[quote="ignis_fatuus"]Do you hate feeling useless whenever your DM introduces a skill challenge? This mini-guide is intended for those players that like to optimize not only for combat encounters but (a bit) for skill challenges as well. In it I will try to focus mainly on game elements that are easy to plug into an existing character, but I'll also mention some of the more powerful race and class related stuff.
Before I'll begin I just want to point out a few things this mini-guide isn't:
- It isn't a handbook, so I will not be rating things, only listing them
- It isn't intended to discuss the viability of skill challenges, anybody needing advice on improving them can go here where the good folks of Critical Hits collected a wealth of discussions, examples and alternative systems!
General Advice
- If you want to become better at skill challenges without sacrificing your focus on combat I'd suggest to look primarily at slotless items or items that you wear merely when in town or at the skill powers, especially those that let you use one skill instead of another.
- If a skill challenge comes along in which you have little to no chance of succes, remember that you can always aid another and steal a bit of your ally's glory! Remember, though, that with the latest updates this might also hurt rather than help your ally, so make sure you have a reasonable chance.
- Try to spread your skill training so that you have something to contribute in social, physical and investigative skill challenges.
- Although there are exceptions, for example where beating the DC by more than 10 can grant certain benefits, mostly you won't be needing a completely optimized skill to get a success. In those cases it might be better to get that racial/background/item/familiar bonus to a mediocre skill so that you become more versatile.
- There are more backgrounds than Windrise Ports and Born under a Bad Sign, they can also mean the difference between a succes and a failure due to getting a +2 to your best skill or add to your versatility
- Take note of what you partymembers have. If nobody is trained in social skills and you have a decent charisma, you might want to invest a bot in them. Or when your allies are horrible at sneaking, you might want to take something that will help them with it.
Races
- Deva: The racial power is great for turning a failure into a succes and has a lot of feat support as well
- Eladrin: Free skill of your choice, don't forget to look at the skill power section before you choose
- Kenku: Granting a +3 makes aiding another a bit more useful
- Human: Free skill!
- Shardmind: Get a bonus to three skills instead of two
Classes
- Bard: You're trained in 5 skills, a bit better at untrained skills and you have access to the Bardic Knowledge, Bardic Dilettante and Bard of All Trades feats
- Druid: the utility encounter power All-Encompassing Nature let's nature stand in for Arcana, Dungeoneering and Religion
- Runepriest: Has some very helpful utility powers like Mark of Skilled Effort and Compact of Peace
- Shaman: Nice class power to be able to succeed on a difficult check, can be shared with others as well.
Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies
- Devoted Orator: Makes your diplomatic speeches intelligent instead of charismatic (Invoker only)
- Gray Guard: Free perception and streetwise training in a PP that is already rather nice (Paladin only)
- Half-Elf Polymath: Get training in two additional skills and a daily utility that gives you one more on-the-fly! (Half-Elf only)
- Jack-of-All-Trades: A bonus to all skills, an action point based bonus to skill checks, three additional skills and a utility power to reroll a failure: good times! (Rogue only)
- Life Singer: Make your allies more useful by granting them a nice bonus to all skills (Bard only)
Feats
- Multiclass feats: probably the easiest way of getting a new skill and add to your versatility
- Arcane Familiar: for a nice untyped bonus to skills! (Arcane characters only)
- Agile Athlete: Because rolling acrobatics and atheltics twice is nice!
- Awaken God Fragment (Ioun): for if you get a lot of investigative skill challenges (Invoker only)
- Bardic Dilettante: two MC feats for the price of one! (Bard only)
- Bardic Knowledge: That's a lot of skills that get a +2! (Bard only)
- Bard of All Trades: makes your untrained skills almost as good as your untrained skills (Bard only)
- Duelist's Panache: Add your cha tot acrobatics/athletics (Rogue only)
- Holy Speech: Buy a cheap gem and be twice as succesful once/challenge (Divine characters only)
- Inner Compass: If your DM often uses skill challenges for traveling this might be an interesting feat for you.
- Jack of all Trades: makes your untrained skills a bit better.
- Power of Skill: does not only turn an at-will into a basic attack, it also makes your trained skills better!
- Remembered Knack: another skill from your MC class and a untyped +2 as well (Revenant only)
- Skill Focus: especially useful if you can use your skill instead of other skills as well
- Skill Power: care less about your feats than your class' utility powers? Use this to get one of the skill powers mentioned above
- Sorcerous Vision: Use Arcana instead of Perception and Insight, add Arcane Mutterings for even more substititution fun! (Sorceror only)
- Wild Sage: If knowledge of nature often comes up in your skill challenges this grants a decent bonus.
Skill Powers
- Arcane Mutterings: Make your arcane book nerd into a socially capable spokesperson for a moment!
- Fast Talk: Turn a social failure into a success!
- Insightful Comment: If you have a high wisdom this can really help your party get a good round of social checks!
- Try the Stick: So you invested in a high intimidate and your DM tells you you're not allowed to use it? Try the stick!
Items
- Instead of creating a long list of all the items that grant atheir enhancement bonus to skill checks let me just point out that these are not only useful to make your best skills better but can also add to your versatility by making an untrained skill almost as good or eventually even a bit better than your trained skills
- Assassin's Cloak: roll twice on stealth!
- Bracers of Mental Might: basing a strength based skill check on your best mental stat makes your puny character able to contribute to physical skill challenges
- Cincture of the Dragon Spirit: basing your intimidate on strength instead of charisma makes your brute able to contribute to social skill challenges! You could even wear it only when in town.
- Ioun's Revelation: a bonus to all skills and a daily to make your party a bit better at one (Divine Boon)
- Lamp of Discerning: a small but slotless and untyped bonus to insight/perception for the whole party!
- Talent Shard: Carry a few around for when a difficult and important skill challenge comes up
For the moment I just put in some of the basics, more will follow soon (I hope 😉 ).
Thanks to those that made suggestions, if anybody else has suggestions for things that should be added, please post them as I'll be needing all of the community input I can get!
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