Inspiration and Honor

[EvanescentHero]

Hey Playground.

So I've been DMing 5e for a little bit now (just a couple sessions of actual gameplay, but lots of time learning the rules). I've made the conversion pretty easily, but the one thing I'm oddly having the most trouble with is remembering to give out Inspiration. Do any of you have any tips for remembering? Additionally, any uses besides the default advantage on one roll of their choice? I like the idea of letting my players spend it to try something "Rule of Cool"-esque that I wouldn't normally let them do.

Now the other question I have is about the optional Honor score. I was discussing with a friend about when to use it because it doesn't seem as useful to me as the Sanity score in most situations, at least not for most members of a party. But it makes a lot of sense for paladins and knight-type characters. So my question is, would it be okay to give only some of my players an Honor score--only the ones it would make sense for? And on top of that, would it be okay to substitute Honor for Charisma on my paladin? Since Honor is a malleable stat, in that I as the DM can change it based on his actions, I really like the idea of his spells and such being dependent on how much his god approves of his actions at the time (especially since he's already not doing too hot in Bahamut's eyes).

Obviously I would discuss this with him before making the change, but I wanted to ask for your opinions first. Mostly I'm just wondering if you see many potential problems arising from this, seeing as there aren't many situations in which I would ask most players for an Honor check, so the stat would really only get used for my paladin player. Thanks for your input!

[Sullivan]

I'm kind of at a loss for inspiration too. I've been doing it where if a pc goes down and is revived pretty quickly, despite clear danger, then the reviver get inspiration. Also, if I see a pc try and solo a group of monsters for the betterment of the party. Basically, it boils down to team work for me.

As far as honor goes i've been using it as a dm tool in my 2e games for a while(oriental adventures is a good reference). I use it more as a dm tool than a way to quantify morality in my games. Basically it works like rep for me, rep with god's happens from actions I see as in alignment with that god's particular ethos and like wise with institutions, although the latter come mostly through carrying out missions given by npc. This way I can tell how much the pc's actually care about a particular story line. Maybe dude isn't all that committed to living up to a lawfully good way of life and a chaotic neutral god may offer him/her a deal they can't refuse.

The fact that actions have repercussions is one of the reason I think this is the best game. It also helps to build a more organic feel for why things happen in my campaign.

[person29]

We vote at the end of each session to grant inspiration

Typically the vote goes to whatever character was most badass/useful that session, however sometimes it is awarded to someone who kept the group on task, or had a really cool idea etc

[EvanescentHero]

I kinda like the idea of voting on it, and the idea of granting it to someone who acts like a team player. Does voting on it work well? Is there ever jealousy or other problems if someone gets it more often?

[person29]

We haven't run into any issues with it. That one person (or more in case of a tie) has inspiration for the next session, and we've often had it the case where that person grants their inspiration to someone else when they attempt something cool or really in character

[EvanescentHero]

We haven't run into any issues with it. That one person (or more in case of a tie) has inspiration for the next session, and we've often had it the case where that person grants their inspiration to someone else when they attempt something cool or really in character

So players at your table are allowed to use Inspiration for more than just the recommended advantage on a roll? Do you have any good examples? I'm really intrigued by the mechanic in general, but because I've been forgetting, I still haven't used it, unfortunately. I've got a game on Saturday, so I should probably just write "USE INSPIRATION" in big letters on top of my notes.

[Bubzors]

I found I kept forgetting inspiration too, so I decided to have something physical to remind me. I now have a poker chip in front of me for each player, and hand that to the player when they get inspiration. It helps me and them to remember to actually use it.

As for what actions to reward I use it for both role play and rule of cool. Come up with a sweet out of the box idea and execute it properly? Inspiration. If you role play as your character as a real person with thoughts and emotions, even knowing as a player it may harm you harm you? Inspiration.

Besides just advantage we also use it to fudge the rules a bit. Want to leap across the room to swing from the chandelier and land on the throne but your character can't jump that far? Use that inspiration point buddy

[holygroundj]

I agree: a physical representation of inspiration does wonders. We have giant D6s that people put in front of them. Before that I went 7 sessions without ever getting one, while everyone else got one at least every other session. I don't care because I play to interact with people but my DM laughed when he switched because he said, Jeez Holy, have you ever had inspiration before?

[MadGrady]

For inspiration, whenever a player does something super fun, either in character, or that impacts the story in a fun way (including taking it in whole new directions), or just has a really solid plan - well thought out, etc - then I grant it. I want my players to have it often, so they use it often, and make a memorable game.

[EvanescentHero]

I also think the physical inspiration would help, so I'll come up with something for that. But let's talk about my other question, the one about honor. Would it be okay if only the paladin had an honor score, and used it instead of charisma for his class features? What problems, if any, would arise from that?