In Avoiding Death, Part 1 we covered these five recommendations for how to avoid needless character death.
Now we’re going to add five more ideas to the list. Most of these tips rely on you keeping your cool and not doing anything stupid. Sometimes that can be harder than you think.
This skill challenge can be run in both urban and rural settings. They are similar, but in some circumstances make use of different skills. Both variations are presented below.
This Skill Challenge can easily be adapted for any scenario where the PCs need to find an item or object that is rare, dangerous, hard to find, illegal, etc.
The PCs need to find a rare or illicit ingredient needed to complete a ritual.
In previous editions of D&D Perception was broken out into separate skills for spot and listen. In 4e, Perception is just one skill, essentially a catch-all for five senses. I think this is a huge improvement and opens the door to possibilities. With that in mind, I’ve come up with some alternate uses for Perception.
This skill is not, and should not, be limited to just what you can see and hear. You may not have as many opportunities to use Perception to determine smells, tastes or tactile sensation, but it shouldn’t be ruled out if you come up with a creative use for the skill.
The advent of technology has had a large impact on the RPG community. I can still remember several years ago pulling my laptop out for my regular Sunday night game. I explained I’d found a new mapping program I wanted to use for the game. That was the beginning of Maptools for my group and we haven’t looked back.
It seems everyone is getting in on the digital action. Even Wizards of the Coast has jumped on the digital initiative with DDI. It simply the next step in gaming.
You have decided to design your own Campaign World and you have the necessary resources in place. Now you’re wondering what are the next steps? It’s time to consider how you’re going to approach game design. There are a number of different ways to begin working on your campaign and there are still a few questions you need to consider before you begin. We’ll take a look at several of them.
Yesterday on At Will Gamefiend wrote about Branching in skill challenges. This is a way to add to the complexity of skill challenges to make them fresh and interesting. At the end of his article he mentioned Nesting as the next in the series.
The skill challenge below entitled Information Gamble is one we’ve been working on for some time. It incorporates some of what Gamefiend mentions about branching and so its release today ties in nicely with the discussion about skill challenges. The sub-challenge contained within the main challenge may also be what Gamefiend refers to as Nesting. I’m looking forward to his next article as I feel that there is a lot of room for skill challenges to grow and evolve.
The PCs are attempting to learn some information from an NPC. During the conversation they learn the NPC has a weakness for gambling.
Let’s face it some skills have more in-game applications than others. On any given night at my gaming table Perception checks are made at least once an hour. Stealth is also a very commonly used skill. And when it’s time for a skill challenge the skills most often relied on are tend to be Diplomacy, Insight and Streetwise.
So what if you’re a Fighter and your best skill is Endurance? How do you turn that skill training and that base roll of +10 into something useful and constructive to the story? More importantly how do you have fun as a player in the process? The answer is simple – use your imagination.
This skill challenge can be run in both urban and rural settings. They are similar but in some circumstances make use of different skills. Both variations are presented below.
The PCs are being chased through city streets and need to loose their pursuers. This can be accomplished by outrunning or outsmarting those giving chase.
Hostility between two neighbouring countries is still fresh in everyone’s mind despite the conflict’s recent resolution. The border guards often take out their pent up frustration on foreigners with legitimate reasons for crossing the border.
The PCs need to move through the check-point without delay and without arousing any unwarranted attention. Each PC needs to identify himself to the border guard, show appropriate travel papers, and state his reason for crossing.
Ethan the rogue worked patiently on the lock. Never before had he experienced a lock of this complexity. Adjusting his thieves tools slightly he disabled one of the magical wards. With sweat dripped from his brow he was aware of Braddoc standing over his shoulder ready to break the door down with brute force. “Back off Braddoc” the rogue said, “if this wizard has half the treasure we’ve been told of we can’t risk you setting off an explosion!” With that said Ethan made a few final adjustments and click. Turning the door handle Ethan opened the door of the chamber. Inside stacked on shelves were the wizard’s tomes, countless millennia of knowledge.
Before you begin the quest of designing your own campaign world it would be wise to equip yourself with the appropriate resources. Just as your Fighter wouldn’t go into battle without his armour and trusty sword, neither should you wade into the task of campaign design without an arsenal of tools to assist you.