D&D 5E Yes, Inspiration

[CapnZapp]

In this thread I want to discuss what alternate mechanical benefits Inspiration can provide.

My concern with Inspiration providing advantage is how this short-circuits an important part of D&D as a game: the hunt for advantage. I realize storytellers love the fact that Inspiration can replace minmaxing your character build and using optimal tactics, but to me, that is the very disadvantage I seek to fix. Put simply, I don't like how without Inspiration you need to work hard for advantage in certain crucial areas but with Inspiration all it takes is making an effort as a roleplayer and there you have your advantage, and even worse: that you now don't have any reason for that build and those tactics (you already have advantage, you gain nothing by getting it twice).

This does not mean I don't like to roleplay characters or discount the value of playing according to your character's personality.

It only means I want a benefit from Inspiration that is separate from advantage. What suggestions do you have?

Let me give you a pair of examples of what I'm fishing for:

1) perhaps the simplest replacement would be granting you a +5 on your roll.
2) possibly a much too complicated replacement would be granting you a draw from something like the 4E-era collectible Fortune Cards

Zapp

PS. I'm not concerned here and now about the criticism for how you gain Inspiration and the deficiencies in the trait/flaw system used.

 

[AverageCitizen]

Maybe +1d6 like action points? I don't know how that would interact with Bardic Inspiration though.

 

[delericho]

Maybe +1d6 like action points? I don't know how that would interact with Bardic Inspiration though.

That's probably your best bet.

Though I think my preference would actually be to keep the tie between Inspiration and Advantage, and instead enforce that Inspiration can only be used on actions somehow tied to your Traits, and is gained by accepting a setback (usually something tied to your Flaw). Which I can't claim credit for - I nicked it from the Angry GM.

 

[Pickles III]

We use re-rolls. At home its to encourage its use & distinguish it & to power it up a bit but still no-one ever remembers to use it.

In the AL I think its because the DMs don't know the rules & probably need it to offset the general level of incompetence there. I guess its not a real reroll just you can use it after you make your original roll, unlike at home.


Mr Angry DM seems to have borrowed from FATE a fair bit

 

[AverageCitizen]

We use re-rolls. At home its to encourage its use & distinguish it & to power it up a bit but still no-one ever remembers to use it.

In the AL I think its because the DMs don't know the rules & probably need it to offset the general level of incompetence there. I guess its not a real reroll just you can use it after you make your original roll, unlike at home.

I'm pretty sure that is RAW...

 

[delericho]

Mr Angry DM seems to have borrowed from FATE a fair bit

I wouldn't be at all surprised. It reminded me somewhat of something in Cortex+, too. The best ideas do seem to keep coming up in new forms...

 

[Azurewraith]

I was thinking of making it inspiration more of a "meta game aspect" and have it so the players can use it to alter the way something is playing out an example lets say the Pcs are trying to get inside the evil wizards tower and they are at a loss to how they can get in they head to the tavern pop a inspiration point and what do you know it just so happens that the architect for the building is sitting at the bar(as a result of the inspiration point being used) now if only the Pcs could butter him up to spill some information im sure they will figure something out. It runs similar to the plot points system from the firefly RPG.

 

[the Jester]

How often do your pcs get inspiration? If they always have it, maybe you are awarding it too often. I find that if the pcs get inspiration about .8 times per session each, they have it when they really want to swing the odds, but can't spend it carelessly lest they really, really need it later.

 

[Lackhand]

One interesting thought here: the important seeking of advantage that Inspiration somewhat curtails is mostly a pre-game activity.

When a character build provides you with advantage, it's not due to something you created at the table; it's a foundation you laid before the game and then triggered in game. Generally the situations you can reap advantage in are fairly narrow in scope, to avoid the obliging rules widget from being overpowered.

When inspiration provides you with advantage, it's due to a choice you made about who and what your character is before the game and then triggered in wait I minute I see what I'm doing here.

Now, they're not identical: the tactical trip master character build will always be able to trip (but not so good with a bow), while the inspiration-driven friend of the people is only good against tyrants (but not a peasant mob). It seems to me their areas of excellence are equivalent in size, but there's definitely some table judgment there.
Building a character with an inspiration-engine is a character build choice, a supplement not a replacement. The trip master and the friend of the people can be the same character. It's not an either/or.

That's kind of cool.

Now: perhaps the DM is being more openhanded with engines built off of traits & flaws than they are engines built off of spell combinations, magic items and feats. The rules in this area are few and broad, which works well for story-driven rewards, but the rest of the system is fairly well detailed. I think more guidance about how to DM for Inspiration would be good.

I think it's a piece of developing technology; as a community we'll figure out what to do with it sooner or later

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'm pretty sure Matt Mercer, the DM for Critical Role, just gives players the same Bardic Inspiration die to players that their bard PC gives out as well. So the DM's inspiration mechanic matches the bard's inspiration mechanic to make it easier for everyone. But he also gives out DM inspiration fairly infrequently, so it's not like he's trodding upon the bard's toes by doing so. Scanlon, their bard, is the primary donator of Bardic Inspiration dice to the party, and Matt just supplements it on the few times the PCs really play to their characters.