I’m running a lunchtime game of 4e at my law firm. (That’s right, a party comprised entirely of lawyers!) I’m running a conversion of the legendary Queen of the Spiders megadventure. I’m starting them out at 11th level. Among the first issues I noticed was dealing with a party of 4 PCs rather than the recommended 5-PC paradigm. There is something of a hole in the Dungeon Master’s Guide when it comes to a 4-PC party. The DMG gives a lot of advice on dealing with parties of less than four or more than six, and all of the relevant tables offer parameters for 4-PC and 6-PC parties (such as the “Target Encounter XP Totals” table in the “Encounter Components” section). Generally, much attention is paid to crafting combat encounters for 4-PC parties. However, assuming each of the four roles is covered, there is still one glaring omission when it comes to the 4-PC party: skill checks.
There are seventeen skills. Each class has training in a handful of skills, from the fighter’s lowly three to the rogue’s six. Most classes are trained in four skills. We must start with the premise that training, with its +5 bonus, is critical to reliably succeeding on a given skill check. Indeed, one of the underlying premises in adventure design is that there will always be at least one character in the party skilled enough to have a reliable chance of succeeding on any given skill check. With four PCs, it is possible to craft a party that has training in each skill. However, unless skill coverage is the point of decision, it is highly unlikely that a 4-PC party will have training in all skills. (Conversely, it is very unlikely that a 5-PC party will be untrained in any skill. Whether by design or fortune, the 5-PC party is definitely a sweet spot for skill coverage.)
In my QotS game, we have a cleric, paladin, ranger, and wizard. You’ll note, right away, the difficulty with the cleric/paladin dyad. Although those two classes cover two different roles, they have a remarkably similar skill list. The striker role is inherently problematic. There are six skills that are only covered by two classes (Acrobatics, Bluff, Nature, Perception, Stealth, and Thievery), and each of them is covered, at least in part, by a class of the striker role. If your striker is a ranger, that means Bluff and Thievery are uncovered; if your striker is a warlock, Acrobatics, Perception, and Stealth are uncovered. (You’ll note that this problem exists even in 5-PC parties.)
Certainly, this is not a critical problem. Skill check DCs can be fudged as necessary. Of course, verisimilitude is damaged if the PCs, for example, only encounter trivially pickable locks and laughably disabled traps. Or, worse, you could eschew certain encounter types altogether, to the boredom of all. So, what to do?
The solution I came up with for my QotS game comes in the form of a minor artifact, The Crimson Bell. The advantage of this solution is that it resolves the mechanical issue in the simplest way possible, essentially teleporting the missing fifth PC in for a skill check and teleporting him back out just as quickly. You’ll note that I omitted concordance altogether, which is justified on both mechanical and flavor grounds. Moreover, it provides color and flavor, grist for the role-playing mill. In the case of my QotS game, the Bell contains the imbued spirit of their fallen comrade, Menna the halfling rogue. She was slain by dark elves on a recon mission, her body left mutilated in the traditional manner, her eyes plucked from their sockets and clenched in her hands. Hmmm, how will the party react when the adventure turns to the devious machinations of Eclavdra and her ilk?
THE CRIMSON BELL
The Crimson Bell is appropriate for paragon-level characters.
The Crimson Bell Paragon Level
In 205 CY, the Sheldomar Valley came under siege by an unending wave of creatures the likes of which had never been seen—weird and terrible monsters of an unknown sort. A dozen companies of human adventurer dared to explore the mysterious ruins that seemed to be the source of the scourge. None came back alive. In the end, it took a band of hardy heroes—one member from each of the “lesser” species: elf, eladrin, dwarf, dragonborn, and halfling—too end the threat. They took an artifact from the excursion as their symbol: a Crimson Bell with mysterious properties. In the following years, the Company of the Crimson Bell has become legend, their deeds sung in the laudatory odes of even human bards. The Company has passed down the titular artifact to a new version when they see cause to disband or, in the most dire circumstances, are destroyed.
When a new company is formed, each of the five members undertakes a rite of bonding, connecting their spirits to one another through the Crimson Bell. These heroes are attuned to the bell. Thereafter, if any of the five falls in combat, their spirit is imbued in the bell, and any of the company may commune with it for insight.
Wondrous Item
Property: You gain a +1 item bonus to History checks.
Property: You can speak and understand the primary language of the imbued spirit.
Property (Encounter • Arcane, Implement): Standard action. If the bell is rung, all characters attuned to it instantly know its exact location and the exact location of all other attuned characters within one mile.
Property (Encounter • Arcane, Implement): Minor action. You gain an item bonus to your next skill check equal to the skill bonus of the imbued spirit for that skill.
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