DM Tips: How to Run a Skill Challenge (D&D 4e)

I'm always disappointed when I sit down in a new game on Roll20 with my characters who are built to be good at combat and at skill challenges only to see that the DM doesn't use skill challenges or doesn't run them properly. Some of the best feedback I get on my games is from the skill challenges, so I'm going to show you how to run them. 1. Read the D&D Essentials Rules Compendium , pages 157 to 163. Seriously, this (and this guide, hehe) is all you want to read on skill challenges. Ignore and forget everything else, including everything you've already learned or think you've learned. If a skill challenges comes out of the DMG1, DMG2, or any pre-RC module, recognize it as flawed and rewrite or cut it. For reference, the updated DCs for skill checks are on page 126. Don't be a biased DM and make up DCs based on your whim or how "creative" your players are. Just use that chart. (Or this handy one , if you like.) 2. Recognize that skill challenges are a pacing mechanic for non-tactical situations just like hit points are a pacing mechanic for tactical combat. To be fair, DMs have been running "skill challenges" for years. Situations come up in game, dice come into play, and you state actions and make a few checks until the DM is satisfied that you pulled something off or totally blew it. Of course, this is mostly just based on DM bias. Skill challenge mechanics offer you a way to take that bias out of the equation by providing DCs, primary and secondary skills, and advantages to create a consistent framework that is fair and balanced. It also gives you a means of pacing these scenes so they aren't so short as to be trivial, nor so long that they're tedious. Mechanically, they represent equivalent challenges to X number of standard monsters where X is the skill challenge's complexity. 3. Understand that skill challenges are based upon the fundamental conversation of RPGs : GM : What do you want to do? Player : I want to do X. GM : When you try to do that, this happens. What do you want to do? Throw in some skill checks and repeat. Key point here: Give the characters something to react to. If you give them nothing to react to, the players will look at their sheet, find their highest skill, suggest a complication to overcome based on that skill and ask to make a roll. This isn't ideal in many cases and can lead to the "hilarity" of "Intimidating the grass." While it's perfectly okay for players to suggest complications to overcome, don't state the goal of the skill challenge and then abdicate the rest of your role. Just like with monsters in combat, use complications to get up in the characters' grills. Give them something to react to, something that stands in the way of their goals, something interesting that demands their attention, right now. In a skill challenge, there is an overarching goal, a complex activity. It might be making your way through the Fetid Swamp before the goblin horde catches up to you. Or convincing the council of nobles to back your play against Duke Badguy. Or solving a riddle to end the ritual before the Gates of Hell swallow the world. Or anything that can't be handled in a single skill check, really. While the PCs are pursuing the successful completion of this activity, you're throwing complications at them, say, Acid Quagmire, Hidden Allegiances, or Infernal Glyphs, respectively. If the skill challenge requires 8 successes to beat it, then you should have 8 complications to throw at the PCs. Improvise them or come up with a list that will help you prepare to improvise using fictional "tags" like I've just given you. (Yes, the players can suggest their own to overcome.) Frame the scene and ask "What do you do?" Here's what it looks like in play (though I'm keeping the prose simple): DM: You're being pursued by the goblin horde through the Fetid Swamp. Along the way, you encounter great fields of steaming mud mixed with the acidic secretions of the foul denizens of this swamp. They block your path and slow you down. How do you deal with that? Player: I lead the way for the party and climb a tree and use the vines to swing across this area as quickly as possible. DM: Great, sounds like either an Acrobatics or Athletics check? The DC for this complication is moderate. Player: *rolls Athletics* Nailed it. I lead the party through the vines and over the acidic quagmire. Player 2: Let's see the horde keep up with that! DM: Nice. Once past the acidic quagmire, Player 2, you stand at the edge of a vast lake. Ominous swirls in the water alert you to lurking predators. The swim's easy enough if you aren't savaged by whatever is in the water. What do you want to do about that? And so on until the PCs win or lose the skill challenge. Everyone takes a turn in whatever order makes sense since the whole party is involved in the complex activity, generally. (I like initiative order myself.) Complications that are resolved go away; those that aren't resolved either stay in play or change according to context. When you're not presenting and resolving complications, you should be fostering interaction between the PCs and each other or with NPCs in the scene. Ask a lot of questions and look for things to reincorporate into your descriptions or to heighten the drama as you describe new complications. 4. Success is "Yes, and..." while failure is "Yes, but..." Here, "Yes" refers to the goal of the skill challenge, whatever it is. Continuing with the Fetid Swamp example, the goal is to get through the swamp before the goblin horde catches up. If the PCs manage to succeed in the skill challenge, yes , they outpace the horde and get away unscathed. If the PCs fail the skill challenge, yes , they outpace the horde, but they incur a cost or additional complication that carries forward. The key takeaway here is that failure cannot be a dead end. The adventure must move forward. It's possible that moving the adventure forward might include the possibility of being caught by the horde; however, these things need to be examined on a case-by-case basis and collaboration with the players is encourages so that everyone agrees on the stakes to be played for in a given skill challenge before it is kicked off. Failure needs to be interesting and allow the game to move forward, always. That's the basic gist of skill challenges, or at least the bits I find DMs are missing. I hope this helps and welcome any questions or comments. If there is interest, I can post a few examples of skill challenges I've helped other DMs write so you can check out the format I use.

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Good stuff. Most of this can be applied to any system.

Thanks, this is good advice.

Thanks for the feedback. As promised, some skill challenges: TAKING UP THE MANTLE ( Source , for more context) The roar of spectating elementals and other extraplanar creatures reaches a fever pitch as you make your way up the spiral staircase to a central statue on a glistening ice dais where you see the mantle, an ephemeral thing of swirling white mist and glimmering arcane motes. Will you be able to claim the mantle for [NPC] or will it be taken up by one of the combatants around you? 8 successes before 3 failures Primary Skills: Acrobatics, Arcana, Endurance, Religion, Thievery. A given primary skill can contribute up to 3 successes toward the skill challenge. A character using a primary skill more than once rolls against the hard DC 30. All checks in this skill challenge are standard actions. Secondary Skills: History, Nature. Secondary skills offer a +2 bonus to the next primary skill check. Skills that are not listed as primary or secondary skills can contribute similar bonuses but can only be used once. Special: PCs can remove a "strike" with any skill preceded by appropriate fiction as a standard action while adjacent to the statue. These checks do not count as success or failure for the skill challenge. Complications (DCs are 22 unless otherwise noted) : Slippery Dais, Out of Phase, Impossible Cold, Divine Incantations (DC 30), Freezing Rune Trap, Continuous Arctic Gale, Raw Power of the Paraelemental (DC 30), Maddening Whispers from the Beyond, Demands of the Existing Gods, Villain's Clever Ruse. Advantages: The PCs can use up to 2 advantages during this skill challenge. There Can Be Only One: If there are no enemies adjacent to the statue, a character can use a successful check to remove a failure the PCs have accrued (plus remove a strike) instead of earning a success for the skill challenge. This is My Destiny: A success against a moderate DC counts as a success even though the character making the check has already used the same skill to gain a success against a moderate DC. I am Worthy: If there are currently no strikes, a success against a hard DC counts as two successes: a success against both a hard DC and a moderate DC. Win: The NPC takes up the mantle and the PCs gain a boon of some kind. Lose: The NPC takes up the mantle, but the PCs incur a cost and/or consequence of some kind. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ THE BIG HEIST ( Source , for more context) To save the city from the dragon's wrath, its prized possession must be stolen back from those who stole it first. Will our heroes be able to nick the relic from the bankers who are similar to - but legally distinct from - Gringotts? 12 successes before 3 failures Primary Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Insight, Perception, Stealth, Streetwise, Thievery. PCs that succeed on a check using a primary skill may not use that skill to gain further successes in the skill challenge. Skill checks made with secondary skills are against a hard DC and similarly may not be used further in the challenge if a success is earned. Complications: Three phases to emulate a heist movie. Complications marked with an asterisk could be a combat scene. Success in the encounter counts as a success in the skill challenge (however success is defined in those scenes). All DCs are moderate for the PC's level except as noted. Complications remain until overcome with a success. The Plan: Potentially False Intelligence, Unreliable Inside Man, Pricey Thievery Consultant, Spies Everywhere (hard DC)*. The Heist: Heavily-Guarded Perimeter*, Magical Sensors (hard DC), Uncertain Safe Location (hard DC), Complex Locks. The Aftermath: Rival Thieves*, Sly Detective* (hard DC), A Single Clue Left Behind, Relentless Scrying. Advantages: PCs can use these at any time, limited to twice per advantage. Show 'Em How It's Done: Success on a hard DC with a primary skill confers a +4 bonus the check on the next hard-DC complication attempted. One-Trick Pony: You can succeed on a moderate-DC complication using a skill with which you've already achieved a success in the skill challenge. The Cleaner: Call in "The Wolf" to clean up your mess. Give up some wealth to remove a failure (figure out what stings at the PC's level). Or owe a big favor instead of paying. Win: The PCs pull off the heist and get away scot-free. Lose: The PCs pull off the heist but are known to have stolen the relic. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ RIDDLE OF THE MINOTAUR ( Source , for more context) 6 successes before 3 failures A magic circle of shifting arcane glyphs is tied to the bone-crushing stone ceiling that inches closer to you with each passing moment. Solve it and be spared, or find another way. Complications (9th-level, moderate DC 18, hard DC 26)*: Ancient Context, Shifting Runes, Inscrutable Cipher, Divine Seals, Astronomical Connection, Looming Threat. Primary Skills (standard action): Arcana, Dungeoneering, Endurance, History, Insight, Nature, Religion, Thievery. Each skill can contribute no more than two successes. Using a secondary skill or a primary skill that has already been used means rolling against the hard DC. Victory: The trap is disabled - the ceiling retracts and the magic circle dims and fades away. Those PCs who participated in the skill challenge receive a divine boon for impressing the gods with their ingenuity. Defeat: The trap is not disabled and the gods are angered at the hubris of these mortals. Those PCs who participated in the skill challenge gain vulnerability 5 to all damage (save ends). The trap continues to threaten them. * One random complication (roll 1d6) has the hard DC. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ BEER BREWING CONTEST ( Source , for more context) 8 successes before 3 failures Complications: Quality of Ingredients (moderate), Threat of Sabotage (moderate), Expert Competitor (moderate), Clean Water Source (moderate), Scarce Master Brewer (moderate), Secret Recipe (hard), Pest Control (moderate), Tough Judges (hard). Primary Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Insight, Nature, Perception, Streetwise, Thievery. Any skill that is not a primary skill is rolled against a high DC. A skill may not be used more than twice to gain a success in this skill challenge. Advantages: The PCs can avail themselves of the following advantages one time each. If you agree to take on a harrowing task for a local lord and prove your resourcefulness by succeeding on a hard DC complication, the lord assists you by giving you an automatic success on a moderate DC complication. You owe him that task after the competition. If you throw money at the problem (100 gp per level) , you can succeed on a moderate DC complication with an easy DC check. You can do this after the roll. Victory: The PCs win the beer brewing contest. They earn X gold and the favor of local dignitaries that can lead them to heroic fantasy adventures. Defeat: The PCs don't win the beer brewing contest. Local dignitaries suggest they're better adventurers than brewers and offer them heroic fantasy adventures to go on.

I don't supposed it would be asking too much for help on making a skill challenge?

No problem! Post what you're going for and we can workshop it here. Give me enough context to get something going but not info dump. Be sure to indicate the goal of the skill challenge and how many PCs you expect will participate.

Keep in mind though, The Question, that the mechanics of a skill challenge aren't necessarily enough to make it interesting. The belief by players that they were is what caused the concept to fall flat in the first place. The narration and description of non-mechanical skill challenges are still necessary to make the scenes engaging.

THIS AIR ELEMENTAL BLOWS ( Source , for more context... and a good discussion here) 6 successes before 3 failures (10th-level skill challenge) The air elemental, Squall, is quite territorial. If you do not turn back, your boat may become swamped and must be abandoned - unless you can convince Squall otherwise. (DM: Squall's mate, Gale, was recently captured by an unscrupulous wizard who was headed toward this island and so he is distrustful of mages.) Primary Skills: Acrobatics, Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Insight. Secondary Skills: Arcana, Nature. Special: PCs that speak Primordial gain a +2 bonus to skill checks if they are speaking with Squall while dealing with complications. Complications: Waters Rise (DC 18), Tempestuous Emotions (DC 18), Blasting Gusts (DC 18), Unclear Motivations (DC 18), Cracking Main-Mast (DC 18), Rage Against the Mage (DC 26). The idea here is that while some can spend their actions on trying to figure out and communicate with Squall, others are dealing with keeping the ship going and the crew safe in the face of Squall's rampant storm. Victory (Yes, and...): The PCs placate Squall and he lets them pass by clearing up the storm. As the sun breaks through the clouds, a rainbow appears and touches down in the water nearby. A leprechaun, G. Golly Willikers, Esq., is unceremoniously dumped into the sea, bound by a sash of ensnarement . He has quite the tale to tell and, notably, there's no pot of gold at the end of this rainbow. The rest of the trip to the island is easy, provided the PCs can put up with the leprechaun beseeching them for help at a near constant rate. Defeat (Yes, but...): Squall tires of the PCs and blows them away from his territory with blasts of wind. They make it to the island in good time, but the ship runs aground. (Picture one of those old-timey maps with the cloud-face blowing wind at a ship drawn on it.)

Great notes will be using them to add a lot more life to my sessions.

I noticed you use primary and secondary skills. I've personally kind of gotten away from it, feeling that it's not necessarily up to me as a DM to guess how the players are going to approach a problem and what they're going to roll to solve it. Most of my skill challenges just say "DC XX with a relevant skill." Also, what are your thoughts on the use of utility powers, rituals, etc. in lieu of skills. Sometimes players find themselves with a power, ritual, or character property that is useful in precisely the situation the DM presents them with. For example: DM: "...as you run away from the zombie horde, you come across a gate which is locked from the other side. Player 3, what do you do?" P3: "I'm an Eladrin. I've got Fey Step, so I teleport to the other side and unlock it." Finally, one thing I've done is have mini-skill challenges in the middle of a combat encounter - say, "okay, you have to do this, three successes before two failures. And you have to do it before the end of round 4." I've experimented with giving my players an option - okay, you can use a minor action against a hard DC, or a standard action against an easy DC.

crimsyn said: I noticed you use primary and secondary skills. I've personally kind of gotten away from it, feeling that it's not necessarily up to me as a DM to guess how the players are going to approach a problem and what they're going to roll to solve it. Most of my skill challenges just say "DC XX with a relevant skill." Also, what are your thoughts on the use of utility powers, rituals, etc. in lieu of skills. Sometimes players find themselves with a power, ritual, or character property that is useful in precisely the situation the DM presents them with. For example: DM: "...as you run away from the zombie horde, you come across a gate which is locked from the other side. Player 3, what do you do?" P3: "I'm an Eladrin. I've got Fey Step, so I teleport to the other side and unlock it." Finally, one thing I've done is have mini-skill challenges in the middle of a combat encounter - say, "okay, you have to do this, three successes before two failures. And you have to do it before the end of round 4." I've experimented with giving my players an option - okay, you can use a minor action against a hard DC, or a standard action against an easy DC. I think the original purpose of "primary" skills was to list skills that definitely could (or couldn't) help in the situation, in order to give the GM some control, to maybe get the PCs out of their comfort zone. Okay, the barbarian can use Athletics once but then it's back him risking Diplomacy. I'll generally let players use whatever skills they want, but I also encourage them to just tell me what they're doing and then we tie a skill to that, if I feel it merits a change at success. I will also take the skill challenge "on the offense" and describe situations that are "targeting" a specific player and would appear to call for a specific action. For instance, something swings down toward the PC, what does the PC do? Some players might still ask if they can use Diplomacy, but I think most will say that they get out of the way. Great, roll Athletics? Oh, you'd rather Acrobatics? Sure, go ahead. In other words, the primary skills can also be a signal to the GM how the skill challenge actually, you know, challenges. I prefer not to let powers or rituals gain successes. If possible, I look for ways that the challenge makes actually utilizing the power or ritual difficult in a way that skill can overcome. Doing something to control the elements while the storm is raging sounds like Endurance to me, for instance. I also don't necessarily tie successes to specific actions. You teleported through the gate, great: the zombies crush the gate and climb the fence and are on you again. What do you do? I love skill challenges, even full ones, inside combat. I don't offer minor action skill uses, though. If they want to work on the skill challenge instead of combat, great, if they would rather just fight, cool. I don't care if either the fight or the skill challenge is failed, and as we all worked up the consequences of the encounter together, neither should they.

@ crimsyn: Paul's answer would mirror any that I could give. Primary and Secondary are basically part of the "challenge" of the skill challenge. I used to not use them but then I started cleaving closer to the RAW regarding skill challenges per the Rules Compendium. The only addition that I do is the "complications" list and that's something DMs do anyway. I'm just putting it in a form to make it easier to improvise within the skill challenge framework. Skills that are not primary or secondary are permissible by the rules for skill challenges as noted in the Rules Compendium. It makes no mention of powers. I try to frame complications in such a way that a skill is the best mechanic for overcoming them rather than powers.