Inspiration Points (Changing it up a bit)

[TopCheese]

So normally with inspiration you gain advantage to a roll. Kinda boring but useful. Sadly advantage doesn't stack, it is also so flanking easy to gain advantage from different sources (magic or martial), and with the way the math comes out advantage is worth around +3.333 on the due roll and not the +5 that WotC seems to think.

Also, from what I noticed, getting inspiration in AL and home games is pretty rare, no matter how much roleplaying one does with their background (which I have a theory on why +insert game theory dude's ending phrase+). Advantage isn't enough of a bonus for something you gain once every blue moon.

So I wanted to add something to inspiration that would have a drastic impact on the game mechanically and narritively. Something that will also help battles go by faster. Something that will have a character feel like a badass.

When you have a point of inspiration you may upgrade an attack roll. A miss becomes a hit, a normal hit becomes a critical, and a natural 20 critical hit becomes maximized. This doesn't work with abilities that allow you to auto hit or automatically gain a critical hit. Also due to the wording a champion fighter can't use this to maximize a natural roll 18 or 19 into a maximized critical hit.

This does a couple things.

The player can decide when to be awesome. Sure people may save it for the boss, but others will use it when the time is right, when they really need to get past a monster quickly, when their allies are down and the fight needs to end NOW.

I like the player choice on awesome, not just random luck. Random luck is fine, but when you really want to, or need to, be awesome it should be because you character rose to the challenge.

Secondly what this does is gives the DM a way to control encounters that aren't going so well even if the DM wants/needs the players to continue. The DM can give inspiration for a cool action knowing that it will be spent on the current battle. This can replace DM fishing rolls, "forgetting" stuff, or any of the other tricks DMs use to continue the game (please don't pretend like this doesn't happen, we all know it does :) ). But instead of having it where the DM is directly influencing the fight outside of normal means, the DM can indirectly influence the fight and let the players be the star of the show.

You may hate on me now :p

[Human Paragon 3]

I think this is actually pretty good. My one complaint is that you can't use it on ability checks and saves (unless you can?)

I can also see it getting out of hand when everyone at the table cashes in a critical hit on a boss monster and drops it in 1 round.

[TopCheese]

I think this is actually pretty good. My one complaint is that you can't use it on ability checks and saves (unless you can?)

I can also see it getting out of hand when everyone at the table cashes in a critical hit on a boss monster and drops it in 1 round.

Thank you.

You could add in rules for ability checks or saves. You would have to be a bit more careful though.

You could make boss/legendary creatures immune to critical hits. Then inspiration could only be used to turn a miss into a normal hit.

Also you could say that you may only use inspiration once for the following Attack Roll Success, Saving Throw Success, and Ability Check Success per long rest. Any other uses must be used to gain advantage.

Saving Throws

A: You may, as a reaction to being targeted by a spell, treat the saving throw as any type of saving throw you want.
B: You may, as a reaction to casting a spell, have it target a different save. This new save must stay physical or mental depending on the initial save.

Ability Checks

A:Contest: Your die roll is considered a 15.
B:Non-Contest: When you spend a point of inspiration you succeed, in some way, at the task at hand and you never get unreliable information from the ability check.

This should, typically, bring you up one "success tier" for the non-contest ability check. If the DC is 10 and you roll a 5, you will pass.

You are still beatable at the contest but it won't be easy. For contests if two people use their inspiration then you just have to add modifiers (str, prof, misc whatever).

Kinda a lot of stuff and I would probably keep it for attack rolls, since almost everyone uses attack rolls, but I could see expanding it to something like this.

[Human Paragon 3]

Seems a bit complex for my tastes, whereas the original rule was dirt simple, but if it works for your table, more power to you. It's a little much to remember for most folks in the moment, though.

[JoeJ]

Inspiration also seems ready made for cool one-off stunts that are too cheesy to allow the PCs to get away with repeatedly. For example, a warlock might need to jump just a little bit further than the rules say they can. So they might try having their imp familiar grab them and use its wings to help them jump. Ruling that it works only by spending inspiration allows the player their moment of coolness in a way that can't easily be abused in the future.

[TopCheese]

Seems a bit complex for my tastes, whereas the original rule was dirt simple, but if it works for your table, more power to you. It's a little much to remember for most folks in the moment, though.

Yeah I think just allowing it to set your die roll to 10 + proficiency bonus might work as a quick rule. The only one I've tried it with is the attack rolls.


Inspiration also seems ready made for cool one-off stunts that are too cheesy to allow the PCs to get away with repeatedly. For example, a warlock might need to jump just a little bit further than the rules say they can. So they might try having their imp familiar grab them and use its wings to help them jump. Ruling that it works only by spending inspiration allows the player their moment of coolness in a way that can't easily be abused in the future.

Yeah and that has been my issue with inspiration. Advantage is good... But the help action or a tons of spells/effects can get your advantage. Inspiration just giving advantage feels... Lame.

You could always limit inspiration for once per short rest or something like that. Maybe twice per long rest... *shrug*

[JoeJ]

You could always limit inspiration for once per short rest or something like that. Maybe twice per long rest... *shrug*

You could do that, but inspiration is already inherently limited by the need to earn it through roleplaying.

[TopCheese]

You could do that, but inspiration is already inherently limited by the need to earn it through roleplaying.

DMs rarely give out inspiration, when they do it should be worth using. I'm not sure if this is a rule but I would say that each session each player should start with 1 inspiration.

I don't think advantage is worth the rarity of inspiration or a big enough mechanically to really be "inspiration". Meh.

[JoeJ]

DMs rarely give out inspiration, when they do it should be worth using. I'm not sure if this is a rule but I would say that each session each player should start with 1 inspiration.

I don't think advantage is worth the rarity of inspiration or a big enough mechanically to really be "inspiration". Meh.

There may be a self-reinforcing cycle going on. Players hesitate to use inspiration because the DM gives it out so rarely, while the DM doesn't see much point in giving inspiration, since the players rarely use it.

For my next campaign I want to give a lot more inspiration, and I'm considering letting the PCs accumulate inspiration points with the caveats that only one can be spent on any given die roll and any inspiration that isn't spent by the end of the session is lost.

[TopCheese]

There may be a self-reinforcing cycle going on. Players hesitate to use inspiration because the DM gives it out so rarely, while the DM doesn't see much point in giving inspiration, since the players rarely use it.

For my next campaign I want to give a lot more inspiration, and I'm considering letting the PCs accumulate inspiration points with the caveats that only one can be spent on any given die roll and any inspiration that isn't spent by the end of the session is lost.

Yup, I also think that the thought of advantage being a huge deal causes DMs to not give it out. Advabtage is nice, no arhument, but it isn't that fantastic. I can give advantage for free with an action.

Three rules I abide by when I give out inspiration... Or at least did.

1: Did a player do something that made another player not mean to do something. If a player can surprise another player with something awesome they get inspiration.

2: Did they role play or roll play in such a way that was awesome or surprising.

3: Have I given them an inspiration today? If not then they get a free one.

I might start using the escalation die in battle. Whenever it gets to 6 everyone gets an inspiration point.

[JoeJ]

Yup, I also think that the thought of advantage being a huge deal causes DMs to not give it out. Advabtage is nice, no arhument, but it isn't that fantastic. I can give advantage for free with an action.

Three rules I abide by when I give out inspiration... Or at least did.

1: Did a player do something that made another player not mean to do something. If a player can surprise another player with something awesome they get inspiration.

2: Did they role play or roll play in such a way that was awesome or surprising.

3: Have I given them an inspiration today? If not then they get a free one.

I might start using the escalation die in battle. Whenever it gets to 6 everyone gets an inspiration point.

You can also borrow an idea from Mutants and Masterminds and give inspiration every time you throw a complication at the players. So if a missed shot knocks over the lamp and starts a fire in the room where everybody is fighting, or if the BBEG teleports away just before being killed, or the party gets captured, or basically anything you throw in to make things more challenging, then everybody who's affected by it gets inspiration.

[MadGrady]

My group also allows Inspiration to be used for called shots. Players must elect to spend the point BEFORE the attack roll is made (and the point is lost for failed attacks). If the attack succeeds - they can target the body, head, or limb and impose a condition on top of damage (bleeding for torso hit, disadvantage on attack rolls for limb hits, reduced speed for leg hits, blindness for face hits)

[jkat718]

My called shots rule is that you can voluntarily take disadvantage on a shot, but you auto-crit if you make it. In addition, Inspiration can't be used on called shots. It's been a little too overpowered, so I'm thinking of changing to be "Called Shot: Roll the attack twice and take the lower roll. If your attack roll succeeds, you automatically crit." That way, it doesn't get countered by advantage.

[TopCheese]

My called shots rule is that you can voluntarily take disadvantage on a shot, but you auto-crit if you make it. In addition, Inspiration can't be used on called shots. It's been a little too overpowered, so I'm thinking of changing to be "Called Shot: Roll the attack twice and take the lower roll. If your attack roll succeeds, you automatically crit." That way, it doesn't get countered by advantage.

I like it.

Do you give specific monsters specific called shot locations or it just general?

[jkat718]

I like it.

Do you give specific monsters specific called shot locations or it just general?

It depends on the monster. If the monster has a particularly weak location (such as a gap in its armor), then calling a shot there might have an extra effect (jamming the armor joint, snapping its strap off, etc.), but most monsters don't have such an Achilles heel.

[JNAProductions]

Wait a minute-I'm playing in one of your games, Jkat! Why didn't you mention this whole "Called Shot" business before? Or did I just totally miss it and am being dumb?

Though I don't suppose it'd help much against a water weird.

[jkat718]

Wait a minute-I'm playing in one of your games, Jkat! Why didn't you mention this whole "Called Shot" business before? Or did I just totally miss it and am being dumb?

Though I don't suppose it'd help much against a water weird.

Different game, sorry. If you want me to add it to our campaign, then sure. I just thought I was already adding enough house rules and didn't need more. This was specifically a mechanic that one of my other players came up with and we then tweaked as a table, so it's not on the big list of my house rules that I use when starting with a new group.