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Message: <blockquote data-quote="fba827" data-source="post: 5357853" data-attributes="member: 807">Players will always want, and whatever you give them will never be enough, or someone will look for 'that thing for their PC' if the loot is the gear off a fighter and that other PC is a wizard, for example.don't try and keep up, you'll never win and you'll end up with a party that has way more loot than it should.  just stick with what you know is right and let the players look at you like lost puppies waiting for more...having said that, i try and have at least a couple items for the individual pcs scattered over a couple loot spots. so that over the course of a couple sessions at least one item should be available for everyone. and the rest of utilitarian enough that anyone could use them.i also try and give more unique items... these can be mechanically standard items but perhaps they come in a different shape, or they have some sort of rune or special backstory.. just something.  i don't do this too often because it kills the effect and also becomes a waste of time if the players don't care, but once in a while it is a nice twist to keep them focused on what they got rather than on what they didn't get.I, too, prefer rolling if the PC is actively trying the check.  (reserving passive checks as background to avoid the need to roll every square when going down a dungeon, etc).  Because there is always the chance of some random distraction, etc. occurring when you try, that is why it is possible to get less than 'take 10'  -- but if it's a BIG sticking point for your players, there is no reason you couldn't just decide it's a house rule "if you want to take 10, fine, but if you roll you can't retroactively go back and take 10 if it's worse" -- in which case, i'd also add in some extra benefit if they did roll and rolled high (thus providing incentive to actually roll).  maybe if they get a really high score it counts as two successes (or counts as one success and provides a bonus to someone else's check, etc) if you're doing a skill challenge, etc.we try and avoid stopping at a non-extended rest point. but it happens and when it does happen, we don't sugar coat it.  so if we stop a session without a good spot for an extended rest, then the players need to keep track of hp, surges, magic items, and daily powers that were used.however, at minimum, stop at least at a shortrest spot since stopping midbattle has way too many variables to track and often you spend too much time just trying to 're-setup'depends on circumstance.  but in the end, it usually isn't really worth the hassle unless that is the tone you are trying to specifically set for the campaign.you could end up with PCs at very different levels (while up to 1 level difference may be fine) too much more than that, and you'll have strange encounter scenarios where something is a lot more easily dealt with by some PCs while others are struggling to barely scratch it, etc.  So, specifically for 4e, i stopped doing roleplay xp and instead focused more on minor quest reward xp than I used to (i used to really just do major quest reward xp and not so much for minor quests, now i do minor quests in place of roleplay xp)some of this is flavor -- taking an enemy to 0 hp can be described more as making an enemy no longer a threat (rather than killing).  thus, at 0, maybe the enemy does surrender, or cowers, or starts to flee without turning back.and then skills -- if the PCs use intimidate on a bloodied opponent (see the intimidate skill), they can get him to cower/flee right then.or you as the dm could just decide based on the situation when a tactical change is necessary -- do all the minions just see their leader taken down fast? yeah, that may be a good point to just have them all turn and flee.  just try and approach it from their perspective.  if it looks like a very one-sided fight and the enemies aren't "so committed" to the cause then no reason they shouldn't flee.  versus a mindless monster that just wants food and doesn't have the smarts to turn when outnumbered, he might stay until killed or nearly killed...</blockquote>

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