Introducing Skill Challenges to 1e edition?

[Ichneumon]

This might sound lik a weird question, but I'm currently thinking of starting a game of 1st edition D&D in the future, but I think I'm going to miss skill challenges (the thing from 4th edition) a lot. My experience is that my players usually enjoy the skill challenges more than combat, so I try to include as many of the mas possible. Is there an easy way I could include skill challenges into OSRIC or would that ruin the game? I'm now thinking of making them into "attribute challenges" and leaving everything else as is. Opinions?

[Cyrion]

In core, you were left entirely to wing it, and your attribute challenge is my mechanic of choice. As the edition progressed, they started introducing non-weapon proficiencies to add these skill challenges, so if you look at Unearthed Arcana, the Wilderness Survival Guide, the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide, etc. you'll see the tables for how often and how many non-weapon proficiencies each class gets and various proficiencies appropriate to the book in question.

Personally, I think it's a very clunky system, and I'm thoroughly contaminated by GURPS- I just make things stat challenges.

[LibraryOgre]

One system I have used is a "roll-under" system, with difficulty represented by number of D6s rolled. Simple things might involve rolling 2d6 under the relevant attribute, while hard things might involve rolling 4 or 5d6 under the attribute.

You can vary difficulty according to class and race. For example, I made evaluating gems a check under intelligence. I told most people to roll 4D6, but the thief and the dwarf (who both had reason to know the valuation of gems) got to roll 3d6. If we were looking at a complex magical effect, the wizard and cleric would have a better chance of knowing, while I might give the fighter the relatively impossible 6 or 7d6.... maybe as low as 5d6 for an elf fighter.

[DukeofDellot]

It is entirely possible to shift the 4e or 3e skill system over an back into 1e.

Though you might benefit from messing with it a little.

First, you could take the same skill list from 4e, and give the characters a certain number of "skill ranks" per level. Say five. Give them four times as many at first level, and make the max number of ranks 4+level. Or mayhap you could choose class skills that get a +4 to their roll, and you only get five ranks at first level too.

Whenever it comes up, make a skill challenge like you would in 4e.

Remember also, that this little houserule relies on the fact that certain classes level faster than others and will have better skills.

I guess there's adjusting for multiclassing... you get both class's class skills (they don't stack), and you only get 3 ranks per level if you've got two classes, or 2 ranks per level if you've got three classes... these are ranks per level of each class.

...

Okay, kind of hackjob... humor me.

[Matthew]

I would imagine you could just base the probabilities on class and level.