Skill Encounters challenge the characters’ expertise in various abilities, from sneaking past guards to disarming traps. These encounters require players to make skill checks using their dice pools and ability modifiers. Success or failure can have significant consequences, shaping the narrative and altering the characters’ paths. Skill Encounters encourage creative problem-solving and highlight the importance of each character’s unique talents.
Creating Skill Encounters
Skill checks should have drastic successes if there is a need to roll for one, however the extremity of the failure should depend on the action attempted. For example, if players need to jump over a gap they should not have to roll a Jumping check if the distance is not above their minimum jumping distance. If the gap does require a Jumping check then the result of a failure would be determined by the distance fallen. More complicated skill encounters might require a series of checks, perhaps in different of same skill groups.
Keep in mind that while there are purposes for each skill, always be open to viable solutions that the characters come up with. Perhaps you call for a sleight of hand check in order to cheat in a hand of cards, but the player is confident and has the trust of the table. They propose they disguise their hand instead to cheat right in front of the table without them knowing. If it seems like an appropriate skill then allow them the opportunity to play to their character’s strengths.
Remember that a skill check should not be a requirement to continue the main objective of your campaign, but rather something that is a gain to the characters and a hindrance at best. Using the Jumping check example above, if a player were to fail the Jumping check and the fall is 30 ft, the player takes the appropriate fall damage and must find a way back up to the party, whether it be through the succeeding party throwing a rope finding a place along the wall to climb their way back up. Unless having a specific plan such as the failure leading to a side quest or a cave that is actually a shortcut, try to make your skill checks failures more of a situation of the result still being a success, but at a loss to the players if able.
Traveling
There are times where traveling would require a skill check, whether the players choose to scale the mountain or navigate through a rough pass, or deciding on whether to travel by boat or stick to the shoreline might be occasions where a skill check is rolled. It could be as simple as a successful Geography check in a foreign land could reveal multiple landmarks on the horizon that give the players an intrigue to move to one of these locations. Alternatively, a check to traverse a harsh terrain may require more checks to get where the players are heading. If its an especially windy and wet day on a mountain and the players need to utilize a climbing kit in order to continue, that might require a Climbing check, followed by an Endurance check as the task takes longer to achieve and the players are being thrown about by the dangerous weather conditions. These types of weather conditions could also lead to other complications such as the characters getting turned around by traversing through thick fog, finding themselves at a different point of interest entirely.
Rituals and Seances
Magics based on the Planes are often ancient, powerful, and traditional magics, requiring a certain tact in order to work properly. The act of performing these types of magics are not as simple as spending Mana for characters to cast spells. These are great tools for story hooks and side quests that would require players to travel in order to gather the components in order to attempt these magics. For example, it could be simple components, such as a communion spells requiring a crystal ball and a number of candles that are the favorite color of the one being communed with, or it could be as complicated as a binding ritual that requires coal of cooled magma harvested at the apex of a specific mountain and a handful of herbs from a specific region that need to be dried into incense that must be burned in a bronze burner on the night of a full moon in a certain season.
Planeshifting is also a form of ritual, often with the components being of the land, such as a Stonehenge or a magical mirror that operates as a gate to another Plane. These types of rituals often require Mysticism skill group checks such as Decipher Magic or History checks to understand how the gate operates and where it leads. Once the player understands the magic they’re working with a Spellcraft check to operate the gate would determine the success, failure, and complications of the Planeshift.
These types of failures could lead to small mishaps or major complications. For example, to use a Stonehenge to Planeshift, if the player fails the check it could be a manner of the player needing to also spend Mana Points in order to open the gate, or the player is able to open the gate, unfortunately it leads them into a different gate in a similar region to where they were supposed to go, or that opening the gate leads in some hostile residents from the other side. No matter the result of the roll however, still try to keep the rule of a failure being a success but not without loss or consequence, unless planned otherwise.
Socializing
These encounters focus on the characters’ interactions with NPCs, from tense negotiations to charming persuasion. These encounters often test the characters’ Social Skill Groups, though socializing is not exclusive to these skills. Players must navigate complex conversations, read intentions, and influence outcomes by whatever means they deem effective. Social encounters add depth to the game world, creating opportunities for alliances, rivalries, and unfold the story through dialogue.
Traps and Hazards
Points of interest or even traveling has it’s dangers that serve as obstacles. Whether it’s a false floor leading to a pit trap or a heavy storm that lasts all day, these kinds of challenges posed are everyday struggles of the adventurers.