D&D 5E Awarding Inspiration

[Nebulous]

I love this mechanic, I think it is a great new addition to D&D. BUT...i forget to do it. Like, I consistently forget to do it, for some reason it's not at the forefront of my mind. So what might help is to lay out some "triggers" for when it is an excellent time to reward a player on the spot.

Any ideas or examples from your own campaigns? Does anyone else forget to do this too?

"Good roleplaying" is the obvious one and probably the most common.

Nebulous

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

I kept forgetting to hand it out too, so I have given the job to the players. each session they have one inspiration each to give to one of their fellow players, for good roleplaying or general awesomeness. That has worked out quite well so far.

 

[dd.stevenson]

I set aside time at the end of each session for players to award inspiration to each other. Keeps it simple and easy, and gives players a good idea as to the pace at which they might receive it.

 

[Nebulous]

I set aside time at the end of each session for players to award inspiration to each other. Keeps it simple and easy, and gives players a good idea as to the pace at which they might receive it.

So you guys are saying you let the players handle it? I guess my only concern is that my players will *always* reward inspiration for something no matter how minor. "Hey, I liked the way you flirted with that barbmaid. Here ya go."

Then again, always having Inspiration isn't a bad thing. And that does solve the problem of me forgetting it!

 

[dd.stevenson]

So you guys are saying you let the players handle it? I guess my only concern is that my players will *always* reward inspiration for something no matter how minor. "Hey, I liked the way you flirted with that barbmaid. Here ya go."

Then again, always having Inspiration isn't a bad thing. And that does solve the problem of me forgetting it!

Well, they have to follow the criteria: inspiration gets awarded only for role playing the traits flaws and bonds; and only if the're played in a somewhat novel way that works out to a disadvantage or risk to the group. But as long as that's the criteria they're using, then yeah its up to them.

 

[Nebulous]

I think i'll definitely adopt that.

 

[Nebulous]

Well, they have to follow the criteria: inspiration gets awarded only for role playing the traits flaws and bonds; and only if the're played in a somewhat novel way that works out to a disadvantage or risk to the group. But as long as that's the criteria they're using, then yeah its up to them.

Btw, your skill Discernment house rules are very cool. What about adding Monster Identification? Where would that fall in?

 

[dd.stevenson]

Btw, your skill Discernment house rules are very cool. What about adding Monster Identification? Where would that fall in?

Thanks!

In my games, I don't usually make players pay to ID monsters. If it's a common monster or if they have the correct prof then I usually just tell them what generally they know about the monster. If it's a little more obscure, then I ask them what their source of knowledge is (e.g., ancient tome, wandering lunatic, etc.) , and then answer based on what they tell me. (Exception: if they're in combat then they need to spend an action thinking about things.)

So, for my games, charging inspiration to ask those kinds of questions doesn't make sense. But if you play differently, I can't see any huge problems with adding those questions in.

 

[Nebulous]

It came up last session when they had a near-miss random encounter with hippogriffs. I just described them as hawk-headed monsters, and the players genuinely didn't know what they were either. I think someone rolled an Arcana to try and ID them, but rolled poorly.

 

[dd.stevenson]

It came up last session when they had a near-miss random encounter with hippogriffs. I just described them as hawk-headed monsters, and the players genuinely didn't know what they were either. I think someone rolled an Arcana to try and ID them, but rolled poorly.

Yeah, I haven't yet seen a mechanic that I completely love to ID D&D monsters. So I just role play it, usually. IMC, the process would probably go like this (assuming a not-so-inspired player):

Player: Can I ID this monster somehow?
Me: You're not proficient in arcana. But it's a well known beastie, so probably you know it. What's your character's source of knowledge here?
Player: Uh .... a book?
Me: Sure, you've seen this monster illustrated, and you distinctly remember the caption reading "Hippogriff." What kind of book was it?
Player: Uh, ... a book of monsters?
Me: Ok. (Takes a long, thoughtful sip of whiskey.) You also remember reading that Hippogriffs mate as horses, with the male mounting the female from behind. That was illustrated too, which happens to be why this information sticks in your mind.

This playstyle isn't for everyone, but for my tastes it beats the heck out of rolling a d20 (in so many ways) and isn't as frustrating as fumbling around with describing a monster that we (the players & DM) all already know about.