Category: 4e DnD
The encounter grind
I’m playing with a smaller group with 3 characters right now. Despite the ‘ideal’ D&D party being 5 players. I suspect having a group that big really leads to the encounter grind. This seems to creep up in the game where a combat stops being an exciting tactical challenge and slowly grinds to a halt over long, arduous combats. I’ve seen a lot of people blog or post about solutions to the grind. But overall I think a big problem is that speedy, efficient combat flies in the face of larger parties.
4ED combat really has a lot going on. All monsters have special abilities and attacks. WOTC seems to implore DMs start throwing in neat environments and hazards to spice up combat encounters. More importantly, players now have a ton of tactical options at their fingertips. They really have to spend a little more time planning out their actions for a turn. Because there are so many decisions and so much going on, I really think smaller parties have a better time at it.
3 people is doable, but I feel the true ‘ideal’ party is 4 players. Have each one take a different role and you have a solid combat unit. The 3-4 character party allows for just enough XP to budget an encounter with interesting monsters, while keeping things small enough to get combats over in a reasonable time. Adding more folks sounds great, but in reality I think it just help make fights drag to a crawl. And keeping everyone engaged with what is happening becomes a challenge.
There are a few things I’ve been tweaking with though. I’ve been tinkering with removing 25% of the HP off of the monster totals, especially with brutes and solos. For non-elite/non-brute types, I’ll typically make sure bonus damage for their standard attacks is at least 1/2 their level. This means fights end a bit faster, while keeping the teeth in a monster’s attack.
Another key point is designing encounters with a mix of roles and trying to incorporate minions when I can. I try to avoid a lot of fights with solo monsters. And if running with a brute, I’ll try to throw in artillery types rather than melee skirmishers or soldiers (although a few lurkers with a brute can work well if you want a meaty melee fight). I tend to mix in more artillery types than controllers, as I think controllers usually drag the fights out a little. Yet, I think controllers work wonders with lowly minions and can make for an interesting combat, while doing the same controller combo with soldiers or skirmishers can make things a tad bit of a grind.
One last thing I do when making encounters is using creatures that are as close to the level as the PCs as much as possible. When you throw that +7 lvl monster out as a solo encounter expect a long, drag out fight, even if the exp budget works out. Keeping the monsters closer to the group’s level means the abilities and defenses scale up a little better. If players face a chunk of HP and a high AC to boot, you are going not get an exciting battle, but a multiple-round dicefest of ‘miss, miss, hit, miss’ that will slow the action to a crawl.
A way to get around that is just mix it up and throw a few other creatures into the encounter. Don’t be tempted to just plop down a single monster and call the encounter a solo fight. Get something a little closer to the party level and throw in some lowbie creatures to fill out the budget. Then you have your big baddie, plus a few smaller minion-types fluttering around in the background to harass the players. It’ll make things more engaging and avoid the slugfest of the entire party just repeatedly hacking away at the lone monster in the middle of the room.
Are you getting the combat grind in your games?
WOTC reworking skill challenges?
Double post day (WOOT!), but I wanted to quickly get something out before this becomes old news.
Dungeon has a new article up on designing skill challenges. I’m glad they put stuff out like this. I like the concept of skill challenges, but it is clear that the system originally put out in the core 4E books needed a little refining. A lot of posts, blogs, and general buzzing on the internet covers this topic a lot.
The folks at WOTC have made some suggestions working skill challenges. I do like the general idea of breaking up epic tasks into small skill challenges. I also like the idea of the article that failures and successes can effect further checks. It gives the DM a lot of solid ideas for designing and running wilderness skill challenges themselves.
I’m a fan of variants on the 4E system, but a small part of the article threw me a bit:
‘Each time the characters make a check as part of the skill challenge, roll a d20. If the DM’s d20 result exceeds the player’s d20 roll for the skill check, the characters encounter something in the forest. Remember to compare only the die rolls; ignore all modifiers.
You can roll a d6 to determine the encounter, or you can pick one from the list below.’
Okay, again I can see putting this out there. It is a small tweak to how skill challenges run. What bothers me is how completely tacked on it seems. As put forth in the article, the players either succeed getting to their destination, or they end up outside the forest. So it becomes and binary result (successfully navigate the woods or lost outside).
What is then suggested, from the quote above, is throwing a wrench into the whole challenge by having other random encounters. What I don’t get is why not have these encounters part of the overall challenge? How about for every failure the players get during the challenge, a potential encounter can happen. Or if the players barely meet the conditions to win the challenge, they run into an encounter. If they exceeded the number of successes, they would have bypassed it.
I’m all for variants and suggestions for modifying skill challenges. But I really wish WOTC would make an effort to show us how skill challenges can work, without having to bring forth all these kinks and changes. By doing so I think it reinforces the notion that skill challenges, as written in the DMG, are clunky and need to be reworked. When I see stuff like this, it gives an indication the mechanics need a little more tweaking.
I guess with the release of the DMG2, we can expect a lot more on skill challenges. So if you have been trying to run skill challenges straight out of the DMG, and having some difficulty. If, by following suggestions in the DMG, you just can’t quite get a challenge designed to work the way you want. Or you receive a lackluster response from your players while running one. Don’t fret. It’s clear to me WOTC doesn’t seem happy with how skill challenges are presented either.
You all start in a tavern…
I’ve started many campaigns with players bumping into each other over a tankard of ale at the local tavern. Almost too many I think. It became a long standing joke back in my old AD&D days with my players. It is not a horrible way to start a campaign, but it takes a bit of time getting everyone introduced and willing to work with each other.
I find players are usually a forgiving lot on this point. They may all have their individual desires and motivations, but at the same time they all metagame. They all know they are sitting around a table and wanting to play D&D. So already they know they have to at least try to work together, especially for that first session.
Return to Northmoor is a great D&D podcast I listen to. It handled the initial session in an interesting way. Their 1st session the players sketched out their relations with key NPCs, each other, and their own reasons for why they were there. In effect they all were associated with each other, and all had a similar impetus to strike out on an adventure if the opportunity arises. It’s a great idea. Plus for a DM they can spend more time planning an adventure, rather than wracking their brains trying to come up with a plausible reason why a rag tag group of heroes would want to group in the first place.
Establishing a campaign where the players already have a relationship with each other is a great way to start. You don’t need to spend an excessive amount of time and planning to get a group formed up. They are set from the start, and can head off to explore. I’ve been trying a few things with new campaigns and it has made those initial sessions a bit more focused on a
dventure, rather than a meet-and-greet at the local tavern.
You all know each other – It can be a precursory meeting in the past, or a long standing friendship. This point is solid though, all the players have had some interaction with each other in the past. This helps bury group distrust among characters from the start. Why would a fighter trudge along after some unknown wizard and rogue, to investigate an old crypt in the first place? If they’ve initially known each other, this becomes an easier scenario to imagine.
Your secret impression of 2 other players – Each player has some secret thoughts on other players. Maybe they think the paladin is a blowhard, pompous do-gooder. Maybe they have a crush on the Deva. This is material the DM can use to push and pull the players in certain directions as the game unfolds. The usefulness of this can vary (especially if all the players secretly respect each other), but sometimes as a DM players will surprise how far they take this.
2 secrets about yourself that you want no one to know – Again, more fodder for future story arcs and adventure. This can have a very dynamic effect combined with the previous situation. Maybe that holier-than-thou paladin had a hedonistic past? Maybe the Deva, subject to a player’s crush, in turn loved their grandmother (/insert soap opera music here). This is an excellent source for molding the dynamics of the group after a few sessions.
The DM assigns 1 of these secrets to be known by another player – This is optional, but can be a real doozy for a group. Take one of those 2 deep, dark, hidden secrets that each player has opened up to the DM, and quietly pass that information on to another in the group. Now you have a party that really knows a lot more about each other. Where they take it depends a little on the DM, and a lot on each other.
I like using these tools. From the start you have a group of people that have quickly established relationships with each other. More importantly the DM has a good sketch of the personal dynamics of the party. They can find material there to have plenty of hooks for other adventures. Also they have some tools to predict how players will react in certain situations.
That is it for about now, what do other folks use to get their group together?
Thoughts: Eberron Player’s Guide
Being in Asia I typically end up getting many of the new releases months after they hit the US market. Of course between traveling and being generally a little lazy with reviewing new WTOC material, I typically have an even longer lag time. After all the Eberron campaign guide was released last month. Hee… I’ll post my thoughts anyway.
I like the Eberron campaign setting. I like the swashbuckler adventuring feel, with plenty of noir plopped on. Plus the concept of magic as a trade is interesting. The more ‘modern’ influences resulting from this magic concept on the campaign world makes it stand apart a bit from other traditional fantasy settings.
One thing that makes this book a little different from the Forgotten Realms setting, is how much has remained the same from the previous edition after being revamped for 4E. Forgotten Realms made a lot of drastic changes to the world landscape. So much so, you could consider 4E Forgotten Realms almost a reboot of that setting. Eberron has taken a simpler approach and just refined a lot of the mechanics to reflect 4E changes. As such, the world has not changed much from 3.5 which I consider to be a good thing as it makes it tons easier to port an existing campaign over to 4E.
Because of this similarity to the previous edition, I want to just sketch out a few things I got from the Player’s Guide:
Races – Changelings, Warforged, and Kalshtar all are detailed. For the most part I feel changelings and warforged have interesting abilities. I think both of them will offer some dynamic character possibilities. The kalashtar however are a little lacking. They have a means of mental telepathy which is neat, but their racial power is a little lackluster. It is clear the race screams psion class, but I think without that rule set in concrete (aside from Dragon play test rules) the race is a little limited in potential.
Artificers – I’m liking this class. It is nice to see another arcane leader option provided. Particularly I like the extended semi-daily powers of healing infusions. Artificers get a dynamic heal/buff that can be recharged through using healing surges after a short rest (making them effectively encounter powers). What is particularly neat is that any player can donate these surges. So the entire burden is not on the artificer to keep healing infusions going, it can be spread around a bit (especially that one guy that always seems to get though fights without a scratch).
Feats and Dragonmarks – Lots of new options and dragonmarks provide some interesting abilities. Another neat point about dragonmark feats is access to specific rituals, without needing the ritual caster feat. Dragonmarks are also not tied down to racial prerequisites. For maintaining the feel of the campaign, being a racial outsider having such a feat should have a lot of repercussions in game. I suspect it will impact campaigns differently, depending on the DM, but I’m fine with that.
The Good – There is a lot a basic information and background to flesh out a campaign. I think they provide a lot of ideas for the player to whip up a personality and bio that fits the setting. They also give a lot of thoughts on the theme of the campaign, and I think it helps both the DM and players ease into the setting, providing some solid guidance on what makes Eberron different from traditional fantasy worlds.
I think enough detail on the political and social structure of the world is provided, so that both DMs and players can get a hold of the fantasy-noir aspect of the game. It is great that enough detail is given to run a game and get people excited about Eberron without requiring the campaign guide.
The Bad – However some things are a little skimmed over. I find a lack of a proper player map disappointing. The provided map is okay, but printed so small much of the detailed settlements are illegible. Having a larger, simplified map with clear regional borders would have been a good addition. I can see keeping a super detailed map for the campaign book, but a larger player-oriented map would have been nice.
Adding to this point is the player regional backgrounds. Over all I think the section is good, as it gives players a good snapshot of each region, with plenty of ideas to fit their character into it. But having a small mapped portion like the Forgotten Realms player guide would have been pleasant.
I’m also disappointed artwork was not provided for some of the player equipment, especially the weapons. Some of the descriptions are rather lacking. If they can provide a full page spread of example player travel documents, a simple black and white sketch of the weapons would have been a plus.
It is also too bad other details like lizard mounts of the Talenta Plains are totally missing. Okay, keep the stats for the campaign guide, but some simple fluff text with artwork would have been fine. Right now there are hints eluded to dinosaur-like mounts, but no concrete details. Bleah…
The Verdict – A good purchase with enough meat to allow players to run a 4E Eberron campaign. Even if a DM had no interest in running the setting I would consider picking up the book. The new races and especially the artificer allow for some interesting options that would be a good edition to an existing campaign. Plus the concept of the dragonmark feats might add a little spice to a homebrew setting without too much alteration.
The group ends victorious! Now how did they get there?
Dave Chalker over at Critical Hits has his 5X5 method to flesh out a campaign, and it is a pretty neat idea. The skinny on it is taking 5 major quests, then assigning 5 steps (mini-quests) to complete each major quest. You end up having enough quests out there with players running all over the world doing different things. All at the same time however, the group is ‘on the map’ of the DM storyline, despite the possibility of them being all over the place geographically with various plots and quests. Pretty neat stuff.
That got me thinking of ways to sketch out a campaign. Usually it is easy enough for me to get the big idea of a campaign, identifying the main villains as the ‘Who’ and their nefarious plans as the ‘What’. I typically then fill in the ‘How’ with a series of quests and tasks the villains are set to complete as different branches converge. The PCs then are led into certain encounters to thwart them at those steps. Sometimes the group succeeds, and sometimes they fail (leading to further branches in the story arc). Those results then morph the overall plans of the villains until things boil to some conclusion ending the campaign (or at least that major arc).
Now for a lot of fun, I try to keep 2-3 major milestones of the villains going at once. So that continually, players have a few choices to make. I try to set things up so they have opportunities to foil all the different villain’s plans, but sometimes give a hard choice of an either/or situation. It works pretty well, but it makes it a little harder to recover if they really go off the track and in a completely different direction. Things can get a little convoluted.
Another big problem I tend to have is getting a tidy ending to the story. Things are sketched out, but the details are usually lacking. I sort of like this as the campaign has an organic feel to it, constantly growing and adapting to the characters actions as they progress. Overall there is a general theme and a main plot, but it is more of an outline rather than a strict doctrine.
Granted if you have a lot of time to run your campaign, it can be fun. However, if you know you are running a game for a set amount of time (say over summer break, or for 6 months), you might want that strict outline for a campaign. In that case, you may want to lay out exactly where the characters should be after X amount of sessions in the campaign.
Another way to think about plotting a campaign is assume the players have won at each step. Rather than think what the villains are planning to do, approach the story that the characters have all ready been successful foiling them at the campaign end. Now it is just a matter of working backwards to see how they got there, and figure out at what other previous steps were they successful.
So the group has defeated the huge villain and lived happily ever after. They arrived at that point by stopping the villain from casting ritual Z. They found out about the ritual from exploring dungeon Y. They found out about the dungeon as they had managed to foil the villain from obtaining artifact X, etc.
This leads to a very linear story, but if the players get off track it is easy to jump back on. You simply work on a few side quests to move them onto the next plot point. Failure is always an option, but you have a good guideline where the players can slide into the main storyline (and still keep everything on track). The biggest challenge is just figuring out a new way to give them an opportunity to succeed at the next plot in the campaign. For a campaign on a tight timeline, I might have to give this a whirl.
I am a Luddite, but I’m Trying to Change…
WOTC has released a beta of their new monster builder on their website a few days ago. I do have a subscription to D&D Insider and find it a pretty useful service. For the most part however still was running many of my games away from the PC. I cut my teeth on gaming when PCs were not in every household and everything was done with pencil, paper and at best, a calculator.
I’m trying to break away from that though. I’m starting to use an excel sheet to track initiative, HP and such. I’m starting to write up my adventures as word docs and using maps I’ve scanned in. But I am not quite there yet. I still keep many of my NPCs on index cards. I still use markers to indicate status effects. I still roll dice myself (I tend to make my rolls out in the open for players to see). I’m trying to change but 30+ years of gaming has settled me into habits that are hard to break.
There are a lot of useful tools out there too, especially for adventure prep. Dungeon Mastering has a lot of tools for building encounters, monsters, traps and the like. They require a signup to access but it is free. They also have quite a few links to other useful sites.
Asmore.com still has a monster and encounter builder at their site, but with limited support as WOTC have released their own versions. Still I found their monster builder pretty useful and liked their encounter builder if I needed something in a pinch.
Obsidian Portal is something else I am using as a handy campaign reference and planning tool. I’ve found I’m starting to use that for tracking my NPCs and key campaign plots. Likely I’ll post more on that later as it has a lot of uses.
There are a lot of computer resources available now for running games. I’ve been limiting my use of them and concentrating more on the adventure prep tools. I’m still a fan of having monster profiles printed out and handy for me to scrawl over with a pencil. I like adding a few post-it notes to my written adventures as I plod along during a game. I still do not like clicking a mouse when rolling 3d6.
I’m a little hesitant to go completely digital. Somehow I find it rather sad to see a circle of people playing D&D, all huddled around their different laptops. I like the open interaction of players facing each other, rolling dice, and moving their figures around a battlefield with a character sheet sitting at the wayside.
I’m trying to embrace new technology. I really am. I just have old habits and prejudices I can’t seem to shake when playing D&D.
Running with New Players
I’ve had the great fortune in my current game of having some players completely new to RPGs. It has been a great feeling getting new people exposed to D&D and roleplaying in general. At the same time, things can get a little rocky. Its easy to overwhelm a new player with rules, tactics, options and choices. If you are in the situation of having a new player fold into an established group of veterans however, this can be even more daunting to the new player. I try to do a few things to make it easier.
Get them plenty of tools to learn the game – I get a copy of the quickstart rules to new players well before game night. Sending them a link via email or handing out a hard copy is a huge help to new players allowing a chance to get some of the mechanics down beforehand. During the game consider giving them a cheat sheet, especially something covering the basics of combat.
I’ve also become a huge fan of power cards. There are a lot of resources on the web. I’m a big fan of one site in particular as I can save and upload pages of cards I’ve already made. I print the cards, slap them between two self laminar sheets, cut them out, and you have a helpful play aid for a new player. I found it really helps having something physical in their hands (aside from a character sheet) to describe potential actions their character has during combat. Plus bookkeeping is minimal, as they simply hand over encounter and daily cards to the DM once they use them.
Simplify character creation – You have to be prepared to really spend some time on character creation with them, especially with the release of PHB2. There are tons of options and likely a new player is going to get overwhelmed quickly. I found a great way to approach generating a character is describing the 4 roles (defender, leader, striker, and controller) and have the player decide what role would fit thematically. Then I would give give a general description of the classes and races. Don’t bog down in stat bonuses and ditch the concept of min-maxing builds from the start. Priority should be something they enjoy playing, not that their racial bonuses are ‘THE AWESOME’ for a particular class.
I also keep several pre-gen characters on hand. If a character wants to play a dwarf cleric and I don’t have one prepared, I grab some other pre-gen cleric, scratch out any obvious racial abilities, and have the player run with it for the first session. Letting the player get a session under his belt allows him to get a feel for the game, well before making any long-lasting decisions with his character. He can then go back, shuffle around the stats, skills, and powers to fit his character a bit better.
Have a flexible first level – 4ED already allows you to retrain a particular power or feat each level. I make it a house rule that players can completely reshuffle their powers, feats, and skills after the first level. I also don’t have the players pick any perks for a background until they reach 2nd level. Sometimes they need to get a better feel for how their character works in combat. Maybe that idea of having an intimidating meathead did not work out, and they rather be a little more diplomatic fighter. I also like holding off the background bonuses to give them some time to figure out who they are after having a few RP sessions.
In game mechanic terms, maybe they realize they need to pick up another skill. Character-wise, they might realize a different motivation for their character and want to utilize a background that fits that concept better. As much as initial concepts might sound good, you really get a better idea on a character by playing it. I like being accommodating initially to allow characters to work out any kinks.
Hold off on the epic storyline for the 1st adventure (or 2) – A solo adventure is a great way to start. It is even better if the new player can run though a short session with 1-2 other players. Having a smaller group will keep the new player more actively engaged. If you shuffle him into a large group and just run with the regular campaign, likely he is going to be lost in the crowd for a few sessions. That small group for a first session will really allow the player to focus on their abilities and powers, with just enough help to figure out how they mesh in a group for future game nights.
Also, if you already have a relatively high level group. Playing a 1st level character, with a few of the veteran party members handling pre-gens, is a great way to get the new player up to speed with how game mechanics work. They can learn basic tactics, skill checks, how healing surges work, and the types of actions they can use during their round, all without getting overwhelmed by running a high level character. Consider the session as a ‘flashback’ to when the player was a relatively inexperienced adventurer. This also screams for the DM to introduce villains and other NPCs that are notable to the current campaign, and given the new guy has gotten a few lumps with similar past experiences means he can mesh a little better with the existing group in the gaming present.
That is about it for now. What other tips would folks impart about getting new players comfortable playing D&D?
Expeditions of Amazing Adventure: The Bustling Bazaar of Kashgor
The nomadic people of Kashgor are known for their fine horsemanship, hunting skills, and exotic foods. Their home is the rolling plains ripe with game and wild spices. Monthly various tribes converge to sell their wares, tell tales, and resolve any tribal issues. A temporary city arises of tents and long rows of wood-framed stalls. Throngs of people move about clamoring to sell goods typically through barter. In no more than a week the people scatter, leaving nothing behind, and the following month they congregate again in a different location.
Kashgor nomads also collect many exotic spices and dried flowers which are prized for their medicinal and arcane properties. As such many merchants from ‘civilized’ regions will seek to purchase what they can, and sell what little manufactured goods the Kashgorians desire. Deals are struck through a word and clasping of hands, but negotiations can be difficult. Kashgor nomads are proud people, quick to take offense, and demand respect of their culture and ways.
– Kashgorians will honor deals made with outsiders, but travel through their region can be dangerous. Adventurers are typically sought to offer protection to, and from, the bazaar.
– The bazaar also becomes a center for judicial matters and political bickering among tribes. It is not uncommon for outsiders to become embroiled in Kashgor affairs, typically causing some slight to a tribal leader. On rarer occasions the tribes may seek a group of outsiders to be arbitrators in a dispute (with some parties willing to secretly offer monetary ‘incentives’ to obtain a favorable ruling).
– It is rumored that some dishonorable Kashgor tribes engage in slavery. Hostages are commonly obtained in raids against rival tribes. Typically these hostages are used to negotiate for political favors against other tribes, being returned once a deal is struck. However, some whisper that a few tribes willingly sell slaves to merchants of the other lands, however unsavory most Kashgorians would find such a practice.
Fiddling with Skill Challenges: Part 2
To continue on with my tweaks to skill challenges, I’ll add a few more points on aiding others and detail the effects of critical failures and successes.
Each skill challenge I write up has a set of primary skills and secondary skills. I try to list off skills that would provide a direct solution to a challenge as the primary skills. Skills that might have an application I consider secondary skills. If players use skills from either of these sets, they gain a +1 bonus to their checks. The main difference between primary and secondary skills is that players can only assist characters making checks with primary skills.
I further tweak cooperation checks also. If players fail their roll to assist another character, they actually give the target character a -2 penalty to the current check. So players assisting another can either hinder, or help, their party members. This keeps them involved and helping towards the group passing the challenge if they don’t want to risk earning failures, but adds a small element of risk to it.
Keep in mind with everyone assisting 1-2 players, you will likely get a partial success before a complete success. Yes, this makes it easier for players to pass the challenge but typically they just barely fulfill the conditions for doing so (and get half the XP).
I use elements of critical failures and successes for rolls of a natural 1 and 20. A natural 1 automatically grants a -4 penalty to the current check, and for the next roll on the following turn. So if the current total including all modifiers (including the -4 penalty) beats the target DC, a natural 1 one can still be a success. On a natural 20, the check is automatically a success and the following turn the player can add a +4 bonus to their roll.
A quick summary for how I run my skill challenges:
• Each challenge has 3 possible results: complete success, partial success, or failure. A partial success is typically 2 less the passed checks needed for a complete success. For a trivial challenge, a partial success is 1 less (4 for a complete success, 3 for a partial success, all before getting 2 failures). A partial success is worth ½ the XP a complete success would grant.
• Challenges have 1-2 skills assigned as either primary or secondary skills. If players use these skills, they gain a +1 bonus to their check. Only players making checks with the primary skills can be assisted by other players.
• If players successfully assist a player, they grant a +2 bonus to the current check. If they fail, they grant a -2 penalty to the current check.
• A natural 1 incurs a -4 penalty to the current check, and to any rolls made the next turn. A roll of 1 may still result in a success.
• A natural 20 is an automatic success and gives a +4 bonus to a roll for the following turn.
• All the players describe their actions. The DM and players determine the likely skill used. Players then all make rolls and check their results against the target DC (modifiers from players assisting other characters are also applied). Results are tallied and then used to determine if the challenge is passed. This is repeated until a complete success, partial success, or failure is reached. Remember that all players are contributing every turn (either by assisting or making skill check attempts).
I like having layers of results for skill challenges. A key point to this is making sure that partial successes mean the players ‘just squeeze by’ claiming a victory. Typically I’d be willing not only to give an advantage for earning a complete success, but also be willing to incur some penalty for obtaining a partial success. Earning action points and taking away (or granting) healing surges work great for discriminating between a complete and partial success.
I hope a few try this out, and more importantly, give a little feedback. Later I’ll likely offer up a few key examples of this skill challenge variant in action.
Fiddling with Skill Challenges: Part 1
I like skill challenges. I like the idea they can serve as a structured framework for outlining milestones during a RP session, and more importantly, offer a set way for awarding experience. I love the idea that RPing an encounter can be rewarded with XP, similarly to cutting through a swath of kobolds. Skill challenges are a neat addition to 4ED.
Running skill challenges however is a bit clunky. I’m expecting the Dungeon Master’s Guide II having a larger section on skill challenges, including a lot of rule variations. Combined with the cooperation rule (PHB pg. 179), players can easily take a challenge that is supposed to be engaging roleplay to new heights of drudgery, rolling dice simply to give that one character with skill training the ability to trivialize any skill challenge the DM throws their way. I felt skill challenges could be tweaked a little.
There are a lot of alternate rules out there for running skill challenges. One alternate set of rules I found particularly interesting was the Obsidian system for skill challenges. But I did not want to wander too far away from the 4ED rules. I liked the ones laid out in the DM manual, but I just wanted to tweak them a little. So I took one concept from the Obsidian system and put another result in skill challenges, a Partial Success.
A partial success is a result 1-2 less from the total needed to complete a normal skill challenge. So complexity 3 skill challenges would require 8 success results for a complete success, 6-7 successful results for a partial success, and either must occur before the players tallied 4 failures (failing the challenge entirely). The exception for this would be a trivial challenge, where a partial success is simply 1 less from the total needed for a complete success (4 for a complete success, 3 for a partial success, all before getting 2 failures).
So what does a partial success mean? At its core, the players complete the challenge. They successfully negotiate a price, obtain a ritual, or make it across the desert. A complete success rewards the same thing, but they have some advantage by winning the challenge, such as getting an even better negotiated price, obtain the ritual along with components to cast it, or make it across the desert without losing any healing surges. Using a two-tiered success results allows me to give varying rewards instead of a ‘pass/fail’ result. As for experience with a partial success, I reward ½ the XP players would normally get from completing a normal skill challenge.
There is a trick to running these though. Everyone states what they are doing. The DM and players wrangle over what skills would be appropriate. Then each player rolls a D20 and checks against the challenge DC. All players roll during each round, and every roll is tallied during each turn. A success always trumps a failure after the totals are summed each turn (something that could happen with large groups even with simple challenges). I allow players to aid another player also, but I’ll put a few more details on that in the second part.
Overall, it does make skill challenges a little easier for the players. But if they really want an advantage and serious rewards, they have to push their luck making active skill checks. With a partial victory the skill challenge is a success, however they just barely fulfill the conditions for doing so (and get half the XP).
This isn’t the complete set of rules I use for skill challenges. I have a little more on primary and secondary skills needed for a challenge, plus critical failures and successes on those 20s and 1s, but I’ve outlined the framework here. Adding another tier to the challenge allows me to tinker with the rewards and outcomes. Much better than the simple ‘pass/fail’ results of the typical 4ED challenge. I hope some folks are willing to give this a spin and give their feedback.
Geek Ken 