Random Skill Challenge Generator

[Aria Silverhands]

Here's a version you can roll on a d20. Re-roll if you roll the same skill. It also adds a couple other options to vary the challenges.

1 - No unlockable skills.
2 - Acrobatics
3 - Arcana
4 - Athletics
5 - Bluff
6 - Diplomacy
7 - Dungeoneering
8 - Endurance
9 - Heal
10 - Add another appropriate skill.
11 - History
12 - Insight
13 - Intimidate
14 - Nature
15 - Perception
16 - Religion
17 - Stealth
18 - Streetwise
19 - Thievery
20 - No forbidden skills.

 

[Iron Sky]

Ok, last one. No kidding about the creativity surge it creates!

Appropriate Skills: Thievery, Heal, Athletics, History
Unlockable Skills: Nature, Perception
Forbidden Skill: Religion

So, this gives me the idea of some PCs searching for something in a partially overgrown jungle pyramid temple to a dark god. They find an unconcious halfling rogue near a half-sprung, overgrown trap. They need to get into the temple to do X(where X might be learn about this taboo god since he seems to be awakening or maybe simply find the vast treasures his priests stockpiled there).

Thievery: There are several traps that are only semi functional due to the jungle growth. They are fairly easy to find as some of them are partially sprung and can be disabled by PCs using this skill. Some of the once-mechanical traps have now become natural too(vine-mats grown over spike-trap pits, sprung blade traps with sometimes loose vines over them that can be swung/climbed across. Success unlocks Nature(see below).

Ex. success: Player: I remove the spring from under the floor-plate and step on it tentatively. DM: It seems to be unresponsive now.
Ex. failure: Player: I remove the spring from under the floor-plate and step on it tentatively. DM: It explodes.

Heal: The halfling can be brought to conciousness using the heal skill. Once awakened, he tells them what he knows about the temple, it's traps and treasure and points out what he knows about out of gratitude for being revived. Success unlocks Perception(see below).

Ex. success: DM: The halfling sits up and rubs the bandage on his arm before looking up at you. "Gee, thanks, I thought I was a gonner when I heard that click. There's always a click before they trigger, remember that."
Ex. failure: DM: When you pull the halfling off of the spikes, you find that his body was the only thing keeping them from firing out of the wall and turning anyone in their path into a pincushion.

Athletics: The main path of traps can be circumvented if the PCs climb the rugged back side of the pyramid to get to the top. Alternately, there are many broken-off stone totems or columns that can be toppled into the traps to set them off before the PCs go in.

Ex. success: Player: I tip over one of the totems into the walkway ahead to see if I can set off the traps. DM: It falls into the traps and takes the brunt of darts, flame bursts, and flattens a demon-wasp nest.
Ex. failure: Player: I tip over one of the totems into the walkway ahead to see if I can set of the traps. DM: It falls the wrong way, knocks you into the pit you just climbed out of, and nearly flattens the wizard.

History: The temple was build by yuan-ti or tieflings or whatever a long time ago. PCs might remember that the priests of different temples all built them in similar fashion, each trying to outdo the others in size and complexity of traps. The PC might have heard tales about such temples or read a book about them.

Ex. success: DM: You remember that the yuan-ti empire built dozens of these temples and tended to design the traps so snakelike creatures wouldn't set them off as easily...
Ex. failure: DM: You remember that the yuan-ti empire built dozens of these temples and you're pretty sure you remember reading that the smaller temples like this one didn't have any traps.

Nature: Studying the natural growth over the ruins helps the PCs spot traps or find clever ways to get around them.

Ex. success: Player: I'll swing on a vine - Tarzan style - and see how much of the main walkway I can swing past. DM: You manage to find a sturdy vine and swing clear most of it, putting you almost at the temple steps.
Ex. failure: Player: I'll swing on a vine - Tarzan style - and see how much of the main walkway I can swing past. DM: You manage to find a vine that holds just long enough to break and drop you into the middle of the pirhana pool.

Perception: The halfling points out what to look for as signs of traps and some of the early traps he'd already identified(though he missed one obviously), helping the PCs avoid them.

Ex. success: DM: You notice the pressure plates immediately once he tells you what to look for.
Ex. failure: DM: You're pretty sure you see what he's pointing at. Something about pressure plates?

Religion: The dark god is so blasphemous that even reading the heiroglyphs and carvings on the temple or even looking at them too closely can make the characters ill, sick, or give them horrible visions. Even mentioning his name is forbidden in most civilized places since saying his name gives him power.

Ex. failure: You stare at the twisted runes, noticing they have the name of some god written three times in a row. Something like 'hastor'.

To succeed depends on how big the temple is. If it's a tiny temple, in might be 4 successes before 2 failures. If it's a huge temple it might be 8 before 4 or even more. The PCs could possibly go from temple to temple, exploring them (and of course killing their monsters and taking their treasures). Individual failures might partially set off traps, doing damage, or collapse part of the temple, making it more hazardous. Individual successes might help other teammates navigate their way into the temple.

I kinda like the idea of failures giving the next PC's check a penalty(so there's an immediate, noticable result, even if it's a fairly small -2) and successes giving a small-but-noticable bonus(like +2) to the next PC.

Brilliant idea Asmor.

Edit: Added example successes/failures.

 

[Khuxan]

Please tell me what you think:

Arcana, Diplomacy, Insight, History
Heal, Bluff
Thievery

A stern, ten-eyed sphinx stands watch over a book that is wrapped up in chains and locked tightly shut. The characters have been tasked with capturing the book and possibly destroying it, if they can discover how.

Arcana: Identifying the book’s evil nature as well as the specific runes etched on the chains allows the characters to explain to the sphinx how the book could be deactivated and destroyed.

Diplomacy: The sphinx is calm and polite, and allows the characters to say their piece. If convinced by their benign intentions, it may well be convinced to surrender the book.

Insight: The sphinx is troubled, as its time on this earth is drawing to an end and it wants to find the sphinx pups it spawned many years ago. It cannot leave while its left wing remains broken, but it is too proud to tell anyone why it winces in pain.
Insight unlocks Heal.

History: The sphinx has guarded the book for over a century, and within the next few years a prophecy has foretold that the sphinx will relinquish the book to a hero that can dispose of the book safely.
History unlocks Bluff.

Heal: The sphinx will look more kindly on the characters if its broken and inflamed wing can be properly set.
Heal is unlocked by Insight.

Bluff: The sphinx knows of the prophecy, and the characters could subtly hint that they are the foretold heroes.
Bluff is unlocked by History.

Thievery: The sphinx misses little with its ten eyes, and attempts to steal the book do not succeed. The book itself is attached to the ground with an invisible chain that only the sphinx can sever.

Each success grants a +2 bonus to the next check made by any character.

EDIT: Since we're all cr4zy about colour-coding, I tried colour-coding my skills.

 

[Valerion Steele]

clever idea with the cards.... also the die roll...
if i ever need help in creating skill challenges , i know now whom to ask for help ;-)
great creativity here...

 

[Ginnel]

Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful.

Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.

For example the conversation with the Duke, you know the one that is given as an official example
Its says intimidate won't work (it equals an auto fail) however what if your character after the initial conversation (which it says can still be part of the skill challenge) used intimidate to scare away other people courting the dukes favour I reckon that would work.

So while skills challenges are a useful tool and this card method may well inspire creativity for encounters, it shouldn't be used as a be all and end all for what works that is the DM's job to interpret the players actions and explain how they work out in the gameworld.
------------------------

http://xkcd.com/386/

 

[Valerion Steele]

Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful.

Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.

For example the conversation with the Duke, you know the one that is given as an official example
Its says intimidate won't work (it equals an auto fail) however what if your character after the initial conversation (which it says can still be part of the skill challenge) used intimidate to scare away other people courting the dukes favour I reckon that would work.

So while skills challenges are a useful tool and this card method may well inspire creativity for encounters, it shouldn't be used as a be all and end all for what works that is the DM's job to interpret the players actions and explain how they work out in the gameworld.
------------------------

http://xkcd.com/386/

i think the cards or die roll are for the dm to create the challenge not wich skills the players are told to use...i never give away dc´s or the skills needed...

 

[Aria Silverhands]

Not meaning to cause offence as I really enjoy the non whiny threads but I think drawing out cards for which skill works kinda defeats the object of skill challenges, which seem to be there to encourage characters to roleplay by performing actions which are are in character and that can be sucessful.

Therefore any skill should have a chance of succeeding, whether a skill is an auto fail or not would depend on the characters description of how he's using the skill.

For example the conversation with the Duke, you know the one that is given as an official example
Its says intimidate won't work (it equals an auto fail) however what if your character after the initial conversation (which it says can still be part of the skill challenge) used intimidate to scare away other people courting the dukes favour I reckon that would work.

So while skills challenges are a useful tool and this card method may well inspire creativity for encounters, it shouldn't be used as a be all and end all for what works that is the DM's job to interpret the players actions and explain how they work out in the gameworld.

The point of this isn't to create skill challenges on the fly during a game, but to provide a way to inspire a dm's inner creativity. They can use it to create a nudge in the right direction or even an entire encounter from it.

 

[Khuxan]

Another one:

Dungeoneering, Intimidate, History, Insight.
Thievery, Nature.
Heal.

Growing on a dungeon wall is a tumorous growth, pulsating steadily and oozing a thin yellow fluid. A tear in the tumour grows slowly but unstoppably, and a tentacle from some foul being pokes through the gap, flailing in the pure air.

Dungeoneering: While unfamiliar with this phenomenon, characters can compare it to the egg sacs some aberrations leave hanging from walls. If carefully detached in the right areas, the embryonic creature will stop forming. If the wrong parts of the egg sac are meddled with (a failed Dungeoneering check), the crack just grows larger.
Dungeoneering unlocks Thievery.

Intimidate: While young, the sentience inside the sac is conscious and able to communicate. A sufficiently dire threat could convince the abomination it is safer to remain gestating.

History: Several decades ago, similar growths appeared on trees and even large animals. The growths were singed with fire to prevent them from reaching maturity.
History unlocks Nature.

Insight: The creature is motivated primarily by hunger, and could be convinced to wait for more wholesome fare or even reveal what it hungers for so the characters can feed it.

Thievery: When instructed by someone familiar with this phenomenon, characters can put their dexterity to good use – pinching the tear shut in just the right places so that it seals.
Thievery is unlocked by Dungeoneering.

Nature: After being informed that this sac resembles the growths that appeared in forests and other verdant areas, you realise that the same techniques the druids and rangers used – slicing open the veins that run across its surface – could stop the development of this embryo as well.
Nature is unlocked by History.

Heal: Those familiar with cancerous growths on humanoids may think their expertise helpful here but, in fact, it just exacerbates the tear as the growth fails to respond to humanoid treatments.

 

[Hellzon]

OK, I'll try.

(In the example, PC:s are male and the NPC is female. A bit of nomenclature I stole somewhere.)

Appropriate skills:
Diplomacy
Insight
Religion
Arcana

Unlockable skills:
Nature
Intimidate

Forbidden skill:
Perception (heh)

Something diplomacy-ish, certainly. Maybe the PC:s are seeking help from a bishop of Wee Jas (insert your setting's god of magic here) before an excursion into the wilderness.

Diplomacy: The PC puts forth reasonable arguments for the bishop to render aid to them. The first success has the bishop reply wanting to know about the PC:s qualifications in detail, unlocking Nature.

Nature: The PC impresses the bishop with his survival skills and convinces her that the group is likely to succeed in their endeavour.

Insight: The PC gets a reading of the bishop's general attitude. The first success gives the hint that the bishop dislikes nosy people (discouraging Perception checks). The second one might give the whole list of appropriate skills (which shouldn't be hard to figure out, but I doubt hard facts will be unappreciated). Then it's time to hint that the Insight skill is "worn out".

Religion: One success gives the PC information that the bishop is in fact supposed to give aid in this case, according to ancient scripture detailing the duties of the church of Wee Jas yadayada. This unlocks the Intimidate skill.

In general, the PC discusses religion with the bishop, warming her to the group. The PC gets +2 to further diplomacy checks.

Intimidate: The PC lays the religious smackdown on the bishop, reminding her about the supposed punishment for going against Scripture (eternal damnation etc). I'd consider making this a hard check which automatically wins the conflict on a success but gives two failures on a failed roll.

Arcana: The PC discusses magic with the bishop, impressing her with his magical knowledge. That specific PC gets +2 to further diplomacy checks.

Perception: The bishop spots the PC peering around the room and gets upset at the nosy lout. Automatic failure.

OK, so Perception as automatic fail feels a little forced, but in general, this seems like a nice source of inspiration if you allow yourself to deviate from the guidelines. I'd take out the forbidden skill if I used this encounter.

 

[Wormwood]

What really impresses me about this idea isn't just that it's handy, but that it inspires creativity like nobodies business. A draw of the cards can not only lead to an adventure, but possibly seed an entire campaign.

This.