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ideas and more on Extended Checks

Let's talk about the very awesome BASH!
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kevperrine
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ideas and more on Extended Checks

Post by kevperrine »

BASHMAN happily replied to some of my mentions of Extended Checks in another thread. I thought it'd be nice to have this discussion as it's own thread for folks to comment on. Offer the ideas you've used in game and hear more from BASHMAN on his "goal" for the rules of Extended Checks.

Here's the latest reply...
BASHMAN wrote:Well, one thing that seperates BASH! extended checks from D&D Skill Challenges is that each roll there is success/fail requiring X number of successes before Y number of failures. If you're playing a fighter who doesn't have the right skills, you could do more harm than good by "helping" in the skill challenge vs. sitting it out.

The BASH! extended checks are cumulative. So if somebody rolls and gets a result of 8, that's still contributing to the total, even if it's not a great result. This was by design, as I wanted it to be possible to help even if you weren't great at a skill.


That makes sense and may work great.
Some differences I know from D&D4's version of "Skill Challenges", that I'd ask about for BASH! Extended Checks:
D&D4 Skill Challenges wrote:Skill Challenges encourage players to try and be creative in uses of their skills, out of combats. Offering a little latitude on HOW the fighter can use a skill he HAS to get involved.

Skill Challenges have a specific FAILURE point, 3 failures on "primary" skill checks is a failure in the Skill Challenge. A failure doesn't mean the story is over or it's a catastrophy, but it is meant to present a complication. Like BASH! they have varying levels of successes needed to win the challenge.

Skill Challenges have specific "primary" skills and specific "secondary" skills that are "open" to be used for a Skill Challenge. Primary gets a success, while Secondary gets modifiers or some other type of "aid" to further the Skill Challenge.

Skill Challenges suggest to continue going in "rounds", PC to PC for their checks.

Result options in a Skill Challenge are wide open. A success will generally give what the PCs wanted when beginning the challenge. While failures can often cause penalties of a WIDE variety - from negative modifiers in the next encounter, to lost of Healing Surges/Hit Points or other resources, to creating a story complication (like being thrown in jail or restricting ever being able to make that challenge on the subject again), etc...

Whew.... I may recall more - but that's a bucket-full of points for Skill Challenges in D&D4.

So HOW do you think Extended Checks relate, are alike, are different than those things, and MORE?


BASHMAN wrote:Some good examples .

Does anyone HAVE any examples for more Extended Checks?

How would you build this one (that I did ad-hock last Issue):
Extended Check: Breakup City wrote:The "city" the heroes are in, is nothing more than an arena created in the Milky Way's asteroid belt by a cosmic watcher. The city is a replica of their home, except it's only about 2 miles in diameter and on a flat plane (so the below street goes to open space! While about 200' above goes to open space).
At the end of the "battle royal" the cosmic watcher decides that this is done and begins to let the city break up. Causing (to the heroes) rifts, earthquakes and the city is ripping apart. They are in danger of the quake effects and falling into rifts into open space!
Their is a time line before this fake city is so broken up there is not enough atmosphere left, etc...
Their challenges: escape the danger, figure out a way to safety or return home to earth, they also have to help save the 6-8 paparazzi that came with them, as well as the 3 villains that are beaten/unconscious from falling into open space.
The cosmic watcher and his squire looms above having said "justice is blind, this courtroom is closed", as his squire looks on worried (having been plucked from earth in his days as a robin-like sidekick to now ride the space lanes with this cosmic eye of justice)

How would you write that out for a BASH! Extended Check?
thanks!
-kev-
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