Often, but we use homebrewed version - You can get up to 3 inspirations, and at the start of each session, the number of inspirations you have resets to 1.
Use it frequently but only the DM can grant it for inspired role play. Was the described action cool (regardless of success), did it bring joy or laughter?
it is often then used by the player as the flash of inspiration just when they need it the most - when they really need to make that Dex or Con save
I won’t be changing to the new version of inspiration cookies
I almost never use it when I DM - I get that it has use for encouraging folks who do not roleplay to roleplay, but I never have found a situation where I need to bribe a player into that aspect of the game.
The one exception - if a player spends a significant portion of their downtime actively invoking a deity at a temple, forgoing things like crafting or other activities, they can get inspiration. That is still less a reward for roleplaying and more providing a slight, flavourful boon against the opportunity cost of other activities the player could be doing.
For your poll’s purposes, I responded “never” since I never utilise it as the rules intended - “rarely” might be a fair response as well, but I think your goal was to find out how much folks use the current system as written.
I was in a campaign as a player where the DM handed it out - I must have “earned” dozens of inspirations over the course of that campaign, and never used a single one. It just felt cheesy to me - “here is a metagame boon for something you already were doing.”
After OneD&D comes out, I have no plans on adopting their new system for inspiration. I do not like the artificial feel of it, and I already come up with more exciting ways to “succeed” on a crit (which I have always applied to skill rolls) than simply succeeding, so natural 20s already feel special without something else extra.
For your poll’s purposes, I responded “never” since I never utilise it as the rules intended - “rarely” might be a fair response as well, but I think your goal was to find out how much folks use the current system as written.
Thanks for this. That was certainly my intent for the poll.
Actually quite a bit. For some roleplaying that's truly fits the PC, but might not be most optimal moment. Or for a beautiful moment roleplayed and occasionally when someone uses an epic pun.
They do have to call using their inspiration before a roll.
One way my DM gives out inspiration is as a reward for whoever volunteers to do the recap of the previous session. Put a little effort in, get inspiration for it. It spares the DM a little work and encourages the players to keep on top of what's going on--and since there's always a recap when we begin, it's easy to remember to give it out.
In our long-form campaigns I've played with my friends we consistently had at least one player playing as a Bard, so we never really used Inspiration because it would cause confusion with Bardic Inspiration. I think if there was a different name for it, we'd probably have been using it the whole time, but we ended up with a lot of little house rules that affect the game in a similar way.
I'm not sure the poll covers me. Every player I've DM'd for has received Inspiration at some point (not specifically intended, but they've all done something to deserve it at some point). They've never used it, and it's just stuck there. Therefore, I couldn't give it out more since it doesn't stack, and so it's never been utilised and I've only given it out a handful of times.
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If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I'm not sure the poll covers me. Every player I've DM'd for has received Inspiration at some point (not specifically intended, but they've all done something to deserve it at some point). They've never used it, and it's just stuck there. Therefore, I couldn't give it out more since it doesn't stack, and so it's never been utilised and I've only given it out a handful of times.
I think that would fall under Rarely. The poll isn't just about DM's handing it out, but also whether it is used by the players, so for your table it seems to be rarely used.
These answers are contradictory without further explanation.
My table used it literally every session. Cup of inspiration sat in the middle with amount equal to the number of players. If someone wanted to use it, table as a whole had to agree. One veto and it would not be used. Could be refilled with good RP or good human shit. Reset each session.
I think the idea that inspiration is just an autowin for players is personally silly, because at the game it's all about the enjoyment of the table. If you rolled a death save with advantage and got 2 5s, then decided to blow a luck point and got a 3 and THEN used inspiration to get another die and got a 4(which I understand isn't RAW and RAW only allows inspiration to give advantage but that is how we use it)? Then that character was meant to die. Same thing if the characters to the end, saved their mcguffin for a big boss fight and just whiffed? I want that player to have another shot because that moment could be amazing for that person.
Everyone wins when the table is happy because everyone is having fun. That's what D&D is and I think that's the core of the inspiration system, is to try and put it a mechanical way for the players to have more agency on their fun when bad dice happen.
None of my PBP campaigns use it, I'll note that off the bat, though I don't think anyone is designing D&D with PBP in mind.
Of my 3 in-person campaigns, 1 never uses it, 1 only started using it after the other campaign stated and that DM used it frequently. But in both of those latter 2, handing it out happens more frequently than players remembering to use it, leading to multiple occasions of a DM trying to give inspiration to someone who already has it.
I really don't like the Inspiration system so do not use it in any of my games, I refused to even try the updated version in the playtest because it took something I hated and made it so much worse.
I would in principle like to use inspiration, but as a DM I forget to give it out (I think I've given it out around five times... in fifty sessions), and as a player I forget to use it when I have it. This is despite DMs being generous and allowing using it after rolling (which is dramatically better than RAW). I think my general take on inspiration would be 'well-intentioned failure'.
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Question is in the title.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I, as DM, actively do not use it, because I do not like at will applicable advantage/re-rolls.
Often, but we use homebrewed version - You can get up to 3 inspirations, and at the start of each session, the number of inspirations you have resets to 1.
Use it frequently but only the DM can grant it for inspired role play. Was the described action cool (regardless of success), did it bring joy or laughter?
it is often then used by the player as the flash of inspiration just when they need it the most - when they really need to make that Dex or Con save
I won’t be changing to the new version of inspiration cookies
I almost never use it when I DM - I get that it has use for encouraging folks who do not roleplay to roleplay, but I never have found a situation where I need to bribe a player into that aspect of the game.
The one exception - if a player spends a significant portion of their downtime actively invoking a deity at a temple, forgoing things like crafting or other activities, they can get inspiration. That is still less a reward for roleplaying and more providing a slight, flavourful boon against the opportunity cost of other activities the player could be doing.
For your poll’s purposes, I responded “never” since I never utilise it as the rules intended - “rarely” might be a fair response as well, but I think your goal was to find out how much folks use the current system as written.
I was in a campaign as a player where the DM handed it out - I must have “earned” dozens of inspirations over the course of that campaign, and never used a single one. It just felt cheesy to me - “here is a metagame boon for something you already were doing.”
After OneD&D comes out, I have no plans on adopting their new system for inspiration. I do not like the artificial feel of it, and I already come up with more exciting ways to “succeed” on a crit (which I have always applied to skill rolls) than simply succeeding, so natural 20s already feel special without something else extra.
Thanks for this. That was certainly my intent for the poll.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
This. I just dislike the mechanic entirely and awarded bonus XP in those RP instances in lieu of Inspiration.
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Actually quite a bit. For some roleplaying that's truly fits the PC, but might not be most optimal moment. Or for a beautiful moment roleplayed and occasionally when someone uses an epic pun.
They do have to call using their inspiration before a roll.
One way my DM gives out inspiration is as a reward for whoever volunteers to do the recap of the previous session. Put a little effort in, get inspiration for it. It spares the DM a little work and encourages the players to keep on top of what's going on--and since there's always a recap when we begin, it's easy to remember to give it out.
In our long-form campaigns I've played with my friends we consistently had at least one player playing as a Bard, so we never really used Inspiration because it would cause confusion with Bardic Inspiration. I think if there was a different name for it, we'd probably have been using it the whole time, but we ended up with a lot of little house rules that affect the game in a similar way.
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I'm not sure the poll covers me. Every player I've DM'd for has received Inspiration at some point (not specifically intended, but they've all done something to deserve it at some point). They've never used it, and it's just stuck there. Therefore, I couldn't give it out more since it doesn't stack, and so it's never been utilised and I've only given it out a handful of times.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I think that would fall under Rarely. The poll isn't just about DM's handing it out, but also whether it is used by the players, so for your table it seems to be rarely used.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
These answers are contradictory without further explanation.
My table used it literally every session. Cup of inspiration sat in the middle with amount equal to the number of players. If someone wanted to use it, table as a whole had to agree. One veto and it would not be used. Could be refilled with good RP or good human shit. Reset each session.
I think the idea that inspiration is just an autowin for players is personally silly, because at the game it's all about the enjoyment of the table. If you rolled a death save with advantage and got 2 5s, then decided to blow a luck point and got a 3 and THEN used inspiration to get another die and got a 4(which I understand isn't RAW and RAW only allows inspiration to give advantage but that is how we use it)? Then that character was meant to die. Same thing if the characters to the end, saved their mcguffin for a big boss fight and just whiffed? I want that player to have another shot because that moment could be amazing for that person.
Everyone wins when the table is happy because everyone is having fun. That's what D&D is and I think that's the core of the inspiration system, is to try and put it a mechanical way for the players to have more agency on their fun when bad dice happen.
None of my PBP campaigns use it, I'll note that off the bat, though I don't think anyone is designing D&D with PBP in mind.
Of my 3 in-person campaigns, 1 never uses it, 1 only started using it after the other campaign stated and that DM used it frequently. But in both of those latter 2, handing it out happens more frequently than players remembering to use it, leading to multiple occasions of a DM trying to give inspiration to someone who already has it.
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My table doesn’t use it, but mostly because we simply forget to use it.
I really don't like the Inspiration system so do not use it in any of my games, I refused to even try the updated version in the playtest because it took something I hated and made it so much worse.
I wonder how many people who hate the Initiative rule play with the optional Flanking rule - since the Flanking rule grants advantage.
I would in principle like to use inspiration, but as a DM I forget to give it out (I think I've given it out around five times... in fifty sessions), and as a player I forget to use it when I have it. This is despite DMs being generous and allowing using it after rolling (which is dramatically better than RAW). I think my general take on inspiration would be 'well-intentioned failure'.