As always, more in the pipe. I want to complement this one with an SC in the Feywild.

@kingworks SCs are an awesome way to kill time! My experience is that when you run them right, they can take between a half hour and an hour, and are really fun. Also, please share when you get your SCs written!

@Bill thanks for visiting At-Will! Please share here or on the forums when you run the SCs! I’m always interested in how they come out for groups in play.

Also, reading these skill challenges is stoking a fire in me towards writing one of my own. (A set of challenges within a shared context, actually)

The Light and Shadow are definitely meant to live together, and characters can thus gain both effects if they live in this conflicted state.

Thanks for your comments! I’ll make an edit and clarify some of these points you asked about.

@Ameron glad you liked! RE: Healing Surges, I’ll confess: When I originally ran this skill challenge I used my rules for rations as one of the main punishments for failure (my PCs are currently on the verge of starvation as a result) I wanted results that weren’t dependent on people using those rules though.

What I tend to do with SCs where healing surges are lost are chain the SCs. If the players have to immediately do another SC, and then fight…they’re going to want to win this SC for sure.

But I do see your point.

Thanks for your comments!

I am weary about part of the failure being the loss of healing surges. Loosing healing surges is often the consequence for failing a roll or failing the overall skill challenge. Unless there is going to be an immediate fight after the skill challenge most PCs will just opt to take an extended rest and then they’ve overcome the failure. I know that the failure shouldn’t be so devastating that the PCs can’t complete the adventure, but if all you need to do is take an extended rest and suddenly the negative consequences are gone, that doesn’t seem like a bad down side to failure.

1) “Before any skill check, a player must choose to fight the darkness or become one with the shadow.”

Do you mean this as a choice that is made once (‘before the first skill check’) or a choice that is made before each roll (‘before each skill check’). “Any” can be interpreted either way.

2) If the former option (choice is made once and cannot be changed) what happens when a character with shadow points aids a character fighting the darkness and thus gets a Light point (or vice versa)?

3) If the latter option (choice is made before each roll) what happens when a character with shadow points chooses to fight the darkness (or vice versa)? Do they still get bonus points to their roll (I would assume not) and do the Light points negate the Shadow.

My take is (simplest version) that the choice is made once and a character with Shadow points cannot aid a character attempting to fight the darkness (and vice versa). A slightly more complex approach would be to allow a character to switch approaches with a successful Endurance check, with any accrued Shadow or Light points acting as a negative modifier to that role (not a bonus).

Carl