…so we’re going to need a bigger one. The Fine Art of the TPK brings us this great skill challenge where the players catch a monster fish:
The fishermen of Whisker Lake beseech you! A monster fish from the lake’s black depths has come, and is eating all of the fish! Old Jack Lefty has made a heavy line to hook the beast with, but none of the fishermen will go back into the water. “Please, we are humble folk without the courage to face such a monster, will you help us?” they beg. Your reasons are your own, but your group decides to help…fish the monster out.
Check it out!
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.
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He’s picked up on the “Powers of War” idea I liked so much where you can use up your encounter powers to add to a skill check. But he’s added something else to it. When the skill challenge can bleed into outright combat, that means two things: First, you may actually regret using your encounter powers. Second, you will face a choice. Will you get more benefit out of an encounter power by attacking with it, or using it to add to a skill check?
The reason this is such an interesting new step is that even more than “Powers of War,” it brings the gamist combat rules and “realistic” roleplaying rules together. Now you actually have a choice in each encounter between using your powers for combat, or using them in creative ways to pass a skill check. If you took this process to its extreme, every combat encounter could be described with a parallel skill challenge that would let you pass with roleplaying instead.
I really feel like you guys are starting to make something out of skill challenges that could change the face of D&D. 4th edition could become the framework for the first D&D with actual rules for roleplaying. I’m excited to see what comes next.
SWEET! Thanks for the link
I actually had intended it to be a hybrid of a skill challenge and combat. It ended up being a little bit more than the sum of it’s parts.
I am hoping like hell to finally get to use this one. I know my players are going to love it!
Off topic: I thought your first skill challenge you did here was one where Godzilla chased the PCs through the streets. But I can’t find it. Did you do one like that?
Hey Noumenon! No, you’re not hallucinating…the one you’re thinking of is The Batter Part of Valor.
Also, you hit on the potential in skill challenges that drew me to them. There’s never been a formal D&D mechanic or subsystem that formally rewards roleplay. It excites me working with this mechanic and one of the great things is seeing people like Donny and Mad Brew and The Core Mechanic and others who seem to feel similarly and working on adding cool elements to their game.
Lots of people got excited about the potential when they heard about rules for roleplaying… most got confused and quit. I wonder if anyone but Mearls himself has realized their potential as fully as you. Not in anything I’ve seen published.
I thought “Better Part of Valor” was the first one you posted. Must have been the first one I read. And then it doesn’t actually include the terms “skill challenge” or “Godzilla,” so I couldn’t find it. Thanks.