Skill Challenges are one of the major new mechanics of 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. Their launch has not gone as smoothly, as their numbers had to be revised via errata after the first printing. However, they are an important part of the new system, and many DMs are looking for information about how to use them and examples. Below I have compiled a number of links about skill challenges, divided into several areas. Most of these links are from the RPG Bloggers Network, but other quality sites have been included as well. If you have other pages or posts that you feel help with understanding skill challenges, please let us know. Also please let us know if this is useful, or if you have any suggestions on how to improve it.
- Advice on Running Skill Challenges: How to make the most out of them in your game.
- Example Skill Challenges: Written-out skill challenges ready to be used.
- Critique: What do people have to say about the system itself?
- Other Useful Posts Involving Skill Challenges: Everything that didn’t go into the previous categories, including variant skill challenge systems.
Key
DDI Subscription Required
Podcast
Editor’s Pick
Advice on Running Skill Challenges
- How To Make A Skill Challenge Fun, Part 1
- How To Make a Skill Challenge Fun, Part 2: The world’s a stage.
- How To Make Skill Challenges Fun, Part 3: Pacing Yourself.
- Skill Challenges, Keith Baker Style
- More on Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenges – Own that @#$%!!
- What Skill Challenges Aren’t
- The Three Rules of Failure on Skill Challenges
- Planning Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenges as Tool for Putting Demogorgon on Dungeon Level 1
- Tiny Adventures at the Table
- 4e: Encounter Builder Checklist #2 – Skill Challenges
- How to Design a Skill Challenge, Part 1: Theory of Choice
- How to Design a Skill Challenge #2: Branching
- How To Design a Skill Challenge #3: Nesting
- How to Design a Skill Challenge Part 4: Sequencing
- How to Design a Skill Challenge Part 5: Cycling
- Failure is an Option: When to Use Skill Challenges
- Expanding skill challenges into adventures
- Group skill challenges
- Guidelines for Skill Challenges
- Four Skill Challenge Tips
- Fiddling With Skill Challenges, Part 1
- Fiddling With Skill Challenges, Part 2
- Overt Vs. Covert Skill Challenges
- The Challenge of the Skill Challenge
- Excerpts from the Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 on Skill Challenges
- Everything you need to know about Skill Challenges (but were afraid to ask)
- Ari Marmell takes on Skill Challenges
- Creating and Running Engaging Skill Challenges, Part 1
- Critical Hits Podcast #6: Interview with Mike Mearls
- skill challenges are about actions not skills
- Designing Skill Challenges
- D&D Podcast Episode #31
- D&D Podcast April 2009
- Tome Show Episode 131: Skill Challenge Advice
- The Challenge of Running Skill Challenges: Ruling Skill Challenges Part 1
- The Challenge of Running Skill Challenges: Ruling Skill Challenges Part 2
- The Challenge of Running Skill Challenges: Rule #4
- Ruling Skill Challenges: Social Skill Challenges Part 1
- Ruling Skill Challenges: Social Skill Challenges Part 2
- Life During Wartime: Skill Challenges on the Battlefield
- Wilderness Travel: Skill Challenges “Out There”
- Ruling Skill Challenges: The Math Behind the DCs
- Ruling Skill Challenges: The Mailbag
- Stat Blocks for Roleplaying
- Split the Party
- Wrapping Up: Skill Challenges for Dungeon Magazine
Example Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenges: City Ablaze
- Skill Challenges #2: Bet your life
- Skill Challenges #3: Demon Dialogue.
- Skill Challenges #4: The Better Part of Valor
- Skill Challenges #5: Kobolds Ate My Baby!
- Skill Challenges #6: Move the Crowd
- Skill Challenge #7: Walk Through Dreams.
- Skill Challenge #8: The Noble Assassin
- Skill Challenge #9: Prison Break: Caged
- Skill Challenge #10: Prison Break: The Armoury
- Skill Challenge #11: Prison Break: Freedom
- Skill Challenge #12: The Blackreach
- Skill Challenge #13: God of the Flaming Sea
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 1: Introduction
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 2: The Complexities of War
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 3: Diplomatic Mission Reconnaissance
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 4: Rally the Troops!
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 5: …The Body Will Die
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 6: Flush Out a Spy
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 7: Break the Siege!
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 8: Holding the Line
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 9: A Forceful Seizure
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 10: Quick, Before They Report to the Enemy!
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 11: Find and Ambush the Supply Train
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 12: Forcing a Surrender
- The Skill Challenges of War – Part 13: Routing the Enemy
- “We’re gonna need an bigger boat” an aquatic skill challenge.
- Navigating the Eckleborough Swamp.
- Faceless Crimes: Skill Challenge adventures for Fantasy Noir
- Streets of Shadow: Urban Chase
- The Trash Cart: Dealing in Junk
- Panic Attack: Three Days: Changing the Rules: Skill Challenges
- Orc and Pie: The Skill Challenge
- …Adrift in a sea of flesh and steel…
- Trapped Under Ground With a Whole Lot of Loot
- There’s a Rite Way, and There’s a Wrong Way…
- On the Road
- The Waiting Game
- “X” Marks the Spot
- Border Crossing
- Ditch the Tail
- Information Gamble
- The Missing Ingredient
- Rightful Heir
- Traveling Underground
- Temple Treasure
- Flee the Awakening Tide of Sklar and Sealing the Portal
- Pub Fight
- Overcoming Primal Fear
- Dungeoneering
- Drinking Contest
- Garnering the Cult’s Favor
- The Siege of Fallcrest
- Changing the World on Your Downtime
- “Give it back!”
- Reasoning with a Slaad
- Ruling Skill Challenges: A Real Skill Challenge
- Life During Wartime Part 2: Skill Challenges on the Battlefield
- Wilderness Travel Part 2: Hands On
- Stealth Challenge: Ghosts in the Shadows
- The Colossus of Laarn
- Falrinth’s Bargain
- Split the Party… Wisely
- Air War
Critique
- A Brand New Nail-Biter: Skill Challenge
- So we ran our first skill challenge
- Running Skill Challenges is a skill challenge unto itself
- Skill Challenges: Unnecessary and Problematic
- The Stages of Coping RE: Skill Challenges
- My Experiences With Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenges Suck! Or Do They?
Other Useful Posts Involving Skill Challenges
- The Skillforge: Skill Challenge Database
- D&D 4E: First Major Round of Errata
- A Simple Algorithm for Generating DCs
- In Praise of Wandering Monsters
- Ten Things You Can Do In Fourth Edition Part Two
- The Statistics of 4E Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenge Analysis
- Importing 4E Skill Challenges into Star Wars: Saga Edition
- Lessons Learned from 4e Part 1
- Skill Challenges – As flexible as the rest of the system
- Adventure Design Workshop Seminar (GenCon 2008)
- Lessons learned from Tiny Adventures
- Skill Challenge Request Line
- Obsidian Skill Challenge System
- Alternate Core Skill Challenge System
- The Festival Meta-Challenge
- Hacking Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenges and Indiana Jones
- Poker Skill Challenges (by Robin Laws)
- Opposed Skill Challenges
- Using D&D 4e Skill Challenges in Solo Encounters
- Design Patterns among D&D 4e Skill Challenges
- Using Chessboards for Skill Challenges
- Degrees of Success in Skill Challenges
- Skill Challenge via Email by Gabriel of Penny Arcade
- Skill Challenge via Forum by Geek’s Dream Girl
- Skill Rituals (Endeavors)
- 4e Skill Challenges Community Group
- The SkillCast: Skill Challenge Podcast
- Put Away Your Skill List: Be a Better Skill Challenge Player
- Antagonistic Viziers and Fleeing Pickpockets
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