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Mar 19, 2012 -- 12:59PM, Prom wrote:

(1) The players will be expecting a tunnel like this to spring to life, so some way of hidding the true nature of the tunnel would be helpful.

I can't help you too much with this. I say let the players assume what they want and if they don't want to go down it they don't have to. I assume they have some incentive, though.

Mar 19, 2012 -- 12:59PM, Prom wrote:

(2) DC's for the skills?

Moderate of their level for the primary skills you listed. Hard in general for any secondary skills (i.e. skills not specifically listed), though a good idea might garner a Moderate or even Easy check. Don't feel obligated to allow a good idea to work more than once.

Mar 19, 2012 -- 12:59PM, Prom wrote:

(3) How each skill can help the PC's get through the tunnel? Acrobatics and Athletics and pretty much sorted.

iserith will recommend (if he hasn't already) thinking of it not in terms of the skills but the actions to be taken. Perhaps:

Stay One Step Ahead: Nimble footwork (Acrobatics) or a sharp eye (Perception) will help you and your allies avoid getting grabbed or bitten.

Give Them Something to Chew On: The grasping parts seem to know what's live and what's not, but a clever substitution (Bluff) or the offer of some other treat (Dungeoneering) will delay them.

Back, You Devils!: Even these things must heed the power of your Sorcerer King (Intimidate, Religion).

Run For All You're Worth: Just book it through (Athletics, Endurance).

Each of these can be flavored as helping the entire group. The physical checks are the PC blazing a path or causing a distraction that allows the others to make equivalent progress without making a roll, or they could be advice to stuck members of the party.

Mar 19, 2012 -- 12:59PM, Prom wrote:

(4) What happens if a PC fails a skill check and the Skill challenge?

Nothing for failing a skill check: just describe how getting out has become more complicated. Go nuts, as this will inspire who makes which checks next. Frankly you can appear to complicate things even if they succeed, and it might prevent the common occurrance of the best skill getting used over and over again. If they fail the skill challenge, they still make it through, but the walls have divested them of some of their goods. Pick a random item, or maybe take some of their survival-days.

Mar 19, 2012 -- 12:59PM, Prom wrote:

Hi all,

I need some help and have about two weeks to prepare. I'm running the adventure "Marauders of the Dune Sea" and the players have come to a section where there are many undead zombies and skeleton battles next. I thought it might be nice to add something really creepy into the adventure, like a tunnel made of corpses and bodies to pass through. Something that has the walls, ceiling and floor completely contructed of human body parts that come alive when someone trys walking down the passage.

It's for a group of level 4 PC's. I figure a complexity of 1 is enough (4 successes to 2 failures). Skills that could be used maybe: Acrobatics, Athletics, Religion, Dungeoneering and Perception. Here is what I need help with (I don't want anymore combat enounters, the adventure has enough).

(1) The players will be expecting a tunnel like this to spring to life, so some way of hidding the true nature of the tunnel would be helpful.

(2) DC's for the skills?

(3) How each skill can help the PC's get through the tunnel? Acrobatics and Athletics and pretty much sorted.

(4) What happens if a PC fails a skill check and the Skill challenge?

I really feel like this is a trap or hazard because there is nothing really at stake to give the skill challenge weight.

Would you feel comfortable turning this into an encounter with a really cool hazard/trap (the grasping arms and legs) and then maybe some creature at the far end of the tunnel blasting the PCs with magic/arrows/its own poo?

Mar 20, 2012 -- 1:02PM, iserith wrote:

I have an idea of a long hall where the desiccated arms of former petitioners of the temple are mortared into the walls and animated (claw attacks and/or grab). At the far end of the room, in an antechamber, is a pile of skulls that scream and use fear effects to push people back into the corridor of arms. And then either leg/torso animated undead covered in sharpened bones and teeth that run at the PCs and fight in melee.

Use every part, like a buffalo. The "skill challenge" would all be in the countermeasures.

Now you are talking. I was think about also having the floor open up into a pit of skeleton arms that leads to hell and tries to drag the PC's down it. Make it even worse by having a stone door slide down to block their retreat.

I do actually agree this is a trap or hazard, but I want it to have more complexity to it than a trap/hazard mechanic, so that's why I'm saying skill challenge.

Mar 21, 2012 -- 1:13PM, iserith wrote:

It's not a skill challenge because there's no clear success or failure condition that I can see which will effect the story in any way. But that might because I am not familiar with your story.

Hey, sometimes a tunnel of grasping, disembodied limbs is just a tunnel of grasping, disembodied limbs.

Mar 21, 2012 -- 1:34PM, iserith wrote:

Mar 21, 2012 -- 1:15PM, Centauri wrote:

Hey, sometimes a tunnel of grasping, disembodied limbs is just a tunnel of grasping, disembodied limbs.

Truer words...

As an exercise, where would you put the needle on success or failure conditions if this was a skill challenge? What are the stakes? "Get through tunnel or... not?" Or maybe get through tunnel but with some resource drain (bleh). I'm not seeing it.

In fact, resource loss is what I suggested above. Survival-days in this case, or some minor items being pilfered. I agree it's rather dull. I was working quickly and with limited information.

It depends what's at the other end of the tunnel. If it's an encounter then failure means you're either ejected unceremoniously into the room or hindered at the entrance. Either way, the encounter sees you coming and has the advantage for a round or two (maybe mitigated by how many successes you have). If there's more travelling, but there's a time pressure, then you just burned time, meaning fewer rests can be taken.