I'm looking for thoughts/ideas/opinions on good mechanics for putting out a fire. Like... Make a Str. save at the well to haul the bucket up... Now make a Dex. save as your running for the barn or house fire to see if you trip or spill water... Now roll a percentile to see how well you douse the flames... Etc. Trying for fun, not tedium... I like the concept but I want to make sure it's exciting, not just a time suck. My Google-Fu has failed me and I can't seem to find any details on this type of encounter. Basically I'd like to have PC's encounter a town on fire & have them help/save people & put out the fire before it spreads. Anyone ran something like this before?
Skill challenge. Requires X amount of successes before Y amount of failures, each failure has some kind of 'bad thing' that happens (damage taken, or something of that ilk), a critical success might offer a benefit/erase a failure.
All of your players can choose what skill they want to use, pitching to you how it's effective. (Ex. I make a Nature check, using my knowledge of how fire burns and spreads to curb it's growth. I make an Athletics check to heft large buckets of water. etc.) You can provide them with an idea or two to run with. If it sounds reasonable, they can try it. Each skill can only be used once per person if you want to push them into thinking creatively. (A, B, and C can all try using Athletics, but A can't try athletics twice)
This gives them agency, which is fun, but also creates risk and tension - which isn't tedious.
I liked how Warhammer 40: Rogue Trader did it. (I'm remembering from memory so I might have some of the details won't)
Every player every turn must choose an Action and rolls for it.
No player can choose the same action.
You can't pick the same action in a row, but a different player can use that action next turn.
I'd say one person can help another player each turn, but the same time applies no using the same action twice.
Start the party at 0 successes. Every success adds, every failure loses a success. At a certain threshold they succeed or fail and moved the plot on from there.
I found this looking for an actual way to deal with this. Actually did two ways in the same encounter, just to try.
The first was skill challenge. Small fire on a table the wizard started with firebolt to distract the NPCs, NPC rolled a nat 20 swatting it with a blanket from the nearby bed. Fire was out. But he didn't get to shoot his crossbow, so the distraction worked.
That felt a little weird, so then I let the fire roll up some hitpoints, growing at the end of the round by whatever amount. I ruled it got 3d6 hitpoints to start, and would grow by 2d6 the first round, and spread a square. Then each of those squares would grow 2d6 each round, growing out as long as there was ready fuel. It was a 200+ year old inn, there was plenty of fuel.
Players could work a skill challenge to "put out" 1d6 of fire. Or use other effects. The druid used druidcraft, and I ruled that took 1 square of fire away, no hitpoints needed. I allowed spells that normally only target creatures to target the fire and do damage.
We play in Fantasy Grounds, and I think I'm going to make a creature "effect" for this that starts at 2d6 and is 5x5. Each round it will gain, say 4 hp in strength, and I'll place another 2d6 next to it. Or it can have an action to spread, say 3 on a d6 to recharge to see if it spreads. Yeah, I like that.
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I'm looking for thoughts/ideas/opinions on good mechanics for putting out a fire. Like... Make a Str. save at the well to haul the bucket up... Now make a Dex. save as your running for the barn or house fire to see if you trip or spill water... Now roll a percentile to see how well you douse the flames... Etc. Trying for fun, not tedium... I like the concept but I want to make sure it's exciting, not just a time suck. My Google-Fu has failed me and I can't seem to find any details on this type of encounter. Basically I'd like to have PC's encounter a town on fire & have them help/save people & put out the fire before it spreads. Anyone ran something like this before?
Skill challenge. Requires X amount of successes before Y amount of failures, each failure has some kind of 'bad thing' that happens (damage taken, or something of that ilk), a critical success might offer a benefit/erase a failure.
All of your players can choose what skill they want to use, pitching to you how it's effective. (Ex. I make a Nature check, using my knowledge of how fire burns and spreads to curb it's growth. I make an Athletics check to heft large buckets of water. etc.) You can provide them with an idea or two to run with. If it sounds reasonable, they can try it. Each skill can only be used once per person if you want to push them into thinking creatively. (A, B, and C can all try using Athletics, but A can't try athletics twice)
This gives them agency, which is fun, but also creates risk and tension - which isn't tedious.
Give this a watch.
I liked how Warhammer 40: Rogue Trader did it. (I'm remembering from memory so I might have some of the details won't)
Every player every turn must choose an Action and rolls for it.
No player can choose the same action.
You can't pick the same action in a row, but a different player can use that action next turn.
I'd say one person can help another player each turn, but the same time applies no using the same action twice.
Start the party at 0 successes. Every success adds, every failure loses a success. At a certain threshold they succeed or fail and moved the plot on from there.
This is a wonderful wellspring of ideas and information!
My party just returned to their main quest town and found that part of it was burning. And that's where we stopped!
I love Skil challenges, and they will be perfect alongside what I have planned. Thanks guys!
I found this looking for an actual way to deal with this. Actually did two ways in the same encounter, just to try.
The first was skill challenge. Small fire on a table the wizard started with firebolt to distract the NPCs, NPC rolled a nat 20 swatting it with a blanket from the nearby bed. Fire was out. But he didn't get to shoot his crossbow, so the distraction worked.
That felt a little weird, so then I let the fire roll up some hitpoints, growing at the end of the round by whatever amount. I ruled it got 3d6 hitpoints to start, and would grow by 2d6 the first round, and spread a square. Then each of those squares would grow 2d6 each round, growing out as long as there was ready fuel. It was a 200+ year old inn, there was plenty of fuel.
Players could work a skill challenge to "put out" 1d6 of fire. Or use other effects. The druid used druidcraft, and I ruled that took 1 square of fire away, no hitpoints needed. I allowed spells that normally only target creatures to target the fire and do damage.
We play in Fantasy Grounds, and I think I'm going to make a creature "effect" for this that starts at 2d6 and is 5x5. Each round it will gain, say 4 hp in strength, and I'll place another 2d6 next to it. Or it can have an action to spread, say 3 on a d6 to recharge to see if it spreads. Yeah, I like that.