Skill Challenges | Running the Game
Why Role-playing Games Stack Exchange recommends it
Role-playing Games Stack Exchange answerers point people to it when asking how to run skill challenges, long-distance travel or complex multi-check scenes in D&D.
Recommended by 2 people across 2 different months, 2019 to 2020.
What it is
Matthew Colville's Running the Game episode 21 explains skill challenges, a mechanic where a series of ability checks together decide an outcome, and argues they suit action sequences that normal D&D combat handles poorly. It is a 22-minute talk-to-camera advice video for Dungeon Masters.
What people said
Strong rec JungleJoose · 2019-01 · Role-playing Games Stack Exchange · on “How can I manage long-distance travel by the PCs?”
Travel was one of the most challenging parts of DMing for me, because the pacing just never felt "right." When prepping my newest 3.5e evil campaign, I had a massive climb I wanted the party to take. I didn't want it to turn into 1,000 climb/use rope checks, or just a few checks to make a mile long climb. I did a lot of research via YouTube before the campaign, and came across a great YouTuber named Matt Colville who has a fantastic video on the concept of... The Skill Challenge Apparently this was introduced in 4th edition, and it seems to be more of a situational thing, but I can't recommend it highly enough as a way to spice up getting from point A to point B. [this video] When I did the skill
Strong rec linksassin · 2019-06 · Role-playing Games Stack Exchange · on “Are skill challenges an official option or homebrewed?”
Skills challenges are a common homebrew mechanic A skill challenge involves a series of ability checks where the cumulative result determines the outcome, rather than any individual check. They are a good solution for complex situations where a single ability check fails to encompass the scale of the task. Typically they are a collaborative effort between all party members, each contributing the skills they can to achieve some goal. If you are looking for "official literature" on skill challenges in 5th edition you won't find any. At present they have not been published as official content for this edition. Skill challenges were an official mechanic introduced in 4th Edition that proved to b
Cites goodguy5 · 2019-01 · Role-playing Games Stack Exchange · on “Handling encounter elements that would realistically cause instant death”
Group Checks, Success with a Cost, and Skill Challenges These three concepts are meant to be used in tandem, but can be cherry picked to suit your style of play. I have the most experience using them together. Group Checks This is pretty simple. Half the group has to pass at doing some thing. In the examples you provided, this represents the party collectively crossing the rickety bridge, or a group effort to handle Materia. Perhaps the Bare Minimum of 2 out of 4 people make the check/save. "Wizardface nearly falls through a gap in the rickety bridge, but McFighterson manages to grab his wrist in time. The rest of the walk is slower as you take your time, but there are no other events of not
Cites linksassin · 2020-05 · Role-playing Games Stack Exchange · on “How do I deal with long travels?”
I'm going to break this answer into three parts. One for each type of travel as I see them. There are likely more, and you should see this as a spectrum rather than distinct categories, but I hope this gives you a good foundation. Travel purely to get to the destination Sometimes the party is traveling purely because they were at location A and need to be at location B for the plot to continue. Location A and B are X days apart because you want your world to feel large and realistic. However the party are strong enough and/or the the region is safe enough that this journey poses no significant threat or point of interest. In these cases I encourage you to do what you have already been doing: