Skills: Difference between revisions

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~~== Group Skill Checks ==~~

As an optional (but strongly suggested) system, it is possible to levy skill checks upon groups of players or NPC's. This is a handy method for resolving shared tasks, such as the entire party sneaking into a dread fortress, or everyone trying to make it through a stuffy diplomatic dinner without using the wrong fork. In such tests, everyone is in it together. There is no separate success or failure: You all will succeed or fail together. You all sneak into the fortress, or you are all seen. You all get the treaty signed, or you all wind up in a war.

Group skill checks are complimentary to assisted skill checks (see below), but they are aimed at a different goal. Group skill checks are for situations where all the characters are in a shared situation. Assists are for times when one person is doing something (sweet-talking an innkeep, or threatening an orc) where one person is doing the action, but others can 'help out' (either smiling flirtatiously, or pantomiming bloody murder, in the background). The difference can be subtle, but the GM decides which mechanic is used in each situation. Note, however, that group skill checks and assisted skill checks never stack! You do one, or the other, and you can never give an assist in a group skill check.

To resolve a group skill check, the GM assigns one or more skills to be rolled, a target difficulty number, and a number of successes required. The most common group skill check is a shared [[stealth]] check, with a target DC of an [[Skill DC|Average difficulty]], based on the CR of the creatures you are attempting to sneak past. To succeed, the party needs one success for each person in your party.

Success or failure in a shared check is calculated very simply. All members of the group making the shared check, both players and any non-player characters, roll a skill check (using all systems detailed above). They compare this check to the difficulty. If an Average difficulty is required, then all rolls must equal or exceed the Average DC for the party to succeed. This only rarely happens. However, in a shared check, those members of the party who are more skilled in a particular skill can 'help out' those who are less skilled. Each character who beats the target DC by at least one full success category (e.g. Challenging, when only an Average is needed), contributes an additional success to the party's total per success category equaled or exceeded above the target. That is, if an Average target is required, and a character achieves an Average DC, they contribute 1 success. If they achieved a Challenging DC, they contribute a total of 2 successes. A Hard DC would contribute 3, and an Impossible check would contribute 4 successes. A natural 20 doesn't contribute any bonus successes by itself. However, the check's result is still modified by the normal +5 for being a critical result, making a higher result category considerably more likely.

A check which fails to achieve the target DC does not contribute a success. A check which fails by one success category or more below the needed success category (i.e. is less than an Easy DC when an Average DC was needed) subtracts 1 success from the party's total successes. A roll of a natural 1 subtracts an additional 1 success, for a total of two successes subtracted. The most that a bad roll can ever subtract from a group skill check is -2 successes (in addition to failing to contribute a success) — one for being one or more success categories below the target success category, and one if the roll was a natural 1.

Example: Five players and an NPC are trying to sneak out of the NPC's house before his wife spots them. If they fail, their planned evening of partying and sports events will be ruined! The GM decides they need six successes (one for each player and an extra one for the NPC), the target is an Average DC for the challenge rating of the wife (and we all know how tough THAT can be), and they each must make either a Stealth check or a Sense Motive check. Three of the players decide to make Stealth checks, and two players decide to make Sense Motive checks, to guess when the wife will be distracted. The GM rolls a Stealth check for the NPC.

Of all the rolls, most go smoothly, achieving the needed Average success. However, the group's heavily-armored combat monster fails badly, rolling a natural 1. This counts as TWO failures. To counteract this, the group's highly-skilled roguish 'face' rolled a natural 20 on her Sense Motive, scoring an Impossible success! An impossible success counts as a whopping four successes all by itself! Thus, four players and NPC's scored one success each with average rolls, one player scored two failures with a natural one, but another player scored four successes with a natural 20. Four successes - two failures + four successes = six total successes, and thus by the skin of their teeth, the players slip out to eat delicious tavern food, drink tasty beverages, and watch the arena fights.

Shared checks can be adjusted to any difficulty required, and can scale to as many or as few players are needed. The GM may declare by fiat that more or fewer successes are needed, or otherwise adjust the shared check as they see fit. Very difficult checks (lifting a castle door off its hinges) may require (party size + 2) successes against a Hard target. Very easy checks may require (party size - 1) successes versus an Easy target.

GM's are cautioned, as with any skill check, to consider what happens if the entire party fails the check. Making a group roll a group skill check to hold their breath while swimming through an underground cave, with no idea where the next air pocket is, is fine, but what happens if everyone fails? Just having everyone drown means the campaign is over because of a single skill check — no one is going to be happy about this. Instead, maybe the party loses consciousness, and wakes up on a darkened shore with only 1 hit point each, only to find that several days have passed while they recuperated. Worse yet, maybe they were "rescued" by a group of sahaugin, waking up in a cell somewhere in the Unterweldt, where they will soon be magically enslaved to an aboleth unless they can escape. Keep things fun, and have a backup plan if the dice don't favor the players.

Skills: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:55, 7 June 2018

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-== Group Skill Checks ==
-As an optional (but strongly suggested) system, it is possible to levy skill checks upon groups of players or NPC's.  This is a handy method for resolving shared tasks, such as the entire party sneaking into a dread fortress, or everyone trying to make it through a stuffy diplomatic dinner without using the wrong fork. In such tests, everyone is in it together.  There is no separate success or failure: You all will succeed or fail together.  You all sneak into the fortress, or you are all seen.  You all get the treaty signed, or you all wind up in a war.
-Group skill checks are complimentary to assisted skill checks (see below), but they are aimed at a different goal.  Group skill checks are for situations where all the characters are in a shared situation.  Assists are for times when one person is doing something (sweet-talking an innkeep, or threatening an orc) where one person is doing the action, but others can 'help out' (either smiling flirtatiously, or pantomiming bloody murder, in the background).  The difference can be subtle, but the GM decides which mechanic is used in each situation. Note, however, that group skill checks and assisted skill checks never stack!  You do one, or the other, and you can never give an assist in a group skill check.
-To resolve a group skill check, the GM assigns one or more skills to be rolled, a target difficulty number, and a number of successes required.  The most common group skill check is a shared [[stealth]] check, with a target DC of an [[Skill DC|Average difficulty]], based on the CR of the creatures you are attempting to sneak past.  To succeed, the party needs one success for each person in your party.
-Success or failure in a shared check is calculated very simply. All members of the group making the shared check, both players and any non-player characters, roll a skill check (using all systems detailed above).  They compare this check to the difficulty. If an Average difficulty is required, then all rolls must equal or exceed the Average DC for the party to succeed.  This only rarely happens.  However, in a shared check, those members of the party who are more skilled in a particular skill can 'help out' those who are less skilled.  Each character who beats the target DC by at least one full success category (e.g. Challenging, when only an Average is needed), contributes an additional success to the party's total per success category equaled or exceeded above the target.  That is, if an Average target is required, and a character achieves an Average DC, they contribute 1 success.  If they achieved a Challenging DC, they contribute a total of 2 successes.  A Hard DC would contribute 3, and an Impossible check would contribute 4 successes.  A natural 20 doesn't contribute any bonus successes by itself. However, the check's result is still modified by the normal +5 for being a critical result, making a higher result category considerably more likely.
-A check which fails to achieve the target DC does not contribute a success.  A check which fails by one success category or more below the needed success category (i.e. is less than an Easy DC when an Average DC was needed) subtracts 1 success from the party's total successes.  A roll of a natural 1 subtracts an additional 1 success, for a total of two successes subtracted.   The most that a bad roll can ever subtract from a group skill check is -2 successes (in addition to failing to contribute a success) &mdash; one for being one or more success categories below the target success category, and one if the roll was a natural 1.
-Example: Five players and an NPC are trying to sneak out of the NPC's house before his wife spots them.  If they fail, their planned evening of partying and sports events will be ruined!  The GM decides they need six successes (one for each player and an extra one for the NPC), the target is an Average DC for the challenge rating of the wife (and we all know how tough THAT can be), and they each must make either a Stealth check or a Sense Motive check.  Three of the players decide to make Stealth checks, and two players decide to make Sense Motive checks, to guess when the wife will be distracted. The GM rolls a Stealth check for the NPC.
-Of all the rolls, most go smoothly, achieving the needed Average success.  However, the group's heavily-armored combat monster fails badly, rolling a natural 1.  This counts as TWO failures. To counteract this, the group's highly-skilled roguish 'face' rolled a natural 20 on her Sense Motive, scoring an Impossible success!  An impossible success counts as a whopping four successes all by itself!  Thus, four players and NPC's scored one success each with average rolls, one player scored two failures with a natural one, but another player scored four successes with a natural 20. Four successes - two failures + four successes = six total successes, and thus by the skin of their teeth, the players slip out to eat delicious tavern food, drink tasty beverages, and watch the arena fights.
-Shared checks can be adjusted to any difficulty required, and can scale to as many or as few players are needed.  The GM may declare by fiat that more or fewer successes are needed, or otherwise adjust the shared check as they see fit.  Very difficult checks (lifting a castle door off its hinges) may require (party size + 2) successes against a Hard target. Very easy checks may require (party size - 1) successes versus an Easy target.
-GM's are cautioned, as with any skill check, to consider what happens if the entire party fails the check.  Making a group roll a group skill check to hold their breath while swimming through an underground cave, with no idea where the next air pocket is, is fine, but what happens if everyone fails?  Just having everyone drown means the campaign is over because of a single skill check &mdash; no one is going to be happy about this.  Instead, maybe the party loses consciousness, and wakes up on a darkened shore with only 1 hit point each, only to find that several days have passed while they recuperated.  Worse yet, maybe they were "rescued" by a group of sahaugin, waking up in a cell somewhere in the Unterweldt, where they will soon be magically enslaved to an aboleth unless they can escape.  Keep things fun, and have a backup plan if the dice don't favor the players.
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Skills: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 14:55, 7 June 2018

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