D&D 5E How Often Are You Handing Out Inspiration?

[drjones]

I have handed out 4 or 5 in two game sessions, I forgot to a bit in the first one so I have been trying to pay more attention to it. But I am also giving them out for actions that add color and fun to the game.

 

[1of3]

I haven't used it yet. When I GM, I have other things to worry about.

I think, I might do it like this.

There are one or two Inspirations in play. They are given to random players at the start of session.

These players can then use Inspiration, when their Bonds, Ideals etc. are relevant. It should be explained, in what way they are relevant. Afterwards they hand the Inspiration to another player. With this rule, players are encouraged to refer to their character traits.

Players who have Inspiration can also use it on behalf of another player's roll, when they like a description, performance whatever. The Inspiration is used immediately and then offered to a third player. With this cavet, players are encouraged to follow other players playing, because the can affect the procedings with Inspiration.

 

[KarinsDad]

Your players -forgot- to use inspiration? How could they turn down a free "+5" to a roll?

Having not used inspiration in the past, the players were not used to it. Also, I just gave it to two of them and they wrote it down on their character sheets. I did not hand out poker chips or any sort of physical token for it. Once we start playing more, I will do this and I'm pretty sure that they will start remembering.

Also, some of my players are very conservative with special abilities. They might have been saving the inspirations like they would a 4E Daily for when the crap hit the fan. With the exception of the very first fight, they did not really get into too much trouble (although one of the bugbear fights did put a dent into the group).

Yes, it's weird for players to be giving each other bonuses. But the same thing happened with Aid Another actions. Look at it this way: players who don't already have inspiration are probably not the types to be earning inspiration. If the inspirational PC hands his inspiration out to non-inspirational players, there's not going to be an unbalancing amount going around, since only part of the group is the type to be earning inspiration. (Insert better wording of this concept after this post, thanks.)

Well, Aid Another is like Help. It requires an action. Inspiration does not. Apples and oranges.


I prefer for all of my players to have their moment in the spotlight (and hence, get the reward for it), not just the smart and/or boisterous ones.

 

[KarinsDad]

I haven't used it yet.

When I do, I will grant inspiration only to a PC that purposefully makes a risky or flat-out wrong decision because it makes sense narratively according to her flaws or negative traits.

Interesting.

 

[Emerikol]

Never. I wonder if that means my game is balanced against the PCs?

 

[DEFCON 1]

I don't know how many of you have played Fate, but there's an additional method you can use for Inspiration that can get your players directly involved and also thinking about there characters... which is having them look at their TIBFs at the moment they are trying to make a check, and if any of them directly apply to the situation and check they explain and justify why it applies. Then you can give them Inspiration/Advantage on that check immediately.

So for instance, the party is climbing a high wall and one of the group falls from it. A player beneath says they are trying to grab ahold of the falling character as he goes past, and the DM says to make a STR (Athletics) check. The player looks at his TIBFs and sees that his Bond is "I'll always go back for my friends", justifies that the PC will always be at his best when his friends need rescuing, and the DM agrees and grants Inspiration/Advantage on this upcoming check.

Or another example... a character has a monster tied up and is interrogating it. Negotiation is not going well, so she decides she's going to intimidate it by whipping the monster repeatedly. The DM says okay, make a CHA (Intimidation) check, and the player notices her PC's Flaw is "Takes things just a little too far sometimes". So she points this out to the DM and says her character goes overboard on the beating, the DM agrees, and grants Inspiration/Advantage on the CHA check (with the results of the check being a little bit more than normal due to her character taking things too far.)

In Fate, this is called "Invoking an Aspect" (Aspects being their term for the TIBFs). It gets the players directly involved in acting in accordance to the important facets of their characters. For D&D... it will definitely help players see how their actions can be done in direct relation to their character choices by connecting a check they need to make immediately to what their character is about... rather than try to act "in character" during just general roleplaying situations, the DM needing to remember to give them an Inspiration point for doing so that they're meant to save, and then the player needing to remember to spend it at some other point in the future.

 

[TheRustyOne]

give your players Dice!

The first game or two of 5th I ran, no one used inspiration. So now I print that page out of the basic document, along with conditions and actions in combat. I tell them that the more you role-play, the more it will be rewarded, and I physically give special D20's I bought as "Inspiration Dice" to playes where their role playing adds to the story. This seems to encourage players to bring their characters to life, which is the whole point, isn't it?

 

[GMMichael]

+1 to give them the dice. Pick a color - all dice of that color are now inspiration dice for your game.

(Aspects being their term for the TIBFs).

Don't forget the A for Alignment. Which means the D&D 5 word for "character" is now...BIFAT?

FAITB? BAFIT?

 

[jgsugden]

I was going to suggest giving out 'Inspiration Cards'. I made a small stack of cards with stupid inspirational quotes on them to hand out... but the dice is a nicer idea.

 

[Tormyr]

I hand it out when the player's do something fun or interesting in character that matches their TBIF or fits well into the established psyche for the character. Things like diving into battle recklessly, saving a comrade, arguing against killing a fallen foe, etc. My player's are pretty good at using their inspiration. One time, they had an enemy cleric captured and used Suggestion on him. I usually roll in the open but this time rolled his save in secret and he hit a natural 20. He played along until he led them into an ambush. They were so pissed at him that they spent as much time trying to finish him off as taking out the ambush. After falling down a 40 ft. cliff, he rolled a natural 20 on a death saving throw and got back up. They knocked him back down and were burning their inspiration points like crazy to overcome the ranged attack disadvantage on a prone target. I even had someone jump down the 40 ft. cliff to be able to get close to finish him. I gave that person an inspiration point for being willing to jump and take 40' of damage. Then I reminded the player that she was wearing a ring of feather fall and it would take 4 rounds to get down and she was floating past a shocked enemy archer on the other side of the 20ft. wide valley.

Inspiration is a really nice mechanic for encouraging players to role play a little bit more. I had been handing out nominal amounts of XP, but this is better.