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<blockquote data-quote="Poltergeist" data-source="post: 988603" data-attributes="member: 2903">1.&nbsp; Make them pay a monthly upkeep fee for various and sundries (ale at a tavern, a room for the night, etc).&nbsp; Make them keep track of rations and arrows as running out of these things at critical times can both add drama and have a huge impact on the game.&nbsp; We used a dry erase board to track initiative order and duration of &quot;1 round/level&quot; spells during combat.2.&nbsp; I think it is OK to be flexible.&nbsp; Sometimes a feat does not pan out how a player hoped it would.&nbsp; Better to let them change it if keeping it will leave them miserable.&nbsp; Maybe institute a limit such as &quot;you can trade feats twice in the lifetime of your character&quot; if it is out of hand.3.&nbsp; Use the carrot system.&nbsp; Give them minor rewards for completed backgrounds, such as allies, minor equipment, a skill with a few points in it, or a circumstance bonus to certain skill rolls based on a thorough background.&nbsp; Maybe you established that your family was very religious, so you get a +1 circumstance bonus on Knowledge:&nbsp; Religion checks, or perhaps you established that your wizard used to fantasize about being a ranger and spent his youth climbing trees and exploring the forest, so you get a +2 circumstance bonus to climbing rolls whenever you try to climb a tree.&nbsp; Perhaps your father was a hunter and bequeathed a long bow to you (that you don't have to pay for), or perhaps your mother was a city guard and gave you her chain shirt now that she is retired.4.&nbsp; The difference between cliches and icons is nothing but presentation.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Poltergeist, post: 988603, member: 2903"] 1. Make them pay a monthly upkeep fee for various and sundries (ale at a tavern, a room for the night, etc). Make them keep track of rations and arrows as running out of these things at critical times can both add drama and have a huge impact on the game. We used a dry erase board to track initiative order and duration of "1 round/level" spells during combat. 2. I think it is OK to be flexible. Sometimes a feat does not pan out how a player hoped it would. Better to let them change it if keeping it will leave them miserable. Maybe institute a limit such as "you can trade feats twice in the lifetime of your character" if it is out of hand. 3. Use the carrot system. Give them minor rewards for completed backgrounds, such as allies, minor equipment, a skill with a few points in it, or a circumstance bonus to certain skill rolls based on a thorough background. Maybe you established that your family was very religious, so you get a +1 circumstance bonus on Knowledge: Religion checks, or perhaps you established that your wizard used to fantasize about being a ranger and spent his youth climbing trees and exploring the forest, so you get a +2 circumstance bonus to climbing rolls whenever you try to climb a tree. Perhaps your father was a hunter and bequeathed a long bow to you (that you don't have to pay for), or perhaps your mother was a city guard and gave you her chain shirt now that she is retired. 4. The difference between cliches and icons is nothing but presentation. [/QUOTE]

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