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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ratskinner" data-source="post: 6161402" data-attributes="member: 6688937">Well, since everyone seems to think that this is turning D&D into FATE I suppose I have to weigh in.Its not. I should be so lucky. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" />The entire purpose of FATE points (in FATE) is to instill dramatic tension while aiding in its resolution. To do that, you have to earn an FP by taking some kind of story or aspect-related hit. That means that failure is involved. Yes, in FATE, you sometimes get paid to fail. Directly, as in, the GM holds up a FATE point and says "Maybe your Barbarian Upbringing causes you to make a big gaff at dinner, offending the Duke?" It generates story: Yes, <the bad guy> got away with the <important thing>, but we got FATE Points to help in the adventure part of fixing it. That's how stories go: problem generated, then problem resolved. Later on, you might spend that FP to use an aspect for big bonus or re-roll on some action that reflects one of your aspects (maybe even the Barbarian Upbringing that earned it in the first place.)In that way, FATE points drive characters to play to their aspects. In FATE aspects often cover everything like background, personality, profession, some specialties, race, motivation, etc. They're pretty wide open, and very good at handling the more hazy narrative end of characters. So I could see (and many people already use) a system of FATE-style aspects and FP to replace alignment, background, and maybe even some racial and class elements within D&D. Which would drive D&D to be a much more story-oriented game. (Not for everyone, to be sure.)So FATE points and aspects are all about pushing story and characters together. These Inspirations and Bonds, Flaws, Ideals, Sparks and Alignment, don't seem to do that. Heck, the stated goal of Inspirations is to "encourage roleplaying", so they're not even trying to. (First off, I dunno exactly what "roleplaying" means here, but the article seems to suggest that he intends it to mean taking some kind of actor stance. Fine.)  This is all about playing up a character's personality (apparently) so let's start there.Bonds, Flaws, Ideals, Sparks, and Alignment. I guess my first criticism is "Why three categories?"  Which one is I'll kill every orc I see? Is that a bond for the oath I swore to the local Duke? Is that a Flaw that screws up my interactions with the orcs? Or is it an ideal that I've taken on as an apparently hard-core anti-orcist? (Maybe it could be all three....) If the three categories don't have distinct functions, I'd say make them all personality or alignment traits and be done. (Honestly, by itself, this could be a vast improvement over traditional alignment.) So far, we've added a few descriptive notes to the header of the character sheet. I would suggest that we need a way to change these during the progress of play, especially Bonds. I'd also suggest some kind of Relationship trait with another PC. All said: not terrible, but what does it get us?*While not explicitly stated, it would appear that we can use these to earn Inspirations. Now, this might sound like earning FATE points, but its got critical differences. Firstly, there is no downside. I can earn an Inspiration by "describing your action in an interesting way, acting out your  character's dialogue, or otherwise helping to bring the game to life by  adding some panache to your play." So, by adding some adjectives or speaking in character...I get a bonus? hmmm....hang on...I can bank it for an unrelated action later in the scene? I can use it equally on any roll? I can pass it on to another character? But, I get only one per scene, and they fade after that scene? Oy. I can see it now: 5/6 of all characters will have Inveterate Tomb-robber as a flaw and Kill all monsters as an Ideal. No doubt some kind of poverty-induced Spark or Bond will encourage treasure-grabbing as well.<img src="http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/erm.png"  class="smilie" loading="lazy" alt=":erm:" title="Erm    :erm:" data-shortname=":erm:" /> And why not? Isn't that the character they want to play?So my suggested fixes for Inspiration points (in descending order of my strength of opinion):<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">These should be totally optional, they would be a drastic change to some D&D playstyles. (I guess if a DM never awards them, they are.)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">You've got to earn them by taking a hit of some kind--either a risky penalty or auto-failure. This must be roleplayed out and be related to one of your traits.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Using Inspiration points also requires the rp and a relationship to one of the traits.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Passing it on: you can do it only when you can <s>narrate</s> roleplay how one of your traits helps the recipient.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The limit of one Inspiration at a time is optional.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">They don't expire at the end of the scene---maybe. I'd like some playtesting on that one. Possibly that would be an optional rule for a more FATE-like experience.</li> </ul>Why? The second is to avoid having the ubiquitous Inveterate Tomb-robber character. The second, third, and fourth (linking usage to traits) are all about giving those traits more meaning. For the fifth, that adds a setting on the dial for how much you want this to matter in your game. The sixth is Aren't these just FATE points? Well, they're close. Even the original implementation is close enough to give people that impression. However, FATE points don't really require the RP to earn or utilize (you often get that as part of the package, but its technically not a requirement.) That's going to change how people word these traits vs. aspects, if not what they take entirely. Also, these are all earned during play, usually you get a starting "refresh" of FATE points. (There's also a bunch of stuff that you can do with FATE's aspects and FATE points that are way out of D&D's turf, and that I never expect to see D&D implement). I think these would also have a much lighter impact on play, where FATE points and aspects are a primary conduit of gameplay in FATE.Anyway, all IMO, etc.</blockquote>

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