Tag: Skill Challenges

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Kidnap and Ransom (Part 1)

This skill challenge is broken into two parts. Part 1 (presented below) has the PCs working under a very tight time lines and allows them to adjust DCs depending on what they consider to be acceptable risk. The objective is for the PCs to find out where the kidnap victim is being held captive. Part 2 (presented tomorrow) outlines how the PCs may go about rescuing the kidnap victim before he is harmed or even killed.

Background

A nobleman’s son has wracked up gambling debts with a loan shark named Keddy Grujo. If the debt is not settled by sundown today, the boy will be killed. The parents cannot afford to make the payment as the father recently purchased a new sailing ship. Desperate, the father hires the PCs to rescue the boy. Grujo will be in the presence of reputable people all day. He expects the parents to pay, but wants an alibi just in case. Grujo’s men have orders to kill the boy if the ransom is no paid by sundown. If Grujo’s agents learn that a rescue is afoot they will increase the number of men guarding the boy.

  • This skill challenge is broken into two parts. The successes and failures incurred in part 1 do not carry over into part 2
  • If the DM chooses to make this one large skill challenge the PCs need to earn a total of 12 successes between parts 1 and 2 combined. In this case, failures incurred during part 1 will carry over into part 2.
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New 4e House Rules (Part 1)

Sometimes you have an idea while you’re playing and you think: “Man, this would make a great house rule.” And then you suggest it to the table and they shoot it down as dumb or too complicated or just unnecessary. And in most cases their feedback was bang on the money. However, every once and a while an idea that’s shot down refuses to die. Even though your immediate peer group thinks it’s a bad idea you’re convinced that it has merit. It is with this in mind that I’m writing this, the first of what I hope will be a series of articles, about house rules in 4e D&D.

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Player Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Focus: Bluff

Everybody lies and you can do it better than most because you’re trained in Bluff. But why limit yourself to just telling a convincing lie? Here are 10 new and creative ways to get more out of Bluff.

Bluff is not only applicable when speaking untruths. Any attempt at a falsehood is covered by this catch-all skill. Whenever you pretend to be someone you’re not, or mislead an opponent in combat, you rely on Bluff.

In many situations a Bluff check can or should be accompanied by another skill in order to make the lie more believable. It’s up to you and the DM to determine which situations warrant secondary checks, the appropriate DCs and what modifiers may apply.

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DM Resources Player Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Focus: Assisting (Part 2)

Assisting with skill checks needs to be something more than just a quick roll or an afterthought. I like the concept of assisting and I think there’s a lot of room to build on this mechanic. In Skill Focus: Assisting (Part 1) I was complained about what I think is a broken mechanic and shared my ideas on how to improve it. This time I’m only going to focus on the positives. I’m going to explore what actions constitute assists and expand on them.

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Player Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Focus: Intimidate

Mastering the Intimidate skill is difficult, probably more so than any other skill in the PHB. Intimidate is availabe to 12 classes (as shown in our Skill Matrix by Class) making it the most widely available skill (along with Athletics and Endurance). If you’re playing a class like the Fighter where you have very few skills to choose from, Intimidate is a very popular choice.

Despite the large number of PCs who take training in Intimidate, it’s a skill that has very limited uses. Using Intimidate during a skill challenge often counts as an automatic failure. If not, then you usually get only one try with Intimidate. In a perfect scenario a successful Intimidate check brings you one step closer to accomplishing the objective of the skill challenge. If you fail it can make future checks more difficult and count as one more strike. So it’s important to know when to use Intimidate and when to rely on a different skill.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: It’s Mine

A retired soldier, down on his luck and in desperate need of cash, recently pawned his dead wife’s wedding band. After coming into a few coins, the result of a lucky wager, he returned to the pawn shop to buy back the ring. Unfortunately the shop was recently burgled and the ring was stolen along with four others.

Setup

  • The PCs are hired by the soldier to recover his wife’s missing ring. He could have a previously existing relationship with the party or maybe he heard of thier heroic deeds.
  • The PCs are hired by the shopkeeper to recover the stolen rings. As a reward, he offers to give them the item they came into his shop looking for in the first place.
  • The PCs overhear the soldiers tale of the missing ring while they have a meal in the local tavern. They take pity on his situation and offer to help.
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Skill Challenge: Defend the Camp

The PCs are camping in the wild. Someone, or something, approaches in the middle of the night. In this circumstance, combat should only be considered as a last resort.

Setup

Presented below are three possible reasons for the PCs to be engaged in this skill challenge.

  • The PCs are in the process of setting up a permanent base camp. The location has strategic importance and needs to be secured.
  • There are few defensible locations to make camp in this area. Leaving this one means resting out in the open, exposed to all possible threats.
  • The PCs have setup camp in hostile teritory. The sounds of combat may alert nearby hostile forces.

The exact nature of the threat is left up to the DM. Some of the DC may need to be altered depending on the creature threatening the camp.

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Player Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Focus: Endurance

Do you think your really high Endurance is only good for holding your breath? You couldn’t be more wrong. Here are 10 new and creative ways to get more out of Endurance. So, for all those Fighters who have training in Endurance and don’t know what to do with it, read on.

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DM Resources Skill Challenges

Skill Challenge: Temple Treasure

A recent earthquake has uncovered a temple from a long-forgotten age. Rogues from a nearby town immediately tried to loot the temple, but were injured or killed by magical traps still active within. The head of the local church believes that if magic preserved the traps, perhaps it also preserved books, tomes, or other magical artifacts. He has been trying to put together a party to explore the temple, but the local folk are too afraid to do it.

Setup

  • The party’s Cleric or Paladin is requested by his order to help his fellow worshiper and recover any books in the temple.
  • The head of the church hires the PCs to recover any books that might be preserved in the temple.
  • The PCs fear that powerful undead may dwell inside the ancient temple. If they don’t act quickly to destroy the evil, it will threaten the welfare of the nearby town.
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Skill Challenge: Travelling Underground

The PCs travel through a particularity hazardous section of underground passages.

Setup

  • The PCs are searching for a long lost treasure or artifact. Their search has led them deep underground.
  • Miners from a nearby community discover a preexisting passage that leads deep underground. The PCs are hired to explore the cavern and see where it leads.
  • An escaped criminal flees through a cavernous mountain passage. The PCs are hired to capture him.

This skill challenge is broken into five encounters. In order to overcome the skill challenge the PCs must complete all five encounters. The DM can present the encounters in any order he sees fit. Each encounter will indicate the maximum number of successes that can be earned during that encounter. Failures are cumulative and carry forward through the entire skill challenge.

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