A lot of questions on here are about big things, but it is really the little touches that seem to make a great GM. What little things have you employed, what adds the most to your games?

What are the most important tips you would share with new GMs? Experienced GMs?

(my answers next post)

• Look at the characters your players created. That is the kind of game they want to play, the kind of encounters they would like to see. A missionary focused of fellowship whose backstory talks about their goals to convert the lost masses wants planets of primitives to convert. A Rogue Trader wearing a silk shirt and tight pants with lots of skills in melee and agility wants some friggan swashbuckling sword fights. And if someone made a voidmaster with tons of piloting, then give them the change to be Luke Skywalker and blow up the Death Star.
• Group encounters drive a game, personal ones make it whole. I can't emphasize enough the value of these little encounters. Short 1 on 1 or 2 on 1 encounters. They end up being like a "choose your own adventure" book or a video game encounter, though with more freedom. They reinforce the scale, make voyages seem longer and more epic, make the world seem real and epic, and give players a chance to flesh out their characters. Bring their ship and dynasty to life by making them actually mange it and deal wiThese encounters can typically be resolved in 5-10 minutes, but are much more memorable that those two hours spend in combat. They have a choice to make, they make the choice, it develops their character, they are done. If there is combat involved it is resolved in 1 or 2 rolls. Pull stuff from their backstories, have them make choices in their ship roles, and give them a chance to deal with consequences of past decisions. Bring their ship and dynasty to life by making them actually have to manage it and deal with crisis.
• Always reinforce the scale . You don't just find a treasure chest and have more money, you find a treasure ship and set up an archeological dig. You don't have to sneak into the town elders tent to steal the warp artifact, you threaten them with orbital bombardment, or convince them you are gods. You don't invade an enemy stronghold as an adventuring party, you besiege it with troops and artillery (and then sneak in under cover of artillery bombardment.)
• Make enemies competent. They should use the full range of tactics, equipment, and bonuses available to them. It hurts the enjoyment when players realize that enemies are just faceless masses of mooks layed out for the slaughter.
• Realize players don't die when they run out of wounds, they get interested. My goal is to push at lease one character into the critical range in every major combat, two or three for a cinematic climax. I love the critical system in RT and DH. The occasional broken or lost limb makes the players feel like combat is dangerous without me needing to kill off a character every other month. Plus, a robo-peg leg adds tons of flavor.
• Don't break out the miniatures if after a cinematic battle. It rapidly turns it into a war game, changes it from a FPS RPG into a top down RTS. They players look at the game differently, and make their decisions differently.
• Plant at least one future adventure seed in every adventure. If you always plant a future adventure hook in every adventure you will never run out of material. A sentient warp item, frozen colonists in the treasure hold, etc. Always leave something.
• A Grimdark universe has the best Noblebright moments. If you want your characters to feel like noble heroes don't shirk from the grimdark, it makes them feel all the more heroic in contrast.

Don't forget what they have done already.

It makes the players ahppy when stuff from their past comes and either bites them or helps them.

e.g. in the auction in lure of the expanse, my players were stuck as to what they should bid with until one of them remembered the halo device they'd had in a stasis box ever since they did Into the Maw. They promptly used this as a bid and it was accepted. Hurrah!

Likewise, reoccuring characters, both friend and foe, really make a setting. Having a friend join the fight and even the odds enough for the PCs to save the day makes a great bonding experience and sets up a good NPc as a future plot hook.

Make the bad guys make it personal. Find out what really pushes your players beserk buttons and then have the bad guy go after that. Is your arch-militant a melee fighter, have him isolated and beat up by the big bad in melee, sure it'll piss him off, but it provides a HUGE impetous to track the swine down and return the favour. Occasionally let the bad guy win significant victories. This makes the PCs appreciate their eventual victory all the more. After all, no one feels great after defending the three stooges. But if you bad guy burns worlds and kills powerful PC allies, then when they eventually take the baddie to task they feel a significant victory.

Don't be afraid to mess the PCs up, make them bleed a bit. Combat becomes more fun when there is a risk of death.

Converse to this, occasionally let the PCs feel utterly badass, let them have a fight every now and then against someone they clearly outmatch, just to remind the how cool they are.

Have the NPCs treat them appropiately. Lower ranked peons and citizens of the Imperium should be bowing and scraping. Nobles should lay on lavish dinners and balls just to honour them. They are important, let them be treated as important. Nobles and powerful adeptus should court them not for any specific reason, but just because having powerful friends is good. Given that your players probably aren't royalty or incredibly powerful in real life, this toadying and fawning should be a nice indicator of the status of their PCs.