D&D (2024) Inspiration on a 20 Test: Still the forgotten mechanic

[Remathilis]

So at last night's session, we opted to use one bit of 1D&D tech at the table: a Natural 20 give a reroll. I'm notoriously bad about remembering to hand out Inspiration, and my players are bad about remembering to use. This includes having a physical token to give players to remind them they have it!

It was short session and was RP heavy with two decent combats in-between. Enough roll for initiative and attack a couple times each.

During that night, only one player ever rolled a 20 on anything. And when he did, he promptly forgot he had inspiration until the end of the game.

That's one session and we will continue to experiment with it, but so far it says that earning Inspiration on 20s isn't going to be a ubiquitous as it seems unless your players are lucky, and it doesn't fix the idea that you either forget it or hold onto it until "needed" and thus is wasted...

Anyone else try it in game (not just theorycraft it)? Does it match your experiences?

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Anyone else try it in game (not just theorycraft it)? Does it match your experiences?

we started that last week... we had a player crit twice and none of us remembered until 2 fights later... then we had to scroll back through the roll20 logs... it derailed the game for a few minutes.

I then used my insperation (since we all more then got one) in the next combat round... then we all forgot for rest of session when we just decided "everyone just take one to start next week"

 

[MockingBird]

This has been my experience. When the first starter set dropped I used inspiration but the players forgot they had it. Eventually I'd forget to hand it out. We continued without it and never had an issue. I'm a little perplexed why the designers seem to push it. I could be wrong but I don't even think they mention it in prewritten adventures. We will attempt to us it again but I have a feeling it's going to be forgotten.

 

[James Gasik]

I think the designers miss action points as a way to let players have an ability to "turn the awesome on" when they need to. But since reintroducing them would cause even more of a stir, they want to make sure everyone is able to get Inspiration without needing the DM to hand it out.

 

[Reynard]

I find that inspiration as a total reroll gets remembered more often than using it to preemptively give advantage, mostly because players hate it when an important roll goes bad. Im still terrible about remembering to hand it out, though.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I find that inspiration as a total reroll gets remembered more often than using it to preemptively give advantage, mostly because players hate it when an important roll goes bad. Im still terrible about remembering to hand it out, though.

In my campaign we made it so that there was always a character with Inspiration. When one character used it, we just rolled to see who would get it next. That way I never had to hand it out, and players felt an urgency to use it.

 

[OB1]

In two sessions of testing the new rule I've found that my players are definitely aware that they get inspiration for rolling a Nat 20, resulting in 3 the first session and 4 in the second session. The rogue has used inspiration twice, both times to get sneak attack when he needed to use his bonus action for something other than hiding or taking aim. The Paladin used it in a tactically advantageous situation to ensure she got a hit with a thunderous smite (resulting in the monster being blown off the side of a spell jamming ship into wildspace). The ranger and fighter never used theirs, and said they were aware they had it, but were waiting for a critical check to use. The players also reminded each other when the party was at 'full inspiration' that someone should use one as future Nat20s wouldn't get it again.

In the previous 8 years of me Doing 5e, I regularly forgot to hand out inspiration, and players regularly forgot to use it. For my group, at least, it does seem like the new rule is working as intended, and I expect it to become even more regular with additional practice in game.

 

[Charlaquin]

I think the designers miss action points as a way to let players have an ability to "turn the awesome on" when they need to. But since reintroducing them would cause even more of a stir, they want to make sure everyone is able to get Inspiration without needing the DM to hand it out.

In 4e you gained action points at “milestones,” which in 4e just meant every other encounter. In 5e the expectation is ostensibly one short rest every other encounter, so assuming they don’t change the expected adventuring day math, you could achieve the same effect by simply saying everyone gains inspiration whenever they finish a short or long rest.

 

[Charlaquin]

In two sessions of testing the new rule I've found that my players are definitely aware that they get inspiration for rolling a Nat 20, resulting in 3 the first session and 4 in the second session. The rogue has used inspiration twice, both times to get sneak attack when he needed to use his bonus action for something other than hiding or taking aim. The Paladin used it in a tactically advantageous situation to ensure she got a hit with a thunderous smite (resulting in the monster being blown off the side of a spell jamming ship into wildspace). The ranger and fighter never used theirs, and said they were aware they had it, but were waiting for a critical check to use. The players also reminded each other when the party was at 'full inspiration' that someone should use one as future Nat20s wouldn't get it again.

In the previous 8 years of me Doing 5e, I regularly forgot to hand out inspiration, and players regularly forgot to use it. For my group, at least, it does seem like the new rule is working as intended, and I expect it to become even more regular with additional practice in game.

This is great to hear! I’m still skeptical about inspiration being tied to a random event (natutal XX on the d20) instead of character actions, but it’s helpful to know from someone’s actual play experience that it has been working well.

 

[BookTenTiger]

I've found that having a physical reminder of Inspiration really helps. In my Roll20 game I created a special condition icon that I would tag a character's mini with if they had inspiration. In my at-the-table game we would give the players with Inspiration a big fake gem, which they would then rest their d20 on. That way when they reached for their d20 to roll, they would always see the gem and remember.