Skill challenges inDungeons & Dragonsare encounters where players creatively use their skills to resolve a situation. The idea is to build tension and create an experience as engaging and reactive as combat - just without the fighting. In movie terms, skill challenges are like set pieces. They’re essential obstacles that showcase the protagonists' power and growth.

Older players might have unpleasant memories of skill challenges in Fourth Edition D&D. These sometimes felt like a series of fixed checklists rather than a creative use of player skills and imagination. Thankfully, skill challenges don’t need to be tedious or overly rigid. Let’s check out how to run fun skill challenges in D&D.

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What Is A Skill Challenge In Dungeons & Dragons?

A skill challenge is a carefully crafted encounter where the players must beat several skill checks to progress.Examples includedefusing a bomb, convincing an enemy to turn into an ally, investigating a crime scene,orinfiltrating a castle.

Different skills will make sense depending on the challenge. Defusing a bomb could require proficiency with Thieves' Tools, Sleight of Hand, an Intelligence check, or even an Arcana check if it’s a magical device. Great skill challengesincorporate multiple checks that engage different members of the party.

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The DM shouldknow the criteria for success and failurebefore the challenge begins. There are many ways to assess the party’s success. For example, if there are six skill checks, the party might need to beat four to succeed. Failure should have consequences but doesn’t need to mean a catastrophic result.Failurecan simply make thenext part of the adventure more challenging.

Essentially, skill challenges are a lot like combat in their execution. The DMsets out the situationandthe stakesandthen asks the players what they want to do. Just like combat, victory can come in more than one form.

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How To Set Up For Skill Challenges

Description

A skill challenge is supposed to be different from a skill check.Your playersshouldn’t be able to resolve the situation with a single abilityorspell.That said, if someone at the table comes up with a brilliant idea that you haven’t thought of, consider running with it - even if it bypasses the challenge. Rewarding player creativity makes for switched-on players.

Combat in D&D works best when the players feel a palpable sense of failure. The same rings true for skill challenges.The situation doesn’t need to be a skill challengeif there’s no way the party can failandno real consequences for failure.

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The description is the key tosetting up a skill challenge’s options, stakes,andconsequences.Whether it’s a chase scene, a negotiation, or escaping an erupting volcano, the DM’s description should create urgency in the players. In a skill challenge, doing nothing results in failure just as surely as doing the wrong thing.

Consequences

If the party fails to defuse the bomb, the bomb goes off - that much is self-evident. But the DMneeds to know how this affects the game world,the party’s reputation,andthe trajectory of the adventure. D&D encounters work when the consequences of success and failure are clear beforehand.

There are several ways to adjudicate success and failure in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (DMG):

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The Unexpected

Skill challenges get stale when the players get comfortable. Each new roundshould potentially introduce some wildcard element that could upset the balance. Players engaged in street-level chase? Throw a cat at them, a brawl outside a tavern, or a canal leap that’s just about possible…

Lay out a few elements that could turn things on their head for each skill challenge.You can even assign them to a table and roll at the start of the round to see what happens.

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How To Handle Player Agency In D&D Skill Challenges

Players love options. RPGs (both tabletop and digital) aren’t very satisfying when there’s only one prescribed way to do things. Luckily, DMscan react to their players' ideas in real-time, allowing for emergent gameplayandcreativity.That’s not to say you must run with every idea your players come up with, but be open-minded as a DM.

Let them try if a player’s suggestion makes sense in the game world (or if they make a compelling or entertaining case). The use of some skillsshould carry risk, too.For example, some NPCs might be receptive to attempts to Charm or Persuade them, but react angrily at any Intimidation attempts. DMs canforeshadow this preferenceby playing the NPC as tough and proud.

The DM shouldhave skills for each part of the challengedivided into three categories:likely to work, might work,andlikely to backfire.For example, during a crime scene challenge, a skill that’s likely to work is Investigation, a skill that might work is Identify, and a skill that could backfire is Speak With Dead (the bodies of the victims and attackers are indistinguishable, leading to misinformation).

Likely to work

Might work

Likely to backfire

Speak With Dead

How To Describe Player Skills in Dungeons & Dragons

DMs can agree, saying “I use Investigation” doesn’t count as roleplaying. Your DM ismore likely to give you bonusesoradvantages if you give clearer, more vivid descriptions.Listen to the DM’s description of the crime scene, then tell them what element of the scene you want to investigate.

The principle applies to all skills.Tell the DMyour intentionswhen using particular abilities.It might seem obvious to you, but the DM has a lot on their plate at any given time. Avoid crossed wires by describing how andwhyyou want to use specific skills at specific times.

One way for the DM to encourage skill descriptions is to use lots of modifiers. Players who make sensible connections while using skillsshould get liberal bonuses to their checks.If a player is barking up the wrong tree or simply spamming skills to get it right, give them no bonuses.

As DM,be open-minded as to what skills the players want to use.Player creativity often means your group will develop ideas and solutions that never occurred to you. It’sOK to say noif these ideas don’t make sense. But the core idea of D&D is fun, cooperative storytelling. Be liberal in your interpretations.