I am completely new to DMing and I am considering including a skill challenge in my next game. Most of the players are new to 4e and one of them is new to D&D in general. Should I explain to them the details of a skill challenge, or just roll with their role-play and ask them to roll skills as appropriate?
[RPG] Should the DM announce to the players they are in a skill challenge
dnd-4eskill-challenge
Related Solutions
Know that Skill Challenges aren't "pass-fail" in the traditional sense
One of the common mistakes about D&D 4e Skill Challenges (and arguably one perpetuated by many of the early printed materials) is that a skill challenge must be passed for the adventure to continue. Some early adventures included skill challenges and didn't even explain what happens when you fail. Do you try again? Does the game just end?
A skill challenge isn't meant to describe whether or not the players succeed at a task; the success is presupposed. The purpose of the challenge is to determine how the players succeed at the task.
For example, if there is a skill challenge to get through a door locked with arcane seals, alchemical traps, and ancient dwarven plating, then the players will get through the door, no matter how they progress through the challenge. The question is how they get through the door. The how generally describes the consequences of the action. It doesn't say whether or not they succeed, but what happens as a result of or during this course of action.
Do they dispel the seals with arcane knowledge, thereby gaining knowledge of arcane locks (and learning a new ritual) or did they merely scuff off the runes, destroying the locks and the knowledge behind them? Did they disarm the alchemical traps carefully, or did they trigger them and take lots of damage from acid sprays and fire jets? Did they carefully pry off the dwarven plates, gaining some rare treasure to sell back in town, or did they smash them to pieces, perhaps breaking a weapon in the process?
Think of skill challenges as opportunities to spice up the story, adding rewards or penalties that are meaningful because they are tied to an epic accomplishment the players achieve. The accomplishment itself is a given: it's needed to progress the story, so you're not rolling for that. You're rolling for the embellishment: the story flavour, whether good or bad.
At the start of the skill challenge, if I don't tell the players that this is a skill challenge, they are likely to mostly propose role-played actions that are hard to translate into a skill check, e.g. shouting out "Hold the thief!"
The players can, but don't need to know which skill/ability to roll. Pure RP actions are just fine even if they don't match a skill. You tell them what they can roll when they describe what they're doing, or whether they need to roll at all. Shouting at a crowded marketplace doesn't take much skill, but is unlikely to stop a skilled thief either, so they'll have to follow up with something else. Eventually they figure out they'll need to do better and use their skills. Also, just announcing the beginning of a skill challenge isn't necessarily a bad idea either.
In response to a general "what do you do?" prompt, some players are more likely to answer than others. Should I impose rules that ensure that every player gets a turn in the skill challenge and participates?
If this is a problem in your particular group, limiting rolls per player somehow is appropriate. It doesn't have to be either "free rolls" or "turn by turn" - you can decide that the character who succeeded in the last roll is busy carrying out the successful action and can't help with the next roll.
Also don't forget to mix up challenges with different skills; having a Stealth/Thievery/Streetwise -heavy challenge can be done single-handedly by Ron the Rogue if no other rules are imposed.
How do I handle ideas which I like from players, but which don't really correspond to a skill? Like in the example above, shouting "Hold the thief!" sounds like a good idea to stop a thief from running away in a city. But it would translate badly into let's say a Diplomacy check, especially if the character isn't skilled in that.
If it translates badly, don't translate it. Not everything they do needs to be rolled. Just tell them the action is impossible, or doesn't achieve the desired effect. If the idea is particularly crafty and clever, you can give them a free success. If the idea is particularly bad (tickling the sleeping dragon) you can give them a free failure. It's always up to you.
What if somebody proposes a good idea which corresponds to a skill that isn't listed in the primary or secondary skills for that skill challenge?
Let them do it. The primary and secondary skills listed are just suggestions anyway.
what do I do if the players want to cast spells instead of using skills?
It's the GM's call. Some powers have little combat value and yet see use extensively in the RP segments (for example, the Wizard's Cantrip). You can choose to limit the powers your party can use, and it makes sense as it prevents everything from boiling down to combat, but if you do so make sure it's got a sensible reason, like the thief constantly disappearing from view where they're hard to target.
Once the initial spontaneous idea have gotten used up, how do I prevent the players from simply checking their character sheet for their best skills and just proposing those?
I don't consider this a huge problem myself. Skill challenges are supposed to be an opportunity for the players to use their best skills. As long as they describe what they're doing, let them go with it. The example in the guide isn't a misuse of the mechanic - for players who don't know the monster manuals and other guides inside-out it's often difficult to remember which knowledge skill (History, Arcana, Religion, Nature...) matches which topic.
Best Answer
I had success doing the following while refereeing anything involving skills or abilities.
In short describe, make a ruling, and roll.
I personally don't mind feedback from the players. Often they think of things I don't. So after I tell them how it going to be resolved I will listen to what they have to say and make any changes I feel is warranted. But in the end the final decision is up to me.
Specifically 4e Skill Challenges often involve multiple steps and rolls, so you may want to make it more interesting by doing the roleplaying for the few rolls and if there is impending failure have the players figure out an alternative to the remaining rolls. Again the same describe, make a ruling, roll steps apply.
I can't stress enough how always making sure that the players describe things as if they were there before rolling is important for roleplaying. For me as well as the players. Often it leads to interesting details being revealed and enhances the encounter.