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Message: <blockquote data-quote="andy3k" data-source="post: 5566327" data-attributes="member: 6674918">"As I said, I agree that the character sheet is always the first go-to  for my players when it comes to looking for resources to deploy ... What I would like, though, is for the ranger with Acrobatics to pay more attention to the vines than he currently does!"The two statements above were separated by a lot of text but I think one answers the other. Players utilize cues:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When my daily power card is turned face up, I have a daily power available</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When the DM puts a red token under my mini, I am bloodied</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">When the pointer on the magnet board drops to my name, my turn in initiative order has come up</li> </ul>These cues work because they make something stand out and act as a reminder. If the DM really wants the players to interact with something, they should provide a cue. Whether the PCs and Monsters are represented by tokens or figurines, they stand out from flat map. If the DM would really like the characters to interact with other aspects of the location (vines, magic bird bath, statue, etc.) then maybe you should have them stand out too with their own token or figurine.You can describe the painting on the wall all you want when introducing the characters to the room but if the painting is a key to winning the battle more easily, and you want the characters to interact with it, there must be a cue. Whether the painting is a 3D object on the flat map, a colorful marker drawing that makes it stand out like a sore thumb, or a card that is placed in front of the characters that closely resembles a power card, the visual cue does what a cue is supposed to do: make something stand out and act as a reminder.4e involves complicated details, more at paragon, and especially at epic. IF your players do not take verbal cues (spending a whole 3 sentences describing an item or set of items) then blatantly obvious visual cues are the only other way to add DM-generated items to the list of "resources" the party has available to them.</blockquote>

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