Special Systems

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Skill Challenges

Based on mechanics proposed by various RPG game designers.

• Skill Challenges are explicitly stated. The players are told when a Skill Challenge begins, what the stakes are, how difficult it is, and what the Implied Skills for the challenge are.
• Skills
  • Some skills are implied by the challenge. These are called Implied Skills. They can be used in the Skill Challenge without special explanation.
  • Any skill that is not implied by the challenge is called is a Creative Skill. These must have a special explanation by the player for why the skill can be used.
  • In order to be used, the character must have Proficiency with the chosen skill.
• Stakes
  • Each failed skill check during the Skill Challenge one Failure. The Skill Challenge always end unfavorably when it accumulates 3 Failures.
  • Stakes can be graduated (for example, "for each Failure, the party takes 1d6 damage") or can be all-or-nothing (for example, "if the Skill Challenge fails, the boat sinks").
  • The stakes for each degree of failure is communicated before the Skill Challenge begins.
  • The stakes are dictated by the fiction. They can include anything, from narrative inconvenience all the way to character death!
  • The stakes can be shared (for example, "the party is cursed") or individual (for example, "each member of the party must make a Constitution Save or be turned to stone").
• Difficulty
  • All of the skill checks for the Implied Skills of the Skill Challenge are made at DC 15.
  • Skills outside of the Implied Skills may be assigned a higher or lower DC based on how they are applied to the challenge.
  • The DC of any check can be altered if the player and GM negotiate circumstantial bonuses, such as expending resources (spells, potions, healing dice).
  • The number of Successes required for a favorable outcome is determined by the difficulty of the Skill Challenge: 3 Successes is a Standard Skill Challenge, 6 is a Difficult Skill Challenge, and 9 is a Hard Skill Challenge.
• Structure
  • Players take turns in Initiative order.
  • On each player turn, they choose a skill that they are Proficient in and explain how they will use that skill to help with the challenge.
  • After the explanation is accepted, the player rolls a check using the chosen skill. If the check succeeds, the party gains a Success, and if the check fails the party gains a Failure.
    • Alternatively, if the party has already accumulated all of the Successes they need for a favorable outcome, the player may use a successful Skill roll to reduce the number of Failures by one, if supported by the fiction.
  • A player can't use an Implied Skill if they already made a successful check with that skill in the challenge.
  • A player can't use a Creative Skill if that skill was already used by any player, whether the check was successful or not.