How to run a skill challenge
- Open Challenge settings and name the scene. Choose a success target, failure limit, and optional suggested DC. Write down what success earns and what failure costs.
- Add countdown clocks for approaching threats or closing opportunities. Give each one a number of steps and choose whether it advances manually, after every attempt, or only after failures.
- Ask a player to describe an approach. Resolve any check at your table, then record Success or Failure. Character names, skills, totals, and notes are optional. A total compared with the suggested DC is a hint; you still choose the outcome.
- Watch progress and respond to the fiction. Reaching the success target or failure limit ends the challenge. A full clock ends it only if End the challenge when this clock fills is checked. Other clocks are event reminders.
- Use Undo to reverse an attempt and its linked clock changes together. Reset progress clears the counts, all clock progress, and the log while preserving the challenge setup. Starting a preset replaces the setup, after confirmation.
- Export your challenge before leaving or switching devices. Import that file to restore it elsewhere. Export separate files for challenges you want to keep; the browser holds one current challenge.
Countdown clocks for rounds, turns, and story beats
These are step-based progress clocks, not wall-clock timers. For a six-round ritual, create a six-step clock set to Manually only, then advance it once at the end of each round. For a chase, a clock can advance automatically with every attempt. For a negotiation, it can advance only when an attempt fails.
A clock filling can trigger reinforcements, a change in terrain, or a new complication without ending the challenge. Leave its deadline checkbox unchecked for these events. Mark it as a deadline when filling the clock should end attempts instead.
If an attempt reaches the success target and fills a deadline simultaneously, success takes priority. A failure that reaches the failure limit takes priority over the deadline. You can use Undo if the table needs a different resolution. Manual clock adjustments remain available after an outcome; recording more attempts requires undoing the outcome, changing the relevant targets or deadline, or resetting progress.
Choose stakes before choosing numbers
The presets are original examples of an optional DM procedure, not official D&D encounter-difficulty formulas. Adjust their DCs, goals, skills, and consequences to your group. The tool works with both 2014 and revised games because you adjudicate checks, spells, resources, and outcomes at the table.
Let different characters contribute through different approaches. A meaningful failure should change the situation: consume time, attract attention, reveal a cost, or close a route. Decide whether a repeated approach still makes sense rather than asking for identical rolls indefinitely.
For scene ideas, see running social encounters, stealth and hiding, and the encounter collections. Use the initiative tracker when a challenge moves into combat or the travel tracker for a longer journey. These tools keep separate saves; their clocks do not advance one another automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Is this skill challenge tracker free?
Yes. There is no account, subscription, or download required to use the tool. Enable JavaScript in your browser.
Where is my challenge saved?
The current challenge saves in this browser on this device. Clearing browser data, private browsing, storage limits, or changing browsers can remove that save. Export a backup for anything you want to keep. Challenge data is not uploaded by the tracker; ordinary site analytics still apply as described in the privacy policy.
Can I track several countdowns at once?
Yes. Track up to eight independent clocks with one to thirty steps each. Name them for the event they represent. Filled clocks remain visible until you rewind, edit, reset, or remove them.
Does the countdown keep running while the page is closed?
No. These clocks advance through recorded attempts or your manual adjustments. They do not measure real elapsed time and do not connect automatically to other trackers.
Can I move a challenge to another device?
Export a JSON backup, then import it on the other device. Import replaces the current challenge after confirmation. It does not provide live collaboration. Undo history lasts only during this visit, and the scene log keeps the latest 200 entries.