Skill Challenge Travel - Detailed
Why/where to use a Skill Challenge: Skill Challenges are used to make a complicated or tedious task easier and more fun to play.
Examples: Searching a wide area for a specific place or person/group. Being part of a ship's/caravan's crew to reach a destination or objective (complicated due to not only the task but also integrating the talents of PC's and NPC's to complete the task). Travel from point A to point B - with no exploring involved or a long period of travel with exploring but limited opportunity to find encounters/ruins/etc. If these examples were played out with detailed travel, they would likely cause boredom or frustration and take considerable game time.
Procedure: The Party is given the task. Then, each Party member explains what he or she can contribute, skill wise, to the completion of the task. Skills can be class skills, role playing skills, or secondary skills/background. Each Party member then does a skill check. If the Party reaches the required number of successes before they reach 3 total failures, the Party completes the task. The fewer the number of failures, the greater the degree of success. Each Party member may only use a specific skill once per Challenge - you cannot repeat the same skill in the same Challenge.
Necessary Number of Successes: The longer the task or the more demanding the task is, the greater the number of successes required. For example, two days travel through familiar woods might demand 2 successes versus 4 successes for 4 days travel through familiar woods. Even more successes would be required if the woods are unfamiliar to the Party and/or particularly dangerous and/or rugged terrain, etc.
Narrative: As each character succeeds or fails at a Skill Check, the GM can add in a bit of narrative to give the result of the success or failure. These usually just add in a bit of 'colour' to the descriptions; but success or failure by a substantial margin will often include opportunities (successes) or hardships (failures) to make such outcomes more significant. Neither opportunities nor hardships should impact the chances of success or failure of the Skill Challenge - otherwise, the Party is getting doubly punished or rewarded for the success or failure of the individual Skill Checks (note: if the player can make the case for it, a character may be allowed to build on the success of a previous Skill Check from that Challenge - see the Ranger example below).
Example One: Simple travel.
Task: The Party is travelling from Town A to Town B. The struggle between the King and the Nobles means the roads are not patrolled nor maintained as well as they used to be. Under normal circumstances, the trip takes 3 days and would not require a Skill Challenge. Now, due to bandits and other hazards, the same trip will require 5 successes from the Party to succeed.
Plan: The Party (Cleric, Wizard, Ranger, Bard, Rogue) decide they will travel by road and stay at a village part way between the two towns the first night and camp out near the road on the 2nd night. The players decide on the following skill checks for the Party: Bard - gather information (sort of a class skill, defaults to Bard's primary attribute - Charisma), Rogue - lay simple traps around campsite to warn the Party and hurt intruders (class skill), Wizard - herbalism (secondary occupation) to enhance food for more energy and taste, Cleric - cook an improved meal (relying on Servant - secondary occupation), Ranger - using class skills of either Survival or Tracking (whatever is necessary to complete the journey). In every case, but the Cleric, the players have chosen skills that have the best chance of success (class or developed secondary skills that are based on primary attributes). Unfortunately, the Cleric's player did not have such a skill to fit this situation…
Player One: The Bard will gather information at local taverns, etc. before leaving Town A to see if there are any patterns to the attacks on travellers (and how to avoid them).
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Charisma is a Primary attribute for the Bard) and the Difficulty Challenge (DC) is 8 (moderately difficult - have to sort through what is reliable information, do it quickly, and find someone willing to talk about a potentially dangerous topic). 12+8 = 20. The Bard needs to = or beat a 20. The Bard player rolls a d20 and adds his Charisma modifier of +1 (Charisma of 15) and adds 5 as he is a 5th level bard and uses the skill of getting information all the time (not a listed class skill, but the GM rules it is a sub-skill of the Bard's class skills). So, he rolls a 16; 16+1+5=22. This roll beats the DC of 20 so the Party has its first success.
The GM adds in a bit of narrative to illustrate the success: "At one seedy bar, you win over a serving wench. Besides other favours, she informs you not to stay at the inn in the village down the road. It's just a friendly piece of advice." ***Caution*** The GM has now given the Party the option of simply avoiding the inn and going for the next four successes OR they may choose to investigate further. The players will be disappointed if the GM shuts down a possible mini adventure in a heavy handed or awkward manner. The GM could avoid this problem by adding to the narrative that the food is terrible and may make them sick or the beds are infested with diseased lice/bedbugs/… either eliminates the need for an investigation and writing up a mini adventure.
Player Two: With the news from the Bard, the Party decides to camp out in the woods close to the village on their first night. The Rogue decides to set traps around the camp in places he would use to sneak up on the camp so the Party can use 1 guard at a time while the rest sleep.
The math: Setting traps is a class skill for Rogues. The Challenge Base is 12 (the Rogue has Intelligence as a Primary Attribute) and the Difficulty Challenge is 2 (impromptu materials but simple traps that will cause more noise and just slight harm, used at night so harder for others to detect - makes it a relatively easy task). 12+2=14. The Rogue rolls a 9 on the d20 and adds his Dexterity modifier of +2 (Dexterity of 16) and adds +5 as he is a 5th level Rogue. 9+2+5=16.
The narrative: "Thanks to the traps, the Party sleeps well and the shorter rest time needed (less guard time) allows an earlier start." The Party has its 2nd success.
Player Three and Player Four: The Cleric and the Wizard decide to cook a great supper for the 2nd night's stop to make up for missing the inn in village 1. The Cleric has the secondary skill of servant while the Wizard has the secondary skill of herbalism (adding nutrients and flavour to the rations).
The math for Player Three: The GM allows the Cleric to use her servant skill (cooking part of it) but rules she has practiced that skill only sporadically during her adventuring career. However, for this situation, it's the best chance for a success for the Cleric character (not skilled in wilderness/travel). The Challenge Base is 18 (Cooking is Intelligence based and that's a Secondary Attribute for the Cleric) and the Difficulty Challenge is 0 (It's a simple meal over a campfire in good conditions). 18+0=18. The Cleric rolls a 7 on a d20, adds +0 (Intelligence modifier), and +2 (she's a level 5 cleric but has not been steadily practicing her cooking since she started adventuring) 7+0+2=9. That's well below the required 18 and nearly an overwhelming fail (10 or more below the DC). The Party has its first fail.
The narrative: "Unfortunately, your cook ruined the meal and the ingredients for the main meal are inedible." Note: If this was the 3rd fail, the GM could have used it as part of the Skill Challenge Fail: "Just as your delicious supper was ready, it gets tipped into the fire. The resulting smoke and chaos from trying to save part of the meal distracts the entire camp." This could lead to a surprise attack on their camp… Be careful that the player with the 3rd failure is not made solely responsible for the failure of the Skill Challenge. Likewise, if it had been an overwhelming fail (Cleric's total was 8 or less), the narrative could have been: "Just as your delicious supper was ready, it gets tipped into the fire. As the Party tries to frantically save it, hot coals land on the pack containing your other cooking ingredients. Unless the Party finds or buys more food, the rest of the trip will be subsisting on travel biscuits and water. Luckily the hot coal that landed on the Cleric's gear only burned a gold piece sized hole in the seat of her spare pants." Notice it's a hardship (food) with a little humour, but it does not harm the Party's chances at succeeding in the Skill Challenge.
The math for Player Four: The Wizard has kept up her herbalism skill during her adventuring career. The Challenge Base is 12 (Herbalism is Intelligence base and that's a Primary Attribute for the Wizard) and the Difficulty Challenge is 4 (easy - best season for herbs and while other travellers would have gathered many of them along the road, the Ranger can help point out likely spots nearby but not next to the road). 12+4=16 The Wizard rolls a 10 on the d20, adds +2 (Intelligence modifier), and +5 (she's a 5th level wizard and has kept up her herbalism skill). 10+2+5=17 which means the Wizard has a success - giving the Party their 3rd Success.
The narrative: "While the main dish was ruined, the greens and other herbs gathered by the Wizard help make the meal of travel biscuits and water more enjoyable and much healthier."
Player Five: The Ranger could hunt (Survival) and replace the burnt meat in last night's supper; however, it would take time and a good day's travel will let them finish their trip. The Ranger player asks if he can do two Skill Checks in a row (#5 for Round 1 and #1 for Round 2). He wishes to use two different Class skills (Survival and Tracking) to look out for any possible signs of an ambush (tracks and anything out of place in the wilderness that could indicate a bandit ambush site). The other players and the GM agrees (just 1 narrative for 2 checks!)
The math for Player Five: The Challenge Base is 12 (Survival and Tracking are Wisdom based and that's a Primary Attribute for the Ranger) and the Difficulty Challenge is 9 for the Survival check (it's nearly a difficult task as the Ranger is trying to see signs of an ambush site before the Party reaches it and not tip off any bandits that they have been seen; but he is very familiar with this type of wilderness and is just looking at the road and the areas next to the road). 12+9=21. The Ranger rolls a 15 on the d20, adds +2 (Wisdom modifier), and +5 (5th level Ranger and it's a class skill). 15+2+5=22. The Party has its 4th success and has completed Round 1 (everyone has attempted a Skill Check).
The Ranger then attempts the next Skill Check (1st one of Round 2). The Challenge Base is 12 and the DC is 2 (easy - the GM agrees with the Ranger player that a Survival success should dramatically narrow down where to look for tracks and conditions are very good for finding tracks). 12+2=14. The Ranger rolls a 17 on the d20, adds +2 (Wisdom modifier) and +5 (Level and class skill). 17+2+5=24 which beats the required 14 by 10 points. The Party has its 5th success and has completed the Challenge.
The narrative: For an ordinary 5th success and the Party had a 2nd failure, "The Party arrives at the town gate an hour before sunset. Since the Cleric's God is revered in this town, you are passed through the gates with only enough of a delay for the Cleric to bestow a brief blessing on the guards."
The narrative for just 1 failure and it takes advantage of the Ranger's substantial success! Adding a benefit/opportunity to the narrative rewards the Party for their planning/thinking. "As your Ranger scouts slightly ahead, he gives a subtle signal to the rest of the Party to be alert but there's little danger. The road takes you between two wooded hills and then along the fields of the outlying farms of Town B. As you stroll past the farmhouses, your Ranger informs you of the lone bandit lookout hidden at the edge of the wooded hill on the south side of the road. He is sure the bandit scout doesn't know he was seen and that he would never attack an entire Party by himself. The Ranger is also fairly sure the bandits will use this site to ambush the next merchants who travel past that point. As you discuss what to do, you arrive at Town B."
The GM will need to have an encounter, maps, etc. prepared if the Party decides to act upon their information about the bandits. This encounter can be linked to a plot point that the GM wants to introduce (a captive of the bandits with information the Party needs, or the bandits are occupying an useful ruin, or by helping the town leaders get rid of the bandits the Party gains useful allies, or …). It can also be just a lucrative encounter (bandit plunder and a possible reward) that is a good deed. While it is more trouble, running an encounter here recognizes the excellent play and planning by the players and rewards/encourages it in the future. Note: this possible encounter is voluntary, the Party can choose to just inform the Town leaders (which will give the Party some good will) or even ignore the encounter totally. Forcing a potentially damaging encounter on a Party is only an option for failed Skill Challenges (e.g. 3 failed Skill Checks and the Party is ambushed by bandits).
Example Two: Combining travel and solving a mystery/problem. The only Skill Checks that are detailed are ones that are unusual or different from Example One.
Task: Two nephews (12 and 14 years old) of the Party's Cleric have disappeared from the isolated village they live in and their mother has appealed to her sister (the Cleric) to find them. The Party has agreed to help (Party - Cleric, Wizard, Ranger, Bard, Rogue). The GM rules it will require 8 Successes to discover what happened to the boys (The Cleric knows the boys well so she has a strong suspicion they have gone exploring/adventuring like their aunt. However, she does not know the village and the surrounding wilderness as her extended family moved there recently).
Plan: The players talk over the task and the best way to solve it with their skills. The Ranger's tracking ability is an invaluable resource but can be only used once in this Challenge. Using it immediately will have a very high Difficulty Challenge (DC) as it's a large area with lots of traffic; so the Party needs to narrow the search area down substantially. Tracking should be used last. The players decide they need to gather as many clues/information as possible and decide on the following order:
Player Roll One: The Cleric's player will go first. She tells the GM she will do a Wisdom check on her background knowledge of her family and the boys (what would they do, who would they talk to, etc.). She points out that her character sheet says she has strong ties to her family and knows them well (the player's attempt to persuade the GM to keep the DC low) and sorting out what is the best information will require Wisdom (a Primary Skill and her best attribute). The GM agrees but rules she will have to roll a Wisdom check (normally an automatic success to recall family information, but there's stress and the GM wants to know how well the player rolls to determine the number of clues). The GM tells the player the DC is very low due to her knowledge and she can check with other family members who will be eager to help. He does not tell her it is a DC of -2. So, the math works out as follows.
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Wisdom is a Primary Attribute for the Cleric) + the Challenge Level is DC -2. 12+(-2)=10. To just succeed the player needs a 10. The player rolls a 10 on a d20 and add her Wisdom modifier of +2 (she has a 16 Wisdom) and add +5 for her level as she is a 5th level cleric (she has kept contact with her family and her role as a cleric has her constantly dealing with people so she gets the level bonus). 10+2+5=17. The player succeeds by 7 points. The GM gives the player 7 pieces of information (a higher roll would have been more information, a lower roll less information, and a fail would have resulted in either false information or a possible lead being taken away - e.g. the younger sister hides and cannot be found as she fears her aunt now blames her for the missing boys, see below).
The Party now has 1 success (7 to go) and no failures plus the following information narrated by the GM:
Narrative: "As your search your memory and talk to other family members you recall several useful pieces of information about your nephews. First, they have always been fascinated with your adventures and are determined to follow in your footsteps. Next, they are used to wandering the woods and have enough knowledge to be confident but not enough to be safe. They would have prepared with at least some equipment. Also, they regard their younger sister, Alwin, as a pest as she constantly tries to tag along with them. In addition, they like hearing stories of ruins, adventures, etc. Their mother recalls having them wash their own muddy clothes several times and treating a few rashes from poison ivy. Finally, the brothers bicker constantly but stand up for each other if anyone else intervenes."
OR for a simpler narrative: "While you recall several pieces of information about your nephews; the one that stands out is their younger sister, Alwin, constantly tries to tag along with her brothers. She would be the one most likely to know what the boys were up to. "
Player Roll Two: The Wizard asks to go next. Her secondary skill set is herbalism and teaching wizard apprentices. The Party debates using the Bard instead but decide to save him for talking to other people as the Wizard has a decent shot at this challenge but not any of the other present challenges. The GM decides that the Wizard can use her teaching skill (Secondary Skill - Intelligence Attribute) to help her (talks to young people); but, the player must roleplay the conversation out. The player still rolls a Skill Check first to find out how receptive the sister will be to her enquires. The player tells the GM she will use her teaching skills, get introduced by the Cleric Aunt first, and will ease into the enquiry by demonstrating a little harmless magic and talking about other things first. The GM determines this approach should make the girl more receptive so he sets a low DC.
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Intelligence is a Primary for the Wizard) + DC 4 (Easy - Introduced, friend of aunt, helping find brothers but a stranger, don't want brothers or herself in trouble). 12+4=16. The player rolls a 13 on a d20 + her Intelligence modifier of +2 (Intelligence of 17) + her level of +1 (she is a 5th level wizard but has not taught anyone since level 1) = 16. The player just succeeds. The sister is wary but receptive to talking to the Wizard (a bad failure is she will lie, a failure is reluctant, a substantial success would be very cooperative as worried about brothers - note: the player will know her roll but will not know the girl is lying - just that she is very difficult to talk to…).
However, the GM ruled when this Skill Check was suggested, the Skill Check would determine the younger sister's state of mind while the actual Skill Check would be a role played conversation between the Wizard (player) and the younger sister (GM). Again, the roll only determines the girl's attitude at the start of the conversation, the Wizard can still pull off a success with great roleplaying and thinking/talking even with a badly failed roll; likewise, poor roleplaying and poor thinking/talking can turn that very successful roll into a Skill Check failure. Note: The GM should have fun with the experience and play the aggrieved younger sister - it will add to the challenge and keep the other players entertained...
In this case, we will say the Wizard player manages to coax out the following interesting pieces of information: the brothers have been hanging around 'bad people' (rude, drink, not nice), getting into swamps, and drawing treasure maps in their room. The Party has its second success.
Subsequent players' turns: These turns will be lightly overviewed as detailing them will add nothing new to the reader's understanding of how to use Skill Challenges. The players discuss what they have found out and what would be the best approach to get more information. They decide the Bard has a good chance of a success and getting useful information by telling and hearing stories in the local tavern. The Rogue will try searching the boys' room (with the Cleric's help to avoid suspicion) for any treasure maps or other clues. The Ranger will talk to local woodsmen (talking not a strong point for the Ranger, but these are 'his' people and he can have the boys' mother accompany him and explain it will help find the children (lowering the DC). These steps (and 2 out of 3 successes) help the Party narrow down the search area dramatically. Round 2 will mainly be about searching the area and will utilize skills much like Example One…
Examples: Searching a wide area for a specific place or person/group. Being part of a ship's/caravan's crew to reach a destination or objective (complicated due to not only the task but also integrating the talents of PC's and NPC's to complete the task). Travel from point A to point B - with no exploring involved or a long period of travel with exploring but limited opportunity to find encounters/ruins/etc. If these examples were played out with detailed travel, they would likely cause boredom or frustration and take considerable game time.
Procedure: The Party is given the task. Then, each Party member explains what he or she can contribute, skill wise, to the completion of the task. Skills can be class skills, role playing skills, or secondary skills/background. Each Party member then does a skill check. If the Party reaches the required number of successes before they reach 3 total failures, the Party completes the task. The fewer the number of failures, the greater the degree of success. Each Party member may only use a specific skill once per Challenge - you cannot repeat the same skill in the same Challenge.
Necessary Number of Successes: The longer the task or the more demanding the task is, the greater the number of successes required. For example, two days travel through familiar woods might demand 2 successes versus 4 successes for 4 days travel through familiar woods. Even more successes would be required if the woods are unfamiliar to the Party and/or particularly dangerous and/or rugged terrain, etc.
Narrative: As each character succeeds or fails at a Skill Check, the GM can add in a bit of narrative to give the result of the success or failure. These usually just add in a bit of 'colour' to the descriptions; but success or failure by a substantial margin will often include opportunities (successes) or hardships (failures) to make such outcomes more significant. Neither opportunities nor hardships should impact the chances of success or failure of the Skill Challenge - otherwise, the Party is getting doubly punished or rewarded for the success or failure of the individual Skill Checks (note: if the player can make the case for it, a character may be allowed to build on the success of a previous Skill Check from that Challenge - see the Ranger example below).
Example One: Simple travel.
Task: The Party is travelling from Town A to Town B. The struggle between the King and the Nobles means the roads are not patrolled nor maintained as well as they used to be. Under normal circumstances, the trip takes 3 days and would not require a Skill Challenge. Now, due to bandits and other hazards, the same trip will require 5 successes from the Party to succeed.
Plan: The Party (Cleric, Wizard, Ranger, Bard, Rogue) decide they will travel by road and stay at a village part way between the two towns the first night and camp out near the road on the 2nd night. The players decide on the following skill checks for the Party: Bard - gather information (sort of a class skill, defaults to Bard's primary attribute - Charisma), Rogue - lay simple traps around campsite to warn the Party and hurt intruders (class skill), Wizard - herbalism (secondary occupation) to enhance food for more energy and taste, Cleric - cook an improved meal (relying on Servant - secondary occupation), Ranger - using class skills of either Survival or Tracking (whatever is necessary to complete the journey). In every case, but the Cleric, the players have chosen skills that have the best chance of success (class or developed secondary skills that are based on primary attributes). Unfortunately, the Cleric's player did not have such a skill to fit this situation…
Player One: The Bard will gather information at local taverns, etc. before leaving Town A to see if there are any patterns to the attacks on travellers (and how to avoid them).
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Charisma is a Primary attribute for the Bard) and the Difficulty Challenge (DC) is 8 (moderately difficult - have to sort through what is reliable information, do it quickly, and find someone willing to talk about a potentially dangerous topic). 12+8 = 20. The Bard needs to = or beat a 20. The Bard player rolls a d20 and adds his Charisma modifier of +1 (Charisma of 15) and adds 5 as he is a 5th level bard and uses the skill of getting information all the time (not a listed class skill, but the GM rules it is a sub-skill of the Bard's class skills). So, he rolls a 16; 16+1+5=22. This roll beats the DC of 20 so the Party has its first success.
The GM adds in a bit of narrative to illustrate the success: "At one seedy bar, you win over a serving wench. Besides other favours, she informs you not to stay at the inn in the village down the road. It's just a friendly piece of advice." ***Caution*** The GM has now given the Party the option of simply avoiding the inn and going for the next four successes OR they may choose to investigate further. The players will be disappointed if the GM shuts down a possible mini adventure in a heavy handed or awkward manner. The GM could avoid this problem by adding to the narrative that the food is terrible and may make them sick or the beds are infested with diseased lice/bedbugs/… either eliminates the need for an investigation and writing up a mini adventure.
Player Two: With the news from the Bard, the Party decides to camp out in the woods close to the village on their first night. The Rogue decides to set traps around the camp in places he would use to sneak up on the camp so the Party can use 1 guard at a time while the rest sleep.
The math: Setting traps is a class skill for Rogues. The Challenge Base is 12 (the Rogue has Intelligence as a Primary Attribute) and the Difficulty Challenge is 2 (impromptu materials but simple traps that will cause more noise and just slight harm, used at night so harder for others to detect - makes it a relatively easy task). 12+2=14. The Rogue rolls a 9 on the d20 and adds his Dexterity modifier of +2 (Dexterity of 16) and adds +5 as he is a 5th level Rogue. 9+2+5=16.
The narrative: "Thanks to the traps, the Party sleeps well and the shorter rest time needed (less guard time) allows an earlier start." The Party has its 2nd success.
Player Three and Player Four: The Cleric and the Wizard decide to cook a great supper for the 2nd night's stop to make up for missing the inn in village 1. The Cleric has the secondary skill of servant while the Wizard has the secondary skill of herbalism (adding nutrients and flavour to the rations).
The math for Player Three: The GM allows the Cleric to use her servant skill (cooking part of it) but rules she has practiced that skill only sporadically during her adventuring career. However, for this situation, it's the best chance for a success for the Cleric character (not skilled in wilderness/travel). The Challenge Base is 18 (Cooking is Intelligence based and that's a Secondary Attribute for the Cleric) and the Difficulty Challenge is 0 (It's a simple meal over a campfire in good conditions). 18+0=18. The Cleric rolls a 7 on a d20, adds +0 (Intelligence modifier), and +2 (she's a level 5 cleric but has not been steadily practicing her cooking since she started adventuring) 7+0+2=9. That's well below the required 18 and nearly an overwhelming fail (10 or more below the DC). The Party has its first fail.
The narrative: "Unfortunately, your cook ruined the meal and the ingredients for the main meal are inedible." Note: If this was the 3rd fail, the GM could have used it as part of the Skill Challenge Fail: "Just as your delicious supper was ready, it gets tipped into the fire. The resulting smoke and chaos from trying to save part of the meal distracts the entire camp." This could lead to a surprise attack on their camp… Be careful that the player with the 3rd failure is not made solely responsible for the failure of the Skill Challenge. Likewise, if it had been an overwhelming fail (Cleric's total was 8 or less), the narrative could have been: "Just as your delicious supper was ready, it gets tipped into the fire. As the Party tries to frantically save it, hot coals land on the pack containing your other cooking ingredients. Unless the Party finds or buys more food, the rest of the trip will be subsisting on travel biscuits and water. Luckily the hot coal that landed on the Cleric's gear only burned a gold piece sized hole in the seat of her spare pants." Notice it's a hardship (food) with a little humour, but it does not harm the Party's chances at succeeding in the Skill Challenge.
The math for Player Four: The Wizard has kept up her herbalism skill during her adventuring career. The Challenge Base is 12 (Herbalism is Intelligence base and that's a Primary Attribute for the Wizard) and the Difficulty Challenge is 4 (easy - best season for herbs and while other travellers would have gathered many of them along the road, the Ranger can help point out likely spots nearby but not next to the road). 12+4=16 The Wizard rolls a 10 on the d20, adds +2 (Intelligence modifier), and +5 (she's a 5th level wizard and has kept up her herbalism skill). 10+2+5=17 which means the Wizard has a success - giving the Party their 3rd Success.
The narrative: "While the main dish was ruined, the greens and other herbs gathered by the Wizard help make the meal of travel biscuits and water more enjoyable and much healthier."
Player Five: The Ranger could hunt (Survival) and replace the burnt meat in last night's supper; however, it would take time and a good day's travel will let them finish their trip. The Ranger player asks if he can do two Skill Checks in a row (#5 for Round 1 and #1 for Round 2). He wishes to use two different Class skills (Survival and Tracking) to look out for any possible signs of an ambush (tracks and anything out of place in the wilderness that could indicate a bandit ambush site). The other players and the GM agrees (just 1 narrative for 2 checks!)
The math for Player Five: The Challenge Base is 12 (Survival and Tracking are Wisdom based and that's a Primary Attribute for the Ranger) and the Difficulty Challenge is 9 for the Survival check (it's nearly a difficult task as the Ranger is trying to see signs of an ambush site before the Party reaches it and not tip off any bandits that they have been seen; but he is very familiar with this type of wilderness and is just looking at the road and the areas next to the road). 12+9=21. The Ranger rolls a 15 on the d20, adds +2 (Wisdom modifier), and +5 (5th level Ranger and it's a class skill). 15+2+5=22. The Party has its 4th success and has completed Round 1 (everyone has attempted a Skill Check).
The Ranger then attempts the next Skill Check (1st one of Round 2). The Challenge Base is 12 and the DC is 2 (easy - the GM agrees with the Ranger player that a Survival success should dramatically narrow down where to look for tracks and conditions are very good for finding tracks). 12+2=14. The Ranger rolls a 17 on the d20, adds +2 (Wisdom modifier) and +5 (Level and class skill). 17+2+5=24 which beats the required 14 by 10 points. The Party has its 5th success and has completed the Challenge.
The narrative: For an ordinary 5th success and the Party had a 2nd failure, "The Party arrives at the town gate an hour before sunset. Since the Cleric's God is revered in this town, you are passed through the gates with only enough of a delay for the Cleric to bestow a brief blessing on the guards."
The narrative for just 1 failure and it takes advantage of the Ranger's substantial success! Adding a benefit/opportunity to the narrative rewards the Party for their planning/thinking. "As your Ranger scouts slightly ahead, he gives a subtle signal to the rest of the Party to be alert but there's little danger. The road takes you between two wooded hills and then along the fields of the outlying farms of Town B. As you stroll past the farmhouses, your Ranger informs you of the lone bandit lookout hidden at the edge of the wooded hill on the south side of the road. He is sure the bandit scout doesn't know he was seen and that he would never attack an entire Party by himself. The Ranger is also fairly sure the bandits will use this site to ambush the next merchants who travel past that point. As you discuss what to do, you arrive at Town B."
The GM will need to have an encounter, maps, etc. prepared if the Party decides to act upon their information about the bandits. This encounter can be linked to a plot point that the GM wants to introduce (a captive of the bandits with information the Party needs, or the bandits are occupying an useful ruin, or by helping the town leaders get rid of the bandits the Party gains useful allies, or …). It can also be just a lucrative encounter (bandit plunder and a possible reward) that is a good deed. While it is more trouble, running an encounter here recognizes the excellent play and planning by the players and rewards/encourages it in the future. Note: this possible encounter is voluntary, the Party can choose to just inform the Town leaders (which will give the Party some good will) or even ignore the encounter totally. Forcing a potentially damaging encounter on a Party is only an option for failed Skill Challenges (e.g. 3 failed Skill Checks and the Party is ambushed by bandits).
Example Two: Combining travel and solving a mystery/problem. The only Skill Checks that are detailed are ones that are unusual or different from Example One.
Task: Two nephews (12 and 14 years old) of the Party's Cleric have disappeared from the isolated village they live in and their mother has appealed to her sister (the Cleric) to find them. The Party has agreed to help (Party - Cleric, Wizard, Ranger, Bard, Rogue). The GM rules it will require 8 Successes to discover what happened to the boys (The Cleric knows the boys well so she has a strong suspicion they have gone exploring/adventuring like their aunt. However, she does not know the village and the surrounding wilderness as her extended family moved there recently).
Plan: The players talk over the task and the best way to solve it with their skills. The Ranger's tracking ability is an invaluable resource but can be only used once in this Challenge. Using it immediately will have a very high Difficulty Challenge (DC) as it's a large area with lots of traffic; so the Party needs to narrow the search area down substantially. Tracking should be used last. The players decide they need to gather as many clues/information as possible and decide on the following order:
Player Roll One: The Cleric's player will go first. She tells the GM she will do a Wisdom check on her background knowledge of her family and the boys (what would they do, who would they talk to, etc.). She points out that her character sheet says she has strong ties to her family and knows them well (the player's attempt to persuade the GM to keep the DC low) and sorting out what is the best information will require Wisdom (a Primary Skill and her best attribute). The GM agrees but rules she will have to roll a Wisdom check (normally an automatic success to recall family information, but there's stress and the GM wants to know how well the player rolls to determine the number of clues). The GM tells the player the DC is very low due to her knowledge and she can check with other family members who will be eager to help. He does not tell her it is a DC of -2. So, the math works out as follows.
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Wisdom is a Primary Attribute for the Cleric) + the Challenge Level is DC -2. 12+(-2)=10. To just succeed the player needs a 10. The player rolls a 10 on a d20 and add her Wisdom modifier of +2 (she has a 16 Wisdom) and add +5 for her level as she is a 5th level cleric (she has kept contact with her family and her role as a cleric has her constantly dealing with people so she gets the level bonus). 10+2+5=17. The player succeeds by 7 points. The GM gives the player 7 pieces of information (a higher roll would have been more information, a lower roll less information, and a fail would have resulted in either false information or a possible lead being taken away - e.g. the younger sister hides and cannot be found as she fears her aunt now blames her for the missing boys, see below).
The Party now has 1 success (7 to go) and no failures plus the following information narrated by the GM:
Narrative: "As your search your memory and talk to other family members you recall several useful pieces of information about your nephews. First, they have always been fascinated with your adventures and are determined to follow in your footsteps. Next, they are used to wandering the woods and have enough knowledge to be confident but not enough to be safe. They would have prepared with at least some equipment. Also, they regard their younger sister, Alwin, as a pest as she constantly tries to tag along with them. In addition, they like hearing stories of ruins, adventures, etc. Their mother recalls having them wash their own muddy clothes several times and treating a few rashes from poison ivy. Finally, the brothers bicker constantly but stand up for each other if anyone else intervenes."
OR for a simpler narrative: "While you recall several pieces of information about your nephews; the one that stands out is their younger sister, Alwin, constantly tries to tag along with her brothers. She would be the one most likely to know what the boys were up to. "
Player Roll Two: The Wizard asks to go next. Her secondary skill set is herbalism and teaching wizard apprentices. The Party debates using the Bard instead but decide to save him for talking to other people as the Wizard has a decent shot at this challenge but not any of the other present challenges. The GM decides that the Wizard can use her teaching skill (Secondary Skill - Intelligence Attribute) to help her (talks to young people); but, the player must roleplay the conversation out. The player still rolls a Skill Check first to find out how receptive the sister will be to her enquires. The player tells the GM she will use her teaching skills, get introduced by the Cleric Aunt first, and will ease into the enquiry by demonstrating a little harmless magic and talking about other things first. The GM determines this approach should make the girl more receptive so he sets a low DC.
The math: The Challenge Base is 12 (Intelligence is a Primary for the Wizard) + DC 4 (Easy - Introduced, friend of aunt, helping find brothers but a stranger, don't want brothers or herself in trouble). 12+4=16. The player rolls a 13 on a d20 + her Intelligence modifier of +2 (Intelligence of 17) + her level of +1 (she is a 5th level wizard but has not taught anyone since level 1) = 16. The player just succeeds. The sister is wary but receptive to talking to the Wizard (a bad failure is she will lie, a failure is reluctant, a substantial success would be very cooperative as worried about brothers - note: the player will know her roll but will not know the girl is lying - just that she is very difficult to talk to…).
However, the GM ruled when this Skill Check was suggested, the Skill Check would determine the younger sister's state of mind while the actual Skill Check would be a role played conversation between the Wizard (player) and the younger sister (GM). Again, the roll only determines the girl's attitude at the start of the conversation, the Wizard can still pull off a success with great roleplaying and thinking/talking even with a badly failed roll; likewise, poor roleplaying and poor thinking/talking can turn that very successful roll into a Skill Check failure. Note: The GM should have fun with the experience and play the aggrieved younger sister - it will add to the challenge and keep the other players entertained...
In this case, we will say the Wizard player manages to coax out the following interesting pieces of information: the brothers have been hanging around 'bad people' (rude, drink, not nice), getting into swamps, and drawing treasure maps in their room. The Party has its second success.
Subsequent players' turns: These turns will be lightly overviewed as detailing them will add nothing new to the reader's understanding of how to use Skill Challenges. The players discuss what they have found out and what would be the best approach to get more information. They decide the Bard has a good chance of a success and getting useful information by telling and hearing stories in the local tavern. The Rogue will try searching the boys' room (with the Cleric's help to avoid suspicion) for any treasure maps or other clues. The Ranger will talk to local woodsmen (talking not a strong point for the Ranger, but these are 'his' people and he can have the boys' mother accompany him and explain it will help find the children (lowering the DC). These steps (and 2 out of 3 successes) help the Party narrow down the search area dramatically. Round 2 will mainly be about searching the area and will utilize skills much like Example One…