Thanks Matt! Great ideas in here. I think in one of the streams you talked about uses for hit dice as well (which was an amazing discussion) but the video was later removed. Any plans to make a video on that? Thanks!
As always a great video! My friends and I are playing together for over a year but only find time for a session once a month at best. That makes it really hard for everyone to get into charakter and develope that charakter, tension in the storie gets lost between sessions and so on. Could you maybe adress such problems of "casual DMs" in a video? Best regards!
I'll never forget my first session of 5e. My friend did something really cool, and so the DM gave him inspiration. Later, the leader of the kobold army we'd been fighting challenged my friend to a 1v1 duel. The fight was tough, and my friend got knocked to 1 HP. He made his attack and bonus attack, and both missed. He asked if he could spend his inspiration to throw his shield at the dragonborn, and the DM decided it was suitably badass and that any imbalance of getting another attack was definitely made up for by losing 2 AC. He threw the shield, crit, dealt max damage, and knocked out the dragonborn. It was epic, and a great end to a first session.
DM thinks, "Darn it, I've come up completely blank on what to do next..." DM says, "Remember, my players, that, if you pool three points of Inspiration, you can take over the narrative." Players, "Cool! Let's do that! This is what happens..!" DM, "Phew."
Hi Matt! I used the Action Oriented monster design for a spellcasting boss monster and it worked really well. The feedback from my party was it was a challenging and memorable combat and they had lots of fun. I will definately be using that method again! Thanks loads for this fresh angle. Well done on the K&W kickstarter, you guys continue to smash it out of the park!
I'm having some good success with it as well, though I've started a little slower - just adding legendary and lair actions to a boss encounter's monster, and including minions that appear over time, rather than all at once. Long story short, one of my players told me she felt genuinely afraid for the whole party! Very dramatic. I'm planning on using more of that video's style, especially a more linear track of villainous actions rather than generic ones like how he plotted out the Ankheg's, the next time they come up against a legendary creature. Experiment successful! Thanks, Matt! I'm excited to try out more of your sage wisdom in the future.
The "Hero Point" system from Mutants and Masterminds reminded me a lot of 5E inspiration, and there's one use of it that I have ported into my game. You can Edit the Scene. Add some kind of detail to the scene that makes sense. I've had players use this ability to say the sun is starting to rise while they were chasing a vampire, or that there was a sprinkler system that the fire-based bad guy had conveniently just walked under. Super neat, opportunity for a lot of creative problem solving.
I don't really like the "edit the scene" use of hero/inspiration/whatever points. Generally, I tend to accommodate players for no cost if they ask whether something is present that shows they are thinking of the game world as a real world. The sprinkler example that OP gave is a good one. If the PCs are in a space that _should_ have a sprinkler system (but I just didn't think of it), then sure, there's a sprinkler system, what's the plan? Likewise, if a player needs some rafters or whatever for their character to throw a grappling hook over, something's probably there unless there's a damn good reason why it wouldn't be. But the vampire example is a case where I'd be more likely to go, "Look, I know five rounds of combat can seem like a long time at the table, but it's only thirty seconds of time in the game world, and we already established it was midnight when the fight started. Sunrise is over 3000 combat rounds away people, and I think things are going to be resolved one way or another somewhat before then."
Here's my interesting take on inspiration. I don't award it. My players do. At the end of every session we have a poll where everyone can vote which player they liked the most that session (and yes you can vote for yourself). The player with the most votes gets one point of inspiration. So far it's led to my more roleplay heavy players feeling rewarded for their actions by everyone at the table, and that feels cool! Looking at who votes for who and reasons as to why also gives me as a DM knowledge about what stuck out in each player's mind that session. It's been a good system so far, even though my players always forget they have inspiration and it keeps piling up.
what do you mean, there aren't lives at stake? There's the village and rest of the whole world that Jorgenn, Garok, Ashlynn, Eruviel, Cynebald and Bob have to protect. Plenty of lives, if you ask me! Loved the video, btw. I think I might try the inspiration as an extra reaction, sounds pretty cool. Also, I tend to use Inspiration completely differently at my table: since most of the players are new/shy, I reward whenever I see great roleplay emerge at the table. Best example, in the last session, this drow has seen a beach (illuminated by moonlight) for the first time in his life. He just fell to his knees and enjoyed the beauty as I described the orc village behind them receiving a messager, then a party of armed orcs comming out, at which point the characters were trying to almost carry the drow away. He then got up and ran as fast as he could (he's a monk, so...) away from the fight, along with all his friends, earning inspiration and information about where the orcs actually come from
Our DM always gives exactly one inspiration after every session, but the players have to decide who it goes to! We love it, it's like an "MVP of the session" award.
When I’m running the campaign again, I want to award Inspiration for dramatic moments. Players tend to goof around, overplan everything and take every step carefully if they believe there’s any danger to their characters. And that’s ok, but sometimes I want to see drama at my table. “The temple is about to crumble, you have to get out if you want to make it out alive!.. but if you turn back now, you’ll never be able to find another magic necklace like that that will help you find your daughter. What are you going to do?”
At our table, inspiration us a reroll with advanyage. As the DM, I enjoying describing how the player was just about to fail but through their determination provided by inspiration, they just manage to pull a success from the brink.
10:20 that is why I play. As the DM it's not my story it's our story. That sounds amazing and will clearly show you where the players want the story to go. Good idea Matt I am going to us this in my home game. And that is why I watch your content, you always have something I can steal and make my own. Thank you for being a river!
I actually offered my group a while back to use inspiration to turn a miss into a hit, or a hit into a crit... and they didn't like it! I thought it was perfectly reasonable, and they thought it might break the game. That's all well and good, just goes to show that we all have different ideas of how the game should be played and thus, we all have a responsibility to agree on a solution that works well enough for everyone! I do like some other suggestions Matt made here and I am certain to present them at my new table!
Woohoo Great vid as usual. Inspiration is an interesting feature, it reminds me of something my first DM used to do. He would award bonuses for exceptional roleplaying, particularly heroic feats, etc. One in particular was given to the Transmuter in the group when he recovered a particular magical artifact and returned it to Mage Island. He was recognized by the god of magic and given a token, the DM explained "You can use this to cast more than one spell in a single round. But you can only use it once." He ended up using it in a clutch moment to stop the big bad evil guy and his wizard apprentice from opening a magical gateway. He stopped both of them from and we were able to finish the job.
I'm a classicist who read the Iliad and the Aeneid and thought 'I want inspiration to be more epic and significant - kind of like a hero's aristeia'. I think just getting 'advantage on a roll' is a terrible reward for what's usually a spectacular act. If I felt that an act was 'pretty cool' then I'd give a modifier or advantage on THAT action - but I wouldn't think it deserving of 'a random advantage roll for something else you fancy doing'. And as a player, I always feel underwhelmed when awarded inspiration: like, I could just get advantage one of the other thousands of ways... Therefore, I ensure inspiration is only awarded very occasionally, for particularly special acts of outstanding character roleplay, or for resolving a major personal character arc in a fitting and dramatic way etc., and it activates immediately rather than at a time of the player's choosing - but on the other hand it yields a lot more benefits: • The next time you have to roll a d20 (for an attack, skill check, saving throw, etc.), instead of having to beat an enemy creature’s AC or task/save DC, treat the roll as a skill check (no modifiers applied) with a DC of 1 (i.e. it is an automatic success). • The next time after that that you have to roll a d20, treat the roll as a skill check (no modifiers applied) with a DC of 2 (i.e. you have a 95% chance of success). The next d20 roll has a DC of 3 (i.e. 90% of success) and so on and so on. • If you fail one of these rolls, or you take a long rest (provided you have rolled at least once), then your character’s period of inspiration ends and they begin rolling as normal again. If you were wondering about how this plays out in practice, it basically translates to a chain of 4-6 consecutive successes on d20 rolls, on average. Your character is 'inspired', after all… Other rules • If one of the d20 rolls is rolling for initiative, then your score is 20+ whatever you roll. • Other die rolls (e.g. damage) are rolled normally. • Natural 20s on attack rolls still count as critical hits, and (dis)advantage rules still apply. • You do not choose when to use your inspiration like you do in the handbook rules: it activates automatically when the DM gives it to you and continues until you fail a roll. Obviously this is not suitable for a game aspiring for a gritty, down-to-earth feel. What I think it captures is exactly what I wanted it to: the epic sense of a hero reaching the apex of their heroism and becoming near unstoppable for a short period of time, just like Achilles or Diomedes or Patroclus in the Iliad.
7:29 - "Gaining Extra attacks is the purview of certain class abilities and spells, and if there are other, easier ways to do it, those classes are going to feel less useful." Inspiration... Easier? I can't get my DMs to acknowledge Inspiration's existence, much less award it!
Once we started a new game with 1 levels characters and there was a bard and there were a small battle with group of bandits. And this bard didn't get a chance to help others, finally the battle was over and the group decided to spend the night. When campfire was set the bard told us «I’m taking a lute» , and the player took a real guitar and sang us a song about the battle just finished. That was really impressive, nobody expected this. That was definitely an inspiration :)
Ideally a DM should reward Inspiration for what they want to see at the table: it is a token for the players to choose the way in which they are rewarded. Some other suggestions for uses: -Remember when...? The player recounts a moment when their character bought/begged/borrowed/stole an item or information. Can help with having the tools to execute a plan, bypass an obstacle or advise against bad courses of action. If you feel the boon is too opportunistic or easy maybe there are strings attached; someone saw the theft, the character agreed to do something in return for the boon, etc, etc. -Wait! I know someone! The player describes an associate/family member/friend whatever(someone they have a relationship with) who can act as some kind of gateway to 'break the ice' in a new location or who can be a key to a particular social circle or area. Attaching this to some kind of roll to pin down the availability or willingness of this NPC can help with particularly 'well that's useful(!)' requests. Something along the lines of 'The Burning Wheel's' buying Circles(relationships): In essence the DC is lower depending on the complexity of the relationship between character and NPC and higher based on the status of the NPC. A glassblower colleague is not a particularly unlikely person to know but is not a complex relationship so those aspects counteract each other somewhat. However a married character who is in a tryst with a glassblower who is of a shunned race who is also the PC's cousin? Well... quite frankly 'Oh my!' If that isn't character development I don't know what is. Of course as a DM feel free to 'NOPE' any description that is tasteless or too gamey, someone an only have so many grandfathers after all. Hoe these spark ideas ~W
I've started a D&D club for 60+ middle school students, and most of them are reluctant to DM. This series is essentially the textbook for the DM class I'm giving the students brave enough to run D&D for their peers. thanks Matt!
We usually play with the rule that each player starts the session with one inspiration, but they can't use it themselves, they have to give it to a teammate. It's great for fostering good sportsmanship among kids who might normally only think of themselves.
Always some great ideas to pick up. I like to "taking the reins" type of use, where all the players must agree to pool their inspiration and twist the story for a moment. They would need to agree on using it and would need to agree on what they want... but this could turn into an "in medias res" where the evil villain would not attack but sing two verses from Don Giovanni and ride off into the sunset. Would need to phrase it somehow that it would make sense for me, for the players as well; would allow freedom, but would not go totally Monty Python :) (Still love the idea though, but need to word it carefully).
This is a really interesting idea. Sort of akin to the "Fates" card in the DOMT. I have to think this idea through a bit. I mean, I wouldn't want to give my players the ability to instantly defeat a boss monster or use it as a wish spell. But I like the idea that while the players couldn't use it to alter the course of the mighty river of Time, they could use this Collective Inspiration to bend the river a bit.
@@scottkpetersen Yep. Maybe there has to be a safety mechanism built-in... at the very least if they decide that the arch-villain slashes their own throat, they will definitely not get any XP for that of course, but I know that is not a real deterrent. Need to further think about this problem... Giving the players absolute freedom on any one decision may break the game, yet it sounds too good to just pass up. I am sure there is a middleground somewhere :D
At one con a player bluffed me when I was a new dm. Inspiration can make the dm reroll. I now do this at cons when I give out Inspiration and have a foam "I" prop which I give to the player.
Love this. In my game I give three different rewards: "Drama" for cool dramatic stuff PCs do (gives reroll, must take second roll), "Inspire" for creative solutions to problems (advantage roll), and "Heroic" for pure badassery (full extra action).
Nick Siegrist I was thinking about adding a Karma counter into the mix. Not sure if I’m doing it yet but with real gods moving things it kind of makes sense.
Love the Torg reference! They rebooted it a couple years ago and it is by far my favorite system. I always watch your videos and figure out how to implement your advice for Torg.
I like the idea of awarding Inspiration when the players make their character taken action that is sub optimal but that moves the story forward or sticks to their character in a meaningful way. Essentially, they are rewarded for doing something less than ideal now by getting a token that allows them to act more ideally later
Hey Matt, semantics man here: doing #2 first makes semantic sense in that, from a procedural point of view: #1 (giving inspiration) is what is done first while #2 (using inspiration) is what is done second. So from a logical point of view, yes you were doing #2 first, even if it literally didn't make sense
This sounds like Modiphius’ momentum dice, a mechanic I really love. Everybody in Modiphius games uses 2d20s to roll for attacks and you have to roll UNDER a certain number to succeed. Very different from DnD. But you can add d20s from other players’ pools of “momentum” dice, granting you more likelihood of success. The DM, however, ALSO gains a momentum die when this happens, so players helping each other too much leads to overpowered encounters. Nevertheless, at the end of the fight when we need one last big hit to kill the boss, we can pool all our momentum into one player’s attack to make sure it’s a big one. Great system, worth a look!
I award inspiration frequently. I even tell my players if they like what another player is doing, to recommend to me when they think someone deserves inspiration. It then promotes a positive environment, players would show others what they like, and hopefully the player awarded picks up on it to be more aware of what others like at the table. I am totally going to take some of the inspiration other uses.
It's always so good to get a new running the game video. Love love love the idea of pooling inspiration to tell the DM "NO!" Reminds me of The Good Society which is basically a Jane Austen RPG that lets you use tokens to have a monologue or completely take control of a scene! Gonna see if my players wanna try any of these. :)
I ran a campaign where I awarded the party inspiration at the end of every completed plot point. It was up to the party to decide who had done that most in that particular story beat, you just couldn't vote for yourself. It really encouraged the players to appreciate their fellow PCs. Lots of excited discussions with "It was awesome when you did..." or "I can't believe ____ worked!"
I was already a huge fan but this video pushes it over the top for me. Inspiration is given and used a ton in my games and I've house ruled using it to impose disadvantage for the DM for years. The idea of using it to firmly put control in players' hands especially as a group is phenomenal! Been echoing the notion of a DM's role as helping players tell the story of their characters for a long long time and this is an amazing way to punch it up further!
Matthew I just wanted you to know that you have been tremendously helpful to my game that I run for my friends. I won't pretend to have seen absolutely all of your videos, but I can honestly say that every one I have watched has got me thinking, and impacted my game for the better. Thank you for continually putting out such wonderful content.
The 2 most memorable moments of my campaign were when I set up puzzles and my players didn’t know how to solve them. The first when I was starting to DM was just bad but we always remember the time they spent 15 minutes trying to open a wooden door. The second ended up being the most amazing series of events, rolls and role playing in the campaign. It was just after I had given a home brew item to my rogue player and he had figured out how to use it. He convinced one enemy to kill the 3 others, it was fantastic and we talk about it every time we see eachother
I use inspiration like this. It's mainly because I want to see my players succeed in the great things they want to do. They have enough ways to fail every other way...I want them to feel epic though.
I've only gotten Inspiration once, and it was on one of my favourite RP moments. 3 players had been captured, we had 2 to rescue them. We found the prisoners chained up. So IRL the 2 of us whispered to each other in character as we figure out a rescue plan. My partner was getting a bit loud as he got a bit dramatic. I was shushing him reminding him to whisper, then after we made a plan we did a mighty high five out of character, rolled to see if we did it stealthy enough since we'd been in character the whole time (we passed). Went in rescued our buddies and got inspiration because the DM loved the whole scene.
I ran a avengers in 5e game last weekend and I let them use inspiration to do something their avengers could in theory do, that doesn't fit into the rules of 5e. Hulk used it to break a chunk on a tower, and Iron Man invented a machine that used detect magic to narrow down where they were building the Cosmic cube.
I've been starting back at the beginning of this video series, and I've gotta say....they've been a great way of 'inspiring' me. I'm a new (bit over half a year so far) dm, and these videos have given me so much great advice I've been able to incorporate into my games. Genuinely look forward to every new episode.
I like to award inspiration at the end of the session and talk about some of my favorite moments from the game that way they have it going into the next session and it doesn't influence them in the moment
I've played around with using hero points instead of inspiration. A hero point lets a player turn a dice roll they make, or a roll made against them into either a 1 or a 20. Alternatively, a hero point can be spent at the end of another creatures turn to let you immediately take an additional turn. Very powerful tools for the players, and they create some very memorable and dramatic moments.
I'm always excited when I see a Matt Colville video, especially one in the Running the Game series. You always bring such enthusiasm to your subject matter. Their so structured and tight, too. You must map out the subject in bullet points first. Before you really get into it and toss the plan. Love it.
Players in EVERY group I have ever run 5e for (talking about 100+ different people here) always forget about inspiration until after they've made their rolls. In the past I would sometimes make an exception to the rule to let them roll anyways, but I was doing it so much I just decided to start allowing players to roll inspiration after their roll. It's still limited by advantage so you can't stack it if you already had advantage on the roll. However you can use it to essentially reroll when you missed with your attack, skill check, saving throw, etc. Ever since I started doing this the game has been allot more fun for everyone, and the players have been engaging with the inspiration mechanic allot more. It's also made inspiration feel much more rewarding for the players when they use it. I think I'm going to steal your idea about letting them give disadvantage to an enemy as well. That seems extremely fun, and dramatic! Especially because there will be situations where I say "the orc succeeds his saving throw," and one of the players response "No! I use inspiration!" One last thing I wanted to add was that I've also started giving powerful enemies inspiration of their own!
Advantage is so common in 5th ed, my group have adopted the homerule that you can spend inspiration after you see the die roll (but before you learn the result) to reroll the dice and take a higher result. It actually started as a misreading of the rules, but we've gotten so attached to it we'd never want to go back.
In Pathfinder there’s an optional rule called Hero Points that does everything you’re describing here and kinda stands in for inspiration, but with the additional crunchy numerical nonsense you’d expect of the edition. Having started to use it in the last year, I love it.
This is one my favorite running-the-game vids. I'm learning to DM so my gf and I can just play 1-on-1 together, we're hermits. I've been in a few DnD groups and none of them cared about inspiration. I always felt it to be a missed opportunity for role play and character building, so I love that you made a video about it. These are some cool ideas to help her out since she'll be playing solo!
I like the idea of using inspiration to get a clue, to help solving a puzzle or mystery or tricky social situation. Not succeed in the situation, just get a clue from the DM.
We have an inspiration table. We’ve made it random. Roll a D8 and you get a Dm created boost between now and next long rest. I love love love you’re advocating for this. We felt that Advantage once wasn’t enough to drive inspired thinking.
Hey Matt, I just watched all 90 running the game vids in a week! I’m sad that I’ve made it to the end already, but I want to say that your advice is really valuable to me and has inspired (no pun intended) in many ways as a DM. Thank you for all the help!
You could use this in so many interesting ways. Trigger a healing surge, refill a spell slot, take a "legendary" action, etc. In addition to all the things you mentioned. It just depends on how realistic vs cinematic you like your game to be
My friends and I play in a campaign world based on the Quest for Glory games. We call them Glory Points. You can use one for an immediate action, to reroll a die, use one before a roll and receive a bonus to that roll, etc.
Short story: ran my first game of D&D today and it was great! Thanks to your video's Matt! Thank you! Long story: Played a lot of Baldur's Gate on the pc back in the day. Getting into D&D but never having anyone to sit and play with because my friends thought it was lame. Spent the last 2 years watching your video's. Now about 19 years after playing Baldur's Gate 2. Found out a coworker dm's for his kid. Got him to run a game for me and some co-workers, was great. I tell a friend, he says D&D sounds really cool would you like to run a game for me? Figured might as well follow Matt's advice and just do it. I did it today. And it was awesome :) Thanks Matt!
The next video is something I want to hear right now! If only this was the future already and I discovered this video long after the following episode was already released...
So when I played 5e the first time no one in the group had played. We were all new to 5e and met at an Adventurer's League session. When trying to figure out inspiration someone mentined it was awarded for doing things in character and things that were good role playing and for me and one other guy this reminded us of the Karma Point system from when we played Shadowrun back in the 90s. Because of that and our general confusion with learning 5e we did inspiration completely wrong but ended up liking how we do it. It's awarded as normal. Roleplaying. Doing something that ties your character's background/flaws/ideals/bonds/etc ... Also sometimes just for being funny :D You may have more than one Inspiration point. You may use 1 point to reroll any die roll but you must accept the second roll regardless. Max 1 point per roll. You may use a point to allow another player to reroll a die roll. We've found this isn't game breaking and after explaining this to other groups when I started to DM 5e they were all for it I'd be curious to hear opinions, Particularly Matt's :D
My group uses inspiration frequently. We have a google doc full of funny stuff we said at the table, if you say something that makes the whole group laugh, your quote gets written down and you receive inspiration.
Give players the power to overrule the DM... hell yeah! As both a player and a DM, this makes the game more exciting and entertaining for everyone. Very creative new mechanic, Matt : )
Older systems had similar rewards to D&D's inspiration. Shadowrun and WEG Star Wars for example. Shadowrun let you use karma points to modify rolls, and suggested rewarded extra karma for good RP moments, or other memorable actions by the players. WEG Star Wars had force points. Which were rewards for being particularly heroic or doing some thing very clever in game. I can see Matt's suggestions here expanding on those systems.
My DM has a fun take on inspiration where every player gets a free use of Inspiration per session, but if we use it, the DM gets a use of it as well, even if our Inspiration turns out bad. It's a fun risk/reward system and it's not always a negative. He's used it to give helpful NPCs advantage on useful checks and attacks just as often has he'll use it on enemies as well.
At my tables, inspiration is an anime switch. There was a giant pangolin monster they were fighting at 3rd level. An enslaved kobold of theirs pretty much sacrificed itself to knock the beast off a cliff. It survived, but took serious damage. One of the PC's used his inspiration to run up a stone wall to one side before flipping upside down and falling the whole way with his sword pointed at the exposed underbelly of the beast, making a melee attack with advantage and nullifying his fall damage, instead adding it to the damage roll. Absolutely eviscerated his target.
On the topic of giving players the power to overrule the DM. A couple friends and I got together for a star wars one shot where there were "story points." A player could use a story point to say "this thing happens" or "this thing exists" such as having an extra hidden dagger on their person, having a bullet proof barrier behind a store's front desk, etc. The points would then go to the DM, and would go back to the players when used in a similar manner. It was pretty fun, but probably wouldn't hold up past two or three sessions.
OMG!!! Thank you so much for another D&D video. I've been sooooo thirsty. Your videos have been fueling my thesis project and have been crazy helpful in my game supporting it.
I do have other uses for inspiration in my game: 1. adding an element to the scene (needs DM permission) 2. receive a very powerful hint (needs DM offer) 3. automatically succeed on a death saving throw I also have other ways to access inspiration that sometimes come up: 1. You can use inspiration when you don't have any, but increase the level of peril for the whole party when you do (DM uses meaner monsters and introduces betrayals and other such obstacles with more frequency). Anyone can spend inspiration at any time to cancel this effect. 2. You can gain inspiration when you remember a salient fact about a previous session that the DM forgot (typically the name of an NPC)
At my table I award inspiration by physically giving my players a d24. This is a die that never comes up in any other situation. And they can spend it by rolling it in place of any other die they would otherwise roll. When used on a d20 roll it's similar to advantage. But if you really need damage in a pinch, you can roll it in place of your dagger's d4. Epic!
THANK YOU for another great running the game video. I can't wait for your upcoming video on what it really means to be a DM and the act of leading a creative life... Both of which are things I do, but never completely understood.
I had a player who was running a Lawful Good Fighter who was really interested in protecting his fellow party members. When it came time to choose Archetypes he was considering choosing Banneret. I suggested that he might like Battlemaster for some of its commanding maneuvers and such. He did, and I suggested that he could use Inspiration to use Banneret features, and that worked well. Banneret is, in my opinion, weak enough that it wasn't a problem for balance, but it offered a nice little somethin' somethin' that he could spend Inspiration on. I tend to use Inspiration for a lot of stuff, and I'm glad to see it getting more attention in videos like this.
I’ve never done a hit into a crit, but I do let my players use inspiration to reroll damage dice and it so far has worked well and when someone has chose that over gaining advantage or imposing disadvantage. I also have only given out maybe 3 inspiration points in 4-5 4 hour sessions because I gave it many more uses, but I like the idea of having the super inspiration for the truly epic deeds and they carry over and then try to keep normal inspiration points given out one per session as suggested in the books
My groups rule for inspiration is that you can use it to re-roll rather than advantage, so you can choose after you've rolled badly to then roll again, but you have to use the new role. Additionally players can give their inspiration to other players roll in the moment; if one player fails a death save then the other player can call out, "Use my inspiration" to reroll, so long as they call it out before the DM declares what happens.
For inspiration at my table. I have a deck of cards that I got from a very small and barely successful kickstarter. This deck of cards isn’t unlike any normal 52 deck playing cards, except that each card gives you a small ability that you can use instead of the typical advantage on a roll. The face cards give you the best abilities (Ignore damage this turn, heal one hit die of health, gain a can trip and discard the card when using this can trip). My players enjoy getting these cards and being extra careful to not show me what the card is, as to surprise me when they use them. I have a fond memory with these cards. My players were in a dungeon chasing done a minion that was running to it’s ‘boss’ to warn of pesky adventures making their way deeper into the lair. The players passed the skill challenge and caught the minion, however none of them knew the language that the minion was speaking- when suddenly one of my players eyes lit up as he had an idea. “Hey! This inspiration card says I can understand a language that I don’t know, can I use it to see what this minion is trying to tell us?” It was a pleasant surprise and ever since I’ve been sure to have these cards at my table when we’re playing.
Alexandre Huot To be honest I don’t. The cards themselves were called “Inspiration Cards”. Perhaps you could find them on Kickstarter and see if they’re sold anywhere?
One of the reasons I enjoy the FATE system so much is that players are given an element of control over how the game progresses through use of Fate Points. Your characters have certain Aspects, or phrases that capture some facet of their personality, background, or skills. One of the uses of Fate Points is to declare a story detail related to one of your Aspects. So, for example, if you play a character with an Aspect of, "Friends in Low Places," you can spend a Fate Point to say that the NPC you just met at a dive bar may have mutual acquaintances with your character. With the GM's permission, of course. Another thing I love about Fate Points is that it becomes something of a give-and-take between players and GM. The players start a session with a certain number of Fate Points that they can use in a variety of ways. But, the GM can toss out the possibility of a negative event tied to a character's Aspect. If the player accepts it, they get a Fate Point, or they can spend one to avoid it. You and the player can discuss what the exact effect is. Obviously, you don't want to use it too often, but it's a great way to reward players while making the story more interesting.
I don't play D&D, but this as a concept I like. It begins to mirror other systems that allow characters to be extra heroic. Savage Worlds, Alien, AGE, 2d20, Genesys etc. Which is a good thing in my books.
One cool thing that you can use your ispiration for is: recharge one of your class abilities that depand on a short rest. If you think about it is not as broken as it seem, player already have that and a " Third wind" can save the fighter and the party!
I've been reading about Blades in the Dark and one feature of that game is that players can have "flashbacks" to RP how they are prepared for a situation. Maybe, depending on the story, allow players to cash in inspiration to "flash back" how they DID buy X basic adventuring gear object, or let Y NPC know where they were, or whatever.
I’m testing Inspiration points at my table this weekend. I’m giving an RP reward where the player that earns it gets to roll a d4 and accumulate a number and dump into a pool of points they can use. They can only carry up to 50 points and can only cash in 10 in an action, but can add that number to any check, save, death save, attack roll. They can also cash the points in at a 1 inspiration point for 25 XP. I also use glass beads to cash them in and track. I really really like the outcome shift too!
I'd just like to thank you for your content. I gmed a one shot last night using stuff I've learned from you and a few other D&D TH-camrs. And it went fairly well
I learned from another DM to run inspiration as rerolls (choose to use after rolling) instead of advantage (choose to use before rolling). There are multiple reasons for this. One, it prevents the player from feeling like they wasted their inspiration if both rolls are high enough that they clearly would have succeeded anyway. Two, it is more dramatic - you already know that you ARE going to fail unless you choose to use that resource. It's almost like a limited version of the "no, I overrule the DM" moment.
My favorite "reward for doing something cool or memorable" system is in White Wolf's Scion system. It's called Stunts and basically if you describe how you are doing something you get an additional die for that roll and also regain a point of your primary ressource. If you describe how you do something AND include one or more aspects from the environment you get two dice and either two points of your primary ressource or one point of your secondary ressource. However, if you describe how you do something and it is just so absolutely awesome that everyone's jaw drops, you not only gain 3 more dice, you can also gain additional experience, or once again recharge your ressources. And since its a game about the offspring of gods, it makes the fights so much more dynamic and fun, because people dont just swing swords, they bounce of the walls, use other enemies as stepping stones or do something like run across a path made from the fired arrows of an ally.
What I already use in game (and have for three years, so it’s game tested). I run a challenging table (organic world, monsters want to win, creatures act according to their nature/design/best interests) so this system gets used a lot. This system is, essentially, Inspiration, but can be banked. In general - Player characters will level when a set series of goals are achieved. Per milestone. However, to recognize individual efforts: Excellence in Heroism, Roleplay, Great ideas, Etc.... Players may be awarded up to one token for each session for efforts in these regards. These tokens are awarded by the DM. Players will also be elegable for another single token. Players will then vote at the end of a session for whom they feel is the “MVP”. A player may not vote for themselves. Awarded tokens may be spent in the following manners: -Spend 1 to give yourself Advantage on an Attack, Ability check or Saving Throw. -Spend 1 to give another player Advantage on an Attack, Ability check or Saving Throw. -Spend 1 when a die roll fails to allow yourself to “Succeed at cost”.* -Spend 1 in an appropriate role playing or story moment to “know a guy” who might have helpful information. -Spend 2 to succeed all Death Saving Throws and awaking from Unconsciousness with 1 hit point. -Spend 10 to gain a level. (This has only happened once in three years. People tend to spend tokens a lot) -Give the DM 1 token at no cost to a player’s tokens to succeed an ability check, attack or saving throw, but at the cost of something bad happening in the future. This token must be at the consent of the majority of the table I have posted this previously on Facebook with good reviews.
This are actually some very nice ideas, that make the gameplay (and, especially, the roleplay) more rewarding, without needlessly increasing complexity. Especially since I don't like giving the players a plethora of items. And also considering the limited action economy. Btw, isn't the last bullet-point an explanation of the third bullet-point? I guess you wanted to put a star at the start...
I have an imp in my game who offers information to the players in exchange for items or RP things (their life, soul, name, etc.) I was thinking that he might be willing to take some of their fortune/luck, so at a certain point of time which was critical i would invoke their "de-inspiration" and force them to roll with disadvantage at one of the worst times for it to happen (which reminds me of your last situation for inspiration). the problem i had with it is that I'm worried it might create and adversarial environment of the players vs the DM, as in they might feel that I choose that situation specifically to screw them, and would try to get into competition with me to "win". obviously, i'm not a fan of that concept, so how did your players deal with the fall-out of working on "borrowed luck"? who does your table generally function?
I try to watch the reactions of other players when one player does something cool. If I can tell that the others are impressed, I know it's time to award inspiration. If the action is incredibly impressive (maybe a combination of superb roleplay, clever tactics, and a series of lucky die rolls), I might even award inspiration to the other PCs for witnessing it. Afterall, their characters witnessed an inspiring feat, and that drives them toward doing heroic things too.
Not gonna lie, Matt, I was going to skip to point 2 first and you just did it for me. That's good fan service right there. Keep up the great work and best of luck with the next book!
Inspiration starts at 3:20.
Congratulations on the success of MCDM so far! I'm pleased for you and your team. All your hard work is showing.
for me inspiration started at th-cam.com/video/zTD2RZz6mlo/w-d-xo.html
Thanks Matt! Great ideas in here. I think in one of the streams you talked about uses for hit dice as well (which was an amazing discussion) but the video was later removed. Any plans to make a video on that? Thanks!
Silly Matt, Inspiration starts at 0:00
As always a great video! My friends and I are playing together for over a year but only find time for a session once a month at best. That makes it really hard for everyone to get into charakter and develope that charakter, tension in the storie gets lost between sessions and so on.
Could you maybe adress such problems of "casual DMs" in a video? Best regards!
I'll never forget my first session of 5e. My friend did something really cool, and so the DM gave him inspiration.
Later, the leader of the kobold army we'd been fighting challenged my friend to a 1v1 duel. The fight was tough, and my friend got knocked to 1 HP. He made his attack and bonus attack, and both missed.
He asked if he could spend his inspiration to throw his shield at the dragonborn, and the DM decided it was suitably badass and that any imbalance of getting another attack was definitely made up for by losing 2 AC. He threw the shield, crit, dealt max damage, and knocked out the dragonborn. It was epic, and a great end to a first session.
That is just beutiful!
DM thinks, "Darn it, I've come up completely blank on what to do next..." DM says, "Remember, my players, that, if you pool three points of Inspiration, you can take over the narrative."
Players, "Cool! Let's do that! This is what happens..!"
DM, "Phew."
I like how Matt does the things. "I haven't tested this idea, it may not work. You guys test it and tell me if it works or it doesn't." Lol
Inspiration is kinda like the universe reluctantly going: "Yeh okay: you got swagger"
Han Solo points
@@Alex-fn2hl LOL that's exactly where my mind went
I would award it to any player that can make me laugh
HA
Hi Matt! I used the Action Oriented monster design for a spellcasting boss monster and it worked really well. The feedback from my party was it was a challenging and memorable combat and they had lots of fun. I will definately be using that method again! Thanks loads for this fresh angle. Well done on the K&W kickstarter, you guys continue to smash it out of the park!
I'm having some good success with it as well, though I've started a little slower - just adding legendary and lair actions to a boss encounter's monster, and including minions that appear over time, rather than all at once.
Long story short, one of my players told me she felt genuinely afraid for the whole party! Very dramatic. I'm planning on using more of that video's style, especially a more linear track of villainous actions rather than generic ones like how he plotted out the Ankheg's, the next time they come up against a legendary creature. Experiment successful!
Thanks, Matt! I'm excited to try out more of your sage wisdom in the future.
The "Hero Point" system from Mutants and Masterminds reminded me a lot of 5E inspiration, and there's one use of it that I have ported into my game.
You can Edit the Scene. Add some kind of detail to the scene that makes sense. I've had players use this ability to say the sun is starting to rise while they were chasing a vampire, or that there was a sprinkler system that the fire-based bad guy had conveniently just walked under.
Super neat, opportunity for a lot of creative problem solving.
Doesn't the DMG suggest something like this
GengarWarrior yeah plot points
Hero point system in pathfinder is decent referance for this as well
I don't really like the "edit the scene" use of hero/inspiration/whatever points. Generally, I tend to accommodate players for no cost if they ask whether something is present that shows they are thinking of the game world as a real world. The sprinkler example that OP gave is a good one. If the PCs are in a space that _should_ have a sprinkler system (but I just didn't think of it), then sure, there's a sprinkler system, what's the plan? Likewise, if a player needs some rafters or whatever for their character to throw a grappling hook over, something's probably there unless there's a damn good reason why it wouldn't be.
But the vampire example is a case where I'd be more likely to go, "Look, I know five rounds of combat can seem like a long time at the table, but it's only thirty seconds of time in the game world, and we already established it was midnight when the fight started. Sunrise is over 3000 combat rounds away people, and I think things are going to be resolved one way or another somewhat before then."
fate points in a nuteshell
Here's my interesting take on inspiration. I don't award it. My players do. At the end of every session we have a poll where everyone can vote which player they liked the most that session (and yes you can vote for yourself). The player with the most votes gets one point of inspiration. So far it's led to my more roleplay heavy players feeling rewarded for their actions by everyone at the table, and that feels cool! Looking at who votes for who and reasons as to why also gives me as a DM knowledge about what stuck out in each player's mind that session. It's been a good system so far, even though my players always forget they have inspiration and it keeps piling up.
Another running the game. Love this series.
what do you mean, there aren't lives at stake? There's the village and rest of the whole world that Jorgenn, Garok, Ashlynn, Eruviel, Cynebald and Bob have to protect. Plenty of lives, if you ask me!
Loved the video, btw. I think I might try the inspiration as an extra reaction, sounds pretty cool.
Also, I tend to use Inspiration completely differently at my table: since most of the players are new/shy, I reward whenever I see great roleplay emerge at the table. Best example, in the last session, this drow has seen a beach (illuminated by moonlight) for the first time in his life. He just fell to his knees and enjoyed the beauty as I described the orc village behind them receiving a messager, then a party of armed orcs comming out, at which point the characters were trying to almost carry the drow away. He then got up and ran as fast as he could (he's a monk, so...) away from the fight, along with all his friends, earning inspiration and information about where the orcs actually come from
Our DM always gives exactly one inspiration after every session, but the players have to decide who it goes to! We love it, it's like an "MVP of the session" award.
2:25 Couldn't help but hear that as "Eye'm super excited"
I love these ideas! I've never really liked inspiration unless it's specifically used for a dramatic moment. This gives me a lot to think about!
whoa a wild niswander
I haven't noticed this comment and I always enjoy to see when creators whose content I love interact with each other.
I love the enthusiasm and joy you have for the Kickstarter it’s very infectious.
I’d have a lot of enthusiasm for another million dollars too
@@drmann15 I know, right?
When I’m running the campaign again, I want to award Inspiration for dramatic moments. Players tend to goof around, overplan everything and take every step carefully if they believe there’s any danger to their characters. And that’s ok, but sometimes I want to see drama at my table. “The temple is about to crumble, you have to get out if you want to make it out alive!.. but if you turn back now, you’ll never be able to find another magic necklace like that that will help you find your daughter. What are you going to do?”
At our table, inspiration us a reroll with advanyage. As the DM, I enjoying describing how the player was just about to fail but through their determination provided by inspiration, they just manage to pull a success from the brink.
10:20 that is why I play. As the DM it's not my story it's our story. That sounds amazing and will clearly show you where the players want the story to go. Good idea Matt I am going to us this in my home game. And that is why I watch your content, you always have something I can steal and make my own. Thank you for being a river!
I actually offered my group a while back to use inspiration to turn a miss into a hit, or a hit into a crit... and they didn't like it! I thought it was perfectly reasonable, and they thought it might break the game. That's all well and good, just goes to show that we all have different ideas of how the game should be played and thus, we all have a responsibility to agree on a solution that works well enough for everyone!
I do like some other suggestions Matt made here and I am certain to present them at my new table!
Woohoo
Great vid as usual.
Inspiration is an interesting feature, it reminds me of something my first DM used to do. He would award bonuses for exceptional roleplaying, particularly heroic feats, etc. One in particular was given to the Transmuter in the group when he recovered a particular magical artifact and returned it to Mage Island. He was recognized by the god of magic and given a token, the DM explained "You can use this to cast more than one spell in a single round. But you can only use it once." He ended up using it in a clutch moment to stop the big bad evil guy and his wizard apprentice from opening a magical gateway. He stopped both of them from and we were able to finish the job.
The wife and I bought a house since the last Kickstarter so I can't afford it this time. Ah well - good luck to all at MCDM!
I'm a classicist who read the Iliad and the Aeneid and thought 'I want inspiration to be more epic and significant - kind of like a hero's aristeia'. I think just getting 'advantage on a roll' is a terrible reward for what's usually a spectacular act. If I felt that an act was 'pretty cool' then I'd give a modifier or advantage on THAT action - but I wouldn't think it deserving of 'a random advantage roll for something else you fancy doing'. And as a player, I always feel underwhelmed when awarded inspiration: like, I could just get advantage one of the other thousands of ways...
Therefore, I ensure inspiration is only awarded very occasionally, for particularly special acts of outstanding character roleplay, or for resolving a major personal character arc in a fitting and dramatic way etc., and it activates immediately rather than at a time of the player's choosing - but on the other hand it yields a lot more benefits:
• The next time you have to roll a d20 (for an attack, skill check, saving throw, etc.), instead of having to beat an enemy creature’s AC or task/save DC, treat the roll as a skill check (no modifiers applied) with a DC of 1 (i.e. it is an automatic success).
• The next time after that that you have to roll a d20, treat the roll as a skill check (no modifiers applied) with a DC of 2 (i.e. you have a 95% chance of success). The next d20 roll has a DC of 3 (i.e. 90% of success) and so on and so on.
• If you fail one of these rolls, or you take a long rest (provided you have rolled at least once), then your character’s period of inspiration ends and they begin rolling as normal again.
If you were wondering about how this plays out in practice, it basically translates to a chain of 4-6 consecutive successes on d20 rolls, on average. Your character is 'inspired', after all…
Other rules
• If one of the d20 rolls is rolling for initiative, then your score is 20+ whatever you roll.
• Other die rolls (e.g. damage) are rolled normally.
• Natural 20s on attack rolls still count as critical hits, and (dis)advantage rules still apply.
• You do not choose when to use your inspiration like you do in the handbook rules: it activates automatically when the DM gives it to you and continues until you fail a roll.
Obviously this is not suitable for a game aspiring for a gritty, down-to-earth feel. What I think it captures is exactly what I wanted it to: the epic sense of a hero reaching the apex of their heroism and becoming near unstoppable for a short period of time, just like Achilles or Diomedes or Patroclus in the Iliad.
7:29 - "Gaining Extra attacks is the purview of certain class abilities and spells, and if there are other, easier ways to do it, those classes are going to feel less useful."
Inspiration... Easier? I can't get my DMs to acknowledge Inspiration's existence, much less award it!
Once we started a new game with 1 levels characters and there was a bard and there were a small battle with group of bandits. And this bard didn't get a chance to help others, finally the battle was over and the group decided to spend the night. When campfire was set the bard told us «I’m taking a lute» , and the player took a real guitar and sang us a song about the battle just finished. That was really impressive, nobody expected this. That was definitely an inspiration :)
Ideally a DM should reward Inspiration for what they want to see at the table: it is a token for the players to choose the way in which they are rewarded.
Some other suggestions for uses:
-Remember when...?
The player recounts a moment when their character bought/begged/borrowed/stole an item or information. Can help with having the tools to execute a plan, bypass an obstacle or advise against bad courses of action. If you feel the boon is too opportunistic or easy maybe there are strings attached; someone saw the theft, the character agreed to do something in return for the boon, etc, etc.
-Wait! I know someone!
The player describes an associate/family member/friend whatever(someone they have a relationship with) who can act as some kind of gateway to 'break the ice' in a new location or who can be a key to a particular social circle or area. Attaching this to some kind of roll to pin down the availability or willingness of this NPC can help with particularly 'well that's useful(!)' requests. Something along the lines of 'The Burning Wheel's' buying Circles(relationships): In essence the DC is lower depending on the complexity of the relationship between character and NPC and higher based on the status of the NPC. A glassblower colleague is not a particularly unlikely person to know but is not a complex relationship so those aspects counteract each other somewhat. However a married character who is in a tryst with a glassblower who is of a shunned race who is also the PC's cousin? Well... quite frankly 'Oh my!' If that isn't character development I don't know what is. Of course as a DM feel free to 'NOPE' any description that is tasteless or too gamey, someone an only have so many grandfathers after all.
Hoe these spark ideas ~W
I've started a D&D club for 60+ middle school students, and most of them are reluctant to DM. This series is essentially the textbook for the DM class I'm giving the students brave enough to run D&D for their peers. thanks Matt!
We usually play with the rule that each player starts the session with one inspiration, but they can't use it themselves, they have to give it to a teammate. It's great for fostering good sportsmanship among kids who might normally only think of themselves.
Always some great ideas to pick up. I like to "taking the reins" type of use, where all the players must agree to pool their inspiration and twist the story for a moment. They would need to agree on using it and would need to agree on what they want... but this could turn into an "in medias res" where the evil villain would not attack but sing two verses from Don Giovanni and ride off into the sunset. Would need to phrase it somehow that it would make sense for me, for the players as well; would allow freedom, but would not go totally Monty Python :) (Still love the idea though, but need to word it carefully).
This is a really interesting idea. Sort of akin to the "Fates" card in the DOMT. I have to think this idea through a bit. I mean, I wouldn't want to give my players the ability to instantly defeat a boss monster or use it as a wish spell. But I like the idea that while the players couldn't use it to alter the course of the mighty river of Time, they could use this Collective Inspiration to bend the river a bit.
@@scottkpetersen Yep. Maybe there has to be a safety mechanism built-in... at the very least if they decide that the arch-villain slashes their own throat, they will definitely not get any XP for that of course, but I know that is not a real deterrent. Need to further think about this problem... Giving the players absolute freedom on any one decision may break the game, yet it sounds too good to just pass up. I am sure there is a middleground somewhere :D
At one con a player bluffed me when I was a new dm. Inspiration can make the dm reroll. I now do this at cons when I give out Inspiration and have a foam "I" prop which I give to the player.
Love this. In my game I give three different rewards: "Drama" for cool dramatic stuff PCs do (gives reroll, must take second roll), "Inspire" for creative solutions to problems (advantage roll), and "Heroic" for pure badassery (full extra action).
Nick Siegrist I was thinking about adding a Karma counter into the mix. Not sure if I’m doing it yet but with real gods moving things it kind of makes sense.
Love the Torg reference! They rebooted it a couple years ago and it is by far my favorite system. I always watch your videos and figure out how to implement your advice for Torg.
I like the idea of awarding Inspiration when the players make their character taken action that is sub optimal but that moves the story forward or sticks to their character in a meaningful way. Essentially, they are rewarded for doing something less than ideal now by getting a token that allows them to act more ideally later
Hey Matt, semantics man here: doing #2 first makes semantic sense in that, from a procedural point of view: #1 (giving inspiration) is what is done first while #2 (using inspiration) is what is done second. So from a logical point of view, yes you were doing #2 first, even if it literally didn't make sense
Dude I'm super glad for you guys, so proud be to be a part of it. And you look GREAT
This sounds like Modiphius’ momentum dice, a mechanic I really love. Everybody in Modiphius games uses 2d20s to roll for attacks and you have to roll UNDER a certain number to succeed. Very different from DnD. But you can add d20s from other players’ pools of “momentum” dice, granting you more likelihood of success. The DM, however, ALSO gains a momentum die when this happens, so players helping each other too much leads to overpowered encounters. Nevertheless, at the end of the fight when we need one last big hit to kill the boss, we can pool all our momentum into one player’s attack to make sure it’s a big one. Great system, worth a look!
12:58 "This is a game, there are no lives at stake." Zortarg the Orc Barbarian disagrees.
I award inspiration frequently. I even tell my players if they like what another player is doing, to recommend to me when they think someone deserves inspiration. It then promotes a positive environment, players would show others what they like, and hopefully the player awarded picks up on it to be more aware of what others like at the table.
I am totally going to take some of the inspiration other uses.
It's always so good to get a new running the game video. Love love love the idea of pooling inspiration to tell the DM "NO!"
Reminds me of The Good Society which is basically a Jane Austen RPG that lets you use tokens to have a monologue or completely take control of a scene! Gonna see if my players wanna try any of these. :)
I ran a campaign where I awarded the party inspiration at the end of every completed plot point. It was up to the party to decide who had done that most in that particular story beat, you just couldn't vote for yourself. It really encouraged the players to appreciate their fellow PCs. Lots of excited discussions with "It was awesome when you did..." or "I can't believe ____ worked!"
I was already a huge fan but this video pushes it over the top for me. Inspiration is given and used a ton in my games and I've house ruled using it to impose disadvantage for the DM for years. The idea of using it to firmly put control in players' hands especially as a group is phenomenal! Been echoing the notion of a DM's role as helping players tell the story of their characters for a long long time and this is an amazing way to punch it up further!
Matthew I just wanted you to know that you have been tremendously helpful to my game that I run for my friends. I won't pretend to have seen absolutely all of your videos, but I can honestly say that every one I have watched has got me thinking, and impacted my game for the better. Thank you for continually putting out such wonderful content.
I love the idea that players can overrule decisions - collaborative storytelling at its best!
The 2 most memorable moments of my campaign were when I set up puzzles and my players didn’t know how to solve them. The first when I was starting to DM was just bad but we always remember the time they spent 15 minutes trying to open a wooden door. The second ended up being the most amazing series of events, rolls and role playing in the campaign. It was just after I had given a home brew item to my rogue player and he had figured out how to use it. He convinced one enemy to kill the 3 others, it was fantastic and we talk about it every time we see eachother
I use inspiration like this. It's mainly because I want to see my players succeed in the great things they want to do. They have enough ways to fail every other way...I want them to feel epic though.
I've only gotten Inspiration once, and it was on one of my favourite RP moments.
3 players had been captured, we had 2 to rescue them.
We found the prisoners chained up. So IRL the 2 of us whispered to each other in character as we figure out a rescue plan. My partner was getting a bit loud as he got a bit dramatic. I was shushing him reminding him to whisper, then after we made a plan we did a mighty high five out of character, rolled to see if we did it stealthy enough since we'd been in character the whole time (we passed). Went in rescued our buddies and got inspiration because the DM loved the whole scene.
I ran a avengers in 5e game last weekend and I let them use inspiration to do something their avengers could in theory do, that doesn't fit into the rules of 5e. Hulk used it to break a chunk on a tower, and Iron Man invented a machine that used detect magic to narrow down where they were building the Cosmic cube.
I've been starting back at the beginning of this video series, and I've gotta say....they've been a great way of 'inspiring' me. I'm a new (bit over half a year so far) dm, and these videos have given me so much great advice I've been able to incorporate into my games. Genuinely look forward to every new episode.
I like to award inspiration at the end of the session and talk about some of my favorite moments from the game that way they have it going into the next session and it doesn't influence them in the moment
Long time no see. Keep it up and hope it won't be that long before we get another one. Btw. congrats on your Kickstarter.
Wow, I actually caught up to the playlist! NEver thought I would, for some reason. Thanks for all the advice and inspiration!
I've played around with using hero points instead of inspiration.
A hero point lets a player turn a dice roll they make, or a roll made against them into either a 1 or a 20.
Alternatively, a hero point can be spent at the end of another creatures turn to let you immediately take an additional turn.
Very powerful tools for the players, and they create some very memorable and dramatic moments.
I'm always excited when I see a Matt Colville video, especially one in the Running the Game series. You always bring such enthusiasm to your subject matter. Their so structured and tight, too. You must map out the subject in bullet points first. Before you really get into it and toss the plan. Love it.
Players in EVERY group I have ever run 5e for (talking about 100+ different people here) always forget about inspiration until after they've made their rolls. In the past I would sometimes make an exception to the rule to let them roll anyways, but I was doing it so much I just decided to start allowing players to roll inspiration after their roll. It's still limited by advantage so you can't stack it if you already had advantage on the roll. However you can use it to essentially reroll when you missed with your attack, skill check, saving throw, etc.
Ever since I started doing this the game has been allot more fun for everyone, and the players have been engaging with the inspiration mechanic allot more. It's also made inspiration feel much more rewarding for the players when they use it. I think I'm going to steal your idea about letting them give disadvantage to an enemy as well. That seems extremely fun, and dramatic! Especially because there will be situations where I say "the orc succeeds his saving throw," and one of the players response "No! I use inspiration!"
One last thing I wanted to add was that I've also started giving powerful enemies inspiration of their own!
Being a Dungeon Master and The act of leading a creative life. Sounds like a cool video or series of videos.
Advantage is so common in 5th ed, my group have adopted the homerule that you can spend inspiration after you see the die roll (but before you learn the result) to reroll the dice and take a higher result. It actually started as a misreading of the rules, but we've gotten so attached to it we'd never want to go back.
In Pathfinder there’s an optional rule called Hero Points that does everything you’re describing here and kinda stands in for inspiration, but with the additional crunchy numerical nonsense you’d expect of the edition. Having started to use it in the last year, I love it.
This is one my favorite running-the-game vids. I'm learning to DM so my gf and I can just play 1-on-1 together, we're hermits.
I've been in a few DnD groups and none of them cared about inspiration. I always felt it to be a missed opportunity for role play and character building, so I love that you made a video about it. These are some cool ideas to help her out since she'll be playing solo!
I like the idea of using inspiration to get a clue, to help solving a puzzle or mystery or tricky social situation. Not succeed in the situation, just get a clue from the DM.
We have an inspiration table. We’ve made it random. Roll a D8 and you get a Dm created boost between now and next long rest. I love love love you’re advocating for this. We felt that Advantage once wasn’t enough to drive inspired thinking.
Hey Matt, I just watched all 90 running the game vids in a week! I’m sad that I’ve made it to the end already, but I want to say that your advice is really valuable to me and has inspired (no pun intended) in many ways as a DM. Thank you for all the help!
You could use this in so many interesting ways. Trigger a healing surge, refill a spell slot, take a "legendary" action, etc. In addition to all the things you mentioned. It just depends on how realistic vs cinematic you like your game to be
Can never get enough rtg videos Matt, keep this amazing series... well... amazing! 😀
This is perfect to reward the players of my westmarches game to write the summary!
There are so many great tips for so many things out there, I would love for someone to put it all together in a book or something like that
My friends and I play in a campaign world based on the Quest for Glory games. We call them Glory Points. You can use one for an immediate action, to reroll a die, use one before a roll and receive a bonus to that roll, etc.
Short story: ran my first game of D&D today and it was great! Thanks to your video's Matt! Thank you!
Long story: Played a lot of Baldur's Gate on the pc back in the day. Getting into D&D but never having anyone to sit and play with because my friends thought it was lame. Spent the last 2 years watching your video's.
Now about 19 years after playing Baldur's Gate 2. Found out a coworker dm's for his kid. Got him to run a game for me and some co-workers, was great. I tell a friend, he says D&D sounds really cool would you like to run a game for me? Figured might as well follow Matt's advice and just do it. I did it today. And it was awesome :)
Thanks Matt!
The first idea is pretty much my default ruling for inspiration. It's basically like the luck points from the lucky feat.
The next video is something I want to hear right now! If only this was the future already and I discovered this video long after the following episode was already released...
So when I played 5e the first time no one in the group had played. We were all new to 5e and met at an Adventurer's League session. When trying to figure out inspiration someone mentined it was awarded for doing things in character and things that were good role playing and for me and one other guy this reminded us of the Karma Point system from when we played Shadowrun back in the 90s. Because of that and our general confusion with learning 5e we did inspiration completely wrong but ended up liking how we do it.
It's awarded as normal. Roleplaying. Doing something that ties your character's background/flaws/ideals/bonds/etc ... Also sometimes just for being funny :D
You may have more than one Inspiration point.
You may use 1 point to reroll any die roll but you must accept the second roll regardless. Max 1 point per roll.
You may use a point to allow another player to reroll a die roll.
We've found this isn't game breaking
and after explaining this to other groups when I started to DM 5e they were all for it
I'd be curious to hear opinions, Particularly Matt's :D
My group uses inspiration frequently. We have a google doc full of funny stuff we said at the table, if you say something that makes the whole group laugh, your quote gets written down and you receive inspiration.
Give players the power to overrule the DM... hell yeah! As both a player and a DM, this makes the game more exciting and entertaining for everyone. Very creative new mechanic, Matt : )
Older systems had similar rewards to D&D's inspiration. Shadowrun and WEG Star Wars for example. Shadowrun let you use karma points to modify rolls, and suggested rewarded extra karma for good RP moments, or other memorable actions by the players. WEG Star Wars had force points. Which were rewards for being particularly heroic or doing some thing very clever in game. I can see Matt's suggestions here expanding on those systems.
My DM has a fun take on inspiration where every player gets a free use of Inspiration per session, but if we use it, the DM gets a use of it as well, even if our Inspiration turns out bad. It's a fun risk/reward system and it's not always a negative. He's used it to give helpful NPCs advantage on useful checks and attacks just as often has he'll use it on enemies as well.
At my tables, inspiration is an anime switch.
There was a giant pangolin monster they were fighting at 3rd level. An enslaved kobold of theirs pretty much sacrificed itself to knock the beast off a cliff. It survived, but took serious damage. One of the PC's used his inspiration to run up a stone wall to one side before flipping upside down and falling the whole way with his sword pointed at the exposed underbelly of the beast, making a melee attack with advantage and nullifying his fall damage, instead adding it to the damage roll.
Absolutely eviscerated his target.
On the topic of giving players the power to overrule the DM. A couple friends and I got together for a star wars one shot where there were "story points." A player could use a story point to say "this thing happens" or "this thing exists" such as having an extra hidden dagger on their person, having a bullet proof barrier behind a store's front desk, etc. The points would then go to the DM, and would go back to the players when used in a similar manner. It was pretty fun, but probably wouldn't hold up past two or three sessions.
Turn a hit into a crit is pretty dangerous for a rogue.
or a paladin. but he did say that what you do is predicated on the idea that your players won't abuse whatever rules you add in on their side.
OMG!!! Thank you so much for another D&D video. I've been sooooo thirsty. Your videos have been fueling my thesis project and have been crazy helpful in my game supporting it.
Exalted-style stunt bonuses are a lot of fun :) ascending bonuses to rolls for doing something dramatic and/or awesome
I do have other uses for inspiration in my game:
1. adding an element to the scene (needs DM permission)
2. receive a very powerful hint (needs DM offer)
3. automatically succeed on a death saving throw
I also have other ways to access inspiration that sometimes come up:
1. You can use inspiration when you don't have any, but increase the level of peril for the whole party when you do (DM uses meaner monsters and introduces betrayals and other such obstacles with more frequency). Anyone can spend inspiration at any time to cancel this effect.
2. You can gain inspiration when you remember a salient fact about a previous session that the DM forgot (typically the name of an NPC)
At my table I award inspiration by physically giving my players a d24. This is a die that never comes up in any other situation. And they can spend it by rolling it in place of any other die they would otherwise roll. When used on a d20 roll it's similar to advantage. But if you really need damage in a pinch, you can roll it in place of your dagger's d4. Epic!
Recent subscriber and binger..... but it’s MY FIRST TIME WATCHING A VIDEO OF YOURS ON THE DAY IT CAME OUT
THANK YOU for another great running the game video. I can't wait for your upcoming video on what it really means to be a DM and the act of leading a creative life... Both of which are things I do, but never completely understood.
I had a player who was running a Lawful Good Fighter who was really interested in protecting his fellow party members. When it came time to choose Archetypes he was considering choosing Banneret. I suggested that he might like Battlemaster for some of its commanding maneuvers and such. He did, and I suggested that he could use Inspiration to use Banneret features, and that worked well. Banneret is, in my opinion, weak enough that it wasn't a problem for balance, but it offered a nice little somethin' somethin' that he could spend Inspiration on.
I tend to use Inspiration for a lot of stuff, and I'm glad to see it getting more attention in videos like this.
I’ve never done a hit into a crit, but I do let my players use inspiration to reroll damage dice and it so far has worked well and when someone has chose that over gaining advantage or imposing disadvantage.
I also have only given out maybe 3 inspiration points in 4-5 4 hour sessions because I gave it many more uses, but I like the idea of having the super inspiration for the truly epic deeds and they carry over and then try to keep normal inspiration points given out one per session as suggested in the books
This video was great, and I am SUPER looking forward to the next one!
My groups rule for inspiration is that you can use it to re-roll rather than advantage, so you can choose after you've rolled badly to then roll again, but you have to use the new role. Additionally players can give their inspiration to other players roll in the moment; if one player fails a death save then the other player can call out, "Use my inspiration" to reroll, so long as they call it out before the DM declares what happens.
Matt your videos are always the most helpful and amazing. You're my favourite DM
For inspiration at my table. I have a deck of cards that I got from a very small and barely successful kickstarter. This deck of cards isn’t unlike any normal 52 deck playing cards, except that each card gives you a small ability that you can use instead of the typical advantage on a roll. The face cards give you the best abilities (Ignore damage this turn, heal one hit die of health, gain a can trip and discard the card when using this can trip). My players enjoy getting these cards and being extra careful to not show me what the card is, as to surprise me when they use them.
I have a fond memory with these cards. My players were in a dungeon chasing done a minion that was running to it’s ‘boss’ to warn of pesky adventures making their way deeper into the lair. The players passed the skill challenge and caught the minion, however none of them knew the language that the minion was speaking- when suddenly one of my players eyes lit up as he had an idea. “Hey! This inspiration card says I can understand a language that I don’t know, can I use it to see what this minion is trying to tell us?” It was a pleasant surprise and ever since I’ve been sure to have these cards at my table when we’re playing.
That sounds really neat!
Do you know if/where these can still be found?
Alexandre Huot To be honest I don’t. The cards themselves were called “Inspiration Cards”. Perhaps you could find them on Kickstarter and see if they’re sold anywhere?
One of the reasons I enjoy the FATE system so much is that players are given an element of control over how the game progresses through use of Fate Points. Your characters have certain Aspects, or phrases that capture some facet of their personality, background, or skills. One of the uses of Fate Points is to declare a story detail related to one of your Aspects. So, for example, if you play a character with an Aspect of, "Friends in Low Places," you can spend a Fate Point to say that the NPC you just met at a dive bar may have mutual acquaintances with your character. With the GM's permission, of course.
Another thing I love about Fate Points is that it becomes something of a give-and-take between players and GM. The players start a session with a certain number of Fate Points that they can use in a variety of ways. But, the GM can toss out the possibility of a negative event tied to a character's Aspect. If the player accepts it, they get a Fate Point, or they can spend one to avoid it. You and the player can discuss what the exact effect is. Obviously, you don't want to use it too often, but it's a great way to reward players while making the story more interesting.
I don't play D&D, but this as a concept I like. It begins to mirror other systems that allow characters to be extra heroic. Savage Worlds, Alien, AGE, 2d20, Genesys etc. Which is a good thing in my books.
One cool thing that you can use your ispiration for is: recharge one of your class abilities that depand on a short rest.
If you think about it is not as broken as it seem, player already have that and a " Third wind" can save the fighter and the party!
“I can’t think of any reactions that are so powerful that taking an extra one once is game breaking” counterspell.
that's not game breaking that's dramatic
I've been reading about Blades in the Dark and one feature of that game is that players can have "flashbacks" to RP how they are prepared for a situation. Maybe, depending on the story, allow players to cash in inspiration to "flash back" how they DID buy X basic adventuring gear object, or let Y NPC know where they were, or whatever.
I’m testing Inspiration points at my table this weekend. I’m giving an RP reward where the player that earns it gets to roll a d4 and accumulate a number and dump into a pool of points they can use. They can only carry up to 50 points and can only cash in 10 in an action, but can add that number to any check, save, death save, attack roll. They can also cash the points in at a 1 inspiration point for 25 XP.
I also use glass beads to cash them in and track.
I really really like the outcome shift too!
I'd just like to thank you for your content. I gmed a one shot last night using stuff I've learned from you and a few other D&D TH-camrs. And it went fairly well
I learned from another DM to run inspiration as rerolls (choose to use after rolling) instead of advantage (choose to use before rolling). There are multiple reasons for this. One, it prevents the player from feeling like they wasted their inspiration if both rolls are high enough that they clearly would have succeeded anyway. Two, it is more dramatic - you already know that you ARE going to fail unless you choose to use that resource. It's almost like a limited version of the "no, I overrule the DM" moment.
A box product of capital would be super cool! It reminds me of the ravenloft and night below boxes and I love that
My favorite "reward for doing something cool or memorable" system is in White Wolf's Scion system. It's called Stunts and basically if you describe how you are doing something you get an additional die for that roll and also regain a point of your primary ressource. If you describe how you do something AND include one or more aspects from the environment you get two dice and either two points of your primary ressource or one point of your secondary ressource. However, if you describe how you do something and it is just so absolutely awesome that everyone's jaw drops, you not only gain 3 more dice, you can also gain additional experience, or once again recharge your ressources. And since its a game about the offspring of gods, it makes the fights so much more dynamic and fun, because people dont just swing swords, they bounce of the walls, use other enemies as stepping stones or do something like run across a path made from the fired arrows of an ally.
What I already use in game (and have for three years, so it’s game tested). I run a challenging table (organic world, monsters want to win, creatures act according to their nature/design/best interests) so this system gets used a lot. This system is, essentially, Inspiration, but can be banked.
In general - Player characters will level when a set series of goals are achieved. Per milestone.
However, to recognize individual efforts: Excellence in Heroism, Roleplay, Great ideas, Etc....
Players may be awarded up to one token for each session for efforts in these regards. These tokens are awarded by the DM.
Players will also be elegable for another single token. Players will then vote at the end of a session for whom they feel is the “MVP”. A player may not vote for themselves. Awarded tokens may be spent in the following manners:
-Spend 1 to give yourself Advantage on an Attack, Ability check or Saving Throw.
-Spend 1 to give another player Advantage on an Attack, Ability check or Saving Throw.
-Spend 1 when a die roll fails to allow yourself to “Succeed at cost”.*
-Spend 1 in an appropriate role playing or story moment to “know a guy” who might have helpful information.
-Spend 2 to succeed all Death Saving Throws and awaking from Unconsciousness with 1 hit point.
-Spend 10 to gain a level. (This has only happened once in three years. People tend to spend tokens a lot)
-Give the DM 1 token at no cost to a player’s tokens to succeed an ability check, attack or saving throw, but at the cost of something bad happening in the future. This token must be at the consent of the majority of the table
I have posted this previously on Facebook with good reviews.
This are actually some very nice ideas, that make the gameplay (and, especially, the roleplay) more rewarding, without needlessly increasing complexity.
Especially since I don't like giving the players a plethora of items.
And also considering the limited action economy.
Btw, isn't the last bullet-point an explanation of the third bullet-point?
I guess you wanted to put a star at the start...
I have an imp in my game who offers information to the players in exchange for items or RP things (their life, soul, name, etc.) I was thinking that he might be willing to take some of their fortune/luck, so at a certain point of time which was critical i would invoke their "de-inspiration" and force them to roll with disadvantage at one of the worst times for it to happen (which reminds me of your last situation for inspiration).
the problem i had with it is that I'm worried it might create and adversarial environment of the players vs the DM, as in they might feel that I choose that situation specifically to screw them, and would try to get into competition with me to "win".
obviously, i'm not a fan of that concept, so how did your players deal with the fall-out of working on "borrowed luck"? who does your table generally function?
3:24 might be my favorite moment in any running the game videos ever.
I try to watch the reactions of other players when one player does something cool. If I can tell that the others are impressed, I know it's time to award inspiration. If the action is incredibly impressive (maybe a combination of superb roleplay, clever tactics, and a series of lucky die rolls), I might even award inspiration to the other PCs for witnessing it. Afterall, their characters witnessed an inspiring feat, and that drives them toward doing heroic things too.
Not gonna lie, Matt, I was going to skip to point 2 first and you just did it for me. That's good fan service right there. Keep up the great work and best of luck with the next book!