Declaring Things Clearly

A related matter, attached to the issue of players keeping accurate track of their PCs, is the issue of clearly declaring your actions.

Now, this isn't a rant at Roger. I've had trouble in the past in keeping track of whether his Mage Armor is running or not, but that's because I've missed his declaration, rather than that he hasn't declared it.

It is a rant at people who want to claim the benefits of their feats, but fail to indicate which ones they're using, and against whom.

If you want to use Power Attack, you have to mention it before you make your first attack of the round, and mention how much of a penalty to attack rolls you're taking. Likewise, when using Combat Expertise, you need to declare it clearly before making your first attack. When using Dodge, you need to let the DM know who you're claiming the AC bonus against.

(Otherwise, what's to stop you from making an attack roll, discovering you've hit by 4 points, and then saying, "oh, I was using Power Attack 4, of course"? If a player were to try this, the DM should catch it, and either declare that he forgot to use Power Attack, or demand a re-roll. Either is valid. However, the DM shouldn't have to be on the lookout for cheats.)

Players should, absolutely, be encouraged to use every power and ability possessed by their character. But they shouldn't cheat to gain the best possible benefit.