After running a few sessions, I don't feel like I've been doing a very good job of bringing traits into play. If I use Greg's catching up (http://www.gspendragon.com/catchup.html) page, a player who was absent from a session would get more rolls against their traits than a player who was present. That's not the result I want.

A few traits seem to come up pretty regularly: Chaste/Lustful, Prudent/Reckless, Just/Arbitrary. For the rest, I'm having a hard time working them in. Does anyone have any advice or examples on how to get more use out of traits?

We spend a fair bit of time in courtly scenes, which really bring the trait rolls on. Put your players into difficult situations in court and the trait rolls should be flowing pretty easily.

You can also back-engineer a scenario to put the traits you want in them. Pick one or two traits and create a situation where they are likely to come up. I've done this many times and my players have realized if they become one trick ponies, then they will miss out on certain portions.

Bob

I think you already have a solution here! Just by being aware of the need to roll more traits , you can now make it a point and be aware so simply do a little pre-work before your adventure and make a few scenes to test them. In Excalibur , the movie , at court Arthur actually poses ethical questions on purpose to the court! He asks questions that test honesty , piousness , etc.... Also , a really easy check that you can throw in every year somewhere is ENERGETIC. Knights are not obligated to do adventures technically , so at any point when an adventure begins to get TOUGH , have the knight make energetic to continue. If he fails , he is unable to finish. or at least it delays him.Reckless checks should be another one that is easy to justify almost all the time , and valorous too. Also you can often justify suspicious/trusting. If any Foreigner appeals to the knight a suspicious check might be in order for instance. the most important thing to remember is at the begining of every encounter take a moment and see if there are any opportunities for any checks.good luck!

I have found that one of the easiest ways to get Traits into play is:
1. Make sure the players know what they are good for (bonuses)
2. Tell them to tell you (the GM) when they think they can or ought to use the Trait.

In no time you will see how hey fit into court scenes.

Wait, what do traits give bonuses for?

I think my players have been doing pretty good roleplaying their traits and suggesting when it's appropriate to use them. But many simply haven't come up. Temperate/Indulgent, for example. I could have them check to see if they get drunk at a feast, but unless there's a consequence to doing so, there's not much point. But the knight who has a 16 Temperate gets shortchanged compared to the extremely valorous knight, who has many more opportunities to put his trait to the test. I think I read a similar thread a while back about "making modest awesome" but I couldn't find it.

I guess I was looking for some examples of how to work specific traits into situations where they'll have an impact.

One thing in case you don't know, you can use traits like skills.

For instance, when they try to convince someone of something, have them orll honesty (if telling the truth) or deceitful (if trying to get away with a lie), or merciful (if trying to persuade someone to act compassionately) or suspicious (if trying to persuade someone not to trust someone else) etc.
Traits make very good social skills.

Also, have other knights call for challenges of traits - like the aforementioned King Arthur's court. In tournaments and at crossroads, encounter knights who call for a challenge of knight, sword, and energetic (sparring until exhausted - who drops first), for instance. Or when the players want to win the support of someone, have him pose a riddle: ask for a Just, or Generous, or whatever is appropriate for that particular npc or challenge. It may be opposed, or at a penalty.

But also, one very useful thing to do: whenever players do anything at all, ask them why their knight is doing it. Or if someone else does something important, ask the players how their knights feels about it. If it sounds like a trait, give them a check. They'll probably not know how to deal with those questions at first, but when they see you start handing out checks, they'll soon learn.

However, don't use checks as punishment - be careful of handing out more negative checks than positive ones. It's easier to see when knights go against their character, or do unchivalrous stuff, and forget to award checks when they DON'T do those things.