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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Manbearcat" data-source="post: 6213041" data-attributes="member: 6696971">Much of this is in leveraging good GMing principles.  The DMG2 gives some good (but sparse) advice on this but I find that MHRP guidelines are most helpful here:(a) - Clearly set the general stakes and scene elements such that they are relevant and engaging to the PCs, challenging both their ethos and their build elements.(b) - Know your PCs' build elements/archetype.(c) - Adeptly frame the scene (and its elements) to specifically pressure the current PC with respect to their build capabilities.  In the same way that you would frame superheroes with area attacks against a bunch of mooks so they can leverage an AoE/flurry/cleave, if the Fighter is a cleave build, give him opportunities to express that with mulitple enemies either engaging him or engaging what is at stake (the princess or the MacGuffin, etc).(d) - Be willing to say yes to players who are doing what you want; they are being proactive and "attacking" the fiction with tight respect to genre constraints and fictional positioning.  As in the above example, just as you would frame Wolverine into a mook-fest and say yes when he wants to deploy AoE (and give him the dice to his dice pool), you would also say yes to the Fighter analogue; engage him with mooks, award him for being proactive and "attacking" the fictional positioning with coherent deployment of cleave/flurry abilities, and give him a + 2 (or perhaps more if he deploys a limited use ability) bonus to this resolution roll.(e) - Know the system and its math.  If the general % of a successful skill roll with a trained skill is a mean 75 % (or more with other investments), don't be afraid to buff an attack roll if the player is properly engaged, attacking the moment, and leveraging functional fictional positioning.  A + 2 might just move you from a ~ 65 % chance to a ~ 75 % chance (right where a trained skill would be).  No problem.  Deeper investment (limited use) should increase chances further or give the player outright fiat (such as auto success with a daily) with a future, applicable rider (such as + 2 on the next attack roll against the target).  You can certainly get the player in on how that rider will emerge; a + 2 to one future roll is a good start.  Encounter power investment I typically allow the player a + 3 to distrubute how they wish, either on their own resolution or as a bonus to another player's future roll.  With Dailies, its typically auto-success on current resolution (with the expenditure of a healing surge) with a future + 2 to be distributed by the player as it best makes sense (with respect to the specific deployed ability and the fictional positioning).(f) - Keep other assets in mind.  You still want to be challenging players' skills, not just their combat resources.  (g) - Micro-losses accrue healing surge loss across the entirety of the PCs with loss conditions being met resulting in further surge loss as well as failure in whatever stakes-issue was set.  When I do this with 4e, the stakes will never be "live or die" for the players.  it will typically be "live or die" or a loss of someone or some thing they are trying to protect/control/maintain with that loss complicating future events.Anyway, that is what I do.  There is some disfunction now and again but it generally does the trick reasonably well.  Again, right now its just Transition Scene stuff; fixing a few elements of unfixed backstory, establishing some resources/scene elements for future deployment in the Action Scene, etc.  When we run the Action Scene we will see how it goes.  If its done right, you will both be framed into specific situations that leverage your PC build components and archetype.  If its done wrong then I probably screwed up!</blockquote>

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