If you're enjoying the content here, check out our new site, Thoughtcrime Games. Thanks for visiting!
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
I’ve decided to start posting some of my skill challenges I’ve built. I’ve run about as many, if not more, skill challenges than combats in my 4e game. You’ve heard me talking about them before –I love them. Once I got used to the system though, I wanted to go further. To take this idea for a roleplaying mini-game to another level. One of the benefits of skill challenges is that the framework is simple enough that you can modify and tinker endlessly until it fits into the context of whatever you’re doing. Like the rest of the system, skill challenges are quite easy to “skin”. One template for a skill challenge could be reset to do any number of different challenges. Replace a few skills change the role-playing of the characters, and voila! “New” skill challenge. I’ll set my skill challenges up in a template format with some of the specifics yanked out so that they’ll be easier for you to use in your own campaign.
City Ablaze.
Scenario: A section of the city is burning, and the PCs are trying to rescue whatever trapped citizens they can while waiting for help to put out the fire, or everything burns down.
Complexity: Open (the skill challenge ends when goal is completed or three failures)
Goal: Rescue 20 townsfolk.
City Ablaze works in three stages. The PCs first need to locate a building with people in it who are stuck, they need to find a way in, and they then need to stage a rescue. PCs can make as many rolls as needed to complete a phase, but any failures count towards the total failures. After each skill is listed the difficulty of the DC you should use for the test, as appropriate for level.
Locate Endangered Citizens (Phase 1)
Skills used:
Perception (moderate): Nominate one PC as primary searcher. All other players may use Aid Other to help that PC.
StreetWise (moderate): Nominate one PC as primary searcher. All other players may use Aid Other to help that PC.
Success: The PCs find citizens trapped by the fire who need their help. The DM rolls a 1d6 representing the number of people who can be rescued on this attempt.
Failure: Keep Searching!
Get inside (Phase 2)
Once the players have located endangered citizens, they need to get to them.
Roll 1d6 (or choose) to determine the success.
1-3- Entrance Blocked.
The crumbling structure has created obstacles to getting in or out.
Skills Used:
Athletics (hard): Clear the rubble out of the way.
Perception (hard): Find an alternate route.
Diplomacy (hard): Does not count as a success, but allows you to enlist other citizens to help clear the rubble from the blocked path, giving a +2 on the Athletics check.
4-6- Roaring Flames.
The flames leap out at you, threatening to singe you with each step.
Skills Used:
Automatic Success: Lose two healing surges. You run through the flames, ignoring the danger to yourself.
Endurance (hard): You are able to weather through the worst of it. If you fail, lose one healing surge.
Acrobatics (hard): You leap and twist out the way. If you fail, lose one healing surge.
Nature (moderate): You understand how fire works and anticipate it’s movements. Does not count as a success, but grants a +2 to your Endurance or Acrobatics rolls.
Rescue
Now that you’ve come in, it’s time to get out.
Skills used:
Endurance: (moderate, group check): This does not count towards a success or failure for this phase. Any character who fails loses one healing surge.
Athletics (easy): There’s no better way out of this than through sheer effort. You lift the fallen and make your way out.
Perception (easy): You navigate the citizens out to safety easily.
Diplomacy/Insight (moderate): You are able to coordinate yourself and the those trapped. As a team, you exit safely.
Nature (easy): Knowing how to work within the flames allows you to guide everyone out safely.
Religion (hard): You pray to your god, and heeds your call for safe passage.
For any skill used, add the number of people being rescued to the DC.
The first time there is a failure in this phase, halve the amount of people rescued.
Similar Posts:
- Skill Challenges #5: Kobolds Ate My Baby!
- How to Design a Skill Challenge Part 5: Cycling.
- How to Design a Skill Challenge Part 4: Sequencing
A Jack of All Trades ,or if you prefer, an extreme example of multi-classing, Gamefiend, a.k.a Quinn Murphy has been discussing, playing and designing games straight out of the womb. He is the owner and Editor-in-Chief of this site in addition to being an aspiring game designer. As you would assume, he is a huge fan of 4e.
By day he is a technologist.
Follow gamefiend on 
I absolutely love this.
I want more, I want them in a PDF!
Please?!?
Glad you liked! There are definitely more coming, and a PDF compilation will come thereafter.
Also, I will take requests if there is any type of request someone wants to see!
Really great idea – I’d been looking for a fire rescue SC for my game, so thanks for giving me exactly what I was wanting
One question, though: how would you determine the xp granted, given that this is a challenge with an “open” complexity?
thanks muchly – keep them comin’!
Have you given any thought to using the Obsidian skill challenge system?
http://www.enworld.org/forum/4e-fan-creations-house-rules/241440-stalker0s-obsidian-skill-challenge-system-new-version-1-2-a.html
Your approach here already presumes a three-phase progression, so it seems like a good fit. I’d be interested to read your thoughts on how to run something like this using those rules.
@aoi. Glad you enjoyed! For the XP, I would give xp as an encounter level equal to the PC level. For every five or so people extra they rescue, I would give them XP like a minor quest equal to the PC level – 1.
@skeolan. I have looked Obsidian. I like what they’re doing there, but I actually prefer to use the core skill challenges just because I put a lot of other mechanics on top of it to fit the challenge. Take a peek at the challenges to follow and you’ll see what I mean. Thanks for your input!
I like that
If you’re looking for a theme suggestion, I’m thinking about converting one part of an game I ran last month into a skill challenge and I’d love to see your take on it.
Basically, the heroes are looking for children who disappeared from the village.
The quest needs them as kidnapped by a group of kobolds who want to offer them to sacrifice them to a dragon. Obviously, the adventure’s goal is to rescue them.
I played it with simple roleplaying. My first test (with adult gamers) had them question villagers and village gards and eventually find tracks in the woods that led them to the kobold lair.
In the actual game (with kids playing), the players circumvented the investigation and decided that the kids fell in a well… which conveniently hosted a tunnel that led to the kobold lair.
I have a feeling that a well crafter skill challenge could be an interresting take on handling the search.
Could you possibly make a Skill Challenge for me along these lines?
Setting:
A Army with Red Dragons attacks a city while the Cross City Race is going on. The characters have to rescue citizens and help the burning city the best they can before they get captured.
Is that possible? Thank you and I truly hope you can help