# Random Skill Challenge Generator



## Asmor (May 11, 2008)

So this is an idea I was kicking around, and I just stumbled upon a list of all the skills (on the pregens for Keep on the Shadowfell), so I figured I'd go ahead and implement it.

Step 1: Take 17 cards, and label them with the 17 skills*.

Step 2: Shuffle.

Step 3: Deal 4 cards out. These are the "appropriate skills."

Step 4: Deal 2 cards out. These are the "unlockable skills."

Step 5 (Optional): Deal 1 card out. This is the "forbidden skill."

Step 6: Figure out how all the pieces fit together.

*Appropriate skills*: These 4 skills are all require moderate difficulty checks and immediately applicable to the situtation. In addition to normal successes, succeeding on any of the appropriate skills should give some ancially benefit, such as bonuses on other checks.

*Unlockable skills*: These 2 skills all require easy difficulty checks. The easy checks are not available at first (but see other skills, below). They don't give any additional benefits other than successes.

*Forbidden skill*: The forbidden skill is one which will always fail, no matter what. If a player attempts to use this skill, it fails.

*Other skills*: The remaining 11 skills may be used if the player can come up with an appropriate justification (DM's discretion), and will require hard difficulty checks. Each of the unlockable skills is treated as an "other skill" until it's unlocked.

*Skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, History,Insight, Intimidate, Nature, Perception, Religion, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery

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Okay, so time to put my money where my mouth is. After making my cards, these are literally the first ones I drew, following the method above.

Appropriate skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Stealth, History
Unlockable skills: Heal, Religion
Forbidden skill: Perception

Alright, let's see. Arcana, diplomacy, stealth, history. I'm thinking the PCs have to sneak into something. Perhaps a tomb.

The tomb is guarded by an intelligent, but simple, undead. It's not much of a threat, but it could alert others to the PCs' presence if it's provoked.

A diplomacy check will coax the undead into revealing that last week, it lost the use of its left arm. This unlocks the heal check, which a player can use to diagnose the arm (one success), discovering it's dislocated. They may then fix it (a second success) by pushing it back into its socket.

A successful history check reveals that this is one of the Dark Dragon tombs, created by a cult many centuries ago. This unlocks the Religion skill, which can be used to remember one of the Dark Dragon Cult's prayers, which will help convince the undead guarding the tomb that it's okay to let them in.

A stealth check can be used to distract the undead guard, allowing the PCs closer inspection of the runes covering the tomb door and granting a +2 bonus to arcana checks.

An arcana check can be used to scrutinize the runes on the door and recognize the symbol of the Dark Dragon. This grants a +2 bonus on History and Religion checks.

Finally, if a player attempts a perception check, the undead grows impatient with them and tells them to go away.

To succeed, the players need 6 successes before they get 3 failures. If they succeed, the undead allows them passage, or they manage to otherwise sneak in without trouble. Otherwise, the undead determines that the PCs are a threat and screams, alerting others nearby.

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Actually, I think that came out pretty good. I thought I was screwed when I got perception as my forbidden skill, but I'm happy with the whole encounter.

Might be interesting to play around with the number of different cards you deal out for each category. If you're particularly adventurous, deal out one of your appropriate skills onto each of your unlockable skills, and you have to use the one to unlock the other.


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## Aria Silverhands (May 11, 2008)

Sounds pretty neat. ^_^


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## mach1.9pants (May 11, 2008)

I like the idea (providing that is how skill encounters run, I reckon you are right). Like anything of that type of thing I would be happy to fudge it a little, like if I got your perception panic . I certainly will give this a go, at least for a couple of trials. It is just nice to have little tools like this when you are learning a system.

Oh and I had to laugh about the undead with a dislocated shoulder


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## malcolm_n (May 11, 2008)

what an awesome idea


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## Iron Sky (May 11, 2008)

So, I tried it and drew:

Appropriate Skills: Intimidate, Streetwise, Bluff, Thievery
Unlockable Skills: Insight, Stealth
Forbidden Skill: Arcana

So, this just screams to me getting into some underworld society or something.  Say infiltrating an assassin's guild.

The PC's head to the Black Thorn, a tavern that they think might be the front for the Umberban Assassins guild.  There are a dozen lesser assassins scattered throughout the crowd in the tavern and an door to the HQ in a back room that's always locked.

Intimidate: Some of the patrons know about the assassin's guild being based here and come here to do other shady dealings or just to brag to other people that they drink "yeah, in _that_ tavern."  If the PC's so much as mention Umberban too loudly though, the locals tend to get worried since it's supposed to be a secret and the PCs can use that to scare the patrons into giving up what they know about them.  Success also unlocks Insight(see below).

Example success: Patron: "Shhh, not so loud, they might hear you!  Look keep your voice down and I'll tell you what I know alright?"  
Example failure: PC(loudly, just as one of those akward room-wide pauses happens): "Yeah, I'm not afraid to talk about Umbraban!"

Streetwise: All sorts of information can be found out in the Black Thorn.  If enough time is spent asking the right questions, picking up on hand-signals, and eavesdropping a bit, the PC's can learn more about the Umberban from the Patrons.  Success also unlocks Insight(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You mention needing someone "taken care of" a couple times and get directed to the barkeep who sets a dagger on the bar and says, "can I help you with something in particular?"
Ex. failure: DM: The two men notice that you've been holding your cup to your mouth without drinking for the last few minutes and leaning towards them.  You take a drink and cough, but see them still staring at you out of the corner of your eye.

Bluff: Alternatively, the PCs can pretend to be Umberban members themselves.  The assassins asigned to "guard" the front are new enough that they might be taken in, and other patrons go pasty just hearing people claim to be Umberban.  They can get the key to the back room from the barkeep if done a second time.

Ex. success: Player: I walk up to the table and lean close to the man wearing the leathers and say "the boss wants to see you, _now_.  I'd suggest we don't keep him waiting."
Ex. failure: Player: I walk up to the table and lean close to the man wearing the leathers and say "as the leader of this here you-know-what, I order you to let me into the secret you-know-where."

Thievery: If the PCs pickpocket the barkeep or pick the lock to the back room, they can possibly sneak in without being noticed and use the enterance in the back room - Success unlocks Sneak(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You manage to pick the lock with one hand, behind your back, while leaning against the doorframe and flirting with the barmaid.
Ex. failure: DM: Someone walks towards the door and you accidentally break your lockpick as you quickly move away, leaving an inch of it sticking out of the keyhole.

Insight: The PCs piece together what they've heard to piece together that this is the front for the assassins guild and that there's probably an entrance to their headquarters here.

Ex. success: DM: You've seen enough hand signs and gotten the gist.  The Black Thorn is definitely the front for the Umbraban.
Ex. failure: DM: You've seen enough hand signs and gotten the gist.  There's a secret order of tailors that meets here once a month.

Stealth: The PCs can sneak into the back room either waiting for someone to open it and sneaking in or, if they've already gotten it open somehow, just sneaking in on their own.

Ex. success: Player: I "accidentally" kick a gold coin into the wall ten feet behind the guy as he unlocks the door." DM: He turns, looks around quickly, then goes to pick it up. Player: Great!  I sneak in and find a place to hide quickly.
Ex. failure: Player: I try to kick a gold coin into the wall behind him.  DM: It hits him in the leg and he looks around quickly to see who did it.  Your eyes meet for a second before you can look away.

Arcana: The Umberban were recently hired to kill members of an organization of mages and suspect that the mages may be trying to get even(which is possibly why the PCs are here).  They have placed symbols that only mages and the like would recognize and tend to watch people who examine them too closely.

Ex. failure: DM: You notice that the mark is similar to one used by the Mages of Kreen, but are trying to figure out the difference when you hear a rough voice behind you whisper "notice something interesting friend?"

To succeed, they need 6 successes before 3 failures.  On success, they have infiltrated the Umberban without arousing suspicion and have access to the headquarters(though once they are there, they might have another, harder skill challenge).  If they fail, they might be kicked out of the Black Thorn, outright attacked by assassins, or tailed when they leave/ambushed/questioned by suspicious assassins later.  Individual failures might give -2 penalties to a subsequent skill check as the assassins get suspicious while individual bonuses might give +2 bonuses to a subsequent skill check as the PC's efforts synergize.

This is kinda fun!  I'm going to try another.

Edit: Added sample successes/failures for each check.


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## Exen Trik (May 11, 2008)

What really impresses me about this idea isn't just that it's handy, but that it _inspires creativity_ like nobodies business. A draw of the cards can not only lead to an adventure, but possibly seed an entire campaign.

Someone needs to write up some kind of program for this, maybe something simply scripted and put on a webpage. That's more than a bit beyond my abilities though, but maybe someone else here is game?


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## Aria Silverhands (May 11, 2008)

I could write it in nwscript for Neverwinter Nights, lol.  If someone does create a script like this, I'll gladly host it on my site.


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## Iron Sky (May 11, 2008)

Appropriate Skills: Athletics, History, Heal, Religion
Unlockable Skills: Insight, Thievery
Forbidden Skill: Acrobatics

These draws made me think of stumbling across the ruins of a cursed castle in the middle of the wilderness and trying to discover its past.  Alternately, they were sent there by a descendant of the lords who used to own it - he still has title to the castle, but can't claim it due to the curse and so hired/sent/asked the PCs to find out for him.

The castle itself is covered with razor-sharp thorns and must be navigated very carefully.  Perhaps the lords of the castle offended the local fey or a fey-pact warlock and he put a curse on the castle.

Athletics: Some of the castle has collapsed, masonry blocking doors that might lead to clues or stairways rotted mostly away so there is some hard climbing to get into the towers and look search for hints, though some of the doors behind the rubble or in the towers are locked.  Success unlocks Thievery(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You roll the giant stone away with a heave and a grunt and find a small iron-bound door behind it.  It's locked.
Ex. failure: DM: You roll the giant stone partially away, but it rolls back into you, knocking you into a patch of thorns.

History: They might find the remains of old tapestries, banners with old heraldry, moldered, barely legible accounting or history books that can be pieced together to determine the nature of the curse.  Success unlocks Insight(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You notice the tapestries seem to depict an awful lot of animals being caught alive in traps and taken back to the castle...
Ex. failure: DM: You notice the tapestries seem to have caught on fire when you knocked your lantern over.

Heal: Animals sometimes wander into the castle and get pricked by the thorns, the thorn's poison slowly paralyzing them.  PCs can gain the favor of local woodland spirits/what-have-you by treating the animals.  Alternately, they can treat players who get pricked to keep them going.

Ex. success: DM: The animal staggers to its feet and runs away from the castle, though it seems as though it pauses and looks back at you for a moment before vanishing from sight.
Ex. failure: DM: The animal thrashes, does 3 damage to you with a hoof, and you fall into the thorns with it.

Religion: Perhaps the local lord was secretly sacrificing wild animals to some dark god in exchange for power.  The PCs might find a bloody altar or runes and symbols of the god and use Religion to figure out which god it is, etc.  Success unlocks Insight(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You see a symbol of a broken antler with a rain of blood pouring from it alot.  It reminds you of something...
Ex. failure: DM: You see a symbol that you think belongs to Grum'esh(sp?), god of Orcs!

Thievery: Unlocking the simple locks on the doors allows the PCs access to small libraries or hidden shrines/altars, rooms with the abandoned personal belongings of those who lived there that give more clues.  Success unlocks Insight(see below).

Ex. success: DM: You unlock the door to find a disturbing room full of animal bones.
Ex. failure: DM: You unlock the door, but find when you jerk it open that the door was all that was holding the rest of the wall up.

Insight: PCs can take the information and clues gathered to piece together that the local wood guardian(whatever it happens to be) is the one that placed the curse on the castle for the lord's sacrifice of the woodland creatures.

Ex. success: Player: "I seem to be getting the idea that there were some form of animal sacrifices going on here.  Maybe it has something to do with the curse." DM: *nods*
Ex. success: Player: "I seem to be getting the idea that the evil Lord Razor Thorn, eater of bones, destroyer of castles is awakening below the keep.  We should find our way to the catacombs and defeat him to remove the curse." DM: *nods*

Acrobatics: The thorns are so thick and sharp that any fancy attempts at leaping/jumping/tumbling result in PCs just injuring themselves and getting slowed(maybe eventually paralyzed) by their poison.

Ex. failure: DM: You try to tumble through the razor-sharp briar patch and quickly discover that, yes, it _is_ as dense and pointy as it looked.

To succeed, they need 8 successes before 4 failures.  Success means they discover the curse and how to appease the local spirit/guardian and get it to lift the curse.  Failure means being poisoned and maybe arousing the ire of the wood guardian.  Individual failures might mean being poisoned and taking -2 on their next rolls do to the numbing effects of the poison, while individual successes might give +2 bonuses to an appropriate related roll.

Edit: Added example successes and failures.


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## reanjr (May 11, 2008)

Most excellent idea.  I think I may use this to jumpstart creating adventures.


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## ShockMeSane (May 11, 2008)

I just have to compliment the OP and those that have made attempts on a very cool and innovate use of the skill challenge. A fun read, and as someone else mentioned, could easily be an inspiration for an adventure!


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## Aria Silverhands (May 11, 2008)

Here's a version you can roll on a d20.  Re-roll if you roll the same skill.  It also adds a couple other options to vary the challenges.

1 - No unlockable skills.
2 - Acrobatics
3 - Arcana
4 - Athletics
5 - Bluff
6 - Diplomacy
7 - Dungeoneering
8 - Endurance
9 - Heal
10 - Add another appropriate skill.
11 - History
12 - Insight
13 - Intimidate
14 - Nature
15 - Perception
16 - Religion
17 - Stealth
18 - Streetwise
19 - Thievery
20 - No forbidden skills.


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## Iron Sky (May 11, 2008)

Ok, last one.  No kidding about the creativity surge it creates!

Appropriate Skills: Thievery, Heal, Athletics, History
Unlockable Skills: Nature, Perception
Forbidden Skill: Religion

So, this gives me the idea of some PCs searching for something in a partially overgrown jungle pyramid temple to a dark god.  They find an unconcious halfling rogue near a half-sprung, overgrown trap.  They need to get into the temple to do X(where X might be learn about this taboo god since he seems to be awakening or maybe simply find the vast treasures his priests stockpiled there).

Thievery: There are several traps that are only semi functional due to the jungle growth.  They are fairly easy to find as some of them are partially sprung and can be disabled by PCs using this skill.  Some of the once-mechanical traps have now become natural too(vine-mats grown over spike-trap pits, sprung blade traps with sometimes loose vines over them that can be swung/climbed across.  Success unlocks Nature(see below).

Ex. success: Player: I remove the spring from under the floor-plate and step on it tentatively.  DM: It seems to be unresponsive now.
Ex. failure: Player: I remove the spring from under the floor-plate and step on it tentatively.  DM: It explodes.

Heal: The halfling can be brought to conciousness using the heal skill.  Once awakened, he tells them what he knows about the temple, it's traps and treasure and points out what he knows about out of gratitude for being revived.  Success unlocks Perception(see below).

Ex. success: DM: The halfling sits up and rubs the bandage on his arm before looking up at you.  "Gee, thanks, I thought I was a gonner when I heard that click.  There's always a click before they trigger, remember that."
Ex. failure: DM: When you pull the halfling off of the spikes, you find that his body was the only thing keeping them from firing out of the wall and turning anyone in their path into a pincushion.

Athletics: The main path of traps can be circumvented if the PCs climb the rugged back side of the pyramid to get to the top.  Alternately, there are many broken-off stone totems or columns that can be toppled into the traps to set them off before the PCs go in.

Ex. success: Player: I tip over one of the totems into the walkway ahead to see if I can set off the traps.  DM: It falls into the traps and takes the brunt of darts, flame bursts, and flattens a demon-wasp nest.
Ex. failure: Player: I tip over one of the totems into the walkway ahead to see if I can set of the traps.  DM: It falls the wrong way, knocks you into the pit you just climbed out of, and nearly flattens the wizard.

History: The temple was build by yuan-ti or tieflings or whatever a long time ago.  PCs might remember that the priests of different temples all built them in similar fashion, each trying to outdo the others in size and complexity of traps.  The PC might have heard tales about such temples or read a book about them.

Ex. success: DM: You remember that the yuan-ti empire built dozens of these temples and tended to design the traps so snakelike creatures wouldn't set them off as easily...
Ex. failure: DM: You remember that the yuan-ti empire built dozens of these temples and you're pretty sure you remember reading that the smaller temples like this one didn't have any traps.

Nature: Studying the natural growth over the ruins helps the PCs spot traps or find clever ways to get around them.

Ex. success: Player: I'll swing on a vine - Tarzan style - and see how much of the main walkway I can swing past.  DM: You manage to find a sturdy vine and swing clear most of it, putting you almost at the temple steps.
Ex. failure: Player: I'll swing on a vine - Tarzan style - and see how much of the main walkway I can swing past.  DM: You manage to find a vine that holds just long enough to break and drop you into the middle of the pirhana pool.

Perception: The halfling points out what to look for as signs of traps and some of the early traps he'd already identified(though he missed one obviously), helping the PCs avoid them.

Ex. success: DM: You notice the pressure plates immediately once he tells you what to look for.
Ex. failure: DM: You're pretty sure you see what he's pointing at.  Something about pressure plates?

Religion: The dark god is so blasphemous that even reading the heiroglyphs and carvings on the temple or even looking at them too closely can make the characters ill, sick, or give them horrible visions.  Even mentioning his name is forbidden in most civilized places since saying his name gives him power.

Ex. failure: You stare at the twisted runes, noticing they have the name of some god written three times in a row.  Something like 'hastor'.

To succeed depends on how big the temple is.  If it's a tiny temple, in might be 4 successes before 2 failures.  If it's a huge temple it might be 8 before 4 or even more.  The PCs could possibly go from temple to temple, exploring them (and of course killing their monsters and taking their treasures).  Individual failures might partially set off traps, doing damage, or collapse part of the temple, making it more hazardous.  Individual successes might help other teammates navigate their way into the temple.

I kinda like the idea of failures giving the next PC's check a penalty(so there's an immediate, noticable result, even if it's a fairly small -2) and successes giving a small-but-noticable bonus(like +2) to the next PC.

Brilliant idea Asmor.

Edit: Added example successes/failures.


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## Khuxan (May 11, 2008)

Please tell me what you think:

Arcana, Diplomacy, Insight, History
Heal, Bluff
Thievery

A stern, ten-eyed sphinx stands watch over a book that is wrapped up in chains and locked tightly shut. The characters have been tasked with capturing the book and possibly destroying it, if they can discover how. 

*Arcana:* Identifying the book’s evil nature as well as the specific runes etched on the chains allows the characters to explain to the sphinx how the book could be deactivated and destroyed.

*Diplomacy:* The sphinx is calm and polite, and allows the characters to say their piece. If convinced by their benign intentions, it may well be convinced to surrender the book.

*Insight:* The sphinx is troubled, as its time on this earth is drawing to an end and it wants to find the sphinx pups it spawned many years ago. It cannot leave while its left wing remains broken, but it is too proud to tell anyone why it winces in pain.
Insight unlocks Heal.

*History:* The sphinx has guarded the book for over a century, and within the next few years a prophecy has foretold that the sphinx will relinquish the book to a hero that can dispose of the book safely.
History unlocks Bluff.

*Heal:* The sphinx will look more kindly on the characters if its broken and inflamed wing can be properly set. 
Heal is unlocked by Insight.

*Bluff:* The sphinx knows of the prophecy, and the characters could subtly hint that they are the foretold heroes.
Bluff is unlocked by History.

*Thievery:* The sphinx misses little with its ten eyes, and attempts to steal the book do not succeed. The book itself is attached to the ground with an invisible chain that only the sphinx can sever.

Each success grants a +2 bonus to the next check made by any character.

EDIT: Since we're all cr4zy about colour-coding, I tried colour-coding my skills.


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## Valerion Steele (May 11, 2008)

clever idea with the cards.... also the die roll...
if i ever need help in creating skill challenges , i know now whom to ask for help ;-)
great creativity here...


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## Ginnel (May 11, 2008)

Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful. 

Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.

For example the conversation with the Duke, you know the one that is given as an official example
Its says intimidate won't work (it equals an auto fail) however what if your character after the initial conversation (which it says can still be part of the skill challenge) used intimidate to scare away other people courting the dukes favour I reckon that would work.

So while skills challenges are a useful tool and this card method may well inspire creativity for encounters, it shouldn't be used as a be all and end all for what works that is the DM's job to interpret the players actions and explain how they work out in the gameworld.
------------------------

http://xkcd.com/386/


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## Valerion Steele (May 11, 2008)

Ginnel said:
			
		

> Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful.
> 
> Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.
> 
> ...





i think the cards or die roll are for the dm to create the challenge not wich skills the players are told to use...i never give away dc´s or the skills needed...


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## Aria Silverhands (May 11, 2008)

Ginnel said:
			
		

> Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful.
> 
> Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.
> 
> ...



The point of this isn't to create skill challenges on the fly during a game, but to provide a way to inspire a dm's inner creativity.  They can use it to create a nudge in the right direction or even an entire encounter from it.


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## Khuxan (May 11, 2008)

Another one:

Dungeoneering, Intimidate, History, Insight.
Thievery, Nature.
Heal.

Growing on a dungeon wall is a tumorous growth, pulsating steadily and oozing a thin yellow fluid. A tear in the tumour grows slowly but unstoppably, and a tentacle from some foul being pokes through the gap, flailing in the pure air.

*Dungeoneering:* While unfamiliar with this phenomenon, characters can compare it to the egg sacs some aberrations leave hanging from walls. If carefully detached in the right areas, the embryonic creature will stop forming. If the wrong parts of the egg sac are meddled with (a failed Dungeoneering check), the crack just grows larger.
Dungeoneering unlocks Thievery.

*Intimidate:* While young, the sentience inside the sac is conscious and able to communicate. A sufficiently dire threat could convince the abomination it is safer to remain gestating.

*History:* Several decades ago, similar growths appeared on trees and even large animals. The growths were singed with fire to prevent them from reaching maturity.
History unlocks Nature.

*Insight:* The creature is motivated primarily by hunger, and could be convinced to wait for more wholesome fare or even reveal what it hungers for so the characters can feed it.

*Thievery:* When instructed by someone familiar with this phenomenon, characters can put their dexterity to good use – pinching the tear shut in just the right places so that it seals.
Thievery is unlocked by Dungeoneering.

*Nature:* After being informed that this sac resembles the growths that appeared in forests and other verdant areas, you realise that the same techniques the druids and rangers used – slicing open the veins that run across its surface – could stop the development of this embryo as well.
Nature is unlocked by History.

*Heal:* Those familiar with cancerous growths on humanoids may think their expertise helpful here but, in fact, it just exacerbates the tear as the growth fails to respond to humanoid treatments.


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## Hellzon (May 11, 2008)

OK, I'll try.

(In the example, PC:s are male and the NPC is female. A bit of nomenclature I stole somewhere.)

*Appropriate skills:*
Diplomacy
Insight
Religion
Arcana

*Unlockable skills:*
Nature
Intimidate

*Forbidden skill:*
Perception (heh)

Something diplomacy-ish, certainly. Maybe the PC:s are seeking help from a bishop of Wee Jas (insert your setting's god of magic here) before an excursion into the wilderness.

*Diplomacy:* The PC puts forth reasonable arguments for the bishop to render aid to them. The first success has the bishop reply wanting to know about the PC:s qualifications in detail, unlocking Nature.

*Nature:* The PC impresses the bishop with his survival skills and convinces her that the group is likely to succeed in their endeavour.

*Insight:* The PC gets a reading of the bishop's general attitude. The first success gives the hint that the bishop dislikes nosy people (discouraging Perception checks). The second one might give the whole list of appropriate skills (which shouldn't be hard to figure out, but I doubt hard facts will be unappreciated). Then it's time to hint that the Insight skill is "worn out".

*Religion:* One success gives the PC information that the bishop is in fact supposed to give aid in this case, according to ancient scripture detailing the duties of the church of Wee Jas yadayada. This unlocks the Intimidate skill.

In general, the PC discusses religion with the bishop, warming her to the group. The PC gets +2 to further diplomacy checks.

*Intimidate:* The PC lays the religious smackdown on the bishop, reminding her about the supposed punishment for going against Scripture (eternal damnation etc). I'd consider making this a hard check which automatically wins the conflict on a success but gives two failures on a failed roll.

*Arcana:* The PC discusses magic with the bishop, impressing her with his magical knowledge. That specific PC gets +2 to further diplomacy checks.

*Perception:* The bishop spots the PC peering around the room and gets upset at the nosy lout. Automatic failure.

OK, so Perception as automatic fail feels a little forced, but in general, this seems like a nice source of inspiration if you allow yourself to deviate from the guidelines. I'd take out the forbidden skill if I used this encounter.


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## Wormwood (May 11, 2008)

Exen Trik said:
			
		

> What really impresses me about this idea isn't just that it's handy, but that it _inspires creativity_ like nobodies business. A draw of the cards can not only lead to an adventure, but possibly seed an entire campaign.



This.


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## Ginnel (May 11, 2008)

Ok makes sense, so you draw a few cards which gives you inspiration for a scene, this scene is made up of the a few objects or mannerisms that hint to the players that certain skill uses may work in conjunction with them.

A man who is described as Jittery may be suceptible to intimidate.

Describing an entrance to a temple as having bones that litter the ground may lead to a heal/nature check.

A 10 eyed sphinx who's eye seem to follow each of you around the room may indicate thievery won't work

and a hundred and one other examples 


So if you like the cards you draw help you reverse engineer the encounter to help provide hints as to what would be useful/nonuseful, hmm like it a lot.

------------------------

http://xkcd.com/386/


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## bert1000 (May 12, 2008)

Very interesting.  I thought this was going to be some mechanical junk, but this is a cool creative technique.

Love the DC distinction of Moderate for "appropriate" skills, Easy for "unlocked", Difficult for all others.  Still leaves it open ended but helps prevent players from just spaming their best skill every round.

One suggestion-- I would have some mechanism for discovering the Forbidden skill.  For example, _if the player exceeds a hard DC with an "appropriate" skill check, not only do they get a success but also discover that X forbidden skill would not work in this situation_


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## Serensius (May 12, 2008)

The PCs have to enter the compound of a secretive, outlawed ranger organization. It's surrounded by a low palisade wall, and the entrance gate guarded by a pair of bow-wielders. All this happens at night-time.

4/2

A succesful Nature check will convince the guards that the players are of the same mindset as them

Bluff makes the guards believe they are part of the organization/are a contingent from another, like-minded organization/distracts the guards.

A PC succeeding on a Stealth check manages to sneak over to the fence without being spotted, and is allowed an Athletics check to climb over.

Acrobatics sees the player performing some feat of agility, distracting the guards and allowing a free Thievery check to pick their pockets.

Any mention of the History of the organization causes the guards to become grim and more inclined to send the PCs their way.

Ok, this turned out a little crappy actually (especially the Acrobatics one - was going to have that being a player leaping over a wall, but Athletics already did that), but I thought I'd post it since, y'know, I actually made it.


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## mrtomsmith (May 12, 2008)

Serensius said:
			
		

> The PCs have to enter the compound of a secretive, outlawed ranger organization. It's surrounded by a low palisade wall, and the entrance gate guarded by a pair of bow-wielders. All this happens at night-time.
> ...
> Acrobatics sees the player performing some feat of agility, distracting the guards and allowing a free Thievery check to pick their pockets.
> ...
> Ok, this turned out a little crappy actually (especially the Acrobatics one - was going to have that being a player leaping over a wall, but Athletics already did that), but I thought I'd post it since, y'know, I actually made it.




Maybe Acrobatics allows a player to reach a high location (climbing a tree? bouncing between two posts? squeezing into a tight space between two trees?) to get a good vantage point to view the compound. This could make Stealth easier, or if you really want to link it to Thievery, maybe it lets the player disable a trap? or the player can reach a hat in a bird's nest and return it to the guard who lost his lucky hat?

Alternately, switch the Athletics to something else. Lifting a heavy object? Challenging a guard to an arm-wrestling match or a flexing contest? Drinking contest?

Either way, letting one player get into the compound by himself doesn't seem to fit the Skill Challenge concept, since that doesn't necessarily help the party enter, but instead turns it into a solo moment. So maybe change both.


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## Asmor (May 12, 2008)

Wow, glad you all like it so much! Wish I could have responded sooner, but with the server being down and all... :/

One of the things I really like about this approach is that, it seems to me at least, if you're designing a skill challenge you'll likely tend to use the same skills over and over again. Social encounters will use lots of diplomacy and intimidate and bluff, traps will use lots of perception and thievery and dungeoneering, etc.

This forces you to use the skills a bit more evenly, which is good for two reasons.

First, it helps you break out of your box. It can be a real challenge trying to fit all these jigsaw pieces together.

Second, it helps the game from a purely "gamist" sense. It ensures that there are no dead skills, and every skill a player takes will get a chance to shine at some point.


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## dystmesis (May 13, 2008)

I'd like to pitch in and say that this is absolutely awesome.


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## Frostmarrow (May 13, 2008)

Market day
Trading gear and repairing equipment

_Most of the loot from your last adventure has finally been spent on the usual entertainment. Now, you are gearing up for the next adventure. On market day you can procure, upgrade, and restore, provided you keep your wits about you. Market day is not for the feint of heart._

STREETWISE: Naturally streetwise can be used to get a good idea of how this market operates. A successful Streetwise check unlocks intimidate.

INTIMIDATE: Some merchants are new to this game and can easily be bullied into a giving you a good deal.

ARCANA: For those who know what to look for various magic apparel can be found here and there at the market. A successful Arcana unlocks perception.

PERCEPTION: You spot several collectors searching for magical apparel. They avoid eachother. Perhaps you can make money broking deals between them?

HEAL: A sure-fire way to get on people's good graces is to provide small healing favors for free. Several merchants suffer from minor ailments.

ACROBATICS: The merchants at market day drive off any entertainers. This is a place of commerce, not show.

If the group wins the skill challenge they get their new gear and services at 80% listed PHB price. Otherwise they need to pay full price.


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## LostInTheMists (May 13, 2008)

I'm slacking at work, and this seems like a fun way to pass the time.  Kudos to the OP for coming up with such a cursed distraction neat idea!

*Appropriate Skills:* Endurance, Perception, Religion, Streetwise

*Unlockable Skills:* Athletics, Stealth

*Forbidden Skills:* Diplomacy

*The challenge:* Today is one of the largest festivals in the city's history, a feastday of the local churches, where the faithful fill the streets in revelry... all in the name of their deity of choice, of course.  One of the traditional events during this party is the cross-city race, where teams try to make it through the packed roads from one side of the city to the other in the shortest amount of time.  The winners are recognized by the City Council for their resourcefulness, and may be called upon in the future should anything arise that needs to be dealt with.  The losers... well, at least there's plenty of ale nearby to console themselves on their loss.

*Difficulty:* 8 successes before 4 failures.

*Endurance:* This is a grueling race, and plowing your way through throngs of somewhat-sloshed partygoers takes its toll on the body after a few blocks.  It allows you to "tough it out", wading through the crowd as you strive to make progress toward the far side of the city.  Succeeding on this check will allow for a +2 bonus on future *Athletics* checks (once unlocked) since pushing your way through the crowd and bouncing off other people is quickly becoming second nature for you.

*Perception:* While the streets are normally packed shoulder-to-shoulder with the city's residents, occasionally there's enough of a shift in the sea of bodies to spy an opening - whether it's a clear path on a sidewalk, or falling in behind a wagon as it clears a path through the mass of people.  Either way, you've found an opening that makes progress significantly easier for a short period of time.  Succeeding on this check will allow for a +2 bonus on future *Streetwise* checks, since you've got a keen eye out for convenient opportunities to get ahead in the race.

*Religion:* This is first and foremost a religious festival, and knowing the local churches and how they party gives you a bit of insight into which areas will be the least crowded, and when.  This unlocks the *Athletics* skill, which lets you hustle in front of parades and processions while causing your opponents to be cut off by the same displays of faith and fun.

*Streetwise:* Sometimes, how you get to a place is all about knowing the side alleyways and unused paths.  While they may be filthy and vagrant-infested, that's all the better reason for you to go that way... the dirtier it is, the less of a chance it will be crowded.  This unlocks the *Stealth* skill, which lets you dart down a convenient side street without your opponents noticing it, and forcing them to take a longer route.

*Not usable - Diplomacy:* Most of the people standing between you and your goal are either somewhat intoxicated, or have scouted out that precise location on the sidewalk since before dawn to have a better view of an upcoming parade of holy relics.  Taking the time to sweet-talk them out of your way just isn't feasible.

*Results*

*Success:* The City Council recognizes the group as the victors in front of a raucous crowd, gaining the team celebrity status in the city for the time being.  In addition to the purse for winning the race, members of the Council may further (and more privately) recognize the group's skill by contacting them for help on future matters.

*Mild Failure (5+ successes):* While the team did not win the race or the prize that came with the victory, they did manage to impress enough people on the Council that they still might be sought out for help.

*Moderate Failure (2-4 successes):* You lost, and by a considerable amount.  You can still fade away into the crowd without too much ridicule for your performance.

*Total Failure (0-1 successes):* Not only did you lose, but you did so in an embarassing fashion.  Perhaps you never made it to the finish line, or maybe you unfortunately found that overturned cartload of manure on the way there.  Regardless, the group is heckled for a while in the city... at least, until they prove themselves to be better than that.


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## Wolfspider (May 13, 2008)

These skill challenges where Perception is a forbidden skill remind me of the scene in _Hellboy_ where the young FBI agent is being introduced to the big red guy and makes the mistake of staring at the grinded-down stumps of the half-demon's horns.

"What you looking at, kid?"


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## Wormwood (May 13, 2008)

Wolfspider said:
			
		

> "What you looking at, kid?"



Okay, I LOL'd


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## Bayonet_Chris (May 13, 2008)

*Great story!*



			
				LostInTheMists said:
			
		

> *The challenge:* Today is one of the largest festivals in the city's history, a feastday of the local churches, where the faithful fill the streets in revelry... all in the name of their deity of choice, of course.  One of the traditional events during this party is the cross-city race, where teams try to make it through the packed roads from one side of the city to the other in the shortest amount of time.  The winners are recognized by the City Council for their resourcefulness, and may be called upon in the future should anything arise that needs to be dealt with.  The losers... well, at least there's plenty of ale nearby to console themselves on their loss.




That one is great! I'll have to mess around with a skill randomizer spreadsheet later on and play with different ideas.


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## LostInTheMists (May 13, 2008)

Bayonet_Chris said:
			
		

> That one is great! I'll have to mess around with a skill randomizer spreadsheet later on and play with different ideas.




Why, thank you.  Today ended up being a slow day at work, so it gives me time to fiddle around with these challenges.  If this afternoon is as slow as this morning was, I may try another one or two of them.

Can't wait to throw these at my group...


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## Protagonist (May 13, 2008)

http://www.rpdoubleplus.net/randomskill.php

here's a (rather inelegant) script I wrote today because I love Asmor's idea and had time to kill during a really dull lecture on Virginia Woolf ; )


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## Aria Silverhands (May 13, 2008)

Wolfspider said:
			
		

> These skill challenges where Perception is a forbidden skill remind me of the scene in _Hellboy_ where the young FBI agent is being introduced to the big red guy and makes the mistake of staring at the grinded-down stumps of the half-demon's horns.
> 
> "What you looking at, kid?"



Hehe, that's hilarious.  That reminds me, I still need to grab that movie on dvd.


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## Ginnel (May 13, 2008)

As I've said before I quite like this method for idea generation, but I do see quite a lot of oh thats neat what if heal worked there and stuff, without it seems, any idea in how to encourage the players to investigate the use of these skills? The running one was cool and pretty much any player would have been able to try those skills in those ways 

but some of the more obscure ones how would you help your players out?

would you get the PC's to make a check and if they passed it they get the description of the neat stuff?

would you present the objects in the initial description and then when they look at them say theres something unusual about them they might want to check and and let the players think of how themselves.

Would you just leave the players to it and think of ideas by themselves, which would happen in any given scenario but would kind of make your neat ideas a bit redundent

Just some food for thought

- - - - - - - - - - -

Bing!


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## bert1000 (May 13, 2008)

Ok here's another one...

*“Batten Down the Hatches”*
Appropriate Skills (Moderate DC): Nature, Perception, Thievery, Arcana
Unlockable Skills (Easy DC): Religion, Stealth
Forbidden Skills: Streetwise
All other skills (Hard DC)

The challenge: A tribe of local Orcs have been tracking the PCs, and are now only a couple hours behind them and closing fast.  The party has found a large abandoned farm house, and decides to make their stand.  They must quickly create make-shift defenses to help hold off the Orcs’ attacks.  

Difficulty: 6 successes before 3 failures.

Nature: Some of the vines growing outside the farmhouse and snaking up the barn are actually “Ironweed”, an incredibly strong plant that can be used to tie close windows, doors, etc. 

Perception (unlocks Religion, realize Streetwise):  You notice a unusually large amount of country wards and charms scattered throughout the farm house.  The local population must be highly superstitious.  Maybe the Orcs of this region share those characteristics?  This unlocks Religion.  If a Hard DC is beaten, the character will also realize that a “Streetwise” check will not be successful in this situation, and can warn a character about to try this skill not to waste time on this activity.

Religion: You never understood why your temple elders taught you about the worship of Grumish until now.  You use this knowledge to paint strong symbols of Orcish curses on the house’s entrances.

Thievery (unlocks Stealth):  You construct make-shift pit traps along the perimeter of the house.  You’ve now done a thorough inspection of the grounds.  Although the pit traps will help stop a massed charge, you don’t think this will hinder 1 or 2 scouts from carefully approaching.  Unlocks Stealth.

Stealth:  You successfully sneak up on the house by using various hillocks, trees, and farm debris scattered throughout the property.  Your “trial run” allows you to direct your party to destroy the cover you used, and lay additional traps near likely hiding places.

Arcana: From your knowledge of astronomy, you estimate that the Sun will be rising and particularly bright when the Orcs arrive.  By making a side path facing east look like the easiest entry point into the house, you will channel the Orcs in a direction where the sun’s glare will make it hard for them to see the traps and your archery positions in the windows

Not usable - Streetwise:  The rules of the city are tough to apply in a country setting, and you spend considerable time trying to block a small cellar entrance when you realize that unlike the city homes you “frequent” these country homes have 2 other larger entrances to the cellar as well...

*Results*

Success: The defenses make a considerable difference and 1/4 the Orcs fall prey to the traps set.  The party will only have to fight off waves of 4-5 orcs at a time from two entry points.  

Failure: The battle becomes much harder.  Only a few Orcs fall to the traps, and almost the full Orc party makes it through to the house past the defenses.  The party will have to fight off 8-9 orcs at a time from three entry points


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## Asmor (May 13, 2008)

So I'm trying to come up with a list of ways for a skill to be forbidden. Here's what I've got so far, only one of each and I'm missing dungeoneering and and endurance:

Acrobatics: A surface the PCs may want to attempt to scale/climb/balance on is too fragile, and applying any weight to it only worsens the situation.

Arcana: Some arcane paraphenlia has been placed as a red herring, possibly by someone with reason to fear wizards.

Athletics: Something the PCs may want to move/push is simply impossible.

Bluff: The PCs are unaware that the person they're dealing with already knows about them and why they're here; should they attempt to lie, he'll know it.

Diplomacy: Someone the PCs must deal with is absolutely dead-set against helping them in any way.

Dungeoneering: 

Endurance: 

Heal: What appears to be a relatively simple medical issue (such as a cold) is actually significantly worse and any attempt at treating the symptoms only exacerbates the underlyind affliction.

History: The current situation is remarkably similar to a famous historic situation. It is purely coincidence, though, and any knowledge of the historic situation is entirely unapplicable.

Insight: Someone the PCs must deal with is a master of manipulating others, and is subtly bluffing them. Any attempt to glean insight from him will only cause them to play into his hands.

Intimidate: Someone the PCs must deal with will under no circumstances allow himself to be bullied.

Nature: Something which appears natural is not, and behaves strangely and counterintuitively.

Perception: The PCs are being observed, and if they appear to be prying too much will be shooed off.

Religion: Some religious paraphenelia has been placed as a red herring, possibly by someone with reason to fear religious folk.

Stealth: The PCs are being observed so well that any attempt at stealth would be immediately foiled.

Streetwise: The PCs are in a situation where "street smarts" are simply unapplicable, such as in a noble court or in a wildly-different culture.

Thievery: Something the PCs might want to steal or manipulate is being too well-observed or protected for it to have any hope of success.


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## LostInTheMists (May 13, 2008)

Ginnel said:
			
		

> As I've said before I quite like this method for idea generation, but I do see quite a lot of oh thats neat what if heal worked there and stuff, without it seems, any idea in how to encourage the players to investigate the use of these skills? The running one was cool and pretty much any player would have been able to try those skills in those ways
> 
> but some of the more obscure ones how would you help your players out?




Those are only the "primary" skills, if you will, that could be used for the situation... the ones that would most directly have an impact on the scene at hand.  There's really nothing saying that other skills can't be used - it would just take some creativity on the part of the players, and perhaps a bit of a higher DC to use that skill due to its imperfect fit with the task at hand.

In the example I posted before, about the cross-city race, the four "main" skills were Endurance, Perception, Religion, and Streetwise.  However, there's absolutely nothing stopping a character from trying to Intimidate people to get out of the way, or Bluffing a guard on horseback to clear a path for them with the claim of an emergency, or anything else for that matter.  Some skills just work better, and it's up to the DM to be the arbiter of what's feasible ("Trying to Intimidate the crowd to clear a path?  Sure, that could work, but it'll be a little more difficult since you have to get a LOT of people to move.") and what's much less likely to work ("And how, exactly, do you think a Heal check will help you get further in the race?").


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## bert1000 (May 13, 2008)

Ginnel said:
			
		

> As I've said before I quite like this method for idea generation, but I do see quite a lot of oh thats neat what if heal worked there and stuff, without it seems, any idea in how to encourage the players to investigate the use of these skills? The running one was cool and pretty much any player would have been able to try those skills in those ways
> 
> but some of the more obscure ones how would you help your players out?




Well, the exercise we are doing here helps with ideas but I think the way the challenge unfolds live really depends a lot on a group’s playstyle.

For a real game I would modify things a bit. I'd add a description hinting at the more obscure appropriate skills. Also, I'd expand the appropriate skills beyond 4 if that seems right. For the example I posted above, I might describe the scene as:

“You come across a long-abandoned farmhouse just inside the woods.  Thick vines cover the house and small barn on the property.  The house is a large two story structure with faded paint and some damage to the front entrance and windows.  However, the structure of the house appears strong.  There is a soft glow on the horizon as morning slowly comes”      

The moderate and easy DCs reward players for getting the clues, but I'd allow any other ideas that makes sense. If a player wants to try to use nature to capture a wild animal to use as part of a trap - fine but it's a hard DC. If they wanted to use nature to determine which of the trees near the house could hold the weight of an orc, so they can chop it down, I’d allow a moderate DC.  It’s not what I put down on my list, but seems reasonable enough.

As for who describes what, here's a couple ways I could see the resolution going:

1) _Player's give vague description of how they use skill, and roll. Outcome is described entirely by DM. The pre-determined descriptions would come in handy the most here._

Player: “I use Nature to try to find some material around here that could help with the defenses”.  If player rolls higher than moderate DC, use your pre-planned description of finding the “Ironwood” vines.

2) _Player's give description of how to use skill and roll. DM says success or failure. Player describes result, with maybe some color added by DM._ 

Player: “I’m going to use Nature to determine which trees pose a danger; you know, can hold enough weight for an Orc to scale and get into the 2nd floor of the house”.  [player rolls] 

DM: “Success”

Player: “Great, I get Ernie and we chop down the trees near the house that I identified”

DM: “You are sweaty and tired, but are confident that the Orcs won’t be able to use any of the nearby trees as ladders into the house”      

3) _Player describes what they want to do without naming a skill.  DM determines skill appropriate to actions.  Player rolls.  Description of action as one of the above, either player led or DM led._

Player: “I want to find suitable, heavy wood to reinforce the windows and doors”

DM: Ok, that’s a nature check.  Roll...


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