Last post was the set up for my group to find a pirate camp. After describing the situation they deliberated a bit on what to do next.

The rogue thought she’d keep a diligent eye out to see if there was any evidence of the pirates landing their boats (passed perception check). Seeing no obvious breaks in the vegetation, they likely were still on the river. The artificer of the group decided to provide another set of eyes and see if he could discern any trail (passed perception check). He also could not make any obvious trail along either shoreline, so thought it prudent to remain on the river. The warrior of the group felt he could help in finding the trail, looking ahead (failed perception check). However he found he was unable to see anything noteworthly in the surroundings.

Turn one tally: 2 successes and 1 failure

After nearly half an hour the party found themselves at a branch in the river. One appeared to flow into low hills, while the other appeared to be drawn into a canyon, having one shoreline becoming flanked by a sharp cliff. The rogue again felt it prudent to see if she could pick up a trail (passed perception check). The artificer wondered if he could find a way to determine which branch in the river the pirates took. A nature check seemed appropriate. Passing the check the dwarf determined that the river that moved along the cliff would likely offer more defensible positions if the camp was near the shore.

The fighter decided his skills for hunting down a trail on the river would be poor. Possibly a higher vantage point might be helpful? He convinced the group to beach the boat and see if they could pick up a trail on land. I let him make a difficult athletics check. Passing with flying colors, I said he was able to scale a cliff face and get a good lay of the countryside. He was able to notice several cave entrances further down the river.

Turn two tally: 3 successes for a partial success (earning half the XP)

It was well within the night now. The group crept along the river, noticing a minute flicker of light further up. As they carefully approached, they saw a large cave entrance in the face of a cliff, with the river’s water flowing deep inside. A campfire roared deep inside, and the players felt they had finally found the pirate camp.

That’s it for now!

As part of a continuing series, I’ll be posting a few of the skill challenges I’ve run in my games. After describing the challenge goals and the mechanics of the outcomes, I’ll follow up on what the group did and how it played out.

Skill challenge goal: Find river pirate’s camp along the river.

The Setup – The river boat the group was guarding was attacked by pirates. After fending off the attack, the surviving pirates fled down a river branch on small boats. Using one of the crafts the attackers left, the group set off to pursue them, and hopefully find their base of operation. As they chased the pirates, they lodged their boat on a sandbar. Frantically trying to get the skiff dislodged, they saw their quarry round a river bend and out of sight. Several minutes later the group continued, only to lose track of the pirates. Did they pull off and head out by land? Or did they continue down river? The sun was setting and they had to move quickly to take advantage of what little light they had left.

I all ready set my mind that the players would eventually discover the pirate lair. What I wanted to determine in the skill challenge was how easy would they find it, and if they could approach the lair at an opportune time of their liking. The camp is a series of caves under a cliff that can only be approached by water. Also, I noted to the players that the surrounding countryside was dangerous and likely resting through the night would mean being attacked by some creature (3 in 4 chance of a random encounter). So taking their leisurely time to track down the pirate camp would be unwise.

Skill challenge rating: 2, moderate DC (encounter worth 2 monsters of the group’s level)

• Complete Success (6 successes) – Players manage to track down the pirate camp efficiently. They stumble across a narrow crevasse in one of the canyon walls. It would be an ideal place to rest up for the night (1 in 10 chance of a random encounter) if the group chose to. Continuing on, they discover the pirate lair in the early evening. They could move in quietly now, or rest through the night and try to attack the camp later the next day.

As they deliberate on a course of action, they see a boat creep out of the lair. Two pirates are paddling upstream to scout around. Players could dispatch them, capture and interrogate them, or let them go. Either way, the entrance encounter will be easier as some of the guards have left the camp.

• Partial Success (4-5 successes) – Players approach the pirate camp late in the evening. They have spent their reserves trying to make ground and are tired (losing 1 healing surge). Resting however, would be a dangerous option as all around them they hear the howls of beasts. They may be able to surprise the pirates, but unlikely at this late hour
• Failure (4 failures before either condition above is reached) – Players eventually come across the pirate lair early the next morning. The push through the night was tiring. Also they were harassed by particularly nasty river crayfish. While not a serious threat, some of the group suffered some nasty bruises from their powerful claws. Each player has lost 2 healing surges.Also they find the entrance to the lair guarded by a lone pirate. The element of surprise will be very difficult, and likely any pirates they find in the caves will be ready for them.

Primary Skills: Nature (+1 to rolls), as the ability to read the land and find likely locations that could hold the lair would be based on this skill. Additionally this skill can be assisted by other players.

Secondary Skills: Perception (+1 to rolls, cannot be assisted), simply being each party member carefully scanning their surroundings. As each player is busy looking for signs individually, players cannot assist each other when making this check.

That is the setup. Next post will be how it ran with my group.

A few comments from my last post on skill challenges got me agreeing that more examples for challenges are helpful. And more importantly, actual examples of resolving them would really capture how skill challenges can work. So on that theme, I thought I’d post a few examples of skill challenges that I run in my games.

First off, I have my own house rules for skill challenges. The big change is introducing a partial success. this is a step below the number of rolls needed for a complete success, and usually mean the players just barely complete the challenge. I also have a few tweaks on assisting others, critical successes and failures, but for the most part I run them pretty close to what is in the DMG. So, onto the challenge.

Skill challenge goal: Find the wizard, Nightshade

The Setup – The group are new arrivals to a city and are approached by a merchant. He requests they make an errand for him. Time is of the essence and being well recognized, he fears being seen entering the residence of Nightshade might lower public opinion of him. A ragtag group of adventurers that just arrived to the city however, would likely not draw too much attention.

Nightshade has concocted a potion for him, and is expecting someone to arrive today to pick it up. However, Nightshade is not very popular with the commoners. They all fear him and think he is mad. Being a recluse within the city doesn’t help Nightshade’s reputation either.

The merchant states Nightshade’s residence overlooks the Fallon Square market on the other side of the city. They should meet him later in the early evening at a local tavern. Half a payment to secure their services for the errand now, and the remaining once they return with the potion. They pay itself is rather good, especially for such a quick task. But they should remember time is of the essence and he needs the potion by nightfall. Before the characters can ask any more questions, the merchant waves them off and heads elsewhere for other business.

Nightshade is indeed waiting for them and has the potion as the merchant said. What is unknown to the players is that a rival merchant does not want this transaction to occur. He has employed thugs to intercept the players once they leave the wizard’s residence. The thieves themselves have had one of their gang assigned to tail the players and determine if they were successful in obtaining the package.

Skill challenge rating: 2, moderate DC (encounter worth 2 monsters of equivalent level)

• Complete Success (6 successes) – Players find the residence after an hour. On a passive perception check (DC 15) they notice being tailed by a thug. If they intercept the thug, they will learn of the planned ambush after retrieving the potion. Also they will have plenty of time to explore the residence of Nightshade (a mini-dungeon in itself).
• Partial Success (4-5 successes) – The players get turned around a bit, and harried with poor reception of many commoners when asked about Nightshade. The trek takes a bit longer than expected. Have the player with the highest skill make an active perception check (DC 25). If they succeed they notice the tail as above. Also due to the time, likely the players will not have much time to explore Nightshade’s residence (and the DM should continually remind the players about the limited time while inside).
• Failure (4 failures before either condition above is reached) – Players find the residence much later than anticipated. They will likely have no time to explore Nightshade’s residence. They will also fail to notice being tailed by the thugs and not anticipate the resulting ambush once they leave.

Primary Skills: Streetwise, Diplomacy (Nightshade is not well liked and players will likely need a soft hand in getting directions from people) Secondary Skills: History (The layout of the city may be similar to others in the region, and Fallon Square is known as a popular marketplace)

That is the setup. Next post will be how it ran with my group.