Steven Barker
First Post
I'm playing a high-charisma leader character in my latest game of N.E.W. and we were a bit perplexed by how the Inspiring trait I've taken should work in non-combat situations where the cost of an action doesn't seem to matter.
The rule in the book doesn't give any limitations, so it seemed like by RAW I could always give a 1d6 bonus to one fellow character whenever they were making an attribute check. That seemed OP. A few examples where it cam up were an INT+perception check to scout a building with binoculars from a distance, and later some AGI+stealth checks the whole party was making (where I tried to help out the least stealthy character).
My GM made a pretty reasonable on-the-fly ruling that out of combat I'd need to pass a CHA+leadership test first, but even then I probably could have used it a lot more than I actually did (I didn't want to exploit the system too badly). I'm not exactly sure what he'd have done if I failed my test, with my character's 5d6 on the CHA+leadership tests it never came up. If it would have subtracted a die, then it would at least a small risk.
I'm just curious if we were missing something. Should the trait be limited to once a day, like a lot of other traits are? Should it not be usable at all outside of a combat situation? Or should it have some other cost, beyond just "an action" (like a luck die)?
For reference, here is the trait's text (from page 59 of N.E.W.):
Inspiring. You are able to instill positive emotions in people with your words, using an action to give one ally a +1d6 bonus to their next attribute check if they are within 30’ feet of you.
The rule in the book doesn't give any limitations, so it seemed like by RAW I could always give a 1d6 bonus to one fellow character whenever they were making an attribute check. That seemed OP. A few examples where it cam up were an INT+perception check to scout a building with binoculars from a distance, and later some AGI+stealth checks the whole party was making (where I tried to help out the least stealthy character).
My GM made a pretty reasonable on-the-fly ruling that out of combat I'd need to pass a CHA+leadership test first, but even then I probably could have used it a lot more than I actually did (I didn't want to exploit the system too badly). I'm not exactly sure what he'd have done if I failed my test, with my character's 5d6 on the CHA+leadership tests it never came up. If it would have subtracted a die, then it would at least a small risk.
I'm just curious if we were missing something. Should the trait be limited to once a day, like a lot of other traits are? Should it not be usable at all outside of a combat situation? Or should it have some other cost, beyond just "an action" (like a luck die)?
For reference, here is the trait's text (from page 59 of N.E.W.):
Inspiring. You are able to instill positive emotions in people with your words, using an action to give one ally a +1d6 bonus to their next attribute check if they are within 30’ feet of you.