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The Case for Inspiration
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<blockquote data-quote="77IM" data-source="post: 7398058" data-attributes="member: 12377"><p>I have a heavily modified system that I use all the time and works very well for me. Here goes:</p><p></p><p><strong>1.</strong> I ignore traits/bonds/ideals/flaws because as others have mentioned it's too much to keep track of, and even if it weren't, I prefer to reward good role-playing even when it doesn't match what you wrote on your character sheet beforehand. So anytime anyone does anything cool, creative, entertaining, or awesome, I toss out inspiration.</p><p></p><p><strong>2.</strong> When something unlucky or awful happens to a person I give them an inspiration as a consolation prize. This also functions as a negative feedback loop so that if the party is suffering a lot of setbacks they increase their future odds of success.</p><p></p><p><strong>3.</strong> <strong>Inspiration stacks</strong>, you can have more than 1. Most players wind up earning 2-3 per session. I've seen players stockpile up to 8-9 points at a time.</p><p></p><p><strong>4.</strong> You can use it to re-roll a d20, or can give it to an ally to allow them to re-roll a d20. It's like advantage after-the-fact.</p><p></p><p></p><p>This results in a LOT more inspiration use at my table. Players tend to hoard it and then use it in crucial situations, like against really bad saves or when making a really powerful attack. This, in turn, <strong>encourages risky behavior</strong> which speeds up the game and is also more interesting. When a player is sitting on a big pile of inspiration they feel very confident and will engage in encounters more readily and do things like leap over chasms wide enough to require a check. Conversely, I feel better about throwing unforgiving enemies and situations at the PCs, because if the players are managing their inspiration properly then when I accidentally hit them with an overpowered encounter they can re-roll their way to victory. And when they are low on inspiration a sort of desperate tension takes hold, it's great.</p><p></p><p>In short, when I hand out inspiration like candy it generally produces better game sessions.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="77IM, post: 7398058, member: 12377"] I have a heavily modified system that I use all the time and works very well for me. Here goes: [B]1.[/B] I ignore traits/bonds/ideals/flaws because as others have mentioned it's too much to keep track of, and even if it weren't, I prefer to reward good role-playing even when it doesn't match what you wrote on your character sheet beforehand. So anytime anyone does anything cool, creative, entertaining, or awesome, I toss out inspiration. [B]2.[/B] When something unlucky or awful happens to a person I give them an inspiration as a consolation prize. This also functions as a negative feedback loop so that if the party is suffering a lot of setbacks they increase their future odds of success. [B]3.[/B] [B]Inspiration stacks[/B], you can have more than 1. Most players wind up earning 2-3 per session. I've seen players stockpile up to 8-9 points at a time. [B]4.[/B] You can use it to re-roll a d20, or can give it to an ally to allow them to re-roll a d20. It's like advantage after-the-fact. This results in a LOT more inspiration use at my table. Players tend to hoard it and then use it in crucial situations, like against really bad saves or when making a really powerful attack. This, in turn, [b]encourages risky behavior[/b] which speeds up the game and is also more interesting. When a player is sitting on a big pile of inspiration they feel very confident and will engage in encounters more readily and do things like leap over chasms wide enough to require a check. Conversely, I feel better about throwing unforgiving enemies and situations at the PCs, because if the players are managing their inspiration properly then when I accidentally hit them with an overpowered encounter they can re-roll their way to victory. And when they are low on inspiration a sort of desperate tension takes hold, it's great. In short, when I hand out inspiration like candy it generally produces better game sessions. [/QUOTE]
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