Todays tip? Make danger a real part of your GM aresnal. I may have touched on this before, maybe not, but it's important for that players to understand their characters do not play your game with a safety net. What is the good of having deadly monsters, evil bad guys, doomsday devices and the almighty trap, if you're never going to have the schnutz to actually pull the trigger when a characters blunders in to a mortal situation? I know no one wants their character to go out "like a bitch" but it has to happen if the situation demands it. Use things like critical hit charts and fumble charts to add a little extra peril to the situation. These things make the players think and learn, most of the time, and the players need to understand that their characters are always "safe". And unfortunately, not every character can go out in a blaze of glory, sometimes that poison trap on the door, or that goblin with the lucky critical hit gets to actualy kill you.
Now an important note, there is such a thing as overkill. You do not want to become a GM serial killer, murdering player characters by the handful every week. Death should always be a present looming possibility, but not a weekly certainty. You don't want to turn your players off on the idea of playing with you because your games have turned in to dealy gauntlets. Be fair and use your best judgement; there's times to pull a punch and times to let them land with full force. You may have to feel things out and experiment a little, but once you figure it out you'll find that having that real bit of danger makes your games that much more fun!
