How often do you use the Inspiration rules?

[Olaf the Stout]

I'm playing a Wild Mage at the moment, so I often don't use my Inspiration as I prefer to use my class ability as that will increase the chances that I will have a Wild surge. However, there is probably once or twice a session that the DM will award Inspiration, sometimes to 1 or 2 PCs for something awesome or in-character they did, or to the entire group.

 

[Shiroiken]

There's an interesting bit of human psychology. If you have a resource, and are unlikely to get more of it, you hoard that resource. You never use it, because if you do, then you won't have it at that critical time. But then since you aren't in the habit of using it... you forget about it, and don't use it when you really should.

So, you wind up with a chicken and egg thing - if the GM never gives it out, the players won't use it. But, if the players don't use it, the GM also forgets, or gets the idea that the players don't find it valuable, and so they stop giving it out, ensuring that the players won't use it.

In this sense, the fact that you can only ever have one point of inspiration at a time is a flaw. It does not allow the players to test the waters, and see how quickly inspiration will come, so the GM doesn't see it used.

Ways around this: One GM I know is just super-generous with allowing someone to have advantage if they describe a really cool approach to their problem at hand. Another says that, instead of each PC having one point, the party has a pool of points equal to the number of players at the table that session. They can be drawn on by mutual agreement. There's a stack of chips on the table to remind everyone that they are there.

Well, as I opened my comment with, we don't really like the mechanic to begin with. We find it to be a bit "gamey" as printed, since we feel that roleplaying your character's personality, ideals, bonds,
and flaws is actually part of the fun. Giving a carrot for something you should already want to do feels wrong to us. That's why I gave it out for reaching certain story points instead, as a way of testing the waters.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

How often do you use Inspiration in your D&D 5E game? I tried to make this a poll but I did not see the option. Anyway, literally never? Once every few sessions? At least once a session? Or do you reference characters' traits, ideals, and bonds about as often as you reference the combat rules? And is it always awarded by the DM or are players encouraged to remind the DM to give it out when the DM may be forgetting?

Currently I'm playing Princes of the Apocalypse and there the Adventure Hooks actually determine when a PC gets inspiration. Usually that means each PC gets inspiration two times.

Other than that, I handle inspiration rules as once suggested to me. I only grant it (outside of adventure hooks), when a PC puts himself at disadvantage by staying true to his character.
I really like this way of handling because usually players would never act to their disadvantage even if it would fit to their character, but through this handling, it doesn't really matter how the PC plays because the disadvantage is neutralized by the advantage granted from Inspiration.
However, it strongly depends on the group how often this becomes relevant. Sometimes never, sometimes quite frequently, depending on player.

More than granting inspiration, using it was even more rare. My players would often keep it for the whole adventure and never use it except maybe at the final boss and all inspiration granted after the first was wasted. But I solved this as well, by adding the rule: "If the DM grants you inspiration, but you already have inspiration, you get the chance to give inspiration to another player for good role playing."
For some reason this "give the player something but force him to give it away" motivates players to actively use their inspiration bonus more frequently. And even if they don't, the one player who actually uses it, will in the end get all the bonuses from everyone.

 

[Doc_Klueless]

At first, I barely used them at all because I couldn't remember the rule and my players forgot they had them. Then I bought the d20 Coins from Campaign Coins so I would have a physical representation for my F2F games and noticed the Star on the Portrait on Fantasy Grounds.

Now I use them all the time.

I use a variant/house rule (?) that a character can bank up to 3 Inspiration. This is mostly because I bought d20 Coins come in copper, silver, gold and Fantasy Grounds allows in the options to set the game to have up to 3 inspiration per player which shows up as up to 3 stars on their portrait.

However, I just tend to hand them out to players for great ideas and for just making the play experience better for everyone involved: a good joke, excellent plan, engaging roleplaying, etc.

It should be noted that I'm a huge Savage Worlds fan so the idea of handing out Bennies... er... Inspiration was not a huge leap for me.

 

[CydKnight]

I also admit to forgetting about it most of the time both as a PC and a DM. I have even started just telling players they have one inspiration die at the start of a night's session but in the last session I think one player remembered they had it and used it.

 

[pogre]

At first, I barely used them at all because I couldn't remember the rule and my players forgot they had them. Then I bought the d20 Coins from Campaign Coins so I would have a physical representation for my F2F games and noticed the Star on the Portrait on Fantasy Grounds.

Now I use them all the time.

I use a variant/house rule (?) that a character can bank up to 3 Inspiration. This is mostly because I bought d20 Coins come in copper, silver, gold and Fantasy Grounds allows in the options to set the game to have up to 3 inspiration per player which shows up as up to 3 stars on their portrait.

However, I just tend to hand them out to players for great ideas and for just making the play experience better for everyone involved: a good joke, excellent plan, engaging roleplaying, etc.

I use coins too. An idea I stole from AriochQ was to give each player at the start of a session a coin. That player can then award their inspiration coin to another player for a brilliant idea, roleplaying, or even something that made them laugh. Before, I rarely gave out inspiration - not out of stinginess - I just forgot.

 

[cmad1977]

I use it all the time and encourage my players to practically ‘beg’ for it.

Also... Crit fails are dumb 100% of the time. The multi-attacking master of blade and bow fumbles his weapon vastly more often than a lowly goblin. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

 

[Aldarc]

Inspiration fails to be even a half-baked mechanic that has been easily forgotten, if ever remembered, at every table of 5e I have ever played.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I also use some Campaign Coins tokens for Inspiration. For my home group, I use the Dwarven coins and for the open table, smaller Electrum coins that I bought on sale (it hasn’t happened yet, but that way I’m not out as much if some rando walks away with one of them).


At the beginning of each session I count out a coin for each player at the table. My goal is to give them all away. I pretty much aspire to always be handing out inspiration – and I tell my players that they will get it for role-playing their character, entertaining the table, or amusing me. I will also give it out for acts of self-sacrifice, putting a fellow PC’s well-being or survival ahead of your own.

At first, I barely used them at all because I couldn't remember the rule and my players forgot they had them. Then I bought the d20 Coins from Campaign Coins so I would have a physical representation for my F2F games and noticed the Star on the Portrait on Fantasy Grounds.

 

[iserith]

Also... Crit fails are dumb 100% of the time. The multi-attacking master of blade and bow fumbles his weapon vastly more often than a lowly goblin. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

Agreed - I will straight up not join a game that uses them. Sometimes the DM doesn't announce these as house rules before though and they turn up in play which is a critical failure all on its own.