D&D (2024) Inspiration From Nat 20 Will Bog Down The Game

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

The game is already too easy

The difficulty level of D&D is entirely in the DM's control.

If a battle is going too easy, the door to the room slams open and reinforcements run in.

If the PCs are getting completely destroyed due to DM error, a bunch of the NPCs have lower hit points than average.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

WotC should change it to be inspiration on a Natural 1.

 

[payn]

WotC should change it to be inspiration on a Natural 1.

Why not both?

 

[Retreater]

Why not both?

Why not every natural number from 1-20? Always inspired.

 

[TerraDave]

I thought of this. As an informal rule, you could disallow check spamming, or say that it only happens on a consequential or meaningful check.

But it is a classic case of not being an issue at most tables, but maybe an issue at enough (and really just 1 or 2 players at those tables) to be a potential issue.

 

[Shiroiken]

They can only bank one at a time. How many natty 20's get rolled a session?

One thing I hate about RAW inspiration (both current and 1D&D) is that you can share them. If you already have inspiration, either from an earlier roll or being a human, you can just toss it to another PC. The idea of it being a party resource is stupid IMO.

IMO, checking for traps or secret doors is something the DM should roll for the players anyway. How can you know you failed to find something which may or may not be there in the first place? And if the DM is rolling, no one gets Inspiration for Nat 20's.

Rolling checks against Passive scores is the way to go. That way the PC isn't rolling anything and can't gain inspiration.

Yes, players are inventive. But players are also fun-oriented and easily bored. They're not going to be interested in elaborately "running the clock" to get a couple more dice of mostly-useless Inspiration, not session after session. For one session maybe.

Your players aren't all players. There are a ton of players who will game the system for every possible benefit, no matter much it sucks for everyone else. We generally call them power gamers or rules lawyers, depending on the form they use. Stop telling other people how "players are" and what they'll do.

 

[Umbran]

I just don't think a natural 20 generating Inspiration on an out-of-combat skill check is a good idea for the time management of a game.

What do you guys think? Is this concern unwarranted? Is there a better way to deal with it? Am I reading these playtest rules wrong?

So, the concern is unwarranted, because you don't have to worry about what you think it might do. This one is ridiculously simple to test for yourself. You can run the experiment! Try it out! See what happens!

 

[Bill Zebub]

So, the concern is unwarranted, because you don't have to worry about what you think it might do. This one is ridiculously simple to test for yourself. You can run the experiment! Try it out! See what happens!

That's a really insensitive thing to say. Some of us are way too busy posting on forums to sit around playing games.

 

[Peter BOSCO'S]

When Dungeon Masters know that players will have Inspiration more often they will take this into account when designing encounters. Therefore players will, logically, try to increase the percentage of time they have Inspiration to a higher percentage than the DM expected when designing the encounter. The DM will respond to this, if successful, by ratcheting up his expectations, and thus encounter difficulty, again.
Eventually you will end up with every player trying everything they can to always have Inspiration, to spend Inspiration frequently, and to regain it frequently.

Do you want a game in which players hunt Inspiration as if they were addicts looking for their next fix and willing to do anything to get it?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think if you got it on a 1 instead of a 20, gaining inspiration means you fail miserably before. So you won't be hoping for extra rolls.