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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pemerton" data-source="post: 5424249" data-attributes="member: 42582">Agreed. Where I see skill challenges as differing is only in the imposition of a structure which (i) sets caps on difficulty that are level-governed, and (ii) sets a limit on the number of successes or failures required to actually wrap the situation up and bring the conflict within it to a resolution. The effects on play of this structure, however, are (in my view) quite far reaching. As a result of (i), the game takes on a bit less of a simulationist and a bit more of a "narrate the world to fit the mechanics" feel (like some indie games eg HeroQuest). As a result of (ii), the GM has to be able to narrate the results of the unfolding skill checks so that resolution in one fashion or another emerges smoothly out of a finite and fixed number of such narrations. (Again, this resembles some indie games eg HeroQuest).In my own GMing experience, I have found (i) quite straightforward and even in some ways liberating (it makes a big change from Rolemaster, which I use to GM before 4e). On the other hand, I continue to find (ii) a challenge. It very much improves my own handling of encounter pacing, but it has put pressure on me to improve my skills in narrating the outcomes of players' action resolution attempts, keeping the action moving while not shutting the door to a resoultion that might be just one or two skill checks away.Not every would agree with this advice, but I have found two sources of guidance invaluable: rulebooks for indie games with similar mechanical systems (especially HeroQuest and Burning Wheel); and essays and posts on The Forge that talk about some of the basic techniques of non-simulationist play. Without both of these, I doubt that I could have worked out simply by reading the DMG and DMG2 how to successfully set up and run a skill challenge, because these D&D books don't identify and discuss the consequences I've identified above of adopting the skill challenge structure.</blockquote>

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