Not sure where to start with this. I find Skill Challenges challenging. Is it role playing or roll playing? Can one player do one thing and another player use a different approach? That was vague. Let's use an example (the names have been changed to protect the innocent).
There's a negotiation with an orc captain. Waid and Dawn are there. Waid has a character with a high Charisma and lots of social skills, but he personaly prefers one liners and letting his dice roll speak for itself. Dawn, on the other hand, plays a ghoulish anti-social behomouth with no Charisma or social training to boot, but he personaly enjoys play acting social encounters. If we let Waid roll play through the encounter it takes away Dawn's fun (for him) role playing opportunity. If we let Dawn role play the encounter it diminishes Waid's character because Dawn does everything Waid does, but without spending any points on Charisma or Diplomacy.
And that's just one periphral issue (I've got to be killing Steve with my spelling). What are skill challenges really? How do they work? Are they the best way? Are we using them correctly?
From what I can gather from the research I've done they work best in time consuming events. For example, the party is in a castle shoring up their defenses for a week before the orcs get there (Waid and Dawn really managed to piss them off). Durring that time each player makes a skill check of some sort that could reasonable help out. If enough successes are made the defenders get a +2 to morale. Something like that. Many skills used by many people over time.
I dunno. What do you think?
There's a negotiation with an orc captain. Waid and Dawn are there. Waid has a character with a high Charisma and lots of social skills, but he personaly prefers one liners and letting his dice roll speak for itself. Dawn, on the other hand, plays a ghoulish anti-social behomouth with no Charisma or social training to boot, but he personaly enjoys play acting social encounters. If we let Waid roll play through the encounter it takes away Dawn's fun (for him) role playing opportunity. If we let Dawn role play the encounter it diminishes Waid's character because Dawn does everything Waid does, but without spending any points on Charisma or Diplomacy.
And that's just one periphral issue (I've got to be killing Steve with my spelling). What are skill challenges really? How do they work? Are they the best way? Are we using them correctly?
From what I can gather from the research I've done they work best in time consuming events. For example, the party is in a castle shoring up their defenses for a week before the orcs get there (Waid and Dawn really managed to piss them off). Durring that time each player makes a skill check of some sort that could reasonable help out. If enough successes are made the defenders get a +2 to morale. Something like that. Many skills used by many people over time.
I dunno. What do you think?