Let's all be Heroes

For real. We all wanna be your hero baby.

But it takes both the players and the GM to make it happen. 

Tips for Players:

• Be interesting - dump stats in a skill that's different for fuck's sake
• Take risks - heroes don't shy away from a DC 25 acrobatics check to back-flip off of the ogre's forehead and stick the landing across the river of lava
• Look for opportunities, but don't force it. Just because you are a goddamned expert in climbing doesn't mean you can't just walk up the mountain path
• Talk to your GM (nicely), if you feel that opportunities aren't presenting themselves as much as other players. Ask how your character can be more useful in the future. Hopefully they will get the hint

Tips for GMs:

• Read players' character sheet and backstories it can be fucking painful, but will give you ideas
• Make it tough, and make it worth it. If they can never fail then success doesn't seem as sweet
• Remember, it's not about YOU. You're already a hero for putting up with all their whiny bullshit; they should give you an award just for showing up
• Plan ahead - I keep a section of notes dedicated to making sure I have planned opportunities for each character. Something like this:
• Thief: Traps @ entrance, sleeping guards, alarm can be disabled
• Wizard: ______??? (maybe add a monster vulnerable to cold dmg)
• Cleric: Can speak to the dead victims, religious puzzles to get loot

In the above example I would go back to my plot notes to see what I could do to give the wizard time to shine. Not all of the events will happen exactly as planned -- that's OK, you did your part.