scenes, which is fine. However these can be done just as easy with a mechanic for those that prefer that method. Note: At the end of each round the DM throws in hazards and decision points that are not related to what the players say. These can be planned out by the DM prior to the event taking place. -------------- Events are all handled the same way. For this example lets do a standard event. There are 3 rounds to complete this event, If at the end of the third round the PCs haven't completed the event, the PCs fail. There are also 3 players, giving a total of 45 hp (5hp per player per round) to the Event. Example Premise: "The players are given a appointment with the King at Dinner! The event is to inform the King about a gang of barbaric Dragonborn that taking over one of the villages on the edge of the kingdom. You have been sent to convince the King of this worthy cause inorder to gather reinforcements to help slay the troublesome Dragonborn" Win Condition: "The King agrees to the cause! He sends reinforcements. This will make the fights against the Dragonborn easier when you return." Lose Condition: "King is not persuaded. You may have to complete a separate task for the king before he helps you, or return only to take on the dragonborn by yourself which is a harder CR. (DM's Choice)" [B]ROUND 1:[/B] * All players discuss a plan of action with each other * Player 1: [INDENT] • "I want to Persuade the king that his reach as ruler is so great that even the people in the country follow his words, however these people are also now in trouble as a band of dragonborn are now attacking their homes. They wish for your help our Majesty". • He rolls a Diplomancy check, and succeeds. • DM determines it's "helpful", and tells him to roll 2d6. • He rolls 9 damage, reducing the event to 36. [/INDENT] (The DM might choose add dialog from the King throughout the event, i will not for this example) Player 2: [INDENT] • " I want to use spell my dancing lights and ghost sounds to make an illusion of vicious dragonborn slaying helpless women and children with no defenses as Player 1 gives his speech." • He rolls Arcana as he casts the spell, but fails. • The DM says: "The illusion is blurry and too abstract for the king to understand, which only distracts from Player 1's speach. No Roll." [/INDENT] Player 3: [INDENT] • " I want to use History to see if there are events like this in the past where a King didn't help those in need and it caused trouble for the ruler afterwards." • He rolls History and is successful • The DM says "There was such an event about a band of goblins who assembled and ended up taking out 3 hamlets in their destructive rampage." • The DM determines this is "helpful" and tells the player to roll 2d6 dice. • He rolls a 8, reducing the event to 28. [/INDENT] DM: [INDENT] • "As you negotiate at Dinner, the wine and beer have an effect on those drinking it (increasing the difficulty of the checks against a sober king). One of the King's assistants however begins to choke on his food." [/INDENT] [B]ROUND 2[/B] * All players discuss a plan of action with each other * PLAYER 3: (There is no real turn order) [INDENT] • " Without delay I run up behind the assistant, wrap my arms around his gut, and preform the Heimlich" • He rolls a basic STR check and succeeds. • The DM determines this is "helpful" to the event, and tells him to roll 2d6. • He rolls a 5 reducing the event to 23. [/INDENT] Player 2: [INDENT] • " I want to intimidate the king that without support from the king, the town people will lose faith in their ruler and look else where for support (he mentions the rival kingdom also close to village's terratory)" • He rolls an intimidation check and it was successful. • The DM determines that the mention of his rival over his controlled terratory is "very helpful", he tells the player to roll 3d6. • He rolls a 15, reducing the event to 8. [/INDENT] Player 1: [INDENT] • " Well since your illusion didn't work I want to use the food from around the table to be used as visuals to help aid illustrate the distance of king's territory in relation to the village and rival kingdom." • He a Dexterity as he quickly grabs food and shapes it. it was successful. • The DM determines that the king sees this as child's play and that it is "not very helpful", roll 1d6. • He rolls a 2, reducing the event to 6. [/INDENT] DM: [INDENT] •" The Vizier overhears the conversation and stands next to the King whispering into his ear. The king announces that the troops are to be sent off for much needed training and they cannot afford soldiers for this mission unless it's an emergency to the kingdom." [/INDENT] [B]ROUND 3[/B] * All players discuss a plan of action with each other * Player 1: [INDENT] • " I want to use Diplomancy to influence that there is no better training than real combat. He should just send the troops to the village for 'Real' training." • Player 3 interrupts: • "I want to help Player 1 on his action to sending the trainies to the village" • Player 1 rolls his check and it fails (probably from the penalty of the wine of both players being a little drunk). • The DM says: "The King knows better than to send trainies into the heat of battle. No Roll." [/INDENT] Player 2: [INDENT] • " I want to roll a bluff check saying that his rival will probably gladly send troops in return for rule of the land you refuse to help." • He rolls a bluff check and is successful. • The DM Decides that this is very helpful and tells the player to roll 3d6, however using his rival as leverage was already used, so he only deals half damage. • He rolls a 14, dealing 7 damage, completing the event. [/INDENT] The win condition is triggered since they completed the event before the third round ended. [/QUOTE]
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