Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 DevoDog May 31, 2009 11:52:16	Having looked at the actual % rate of skill challenges, I've been wracking my brain to come up with some alternate mechanics for skill challenges. Here's what I'm going to try for my game this afternoon. * Each player rolls initiative and goes in the order of their initiative. The challenge acts at the end of each round. * A skill challenge has "hit points" The HP of the challenge is based on the complexity of the challenge. The HP of a challenge is 25XComplexity. (I based the HP on 4 successes beating a CL1 challenge.) * When a player's turn comes up, they have a Standard and Minor action available. Making a skill roll is a Standard Action. They can use powers that will give bonuses to rolls. * When a player succeeds in a skill check, they do 1d6+Ability Mod damage to the challenge. They do NOT add 1/2 level or any other modifier. When a player fails a skill check, there is no penalty (other than not damaging the skill check) * At the end of the round, the skill challenge "attacks." The bonus to the "attack" roll is 2/4/6 (Easy/Medium/Hard). The player's defense against the attack is 10+Abilty Mod based on the ability they used for the check. If the player did NOT make an actual check (including using Aid Another), their defense is 10. * The number of "targets" for the challenge is the CR of the challenge. (So, a CR5 challenge can target 5 players.) * When "hit" by the skill challenge, the player accrues a failure. * When a player accrues 1 failure, they take a -2 penalty to any future checks in the challenge. * When a player accrues 2 failures, they lose a healing surge (and still have the -2 penalty). * If a player accrues 3 failures, they are out of the challenge. * The party fails a challenge when ALL of the characters in the challenge have failed. I'll report back on how it worked out during my game today.
#2 DevoDog Jun 07, 2009 15:04:49	Okay...so last week I ran a skill challenge (actually 5 individual skill challenges) for my players using the Alternate Mechanics as outlined above. I think it worked pretty well. One player failed his challenge (he was 1 point away from success). Three players accrued 1 failure each. One player got through his with no failures. For encounter C1 in Thunderspire, I'm going to treat it as 4 possible skill challenges. Success on any of these 3 will "succeed." Challenge 1: Climbing up the Balcony: Athletics DC-12 Only 1 other character can use Aid Another. 25 "HP" for the challenge. Failure effects: -2 for checks/5 HP Damage/5 HP Damage Challenge 2: Picking the Lock: Thievery DC-12 Only 1 other character can use Aid Another. 25 "HP" for the challenge. Failure effects: -2 for checks/-4 for checks/Lockpicks break (lockpicks only provide +1 bonus until replaced at half value) Challenge 3: Break Down Door: Strength DC-12 Only 1 other character can use Aid Another. 25 "HP" for the challenge. Failure effects: -2/5 HP damage/5 HP damage and goblins are alerted. Challenge 4: Tricking the Goblins: Diplomacy DC 12, Bluff DC 12, Initimidate DC 12. +2 bonus if character speaks goblin All characters can participate. A player can only get the benefit of Aid Another from 1 other character at a time. Failure effects: -2/-4/Goblins are alerted Each challenge "fights back" with a d20+2 vs 10+ability mod for the skill that was used. For Challenge 4, the challenge "attacks" against the character who attempted a check (not Aid Another) and rolled the highest (raw d20 roll). I'm going to also add some rules for Aid Another. A success allows the player who aids to apply 1/2 of their stat bonus as "damage" if the primary challenger succeeeds. If the aider rolls a 20, the full stat bonus is applied.