Reading through a lot of these threads today as I'm a new DM who just started a new campaign. I've been playing a Shadowrun-based system for the last two years, so I brought this homebrew rule from that game:
You can collect an unlimited number of points of inspiration, and a point of inspiration can be used to reroll any roll and take the better result. This is definitely OP if you're interested in playing a tough game, but we're playing a story-telling heavy, med-difficulty game and it works great. My players are attached to their characters, and I see no need to rob them of that; still, danger heightens the game. Inspiration points are the counter-balance for us.
It also makes sense in my game, as my characters are reincarnations of the original heroes, so luck is sort of on their side :)
I've seen players discouraged from attempting anything unique or flavorful because their attempts were bogged down by unnecessary mechanics.
When a player describes something cool, try to keep additional mechanics to an absolute minimum. Would it have changed the character's movement result if he had just gone "I move here"? Would it have changed the type of damage if he had said "I attack"? Would it have changed the ability needed if he had claimed "I bash it down"?
If not, let the flourish go without complications. I always try to err to the side of the players when the action does warrant a change in mechanics.
THIS sooo much.
I remember having a conversation with a DM in college. He was complaining that the players (us) weren't creative enough in combat. I explained to him was it was because it wasn't worth it. If I tried to swing from a chandelier and attack the enemy, I'd have to make a jump check, then a balance check, THEN I could make an attack roll. If I failed those rolls I'll end up prone next to the enemy and or taking falling damage. All of that risk wouldn't even give us extra damage or a bonus on that attack. So NO, I'm just going to walk up and hit them with my sword. I'm not going to hit them with a chair, because a chair is an improvised weapon and does 1d4, while my sword does 1d8.
I remember having a conversation with a DM in college. He was complaining that the players (us) weren't creative enough in combat. I explained to him was it was because it wasn't worth it. If I tried to swing from a chandelier and attack the enemy, I'd have to make a jump check, then a balance check, THEN I could make an attack roll. If I failed those rolls I'll end up prone next to the enemy and or taking falling damage. All of that risk wouldn't even give us extra damage or a bonus on that attack. So NO, I'm just going to walk up and hit them with my sword. I'm not going to hit them with a chair, because a chair is an improvised weapon and does 1d4, while my sword does 1d8.
I actually hadn't thought about this. I'll be really careful not to do that. How do you think I can handle it better? Just an up/down strength check to see if they could pull it off, and just make sure it's worth more than a typical attack?
Rewards and incentives for players all depend on the players individually. Some like special loot, some like raw XP more. Everything mentioned so far has been great, just keep in mind that if you're looking to incentivize deeper play, you may want to switch up what kind of awards you give to which person. Just ask them for a vague idea of what they'd see as a reward and tailor something balanced and thoughtful from there.
Most of these ideas are universal, who wouldn't want and extra wand or a XP bump. However, one thing I didn't see was making a plot for an individual character to shine in. If your players have shown investment in your character's backstory, make sure to use it for minor quests or find a way to bring it into your main story arch. Sometimes, being in the spotlight is the perfect reward for a player. Also, seeing a background story get fleshed out in game may well inspire others at the table to make their own, hoping they'll get their time to shine down the road. That's been the easiest thing for my table so far.
Tactical rewards can also be a very powerful incentive to have players take more impressive risks more often.
To latch on the examples above: that Chandelier may in fact necessitate an extra Athletics roll, but if it fails, don't rob the player of the normal attack (a little bit of comedic stumble never hurt anyone, however); if it succeeds, though, add the "falling damage" to the player's attack (if he hits). That chair? Just 1d4, sure, but if it hits, have the target roll vs a one-round stun (due to the surprise - don't have all chairs be stunning weapons...).
Make the risks the players take carry relevant rewards, and your players will keep taking them. Don't make your rewards too great, however, or you'll see them struggle to find silly things to do to the most straightforward of circumstances >.>
The simplest in-combat reward you can give out without much thought, if you want a fallback option (and you're out of ideas)? +1d4 on the attack roll, or +1d4 of appropriate damage (perhaps it doesn't occur to you that kicking someone into a fireplace would set them on fire, having them roll vs fire each round? Doesn't matter! +1d4 fire damage!).
To latch on the examples above: that Chandelier may in fact necessitate an extra Athletics roll, but if it fails, don't rob the player of the normal attack (a little bit of comedic stumble never hurt anyone, however); if it succeeds, though, add the "falling damage" to the player's attack (if he hits). That chair? Just 1d4, sure, but if it hits, have the target roll vs a one-round stun (due to the surprise - don't have all chairs be stunning weapons...).
I actually had a similar situation last week. My group was on a ship and was being boarded by pirates. The party's rogue was in the crows nest when an ogre came crashing on board. He decided he wanted to run along the beam the swing down using the rigging to get behind the ogre for a backstab. I ruled he would need to make an acrobatics check to do this if he failed he would still land safely but away from his target area. If he rolled a 1 he would have slipped and taken full falling damage. Fortunately, he passed the roll meaning I granted him an advantage on the roll and additional experience.
I did debate whether to give him an inspiration point instead but we were playing TOA meatgrinder so decided against it.
We're having our second session this week and I was thinking of that. Do you have a list of what you've used? My characters will spend three nights resting between adventures, so I'm going to go with...
1. On the first night, you have a dream that's very much like your favorite memory. What was it?
2. On the second night, you have a nightmare about the worst thing that could happen to you - your biggest fear. What is?
3. On the third night you see yourself accomplishing your biggest dreams. What are you doing?
To reward for creativity I lifted something from FFG's Star Wars game. In that game you can use "Destiny points" for a selection of things to give yourself as a player an advantage in effect or the DM an advantage depending on the side the "force" is on at that moment. The way I implement it is through inspiration, if you have done something really well that would warrant it I will give you an inspiration point. How it differs for D&D is the exact methods since its D20 rather than narrative dice.
1) A helping Hand - gain an advantage on a roll
2) Raising the Stakes - It's a reversal of the above. You give an opponent disadvantage, for whatever reason (and I like the players to explain how the scenario shifts to cause them to react so.)
3) Luck/Deus ex machina - This is a narrative thing implemented in a certain situation for that "lucky break" that adventurers sometimes get. Obviously it's within limits and we don't necessarily go with a "the eagles show up and fly us to Mount Doom" but it's those little things. The PC's are cornered in an alley way by a gang and getting outclassed, the brawlers have fallen down and the wizard is desperately trying to protect the other squishy characters a player could use inspiration to say that "the desperate shouts of the defensive spells attract the attention of the town watch who reinforce the party causing the thugs to run away." It can also be used to find that one little thing that you NEED. "in the corner of the dark prison cell there is a small object, closer inspection reveals it to be a small lockpick."
The third player choice offers a lot of potential and ideas for them to use inspiration for something that, in game allows the character to do something equally inspirational. Perhaps they want to do an extra act of heroism. In normal play they might have to do two or three rolls to pull it off perfectly, I might allow them to only have to make the final roll to reflect the "cinematic" feel of random mooks, shocked at seeing the hero survive a plot not being able to do anything about the hero as he casually makes his way past them to punch the person who double crossed him in the face. In my last session, the party contains a goblin (actually an elven victim of a polymorph spell) who thanks to intelligence 5 has basically been treated as little more than an irritating toddler. Tired of being pushed around he wanted to make a new start and prove his worth to them and that he wasn't an idiot. He'd heard legends of a great archaeologist who fought evil and would emulate this legend... The player used his inspiration so when rummaging through some crates looted from a trading post found a piece of leather armour, a whip and a fedora. Of course his attempts to actually show his knowledge have been disappointing but at least he looks the part!
To get into character, ask them to name 3 things that their character likes or wants.
To get them back into desert mode (we're in a huge ass desert), I ask them what they think of when i say the word hot or sand
To make sure combat becomes more describtive instead of I do my 2 attacks, 16. Etc. I ask them to describe 3 ways to land an attack with a sword. None may say the same thing :D
They are small exercises that keep them busy while I setup my screen and it provides them with a creative warmup plus insight into their characters for all. They might even learn something themselves about their character
I've recently begun crafting items to give to the players when I see them really doing well not only with their character but the manner in which they play and interact with the group. I have a wizard (new player as well), who sought out a group to learn the game. Not only has she invested herself into learning the game, but is really thinking her way through the challenges, role playing her character and basically immersing herself. Just an awesome person to have in our group. Likewise, I have several players that are doing well in their own rights. I wanted to show her some appreciation and give her something unique to not only motivate her but try to inspire everyone else to continue doing well; and it's working really well I think.
I made her a spell scroll that was written in elder futhark, and did some stuff to age the paper and make it look neat. She was given this in game and I think it accomplished several things. One, it showed my player/s that their input and effort has value. It encouraged others to see what I might come up with for them (which gives me motivation to think of new things). And best of all, we know people love tangible props at the table. It's nothing cumbersome or outlandish, but it fit her character and was a good way of saying thank you for the time and effort she's putting into the game.
Do not underestimate secret rolls. I do not get to play as much as I would like. 20 years ago i played every Friday, now I play once a year. But suspense adds creativity. When I do get to play, I tell the DM to keep some of my rolls secret. Sometimes like checking for traps, searching, spotting an enemy, hiding well or not, trying to convince a guard etc, the person doing the action would not know if there was success or not. When I check for traps, I cover my eyes, tell the DM my bonus, and roll my dice to the DM who rolls his eyes, checks my result and then gives me audible feedback. Sometimes i get a false positive, sometimes, I can tell the result, and sometimes I have to act blind. It add suspense and creativity.
Critical roll is a great podcast and they are amazingly talented, but sometimes we as the audience can catch them metagaming, whereas if they did a secret roll, they would not be able to metagame decisions like checking for traps, searching for something, or tricking a guard.
Speaking of critical roll, an easy thing would be to add "How would you like to do this?" When one of the party members delivers the killing blow, Matthew Mercer the DM asks the player, "How do you want to do this?" Everyone gets excited and the player then gets to describe how their character delivered the final blow.
But I would agree and second ealier sentiments that when a player add creativity and description, make the checks and DC easier to encourage it in the future.
One option for improving creativity is to not come up with the answer yourself. There's a huge door with no handle in a room full of pillars and broken benches, looks like a church. Let the players work out how they want to open the door - don't make the solution for them!
Another option is to reward creativity with cool descriptions and spotlight time. If someone says "I hit them with my sword!" then they get a bit of time as you describe them hitting their sword. If they say "I springboard off a bench and swing my sword down on them with both hands", then give a more dramatic reading for them - the enemies eyes going wide as they spring through the fire from the wizards firebolt, the sword arcing down and striking a blow from their armour as they just turn aside to avoid it. Even if they miss, give them that couple of seconds more spotlight for their efforts to make the story more interesting!
Be generous with what they can do without a check. Performing a wall-run to get over a trap should have a check - performing a wall run when they could have just done a floor-run is just cool flavour and should be treated as such - no checks needed, you do indeed do a cool wall run. If they miss, perhaps narrate that it was the cool wall run which caused the failure, but don't make it mechanical! Mechanics for the sake of mechanics (you jump over the mop on the floor? That's an athletics check please!) should be avoided.
As a general rule, I go for checks where they have a meaningful result - if they are wallrunning to bypass someone to get a hit behind an enemy to trigger their sneak attack then it will need a check because it has mechanical benefits. If they are falling and try to kick off the wall to land in a swimming pool, then that's mechanical. If they want to leap through the air and spear them with their spear, then that's just moving and atacking with dramatic flair!
Awesome! I'm dying to know if my crazy experiment works for someone else!
Reading through a lot of these threads today as I'm a new DM who just started a new campaign. I've been playing a Shadowrun-based system for the last two years, so I brought this homebrew rule from that game:
It also makes sense in my game, as my characters are reincarnations of the original heroes, so luck is sort of on their side :)
I'm not going to hit them with a chair, because a chair is an improvised weapon and does 1d4, while my sword does 1d8.
I actually hadn't thought about this. I'll be really careful not to do that. How do you think I can handle it better? Just an up/down strength check to see if they could pull it off, and just make sure it's worth more than a typical attack?
Rewards and incentives for players all depend on the players individually. Some like special loot, some like raw XP more. Everything mentioned so far has been great, just keep in mind that if you're looking to incentivize deeper play, you may want to switch up what kind of awards you give to which person. Just ask them for a vague idea of what they'd see as a reward and tailor something balanced and thoughtful from there.
Most of these ideas are universal, who wouldn't want and extra wand or a XP bump. However, one thing I didn't see was making a plot for an individual character to shine in. If your players have shown investment in your character's backstory, make sure to use it for minor quests or find a way to bring it into your main story arch. Sometimes, being in the spotlight is the perfect reward for a player. Also, seeing a background story get fleshed out in game may well inspire others at the table to make their own, hoping they'll get their time to shine down the road. That's been the easiest thing for my table so far.
#OpenDnD. #DnDBegone
Tactical rewards can also be a very powerful incentive to have players take more impressive risks more often.
To latch on the examples above: that Chandelier may in fact necessitate an extra Athletics roll, but if it fails, don't rob the player of the normal attack (a little bit of comedic stumble never hurt anyone, however); if it succeeds, though, add the "falling damage" to the player's attack (if he hits). That chair? Just 1d4, sure, but if it hits, have the target roll vs a one-round stun (due to the surprise - don't have all chairs be stunning weapons...).
Make the risks the players take carry relevant rewards, and your players will keep taking them. Don't make your rewards too great, however, or you'll see them struggle to find silly things to do to the most straightforward of circumstances >.>
The simplest in-combat reward you can give out without much thought, if you want a fallback option (and you're out of ideas)? +1d4 on the attack roll, or +1d4 of appropriate damage (perhaps it doesn't occur to you that kicking someone into a fireplace would set them on fire, having them roll vs fire each round? Doesn't matter! +1d4 fire damage!).
I actually had a similar situation last week. My group was on a ship and was being boarded by pirates. The party's rogue was in the crows nest when an ogre came crashing on board. He decided he wanted to run along the beam the swing down using the rigging to get behind the ogre for a backstab. I ruled he would need to make an acrobatics check to do this if he failed he would still land safely but away from his target area. If he rolled a 1 he would have slipped and taken full falling damage. Fortunately, he passed the roll meaning I granted him an advantage on the roll and additional experience.
I did debate whether to give him an inspiration point instead but we were playing TOA meatgrinder so decided against it.
I always give my players a lil' creative warm up.
3 ways to shoot an arrow, 3 things that they think about when i mention *random campaign related word* or 3 things their characters like or hate.
To reward for creativity I lifted something from FFG's Star Wars game. In that game you can use "Destiny points" for a selection of things to give yourself as a player an advantage in effect or the DM an advantage depending on the side the "force" is on at that moment. The way I implement it is through inspiration, if you have done something really well that would warrant it I will give you an inspiration point. How it differs for D&D is the exact methods since its D20 rather than narrative dice.
1) A helping Hand - gain an advantage on a roll
2) Raising the Stakes - It's a reversal of the above. You give an opponent disadvantage, for whatever reason (and I like the players to explain how the scenario shifts to cause them to react so.)
3) Luck/Deus ex machina - This is a narrative thing implemented in a certain situation for that "lucky break" that adventurers sometimes get. Obviously it's within limits and we don't necessarily go with a "the eagles show up and fly us to Mount Doom" but it's those little things. The PC's are cornered in an alley way by a gang and getting outclassed, the brawlers have fallen down and the wizard is desperately trying to protect the other squishy characters a player could use inspiration to say that "the desperate shouts of the defensive spells attract the attention of the town watch who reinforce the party causing the thugs to run away." It can also be used to find that one little thing that you NEED. "in the corner of the dark prison cell there is a small object, closer inspection reveals it to be a small lockpick."
The third player choice offers a lot of potential and ideas for them to use inspiration for something that, in game allows the character to do something equally inspirational. Perhaps they want to do an extra act of heroism. In normal play they might have to do two or three rolls to pull it off perfectly, I might allow them to only have to make the final roll to reflect the "cinematic" feel of random mooks, shocked at seeing the hero survive a plot not being able to do anything about the hero as he casually makes his way past them to punch the person who double crossed him in the face. In my last session, the party contains a goblin (actually an elven victim of a polymorph spell) who thanks to intelligence 5 has basically been treated as little more than an irritating toddler. Tired of being pushed around he wanted to make a new start and prove his worth to them and that he wasn't an idiot. He'd heard legends of a great archaeologist who fought evil and would emulate this legend... The player used his inspiration so when rummaging through some crates looted from a trading post found a piece of leather armour, a whip and a fedora. Of course his attempts to actually show his knowledge have been disappointing but at least he looks the part!
Small and simple things.
To get into character, ask them to name 3 things that their character likes or wants.
To get them back into desert mode (we're in a huge ass desert), I ask them what they think of when i say the word hot or sand
To make sure combat becomes more describtive instead of I do my 2 attacks, 16. Etc. I ask them to describe 3 ways to land an attack with a sword. None may say the same thing :D
They are small exercises that keep them busy while I setup my screen and it provides them with a creative warmup plus insight into their characters for all. They might even learn something themselves about their character
So as someone who has played Exalted and 7th Sea... and in those game as players you're constantly thinking how can do I this thing COOLER.
One thing to accept as OK is that it's OK to just swing your sword 80% of the time, because it makes the other 20% more interesting.
In a game I was playing a Bard and using the power where you insult the enemy.
I spent every combat not my turn trying to think up/look up pun on the internet!
I've recently begun crafting items to give to the players when I see them really doing well not only with their character but the manner in which they play and interact with the group. I have a wizard (new player as well), who sought out a group to learn the game. Not only has she invested herself into learning the game, but is really thinking her way through the challenges, role playing her character and basically immersing herself. Just an awesome person to have in our group. Likewise, I have several players that are doing well in their own rights. I wanted to show her some appreciation and give her something unique to not only motivate her but try to inspire everyone else to continue doing well; and it's working really well I think.
I made her a spell scroll that was written in elder futhark, and did some stuff to age the paper and make it look neat. She was given this in game and I think it accomplished several things. One, it showed my player/s that their input and effort has value. It encouraged others to see what I might come up with for them (which gives me motivation to think of new things). And best of all, we know people love tangible props at the table. It's nothing cumbersome or outlandish, but it fit her character and was a good way of saying thank you for the time and effort she's putting into the game.
Little things like that can go a long way!
Skol
Do not underestimate secret rolls. I do not get to play as much as I would like. 20 years ago i played every Friday, now I play once a year. But suspense adds creativity. When I do get to play, I tell the DM to keep some of my rolls secret. Sometimes like checking for traps, searching, spotting an enemy, hiding well or not, trying to convince a guard etc, the person doing the action would not know if there was success or not. When I check for traps, I cover my eyes, tell the DM my bonus, and roll my dice to the DM who rolls his eyes, checks my result and then gives me audible feedback. Sometimes i get a false positive, sometimes, I can tell the result, and sometimes I have to act blind. It add suspense and creativity.
Critical roll is a great podcast and they are amazingly talented, but sometimes we as the audience can catch them metagaming, whereas if they did a secret roll, they would not be able to metagame decisions like checking for traps, searching for something, or tricking a guard.
Speaking of critical roll, an easy thing would be to add "How would you like to do this?" When one of the party members delivers the killing blow, Matthew Mercer the DM asks the player, "How do you want to do this?" Everyone gets excited and the player then gets to describe how their character delivered the final blow.
But I would agree and second ealier sentiments that when a player add creativity and description, make the checks and DC easier to encourage it in the future.
Good thread this, glad it's resurfaced!
One option for improving creativity is to not come up with the answer yourself. There's a huge door with no handle in a room full of pillars and broken benches, looks like a church. Let the players work out how they want to open the door - don't make the solution for them!
Another option is to reward creativity with cool descriptions and spotlight time. If someone says "I hit them with my sword!" then they get a bit of time as you describe them hitting their sword. If they say "I springboard off a bench and swing my sword down on them with both hands", then give a more dramatic reading for them - the enemies eyes going wide as they spring through the fire from the wizards firebolt, the sword arcing down and striking a blow from their armour as they just turn aside to avoid it. Even if they miss, give them that couple of seconds more spotlight for their efforts to make the story more interesting!
Be generous with what they can do without a check. Performing a wall-run to get over a trap should have a check - performing a wall run when they could have just done a floor-run is just cool flavour and should be treated as such - no checks needed, you do indeed do a cool wall run. If they miss, perhaps narrate that it was the cool wall run which caused the failure, but don't make it mechanical! Mechanics for the sake of mechanics (you jump over the mop on the floor? That's an athletics check please!) should be avoided.
As a general rule, I go for checks where they have a meaningful result - if they are wallrunning to bypass someone to get a hit behind an enemy to trigger their sneak attack then it will need a check because it has mechanical benefits. If they are falling and try to kick off the wall to land in a swimming pool, then that's mechanical. If they want to leap through the air and spear them with their spear, then that's just moving and atacking with dramatic flair!
Make your Artificer work with any other class with 174 Multiclassing Feats for your Artificer Multiclass Character!
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