Valuables: I leave it up to the DM to determine how important this is to the skill challenge. If the PCs have spent the last three levels recovering an item, I don’t think they want to let it burn in a fire, so its recovery would be an important check. If they just decide to save a painting because it looks valuable, then it may not count as a success towards the overall skill challenge. But it may curry favour with the owner of the burning building if they ever need to go to him for a favour down the line.

Rescuing Others: I see this almost like a sub-challenge within the larger skill challenge. If the PCs make a successful Perception check, then they see or hear other people trapped in the fire. Then they need to do the following:
1) Get to the others (Athletics, Acrobatics, Perception)
2) Convince the others to follow them (Bluff, Diplomacy, Intimidate, Heal)
3) Carry or force the other out (Athletics, Endurance, Perception)

The number of successes (and there for the overall complexity) will differ depending on how long the DM wants the PCs to be in the fire. If you’re going to throw in the rescue elements then it will be worth more XP and will be a higher complexity.

If you use this skill challenge, let me know how it works out.

@Rook
Thanks, glad we could help. As with Chase Dagger, please let me know how this skill challenge works for your group.

@nemomeme
I think you’ll find that there are only so many options the PCs can take in a skill challenge of this nature. I’m glad that I wasn’t too far off the mark with my suggestions.

Rook’s last blog post..A Runt Rant: Race names

I am a little confused about Saving valuables, and Rescuing others from the fire.

Valuables: As I understand it; the PCs can make 1 successful history DC to find and save 1 valuable item. This success or failure counts towards the over all success or failure of the challenge. (Please correct me if I’m mistaken.)
I feel like it could be interesting to have multiple valuables lying around, the more the PCs try to take the more time they waste from escaping and the more they are weighed down by the items (resulting in -1 to physical skill checks.) Does anyone see a potential problem with that as a mechanic?
I find it hard to understand how taking an valued item would count as a success towards the overall success of the challenge, it almost feels like the benefit is the GP it will be worth. Mind you I can see how taking the item would count towards failure, or at least penalties to the next check (as I mentioned above.)

Rescuing others: As I understand it; the PCs can make a perception check and if they succeed they hear cries from a nearby room. If they succeeded this unlocks the opportunity to make a Bluff, and Diplomacy checks. If they succeed in the later checks the people are considered rescued. All three successful checks count towards overall success. (Please correct me if I’m mistaken.)
Similar to how I viewed the saving valuables; it seems odd to me that rescuing others would count towards ultimate success of the skill challenge, but I can kind of understand it.
I would like to award my PCs for rescuing for each group of people they rescue (2 seems to be the maximum.) I might allow a third group to be rescued as well, but I don’t want to alter the main skill challenge.

Any further clarification or additional ideas to add more to these parts of the challenge would be appreciated (but not needed.)

I am so happy you printed this fire challenge I really think it’s a great set up and an interesting spin in general.

Thanks again very much!