Please tell me that’s not a real ritual, because I am very afraid that it would be clerics of Orcus who would find the most use for it.

Also, just like combat works better with dice than roleplaying (“I hit it with my sword. I aim for his armpit. Will you let that description work, DM?”) stuff like “I climb a tree” works better if you can actually fail than if just saying you did it makes it so.

I’m starting to view physical skill challenges as a framework for setting the rules for a scene and social skill challenges as being based upon the NPCs disposition towards the PCs.

It also feels like a skill challenge should have multiple minor or major quests (goals?) involved. The choices made during the challenge determines which quests/goals are pursued and the rewards and outcomes for successes, as well as the penalties and consequences for failing.

I have an idea that I’m gonna try out during my next game. I’m going to try to run an entire session using just skill challenges, and encounters. I’m gonna set the scene of course, and allow exploration. But as far as planning goes, I am going to frame each scene within a skill challenge, and encounters where it is appropriate. The other part of the idea is to not let my players know of my plans, and also to not constantly announce a skill challenge. Instead I’m going to set the scene, using the skill challenge as the framework, and then let the player’s decide what they want to do.

Each scene could involve multiple skill challenges depending on the scene and I’ll hopefully be able to track all of the successes, and failures for each challenge as we go along. Some challenges they might be aware of, some might be dangers they have yet to perceive. But whenever they have successfully completed or failed a skill challenge I simply describe the outcome and reward any XP gained. If it’s a fail then I of course still describe the outcome but with less XP. If excellent roleplaying is involved I’ll let the player’s know that it contributed to some bonus XP.

@newbiedm: This skill challenge is actually a “skill challenigification” of a scene I did twice with “conventional” role playing.

You can read about it here: http://eric.maziade.com/post/2008/11/12/Roleplaying-and-skill-challenges

I find that Skill Challenges are hard to understand as a concept… As described in the DMG they seem to be anti-role playing.

Think of it more as a draft of how to use skills in an encounter with an NPC or a situation.

Instead of following a stricter script you get to use skill challenges to help you determine which way the interaction go.

I like to think of it as:
- as a rough structure to help you flesh out encounter
- a tool to allow the PCs skills (and not the players’) determine how NPCs react.

@newbiedm –welcome! You can of course take any action you want outside of combat without the use of dice. But mechanics don’t stop you from roleplaying the scene out either. Personally I find the structure helps players roleplay more. It seems silly, but in my experience with Dming PCs can get lost when they have every option in front of them. Structuring a scene and narrowing the scope gives PCs less options but more opportunity to be creative within the scope that they have.

Take my descriptive blurbs as suggestions, but replace them with your own narration. There is no reason (in fact, I do this constantly) that you can’t “zoom in” on a particular check and expand it with roleplay. Say a character uses Diplomacy around town to find some information. He succeeds, and as GM you describe the success:

“Most of the townsfolk are either unwilling to speak with a stranger. Durgen, the local blacksmith however, seems all too willing to talk…about everything.”

Here you assume the role of Durgen, and roleplay the scene with the character who made the check. You already know the PC gets the info, but you expand on how he gets the info.

The other half of the equations is getting the players to understand that skills are not nearly as important to SCs as their actions are.

If a player has the ritual “find children” for instance, if they cast it they can end the whole skill challenge right there. alternatively, a player who decides to bribe some of the townfolk might get them to open up much easier. Neither of these actions are skills, but they count towards the challenge that they face.

Even when using their skills, you don’t have to let the players off the hook with descriptions. Going back to Diplomacy, you could let a player do this:

“I search around town and try to get information out of the villagers. 15 on the Diplomacy check.”

This can work, but what about:

“I’m looking for someone in the village with information.”

“Where would you start?”

“The mothers have some information, I bet. They don’t seem to want to talk to me, but they will when I remind them of their children.”

(in the guise of a mother) “My babies! Who would take them from me?”

“That’s why I need your help, milady…”

This goes to the last part of getting SCs off the ground –player ownership. As DM, you have to explain to the PCs that the “scenery” is theirs to play with as well. You have veto power, but you want to steer towards letting things exist that a player states exist. If players can set scenes, you’re given hooks as a DM to step into them and roleplay them out with player as you feel is necessary and/or cool.

Hope that helps explain it a little better.

Thanks for visiting!

I can’t seem to grasp the concept well enough to try to run one. I had a post about it on my blog recently…

Why couldn’t this first scenario in the village be roleplayed, to take a break from rolling die?

Not that I am questioning your designs, they seem like finely put together SC’s, I question the concept in general…

Your series of articles got me thinking a lot about skill challenges.

My latest thoughts are here: http://eric.maziade.com/post/2008/11/19/Understanding-skill-challenges

Loving it – keep it up!