Back when I was running Shadowrun, 4th Edition, the players never used their Edge. Edge in Shadowrun is a point pool that each character has to make some changes to dice rolls, sort of like hero points or action points in other role-playing games. You spend an Edge point and you get to reroll some dice. However, nobody used this ability at the table. See, the Shadowrun character sheet has so many attributes and skills that Edge was just another number in that sea of statistics. When we started using poker chips to mark how many Edge points a character had, suddenly the players started spending them -- having a visual representation of what their character had helped the players to remember that they had that ability.

Now in every game where there are action points, hero points, bennies, or whatever they're called in that system, I always use some sort of token to remind the players that they have them.

Wow... I'm shocked to hear Jer speak so highly of 4.0. I've actually been shying away from it due to all the crotchety old timer gamer hate (I consider myself a crotchety old timer myself)...

I may have to give it a shot based solely on Jer's comments.

-Galen

I like to use 3x5 cards too. But I use them more for quick reference character sheets. I ask for initiative and keep the cards myself (putting them in the right order). I flip from front to back, etc... The quick reference character info is helpful for when I want to check something without letting the player in on the secret (such as a spot check to see that vampire skulking in the distance).

-Galen