Help a GM? Skill based encounters

self bump?

It depends on the type of campaign and the setting. I've had my players climb down snowy mountain slopes, brew potions, sail a boat through treacherous waters, investigate a crime scene, and help townsfolk craft and erect defences before a battle. Think about problems they might come across, and think how the skills your system uses might come into play.

Have the studious characters investigate a tomb while the others run around to deactivate the traps going off everywhere.

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This is a good question. A lot of DMs have no idea how to challenge characters with more skill sets than combat strengths. Partly this is because terrain is usually designed to limit and channel players towards a plot point, not to provide XP. If you put a 20 foot wall in front of the party, it's more likely to make them turn back than to give the rogue a chance to use his climb skill.

The "solution" some DMs will provide is to throw a set of similar, if not identical, skill checks at a player and call it quits. This is no fun for anyone. It's unstimulating to the dungeon master, and the player won't enjoy rolling 4-5 swim checks to cross an underwater tunnel unless there happens to be dramatic tension.

The real solution is to give a skilled PC the power of agency over WHEN he uses his skill, and how, and why. Present multiple-choice situations that call upon the PC to use logic or make a judgment call, which then requires a skill check or two. The skill is just the numerical translation of the player's intent for his character, so challenge the player first then the character.

Example: a rogue tries to bypass several guards in a prison complex. Have him watch and listen for several rounds, feeding him a little more information with each round. Plan out the walking routes of the guards, the presence of magical sensors and traps, and any extenuating conditions like slippery wet floors or a squeaky door. The rogue must get from point A to point B (a fellow PC in captivity) through the fastest or the stealthiest route, for which he will use Hide/Move or Stealth checks, Spot/Listen or Awareness, and maybe a sneak attack. He becomes the architect of his character's actions in a way not usually experienced by a "climb the wall to get into the window" check.

A PC with a long-term planning opportunities will start to evolve a methodology for solving problems and even a glimmer of personal style that begins to shine in his role playing.

>>51303070
2/2
Since you mentioned wanting to move away from stealth-based challenges, here is a short list of example challenges based on skill that I've used as a DM:

1) Diplomacy and Gather Information checks to get to the bottom of mysterious events, with a dash of Bluff and Intimidate. Unbeknownst to the PCs, the DCs for the checks get easier or harder depending on who they ask with what questions - like a Hot/Cold game. They started to realize that some avenues of inquiry were less profitable than others, and began to use GP and other favors to grease the wheels with local officials and prominent figures.
2) Appraise and Knowledge (various) to determine real jewels or magic items from among several deliberately placed fakes. Think Indiana Jones with the Holy Grail. Only someone who used the information he knew correctly would choose the right option.
3) Logic or visual puzzles for a Disable Device or very advanced Open Lock challenge. Successful checks against a progressively higher DC give hints but also run out the clock on an impending danger such as a rising water level or approaching fire.
4) Search or Survival to track, which yield hand-drawn pictures of tracks. Show the picture only when the PC lingers over the tracks; give him the option to sketch his own copy for later reference, calling on his drawing and memory skills.
5) Spellcraft to recreate an observed incantation by a Big Bad Evil Guy, in order to reverse it or wrest control away. Turn it into an opposed roll check as a battle of wills over a large-scale curse begins.

>>51301107
the biggest key here is to put pressure on them, otherwise they'll just be able to keep rolling until they get it

stealth/athletics checks to climb the walls of the bandit leader's fort? better roll well, because his guards round the corner in 2 turns

they botched it and high tailed it back to town? the guard is pretty suspicious of them, and unless they can intimidate/persuade their way past him in 3 turns, the entire bandit troop is going to catch up to them

they fucked that up too and got captured? they'd better sleight of hand their way out of their bonds and identify the religious/magic nature of the statue in the center of their holding cell within 4 turns, because foul smelling vapors are pouring from its mouth and filling the room

>>51303070
>and the player won't enjoy rolling 4-5 swim checks to cross an underwater tunnel unless there happens to be dramatic tension.

I beg to differ. My DM put in a small underwater tunnel one time. In and of itself it seems mundane, but there's always a bit of dramatic tension. First and foremost, fighting underwater is treacherous. The players should understand that up front. Second, because of this, this makes running away without some form of near guaranteed chance to swim out perilous, which means that escaping could be just as deadly as staying. It forms its own unique sort of wall. Third, if your player isn't mildly paranoid, what are you doing as a DM?

And fourth, it gets really funny when your druid turns into a large squid, grabs your rogue's face, and drags him through the tunnel, slamming him into walls all the while.

Bump a fellow new GM

>>51301107

Don't make "Skill based challenges". Interweave skill usage within your other challenges. So instead of that gang of orcs attacking the party over an open field, make it all broken up (balance, maybe even climb and jump). Or have them defending a checkpoint with traps all in front, and a rogue trying to disarm the traps is in easy range of their javelins.

Make it so that the dungeon has multiple factions of monsters at each other's throats, who don't like invading murderhobos, to be sure, but REALLY hate each other more, and gives the PCs some chances to play them off agianst each other, provided the right social skills are used.

Make at least one enemy stronghold where the amount of force available to the bad guys is overwhelmingly more than what the PCs can fight; but make sure that it's not on high alert, to get in and out with whatever the objective is, the PCs need to be smart and stealthy.

Add a level of complexity.