Inspiration: How do you remember it exists?

[Segev]

In my 5e game, I am very bad about handing it out. I remember maybe once a session, at most, and usually for the most over-the-top character. I want to assign it more. I want to remember it's there, and hand it out more often, but in the heat of the game, I just...forget.

Worse, when my players have it, they tend to forget they have it.

So this thread is me asking for advice on how to help myself remember to hand it out, and how to help my players remember they have it. Sadly, I can't use physical tokens right now, because my players take the lockdown seriously enough that they don't want to get together. Even though 7 people (two of them babies who aren't actually playing) in a private home is well within the guidelines for approved gatherings, but that's a grumble for a different time/thread. Respecting their desires, physical tokens are not feasible. We are currently using roll20. (I'm open to suggestions for how to make physical tokens work, but just noting they won't help right now, so alternate solutions - particularly for helping the DM remember to hand it out - are more helpful at this time.)

[Christew]

In my 5e game, I am very bad about handing it out. I remember maybe once a session, at most, and usually for the most over-the-top character. I want to assign it more. I want to remember it's there, and hand it out more often, but in the heat of the game, I just...forget.

Worse, when my players have it, they tend to forget they have it.

So this thread is me asking for advice on how to help myself remember to hand it out, and how to help my players remember they have it. Sadly, I can't use physical tokens right now, because my players take the lockdown seriously enough that they don't want to get together. Even though 7 people (two of them babies who aren't actually playing) in a private home is well within the guidelines for approved gatherings, but that's a grumble for a different time/thread. Respecting their desires, physical tokens are not feasible. We are currently using roll20. (I'm open to suggestions for how to make physical tokens work, but just noting they won't help right now, so alternate solutions - particularly for helping the DM remember to hand it out - are more helpful at this time.)
We use the gold color indicator on roll20 character tokens to indicate who currently has inspiration. As for the DM remembering it exists, maybe a sticky note on your computer screen?

[Man_Over_Game]

In my 5e game, I am very bad about handing it out. I remember maybe once a session, at most, and usually for the most over-the-top character. I want to assign it more. I want to remember it's there, and hand it out more often, but in the heat of the game, I just...forget.

Worse, when my players have it, they tend to forget they have it.

So this thread is me asking for advice on how to help myself remember to hand it out, and how to help my players remember they have it. Sadly, I can't use physical tokens right now, because my players take the lockdown seriously enough that they don't want to get together. Even though 7 people (two of them babies who aren't actually playing) in a private home is well within the guidelines for approved gatherings, but that's a grumble for a different time/thread. Respecting their desires, physical tokens are not feasible. We are currently using roll20. (I'm open to suggestions for how to make physical tokens work, but just noting they won't help right now, so alternate solutions - particularly for helping the DM remember to hand it out - are more helpful at this time.)

I...don't. I've realized it's just better on everyone to reward it on-the-spot than it is to try and reward it preemptively. Lazy? Yeah, but otherwise it's just a bunch of extra work for...Advantage? Why don't I just give you Advantage?

[KorvinStarmast]

We use the gold color indicator on roll20 character tokens to indicate who currently has inspiration. As for the DM remembering it exists, maybe a sticky note on your computer screen? I will see what my players think about this. Good idea. :smallsmile:

[Lupine]

I have a very roleplay-shy group. I try to give it whenever they step out of their box and try roleplaying more openly. As such, it gets given rarely. :(

As for how I remember, I do that one of two ways. I either gauge when a player impresses me, or I let the players themselves tell me when they think they’ve done well enough for inspiration.
Note: I do not recommend the latter for every group. If you have shenaniganing power-gamer, probably don’t let them ask for it.

[DevilMcam]

What we usually do is hand vote for the 2 most amazing things of the session at the end of the game (or begining of the next one when we forgot) and hand ot out to the responsible characters

[Keltest]

Personally i generally hand out inspirations whenever somebody does something to increase the fun of the group. A clever joke, buying the food for the session, doing something to move the game forward and breaking up stalemates between players, that sort of thing. There are enough players that this sort of thing comes up regularly.

[Necroanswer]

As a player I generally remember inspiration exists when it is awarded to me and then I notice I already had it from 2 sessions ago.

[tKUUNK]

What we usually do is hand vote for the 2 most amazing things of the session at the end of the game (or begining of the next one when we forgot) and hand ot out to the responsible characters

This is a great suggestion. I like how it
1) brings the players into the decision, and
2) makes it easier to remember, by establishing a routine.

Totally going to use this for a few sessions!

[Contrast]

One of the easiest ways to get players to remember to use Inspiration is to be generous in handing it out.

If you give it out rarely, players will horde it for special occasions/emergencies because they might not get another for several sessions and its better to be safe than sorry. If you give it out a lot they'll be incentivised to use it because getting it when you already have it does nothing.

I play with a DM who will probably hand out inspiration multiple times in a combat usually and I've gotten in the habit of often just using it straight away on my next attack roll - easy come easy go.

So try putting a snack or a drink on your desk during the session. Every time you take a bite or a drink, try and find a reason to award inspiration for one of the next things the players do that seems cool/that you like. Do that for a few sessions and see how it goes.

It also helps to be clear with players on things you will award Inspiration for. The DM I mentioned likes it when people take a moment to describe their physical actions - be that how you're swinging a weapon or how you're using your spellcasting components to cast your spell so lets people know doing so will net them Inspiration.

[Asisreo1]

I strive to give inspiration to each player at least once per session. If they have inspiration already, I make it abundantly clear "I would've given you inspiration, but it seems you already have it." Showing them how using it is better. Once one person uses it at a clutch moment like succeeding a save, players will start to remember and realize that holding on to it is a net loss.

[Monster Manuel]

I'd like to see the Inspiration rules expanded...maybe something like a class ability or feat that triggers when you have inspiration.

Grant inspiration to a paladin for adhering to their moral code in a meaningful and dramatic way. While they hold inspiration, the radius of their protection aura is extended an additional 5'. A swashbuckler rogue sees their rival across the docks, and shouts a challenge and charges. Here's Inspiration, you have an extra 5' movement while you close the distance between you. Something along those lines; maybe an expanded list of things Inspiration can do for you, aside from just the single at-will advantage on a roll.

If Inspiration did it's thing in a more interesting way, I think we would see more people remember it exists...

As a more practical suggestion, I tend to use Inspiration more in games where we have milestone advancement rather than XP. In other advancement schemes, you might give out a little XP for a particularly well-played scene or idea. Without XP, you can't do that, so I'll hand out Inspiration in those instances instead.

[Misterwhisper]

Been playing since beta, never once have I seen it used, ever.

[stoutstien]

I turned it into a pool at my table and renamed it momentum. Starts empty but anytime a player misses an attack or fails a check/ST one D20 gets added with a max equal to number of players/characters. Anyone can choose to use them like inspiration at any time and the pool resets after a S/L rest.
I think the fact it's a physical tray with dice in it helps to remind them it's there when they need it.

[Dienekes]

So something I heard from somewhere, don’t remember where exactly had this method for having and remembering to use Inspiration:

Place a bowl with a number of stones equal to one fewer than the number of players at the table. The GM can reward it at will, and all players can suggest rewarding it to another (but not themselves), where they can fall for a vote of just try to convince the GM it’s earned. Earning an Inspiration rewards them a Stone. Using inspiration and the stone goes back onto the pile.

When they run out of stones no more Inspiration can be earned until it is used. All unused Inspiration is lost at the end of the session (though some exceptions may apply if things are cut short or the session ends right before a boss or something).

I’ve used this once so I may have forgotten something. But I remember it being a lot of fun and the players definitely used it. Unfortunately we switched to a chat based game afterward, and without the physical reminder of the stones it doesn’t really work as well.

I also think Inspiration was changed from just giving Advantage to adding 1d8 to the roll (or lower an opponents roll by 1d8). So it can stack with Advantage if you’d get it from other means.

[Christew]

I strive to give inspiration to each player at least once per session. If they have inspiration already, I make it abundantly clear "I would've given you inspiration, but it seems you already have it." Showing them how using it is better. Once one person uses it at a clutch moment like succeeding a save, players will start to remember and realize that holding on to it is a net loss.
Back in the before times (when we actually played at a table), I used a physical inspiration token and had a houserule that only one person may have inspiration at a time. Whenever the token wasn't in play, players could nominate each other for inspiring deeds. I like the inspiration mechanic and wanted to incentivize its use.


One of the easiest ways to get players to remember to use Inspiration is to be generous in handing it out.

If you give it out rarely, players will horde it for special occasions/emergencies because they might not get another for several sessions and its better to be safe than sorry. If you give it out a lot they'll be incentivised to use it because getting it when you already have it does nothing.

I play with a DM who will probably hand out inspiration multiple times in a combat usually and I've gotten in the habit of often just using it straight away on my next attack roll - easy come easy go.

So try putting a snack or a drink on your desk during the session. Every time you take a bite or a drink, try and find a reason to award inspiration for one of the next things the players do that seems cool/that you like. Do that for a few sessions and see how it goes.

It also helps to be clear with players on things you will award Inspiration for. The DM I mentioned likes it when people take a moment to describe their physical actions - be that how you're swinging a weapon or how you're using your spellcasting components to cast your spell so lets people know doing so will net them Inspiration.
This. I think the dangerous thing about inspiration is that it gets viewed as a scarce resource with a steep opportunity cost. Solution: make it more reliably abundant.

I also agree that inspiration is most valuable as a behavioral carrot. Any given DM can use it to clearly highlight what they deem "good play." One of my DMs, for example, is all about roleplay. Regardless of the play pillar, he values being true to your character most, especially if it is clearly against metagame. Inspiration in his games can be reliably achieved by playing to your character in a way that is detrimental from a tactical perspective. His clear use of inspiration tells me what he values as a DM and leads me to make more high risk, cinematic, character driven choices at the table than I otherwise might, knowing that the DM is at least rooting for me.

[Dork_Forge]

In terms of keeping track of it, my players just use the inspiration check box on the Roll20 5e sheet, as for remembering to hand it out, I don't really have any issues there I think because I hand it out frequently. I do use it a little differently, allowing rerolls as normal but also giving each character a more customised use (The PC with Rogue levels can burn it to qualify for Sneak Attack when they otherwise couldn't as long as they're not at disadvantage, the Dragonborn PC can recharge his breath with it, the Bard can use it to inspire (and only inspire not his sublcass ability)).

[BloodSnake'sCha]

The roll 20 character sheet have a place to mark it.

We give inspiration in the end of a session, everyone nominate someone or something worth of inspiration and we discussed it.

We homeruled inspection to stack but for every inspiration above one a player get the DM also get one.

[Toadkiller]

We have cheap bead necklaces. At the start of session everybody gets one that they can award to another player...for any reason really. Generally it is either for epic role playing, a noble sacrifice, terrible pun, something that makes someone else happy.

When you are awarded a necklace you can then spend it as inspiration. We are pretty lax about the criteria but it works for us.

Or did. When we used to play. In the before times.

[Contrast]

In terms of keeping track of it, my players just use the inspiration check box on the Roll20 5e sheet, as for remembering to hand it out, I don't really have any issues there I think because I hand it out frequently. I do use it a little differently, allowing rerolls as normal but also giving each character a more customised use (The PC with Rogue levels can burn it to qualify for Sneak Attack when they otherwise couldn't as long as they're not at disadvantage, the Dragonborn PC can recharge his breath with it, the Bard can use it to inspire (and only inspire not his sublcass ability)).

FYI RAW Inspiration gives advantage - so it can be used to enable sneak attack (even in theory if the rogue has disadvantage). Players are also allowed to give it to other players if they want so the bard use is also just a RAW use (giving allies advantage on death saving throws is a not infrequent use of Inspiration at tables I've played at).

That said you're also really meant to decide to use it before you roll, whereas I've mostly seen it used as you say to give a reroll after the fact.

[Kane0]

I have one token for each player, and they each get their token once per session (3-4 hours). They can share them around and use them for rerolls as they see fit.

[elyktsorb]

I've gotten so little Inspiration, and maybe that says more about me, as someone who typically plays characters who aren't the ones who push the narrative along. But I never forget inspiration when I have it, I mean, how do you forget what is essentially free advantage, and since you can't stack it I typically use it almost immediately since I don't want to get Inspiration and not be able to keep it. Also I concur, almost anyone who uses Inspiration almost always uses it like a re-roll after a failed roll rather than using it as Advantage on the initial roll.

[Dork_Forge]

FYI RAW Inspiration gives advantage - so it can be used to enable sneak attack (even in theory if the rogue has disadvantage). Players are also allowed to give it to other players if they want so the bard use is also just a RAW use (giving allies advantage on death saving throws is a not infrequent use of Inspiration at tables I've played at).

That said you're also really meant to decide to use it before you roll, whereas I've mostly seen it used as you say to give a reroll after the fact.

I prefer it not be advantage (there's already so many sources of it) so I let it be an after the roll before the outcome reroll thing. My players never seem to pass it between themselves but they also are frequently getting it and have a Bard handing out BI alongside it.

[Demonslayer666]

I second the sticky note suggestion.

I give out Inspiration frequently, for just about anything. But our sessions are short, so I allow it to carry over between sessions. If you get Inspiration when you already have it, it goes to a character pool (glass with glass bead tokens in the middle of the table). Anyone can use it then. I empty the glass frequently though. It serves as a constant reminder that Inspiration is a thing, and helps me remember when a player rolls poorly and is disappointed.

So far it works pretty well, but I still see several players holding on to it.

[Flallen]

In my 5e game, I am very bad about handing it out. I remember maybe once a session, at most, and usually for the most over-the-top character. I want to assign it more. I want to remember it's there, and hand it out more often, but in the heat of the game, I just...forget.

Worse, when my players have it, they tend to forget they have it.

So this thread is me asking for advice on how to help myself remember to hand it out, and how to help my players remember they have it. Sadly, I can't use physical tokens right now, because my players take the lockdown seriously enough that they don't want to get together. Even though 7 people (two of them babies who aren't actually playing) in a private home is well within the guidelines for approved gatherings, but that's a grumble for a different time/thread. Respecting their desires, physical tokens are not feasible. We are currently using roll20. (I'm open to suggestions for how to make physical tokens work, but just noting they won't help right now, so alternate solutions - particularly for helping the DM remember to hand it out - are more helpful at this time.)

My system might not work for you, but I award it at the end of session to a character who impressed me. Since you want to give it out more, you might want to look at the DMG variant option for inspiration (page 241) where the players are more involved in the inspiration awarding process. This might help them remember and spread more of it out.

[Thalnawr]

I've been a bit unsatisfied with Inspiration in the current campaign I'm running. Players tend to hoard it for saving their life or forget they have it when it really could have been useful. I typically allow them to use inspiration for things other than just advantage that seem thematically appropriate with the moment, as long as they think to ask about it.

Since I'm wrapping my current campaign up in the next few sessions, I'll be switching to the linked for my next campaign: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1MjReA31S9JGGrmbO9hNzWsBReJ2Sa6sIt5BA6hO5NFk/edit?usp=sharing

It may be a bit over the top, but that's okay by me. My players have given me a lot of positive feedback from just reading it and are anxious to try it out. Please feel free to comment the doc with ways to clarify things, questions, or whatever.

[Democratus]

Giving it out frequently can solve the issue.

DM: "You earn an inspiration!"
Player: "I already have one."
DM: "You can't have two. So maybe use the one you have?"

A few instances of this conversation usually get the inspiration tokens flowing.


When playing at the table, we use poker chips.
We have 2 kinds of inspiration:

DM inspiration (red chip): Just like normal inspiration, given out by the DM
Player inspiration (white chip): I have a pool of 4 chips on the table that any player can award any other player


Players are limited to 1 red and 1 white chip.

[Lunali]

I suggest either awarding it a lot, or changing it to be effective after the roll has been made. If you go for the first case, minimum of once per player per session, probably more. This encourages the players to spend it frequently as they will get it again soon and any additional awards will be wasted. If you go for the second, players will often remember it as soon as they fail, and you can just aim to have roughly half the party inspired at any given time, possibly even just awarding it at the start or end of a session.

[Lupine]

Clip.

Very interesting. Out of curiosity, what ARE you going to do when you have a sorcerer?

[Thalnawr]

Very interesting. Out of curiosity, what ARE you going to do when you have a sorcerer?

From the document: "Sorcerers get to empower the metamagics that they choose at 3rd level and after. Please ask me for details."

For example, with the Empower metamagic, I'm planning on allowing them to do 1.5x the new adjusted roll as per the 3.x metamagic feat of Empower Spell. I'm still mulling over others, but I don't have to deal with anyone playing a sorcerer yet in my next campaign.

[Tanarii]

Forbidden Lands has activating your Pride. Once per session, you can explain how a failed check relates to your pride, and make a last ditch check to succeed with a 55% chance of success. If you fail, you lose your Pride and have to wait a session to write a new one. it also encourages folks to write a Pride that directly relates to adventuring, because otherwise they won't ever use it.

Angry DM suggested basically the same for inspiration. when a player does something in keeping with their personality traits, they can ask for it for that roll. I'd suggest a limit of number of times per session. And expect a lot of Bonds like "I'll be the greatest swordsman ever!"

[Christian]

I keep a 3x5 card for each character that I use to track initiative order and keep in front of me key stats so I don't need to ask the players for them--armor class, passive skill check targets. etc. One of the things on the card is their personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws. Having those always in front of me helps remind me to give inspiration awards.