D&D (2024) The new ONE inspiration rules really screw Halflings

[tetrasodium]

In our playtest we have played 5 levels using the new inspiration rules.

Each character is averaging 1 inspiration every two combats or so. The long rest thing is not a big deal, it is almost irrelevant. Sure we have been left with an unused inspiration here and there but they are so common we are usually using them on the next failed check.

The halfling has only played for 2 of those levels but she has not got a single inspiration yet. Other players have had I guess 20 or so in that time.

The Halfling problem aside we have found both of the new versions (20 and 1) of inspiration to be awful. The 1 is worse because it is a reroll mechanic, at least with the first playtest there was some strategy involved in using it.

I think one of us might be overlooking something or reading too much into the specifics of the rules glossary. The "Long Rest" is very explicitly defined on page 19/20 of the expert packet immediately after the words "If you still have inspiration when you start a long rest, you lose that inspiration" & there are many abilities that are keyed to long or short rests, but the only place that short rest is defined within the glossary in both playtest packets is within the long rest itself "If a Long Rest is interrupted by combat or by 1 hour of walking, casting Spells, or similar activity, the rest confers no benefit and must be restarted; however, if the rest was at least 1 hour long before the interruption, you gain the benefits of a Short Rest. "

In short, inspiration melts for a short rest too

 

[ECMO3]

I think one of us might be overlooking something or reading too much into the specifics of the rules glossary. The "Long Rest" is very explicitly defined on page 19/20 of the expert packet immediately after the words "If you still have inspiration when you start a long rest, you lose that inspiration" & there are many abilities that are keyed to long or short rests, but the only place that short rest is defined within the glossary in both playtest packets is within the long rest itself "If a Long Rest is interrupted by combat or by 1 hour of walking, casting Spells, or similar activity, the rest confers no benefit and must be restarted; however, if the rest was at least 1 hour long before the interruption, you gain the benefits of a Short Rest. "

In short, inspiration melts for a short rest too

First off that might mitigate it a little bit, but most of the time you use it on the very next failed roll. You are getting it so often you don't want to keep it and we are generally more worried about rolling a 1 and not having a spot for it than going into a rest with it. Even taking away uses on a short rest would not change the fact that everyone other than a Halfling is getting it A LOT.

Second I am not following on the short rest bit. Sure if I "start" a long rest. But what if I start a short rest and not a long rest. Every rest is not the "start" of a long rest. You can't even benefit from more than 1 long rest in a 24 hour period, so If I get done my long rest and adventure for 3 hours and then start another rest, it is NOT the "start of a long rest".

 

[Clint_L]

Just replace halfling luck. It's a terrible racial because it hurts the story. Natural 1s are when interesting things frequently happen.

 

[tetrasodium]

First off that might mitigate it a little bit, but most of the time you use it on the very next failed roll. You are getting it so often you don't want to keep it and we are generally more worried about rolling a 1 and not having a spot for it than going into a rest with it. Even taking away uses on a short rest would not change the fact that everyone other than a Halfling is getting it A LOT.

Second I am not following on the short rest bit. Sure if I "start" a long rest. But what if I start a short rest and not a long rest. Every rest is not the "start" of a long rest. You can't even benefit from more than 1 long rest in a 24 hour period, so If I get done my long rest and adventure for 3 hours and then start another rest, it is NOT the "start of a long rest".

You can't "start a short rest" because a "short rest" is the result of an interrupted long rest.

Spoiler: Inspiration expert pg19

INSPIRATION
When you have Inspiration, you can expend it to
give yourself Advantage on a d20 Test. You
must decide to do so before rolling the die.
GAINING INSPIRATION
The main way a character gains Inspiration is
by rolling a 20 for a d20 Test. The DM can also
award Inspiration to a character who’s done
something that is particularly heroic or
amusing.
ONLY ONE AT A TIME
You can never have more than one instance of
Inspiration. If something gives you Inspiration
and you already have it, you can give
Inspiration to a player character in your group
who lacks it.
LOSING INSPIRATION
If you still have Inspiration when you start a
Long Rest, you lose that Inspiration.

Starting a long rest causes a loss of inspiration

Spoiler: Long Rest expert pg19/20

LONG REST
A Long Rest is a period of extended downtime—
at least 8 hours long—during which a creature
sleeps for at least 6 hours and performs no
more than 2 hours of light activity, such as
reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.
BENEFITS OF THE REST
At the end of a Long Rest, a creature regains all
lost Hit Points. The creature also regains spent
Hit Dice, up to half of the creature’s total
number of them (round down; minimum of one
die).
A creature can’t benefit from more than one
Long Rest in a 24-hour period, and a creature
must have at least 1 Hit Point at the start of the
rest to gain its benefits.
INTERRUPTING THE REST
If a Long Rest is interrupted by combat or by 1
hour of walking, casting Spells, or similar
activity, the rest confers no benefit and must be
restarted; however, if the rest was at least 1
hour long before the interruption, the creature
gains the benefits of a Short Rest.

The only way to get a short rest is to start a long rest that gets interrupted and the failover to a short rest may have been an intentional choice because it avoids conflicting with the can't benefit from more than one long rest in 24 hours.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

Each character is averaging more than 1 inspiration every two combats and several per day. The long rest thing is not a big deal, it is almost irrelevant. Sure we have been left with an unused inspiration here and there but they are so common we are usually using them on the very next failed check.

The halfling has only played for 2 of those levels (4-5) but she has not gained a single inspiration yet. Other players have had I guess 20 or so in that time.

Is the halfling character doing nothing heroic or in-character worthy of the DM granting them Heroic Inspiration? Or is the DM being stingy in this regard?

 

[Arilyn]

WoTC may change the halfling, since the inspiration switch to rolling a one came after the original idea of gaining it with a roll of 20. I'm assuming the designers are aware a halfling change is needed?

 

[ECMO3]

You can't "start a short rest" because a "short rest" is the result of an interrupted long rest.

The rules do not say that and the part you quoted does not say that. What they say is you get the benefits of a short rest if you start a long rest. It does not say that is what a short rest is. Further, since it does not define a short rest anywhere in that document, to include what the "benefits" are, it is relying on the current definition of what a short rest is.

Finally this interpretation would mean it is impossible to do a short rest within 16 hours of your last short rest and I am quite certain that is not RAI.

 

[ECMO3]

Is the halfling character doing nothing heroic or in-character worthy of the DM granting them Heroic Inspiration? Or is the DM being stingy in this regard?

No and our DM is I suppose "stingy" about this.

The more I play with it, the more I just don't like the inspiration mechanic at all. I don't get why it exists period.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

You can't "start a short rest" because a "short rest" is the result of an interrupted long rest.

This is just wrong.
The playtest has a general rule: what is not defined in the playtest is the same as in the 2014 PHB, so youbcan just start a short rest as normal...

 

[Clint_L]

I also don't read that as changing how short rests work. I definitely don't think that is WotC's intent. It would be a really convoluted design choice. I think if they wanted to change short rests to only being a thing when long rests are interrupted they would state that directly.

Edit: here is the PHB definition which as far as I can see still stands:
"A short rest is a period of downtime, at least 1 hour long, during which a character does nothing more strenuous than eating, drinking, reading, and tending to wounds."