Skill Challenges
Skill challenges are challenges designed by the DM primarly to test non-combat skills. They also occur organically, when players choose to avoid combat and take a non-violent, skill-based approach to solving their problems.
Designing a Skill Challenge
In simple steps:
- Choose the challenge's level; the default is the same as that the of PCs, but this is not mandatory.
- Choose the challenge's intensity: easy, medium, or hard.
- The system will determine how many skill checks should be required, and what DC to use.
- Choose which skills are tested.
- For each skill check, assign a secondary skill check, with a higher DC, as a "backup". If the PC fails the primary check, they can recover with the secondary check, and resume the challenge; otherwise, they fail.
Skill Checks and DCs
Number of Checks
| Challenge Level |
Easy |
Medium |
Hard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of Checks |
1 |
3 |
5 |
| Number of Bailouts |
1 |
2 |
3 |
This table determines how many skill checks are required to be passed. The DM must still assign actual skills, and explain what exactly the challenge is.
DCs by level
| Level | Easy | Medium | Hard | Level | Easy | Medium | Hard | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
15 |
18 |
21 |
|
11 |
25 |
28 |
31 |
|
2 |
16 |
19 |
22 |
|
12 |
26 |
29 |
32 |
|
3 |
17 |
20 |
23 |
|
13 |
27 |
30 |
33 |
|
4 |
18 |
21 |
24 |
|
14 |
28 |
31 |
34 |
|
5 |
19 |
22 |
25 |
|
15 |
29 |
32 |
35 |
|
6 |
20 |
23 |
26 |
|
16 |
30 |
33 |
36 |
|
7 |
21 |
24 |
27 |
|
17 |
31 |
34 |
37 |
|
8 |
22 |
25 |
28 |
|
18 |
32 |
35 |
38 |
|
9 |
23 |
26 |
29 |
|
19 |
33 |
36 |
39 |
|
10 |
24 |
27 |
30 |
|
20 |
34 |
37 |
40 |
Challenge Intensity
What exactly does intensity mean?
- Easy: just that. Rarely worthy of reward. Most skill challenges should not be easy; this category exists primarily to help adjudicate skill challenges that arise organically. It is also useful for allowing lower-level PCs to attempt "easy" challenges intended for higher-level PCs.
- Medium: the most common intensity. With 3 checks of a reasonably high DC, this is not easy to pull off. Ideally, PCs will use teamwork and ingenuity, not just die rolls, to achieve victory.
- Hard: what it says on the tin. Few PCs can take on such a challenge alone, even with the aid of Action Points and the like. There should usually be a less difficult way to achieve their ultimate goal, though it might be more tedious, or otherwise undesirable.