[previously]

As you enter the abandoned monastery, you notice scrawled chalk markings covering the floor and walls. They all appear to be variations on the same obscure religious symbol. In the center of the room, next to a badly decayed corpse, is written the following:

“Beware the setting sun. Something comes from the forest. The monks’ wards are…”

The dark stain of the corpse’s lifeblood has, unfortunately, blotted out the rest of the message. Grasped in his right hand is clutched a piece of chalk; in the left is a small, leather-bound tome, propped open to a certain page by his decomposed thumb.

The rest of the monastery has been ransacked and vandalized. An overturned table has been crushed by a massive bookshelf. Altars lie empty of idols or holy symbols. Shutters wave open in the wind, revealing an orange orb just beginning to touch the western horizon.

If there is information to be gained, it must be done quickly…

What Lurks Outside

A glance at the tome grants the reader Arcana, Nature, and Religion checks, each with an easy DC. With each success, an objective is gained. Due to time constraints, after these initial checks, each person can only make one check or assist in one check before the sun sets.

Once the sun sets, combat begins.

Arcana (Easy DC): The tome, through complex arcane symbols, depicts a process in which a crystal can be transformed into a fine powder. This powder is depicted cast upon a dark shadow, causing it to become solid. You see some materials spilling from under the fallen bookshelf; if there is anything of use, it would probably be under there. Someone needs to hold the bookshelf up while another crawls under to grab the materials.

Athletics (Difficult DC): You may attempt to lift the massive bookcase in order to give someone else a chance to search beneath.

Success—You lift the case, holding it aloft and revealing a variety of stones, powders, and mysterious substances spilling from broken jars. The following Arcana check is required to pick the correct one.

Failure—You cannot lift the case, it remains in place and you do not have access to what lies beneath.

Arcana (Moderate DC): With so many bottles broken, recognizing the materials involved is your only hope.

Success—An unbroken urn contains the correct substance. You gain three uses of the powder of shadow’s remorse.

Failure—The mixtures and substances confuse you. You grab one after another but are unable to find the correct one. What’s more, when combat starts, you are still rummaging around under the shelf, which is being held aloft by your muscle-bound companion.

Nature (Easy DC): According to the writings, the creatures of the forest cannot abide by the smell of a particular variegated blue thyme, which the monks cultivated in a certain way. You spotted some of this in the overgrown garden outside, and somebody could quickly retrieve some before the sun has set.

Nature (Hard DC): The plant is there, but much of it has weakened; the effectiveness has been bred out when it mingled with wild varieties over the years. It takes some knowledge to find the oldest, purest of the plants.

Success—You find three handfuls of the plant, allowing three uses of oil of thyme. You return to your companions before the sun has completely set.

Failure—You search and search, only to look up to find you are too late. The sun has set and the darkness is upon you.

Religion (Easy DC): There is a certain symbol that can both weaken and enrage this enemy, and the monks knew it well. They reference it several times, but images of it have been destroyed, torn from the book. This Kyrian Kthariac styling of the Raven Queen’s most holy of insignias is an intricate, obscure symbol known only to the most knowledgeable of scholars.

Religion or History (Hard DC): You inscribe this obscure symbol on the ground.

Success—You flawlessly inscribe the symbol of the raven on three squares, anywhere on the map.

Failure—You instead spend your time scrawling nonsense and imperfect representations. They will have no effect once combat starts. When the sun sets, you are just finishing the third inscription.

The Creatures: The attacking creatures, whatever they may be, gain the following traits in addition to what they already have:

Speed: teleport 3
Insubstantial (shadow)

The Advantages: Success in the challenge yields the following advantages during the combat.

Powder of Shadow’s Remorse (×3)—Throw this powder into the air. Any insubstantial creatures contained within a blast 5 are rendered substantial (save ends).

Oil of Thyme (×3)—Rub this on yourself as a minor action. Until the end of the encounter, any enemy adjacent to you cannot teleport.

Symbol of the Raven—Successfully inscribed upon the floor, this symbol causes the creatures to become weakened whenever standing on it or an adjacent square.

To celebrate the impending release of Open Design’s Soldiers of Fortune sourcebook for 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons, author Matt James brings you additional material for a military campaign.

[previously]

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Encounter Background

During the last encounter, the PCs located the entrance to the abandoned dungeon and were attacked by roaming giant camel spiders. Now, they must enter the dark and mysterious complex.

Any PC who makes a successful History check (DC 22) knows this location was once a vibrant and wealthy city. Sadly, the city was lost to a great cataclysm that left the entire area buried under leagues of sand…

Encounter 2: The Tower of Zazerlae

Encounter Level 5 (1,000 XP)

Entering the decrepit and decaying entrance, you enter a room of wonders. Softly glowing sigils and runes provide an ambient light, and the temperature difference sends chills down your back. An exit descends beyond your vision, yet magical protections seem to prevent further progress.

The PCs have entered the very top of an ancient Zazerlae wizard’s tower, possibly one of the tallest buildings in the ancient society. Only a skilled arcanist can bypass the entrance’s wards, allowing the party to continue their journey into the depths.

Goal: The PCs are trying to gain access to the tower.

Complexity: 2 (6 successes before 3 failures)

Primary Skills: Arcana, History, and Insight

Other Skills: Perception

Victory: The PCs successfully decipher the ancient arcane lock and safely access the tower complex.

Defeat: The PCs inadvertently (or perhaps purposefully) activate the arcane lock’s defenses. Each PC loses 2 healing surges.

Arcana DC 15 (1 success, 3 maximum)—You read the sigils and runes that pepper the entrance. You understand the magical sequence used and can begin unlocking the door.

History DC 22 (1 success, 1 maximum)—You once studied this period, and you recall the ancient society that dwelled here used these protections on many of their buildings.

Insight DC 15 (1 success, 1 maximum)—Judging by the sequence of the runes, you can puzzle out how they fit together.

Perception DC 10 (no successes, 2 maximum)—You locate key markings on the door that help you understand the sequence. If successful, the next Arcana check used to decipher the runes and sigils receives a +2 bonus.

Ending the Encounter

Continue on to the next encounter.

[previously]

The shipment is supposed to be food for the prince’s wedding. The route is supposed to be one of the safest traveled by the merchant caravans. The wagons, well defended as they are, are thought to be at little risk.

Yet you have been summoned to investigate rumors of a planned ambush.

“Stop that ambush,” says the king’s armorer. “You will be well compensated. More so if you can capture the leader of these brigands.” Why this man has an interest in this caravan is a complete mystery.

The High Ground, or the Higher Ground

This skill challenge is meant to be a quick piece of information gathering. Better information will let the characters obtain better positioning when the combat starts. Each success grants one important piece of information. Three failures and the enemy is tipped off, making all the information gained worthless (or worse)…

A good way to run this skill challenge is to allow the players to make their own rolls, but don’t let them know if they are successful. If they roll very high or very low, their confidence will increase or decrease, but they never know for sure what their standing is. When a source of information dries up or gets more difficult, let them know, but don’t tell them when they’ve tipped off the enemy.

You have 3 days to gather all of the information you need. During these 3 days, you may attempt the following checks:

Streetwise (Moderate DC the first time, +4 to the DC each subsequent attempt): You work the seedier elements in town, probing discreetly for information about this caravan and the ambush. At the GM’s discretion, gold can make this an easier check, but too much gold might draw unwanted attention.

Success—Discretion is the key. You gain one piece of information without drawing any suspicion.

Failure—You still gain the information, but the enemy is one step closer to knowing that you’re on to them.

Insight or Perception (Moderate DC, +4 to the DC for each failure already accrued in this skill challenge): Crowds move about the city, most of them innocent, most of them unaware. A few of them have the information you need. You only need to pick them out of the crowd.

Success—A suspicious traveler is watching a little-used alley, a thug is overheard discussing an upcoming job, or an unemployed miner gambles just a little too freely for someone with no source of income. Whatever the case, you have found someone whom you are certain is somehow involved in something big, something illegal, something that will happen soon.

Failure—You just seem to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. This does not count against the total failures allowed for this skill challenge, but you do waste 1 day.

Intimidate (Hard DC, only available if a successful Insight or Perception has been rolled): A little force might just get someone talking.

Success—He fears you, and he talks. He’s so scared he’s not going to tell anyone what happened, and you get a little more of the information you need.

Failure—He talks, but he also looks to sell you out the minute you are out of sight.

Bluff (Hard DC, only available if a successful Insight or Perception has been rolled): Think of a good lie, you might just be able to trick this information out of someone.

Success—He buys it. He not only gives you the information, but he’s not even suspicious enough to tell anyone about it.

Failure—He initially believes your lie but, later, he begins to doubt. He mentions it to someone else, possibly tipping them off.

Stealth (Hard DC, only available if a successful Insight or Perception has been rolled): Sometimes following someone home is the best way to find out where they live.

Success—You follow him to what must be the ambush site, where he and a couple others set up some traps. While they work, you overhear them talking about the plan.

Failure—You follow him, and he meets with an accomplice at the ambush site. You overhear them talking and get one more piece of information, but when they leave, they double back to get a good look at those following them.

Thievery (Hard DC, only available after a successful Stealth check): You saw them set the trap, now it’s time to disable or move it. It is a simple snare trap, designed to immobilize anyone who triggers it.

Success—You disable the trap and move it to another location.

Failure—You can disable the trap by triggering it, but the trap is broken in the process. This does not count against the total failures allowed for this skill challenge.

As a matter of policy, accept any attempts at creativity. If a player thinks of a different way to get information, go ahead and give it a hard DC and let them go for it. If they decide to spend money on a divination ritual, go ahead and give them a free success, so long as they ask the right questions.

The Information

Each success in Streetwise, Intimidate, Bluff, or Stealth yields one piece of information. As successes roll in, pick an item from the list and work it into the results of that success.

1. The caravan doesn’t just contain food for the prince’s wedding, it also contains the king’s wedding gift, a brilliant and magical suit of armor.
2. The road traveled by the caravan is safe, but the ambush will take place within the city limits where it is considered the safest. Most of the guards will have been dismissed by then, and those that remain will be less wary.
3. Due to the construction on King’s Way, the caravan must take a detour. Part of this detour will take it past the Goldlager Tavern in the Old District. It was once a merchant’s bank but has since been transformed into a seedy tavern. The roof would make an excellent position for ranged attackers. Next to the Goldlager is a somewhat taller structure, an old tenement. Atop this structure would be a good location to harry any archers positioned atop the Goldlager.
4. The ground assault will come from the Goldlager and an abandoned tenement across the street. The Goldlager has no back door. Wedging its steel reinforced door shut would likely prevent a good many warriors from joining the fray.
5. The brigands have a man on the inside. One of the guards will add to the surprise by hacking down the wagon driver the instant combat starts. The other brigands know not to shoot him because the inside man will tie a blue cloth to his left arm.
6. The leader of these brigands, one Darius Rax, will be among the attackers. He will lead a group disguised as merchants in front of the caravan.

If fewer than three failures have been accrued during this challenge, all of the information gained is good. If the enemy is tipped off, however, much of it will be turned against the characters. The location of the ambush remains the same, but origin points for all of the brigands changes. Many archers will stand on even higher ground to better fight those characters on the tenement adjacent to the Goldlager. The door of the Goldlager will be rigged to be easily destroyed from the inside. Darius Rax and the undercover brigand will change their locations and markings, even going so far as to give an innocent guard the blue cloth.

When all is done, the skill challenge determines who gets the advantage of foreknowledge. The information gained or lost should have a significant effect on the difficulty of the encounter.

“I got it!”

Mekken considered for a second. The sun had already begun to set, and the shadows of the forest grew darker, creeping rapidly closer to the abandoned hilltop monastery.

An ominous presence could be felt in those shadows.

“Thaln, gather variegated blue-leaf thyme from outside. Aildrer, I think the powdered crystal we need is under that bookshelf—can you lift it? Rojib, take this chalk and inscribe the floor with the Kyrian Kthariac styling of Her most holy insignia.”

This was a gamble Mekken was willing to take. He had great confidence in the skills of his companions…

Plus, they needed every advantage they could get. Whatever lurked out there was big. Powerful. Frightening.

There are many uses for skill challenges. They can supplement roleplaying, complement combat, or simply replace otherwise boring bits in a story. One use of a skill challenge is to set up the conditions in which characters begin a combat encounter. Success brings better positioning, foreknowledge of tactics, or simple statistical advantages.

Following are three skill challenges designed to fulfill this role. When “line up in front of the door and roll initiative” just seems to be getting old, throw in one of these. They are designed to be quick challenges, the outcome of which is distinct advantage or disadvantage in the combat that follows.

Down the Rope Ladder

You peer over the edge of the cliff. Through driving snow and sleet, you see the cliff face sharply retreat, leaving a lone rope ladder dangling away from any reassuring support. The ladder disappears into the driving snow, but you think you catch a glimpse of the bottom anchored to a narrow ledge. A dark figure moves past the ladder below.

As the first character begins to climb, the ladder pitches and twists. The icy handles nearly slip from his or her grasp. To continue will be difficult, and it’s obvious that some space should be placed between climbers, lest the climb become even more difficult.

The challenge comes in three phases. Once everyone shuffles onto the ladder, they hit a particularly slippery spot. Once that has been resolved, a blast of wind causes the topmost characters some extra difficulty. Finally, as the party approaches the bottom, the ladder begins to break free from its anchor and evasive maneuvers are needed to hold it steady.

The most important thing about this challenge is that combat starts as soon as someone touches the ground.

The Icy Rung: Each character climbs down onto the slippery ladder. The ice and wind seem manageable at first, but just as you pass the lip of the cliff, the going gets worse. The ladder here is caked with ice.

When each character reaches 15 squares above the bottom of the ladder, the following check is required:

Athletics (moderate DC, −2 penalty for each adjacent climber):
Success—You climb past the slippery spot.
Failure—You fall. (See the falling section below.)

A Gust of Wind: The worst is past, the ladder is clear for a while. Just as a rhythm to the climb becomes established, a mighty gust of frigid wind blasts the party. The shape of the mountain focuses the wind, causing the brunt of it to be taken by the top three climbers.

As the top person passes 14 squares from the bottom, he or she and the two nearest allies make the following check:

Athletics (hard DC, −2 for each adjacent climber):
Success—You hold on and continue the climb.
Failure—You fall. (See the falling section below.)

A Bolt Comes Free: The ground is now in sight. The ladder is anchored on a narrow ledge below. As this anchor begins to bear the brunt of such heavy use, it begins to loosen.

The bottom climber can make the following check:

Perception (hard DC):
Success—You spot a sigil of alarm on the ground around the bottom of the ladder. You suspect that the first person to set foot down here is going to raise an alarm.
Failure—You see nothing.

The bottom climber is given the following chance once he or she is 5 squares from the bottom:

Acrobatics (hard DC):
Success—You slide down the ladder before it has a chance to break free. Immediately follow this up with an Athletics check (moderate DC ) to hold the ladder in place for everyone else.
Failure—You fall. (See the falling section below.)

If the bottom climber does not succeed in this attempt, then everyone must make the following check as one of the bolts breaks free. Start with the lowest climber and work your way up:

Athletics (hard DC):
Success—You hold on as the ladder jerks fiercely in the storm.
Failure—You fall. See the falling section below for you options.

Falling: If someone falls, the following options are available:

Athletics or Acrobatics (hard DC):
Success—You catch yourself after falling at least 5 squares.
Failure—You continue to fall.

Athletics (hard DC):
Success—You catch someone as they fall past you. Place them in the square below you.
Failure—The faller continues to fall. You must now make an Acrobatics (moderate DC) check in order to keep from falling.

To be continued…

“Of course,” you say. “No one wants to fail a skill challenge.” But this means something else entirely. Skill challenges are generally meant to represent situations or tasks which move the story forward—nonviolent encounters which carry just as much importance as those dealing with combat.

Combat challenges notwithstanding, a skill challenge is a great place to include the idea of partial victory. Consider the diplomacy skill challenge example from 4th Edition—as written, it allows for success or failure in convincing a lord to act or remain uninvolved. Reconsidering the results for partial victory might look more like this…

The Negotiation

The Duke bids you sit… “I’m told you have news.”

Successes/Failures (Duke’s Reaction)
0/3 (Disbelief; demands more proof)
1/3 (Belief; but provides no aid)
2/3 (Belief; provides some aid)
3/3 (Belief; provides more aid)
4/3 (Belief; full support)

This revises the skill challenge from a point of pass and fail where the duke either grants or denies assistance—a bottleneck which might limit the progress of the story—to a series of varying outcomes. This removes the focus on the outcome and places it back on the progress of the story. Far from removing the characters’ free will, while this process might partially define the outcome, it creates a sliding scale of victory and prevents a single point of failure capable of stalling an adventure.

The question remains, why utilize variable success? If there’s no risk, what incentive does a group have to strive, to experiment, or to innovate? Poor performance demands consequences, but there’s no reason the story should suffer. In situations requiring a real opportunity for loss, groups should be allowed to take up their dice and prove their mettle on the field of battle. Change the nature of the consequences of total failure to create other paths, one where the victory is harder won or more bittersweet, perhaps involving the loss of a familiar NPC. It’s important to avoid a situation where the players simply participate in a dice rolling exercise—the worst degeneration of a skill challenge.

So how do you create a skill challenge with variable success? First, consider the optimal final outcome: what would happen in a situation where the characters were completely successful—navigating the catacombs, convincing the lord mayor to help stop the giants, manipulating the mechanism to open the giant clockwork door? Then consider what level of complexity best represents the issue and how many degrees of success best suit the outcome—how long does it take to get free of the tunnels, what level of resources will the lord mayor commit, how far does the door open? A scaling level of consequences is possible—the collapsing passages or the effort of pushing open the door might cost escaping heroes a range of healing surges. The level of support from the lord mayor might change the level of the encounter or the composition of the enemy forces. Going back to the previous example, re-examine it with a sliding scale of encounter difficulty:

The Negotiation

The Duke bids you sit… “I’m told you have news.”

Successes/Failures (Duke’s Reaction) Result
0/3 (Disbelief; demands more proof) 2 encounters
1/3 (Belief; provides no aid) Lvl+4 encounter
2/3 (Belief; provides some aid) Lvl+3 encounter
3/3 (Belief; provides more aid) Lvl+2 encounter
4/3 (Belief; full support) Lvl+1 encounter

Now there are tangible results from all results—anywhere from total or partial success to failure—instead of all or nothing. The focus shifts from the outcome to the interaction, but this shift in focus can be further accentuated…

After defining those levels, break the challenge into scenes that build on each level of success, culminating in the final outcome. Using different scenes allows the introduction of different skills as the situation changes, encouraging players to remain involved and reconsider what best fits the new setting. With a brief, one sentence description, you can better improvise interaction with the environment and NPCs, creating a smaller story within the adventure. Continuing with the previous example, see how one might break each level into scenes with particular skills tied to the situations, using each skill success to propel the challenge forward to the next scene:

The Negotiation

The lord mayor reins in his mount, bidding you to ride alongside him.

“I’m told you have news. Explain what it is you need.”

Scene 1: Hunting on Horseback with the Lord Mayor

You plead your case while tracking elk in the lord mayor’s preserve.
Skills: Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, History, Nature, Perception, Stealth

Scene 2: Bringing the Kill Back to the Manor

You assist with the recovery and return of the elk, when the lord mayor is (nearly?) thrown from his mount.
Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Endurance, Heal, History, Perception (prevents being thrown)

Scene 3: Conversation in the Lord Mayor’s Parlor

By observing some of the lord mayor’s mementos and trophies while the adventurers plead their case, insights are revealed.
Skills: Arcana, Bluff, Diplomacy, History, Insight

Scene 4: Discussion over Dinner as the Lord Mayor’s Guests

Having earned a modicum of the lord’s trust and good nature, he invites you to remain and continue explaining your thoughts over a meal.
Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Endurance, History, Insight; speaking Elven here impresses the mayor and provides a +2 bonus to all checks by that character in this scene

Scene 5: Drinks in the Lord Mayor’s Study

After long conversations and a full day, you are presented with the opportunity to seal the deal, if only you can avoid a faux pas.
Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Endurance, History, Streetwise

And now the skill challenge becomes an abstract day spent with the lord mayor, explaining the situation while developing a relationship with him. It incorporates many non-verbal skills, keeping everyone engaged and ensuring an opportunity to participate. The transformation of the skill challenge is complete, by following the three steps:

1. Determine the optimal outcome.
2. Establish variable levels of success to reach the optimal outcome.
3. Break the skill challenge into scenes, based on the variable levels and including a short description.

Splitting the skill challenge into scenes becomes much more logical and easy once the partial levels of success are defined, and in doing so, the whole challenge becomes much easier to run as a continuation of the story—progressing from start to finish. And in truth the answer is easy…

Failure is not an option.

Welcome to 4th Edition week here at KQ.com. All this week will feature wonderful material designed for 4th Edition (while still being inspirational for any edition).

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Skill Challenges are the “other kind of encounter.” Some players hate them, some love them, and many just don’t know what to think of them. There’s no reason that they can’t be just as exciting as any other encounter. Theirs is the potential of creative freedom: an opportunity to encourage roleplaying…

Using Action Points in Skill Challenges

One way to spice skill challenges up is to use action points when resolving them.

There are no types of actions to take when resolving a skill challenge; many groups just cycle through their players, asking for a check or some other response and then crafting a shorthand story from the results. This can seem very passive to players, and being able to use action points gives them a way to become more involved. How can players use action points?

• Allow an additional check for an extra possible success.
• Give a +3 bonus for a check on a trained skill.
• Permit an untrained character to use a skill with the “trained” bonus for a round.
• Make a skill check to negate a failure, and only allow such a reversal with an action point.

In this way, you allow players to utilize action points that might otherwise be lost before the next milestone and to contribute significantly to an encounter where their involvement might have been limited.

Feats and Class Options

New feats and class option greatly help those characters looking to excel in skill challenges.

Discerning Intuition

Prerequisite: Trained in Insight
Benefit: During a skill challenge, you may make an Insight check to determine either which skills result in successes or which skills result in failure. You gain a +3 bonus on next skill check attempt in the challenge.

Grace Under Pressure

Benefit: Select two trained skills. You gain a +2 bonus to those skills during skill challenges; this bonus increases to +3 during a skill challenge when using an action point. This bonus stacks with the possible +3 bonus for using an action point with a trained skill check.

Inspiring Demagogue

Prerequisite: Channel Divinity: Divine Favor
Benefit: If, during a skill challenge, you succeed in a skill check and use an action point in the same round, all allies within sight gain a +3 to skill checks before the start of your next round.

Outspoken Director

Prerequisite: Commanding Presence
Benefit: Any ally within sight who spends an action point during a skill challenge also has the choice to either roll twice and take the higher value, or add an additional +3 bonus, which stacks with other bonuses, to the check.

Warlords’ Option

The following is an alternative to the Commanding Presence options. Directing Presence also modifies any warlord power modified by Tactical Presence.

Directing Presence: When an ally you can see spends an action point during a skill challenge, the ally gains a bonus to the check equal to one-half your intelligence modifier.

Skill Checks in Combat

The big question when considering skill challenges and combat is, “Why bother making a check when you could be attacking?” Traditionally, a skill challenge in combat doesn’t contribute to reducing the number of foes the party faces, so there is little incentive to attempt resolving it. Instead, create combat skill challenges with checks that reward players for using skill checks and still contribute to combat. Consider allowing skill checks that…

Take out minions.

• Use Arcana against a minion’s Reflex or Will defense to activate latent magic of an area and strike down an enemy minion.
• Use Athletics against a minion’s Fortitude or Reflex defense to topple columns and statuary, drop hanging objects or collapse portions of the ceiling.
• Use Dungeoneering against a minion’s Fortitude or Reflex defense to exploit a weakness of an environment, such as a wall or cavern collapse, or poisonous puffball mushroom.
• Use Religion against a minion’s Fortitude or Will defense to invoke the power of the god in ritual commands to strike down weak undead minions.

Defeating the defense by a high amount might permit more minions to be defeated. Killing an extra minion for every five you exceed the defense is appropriate. Certainly all of these options require the GM to prepare a bit ahead of time, describing aspects of the battlefield that give the players clues as to how to interact with the environment. You might also consider a level appropriate Perception check to identify the skill challenge options as combat begins and give those with Combat Reflexes +3 to the check.

Damage Elite/Solo creatures, or inflict a status condition.

• Use Arcana against a creature’s Reflex or Will defense to activate the power of a magical area to daze or confuse.
• Use Athletics against a creature’s AC or Reflex defense to knock down objects which might trip or entangle.
• Use the Intimidate skill against the Will defense of humanoid foes, causing them to be afraid.
• Use Religion a creature’s Fortitude or Will defense to recite holy passages in a sanctified area to rebuke and slow.

Modify battlefield terrain.

• Use Acrobatics to fling sand, soot, or iron filings into the air, slowing any who enter the spaces for a round.
• Use Arcana or Religion to activate an old ward that makes certain squares impassable or inflicts damage to those standing there.
• Use Athletics or Endurance to topple crates, pillars, or other objects and create rough terrain that remains until someone has moved through the spaces.

By creating skill challenges that influence the flow of battle, you give your players the chance to interact more with their environment, instead of just moving across a battlemat. It encourages players to look closer at the details of a room, chamber, or forest glen, searching for those options that will help them defeat an enemy faster or just give them an edge for the next round. Regardless, these challenges should add depth and entertainment to any battle.