I’m a DM who doesn’t give out Inspiration. I have a lot of personal reasons for not using it, but that’s not the topic at hand.
I got this idea from playing Darkest Dungeon where when a character lands a critical hit it boosts the team’s morale. I’ve been considering implementing this homebrew mechanic into my own games. I’d appreciate any thoughts and feelings on the idea.
Critical Inspiration
Anytime you roll a natural 20 on an attack roll or a saving throw, you gain Inspiration. Furthermore, you have a chance to inspire your allies.
Anytime you roll a natural 1 on an attack roll or a saving throw, you gain Inspiration.
Once per round when an ally you can both see and hear gains Inspiration by rolling a natural 20; you roll a d20. On the result of an 11 or higher, you gain Inspiration.
Using Inspiration
If you have Inspiration, you can expend it when you make an attack roll, saving throw, ability check, or when you roll for initiative. Spending your Inspiration gives you advantage on that roll. Additionally, if you have Inspiration, you can offer to give it to another player to help them out when they make an important roll. You must declare you are spending Inspiration before making a roll.
The only thing I would worry about is a chain effect. I roll a 1 on my saving throw, I gain inspiration. You roll a d20 and get a 12, the rogue rolls a 7, the bard rolls a 16. But because you got inspiration, the rogue rolls again and gets a 5. But because the bard got inspiration the rogue rolls again and gets a 14. I don’t think this is the intended effect.
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Yeah, the chaining may become a little wild on this, but if that's what you're going for -- more power to you!
My other concern is that your martial characters will have a greater chance of getting inspiration. Your chances of rolling a nat 20 or nat 1 on an attack greatly increase when you have extra attack. That's why 'critical fumbles' aren't a rule in 5e, they disbalance the game against martial classes as they get stronger.
I never remember to give inspiration, so instead I give it as an option each session at the start. I ask a character-based question, and your answer is subsequently presumed to be known in character (things discussed while travelling, or on watch, or during downtime, etc.), you may choose not to answer. If you do answer, you gain inspiration if you didn't already have it. Basically everyone has inspiration once per session, which has been working pretty well for us.
The only thing I would worry about is a chain effect. I roll a 1 on my saving throw, I gain inspiration. You roll a d20 and get a 12, the rogue rolls a 7, the bard rolls a 16. But because you got inspiration, the rogue rolls again and gets a 5. But because the bard got inspiration the rogue rolls again and gets a 14. I don’t think this is the intended effect.
You're right, that's not the intended effect. I added the condition: Once per round. That could help the balance overall, I think.
Yeah, the chaining may become a little wild on this, but if that's what you're going for -- more power to you!
My other concern is that your martial characters will have a greater chance of getting inspiration. Your chances of rolling a nat 20 or nat 1 on an attack greatly increase when you have extra attack. That's why 'critical fumbles' aren't a rule in 5e, they disbalance the game against martial classes as they get stronger.
That's a good point. I figured that the balance is that martial characters do have a greater chance of getting it, but that in turn helps the party at large by giving everyone more chances to receive it.
I really need to remember to give out inspiration more often when cool stuff happens.
That's kind of the point of this mechanic for me. Technically, if I used the Inspiration rules as they are, my players would ALWAYS have inspiration because they are always doing cool stuff, RPing in character, and being awesome lol.
I’m a DM who doesn’t give out Inspiration. I have a lot of personal reasons for not using it, but that’s not the topic at hand.
I got this idea from playing Darkest Dungeon where when a character lands a critical hit it boosts the team’s morale. I’ve been considering implementing this homebrew mechanic into my own games. I’d appreciate any thoughts and feelings on the idea.
The only thing I would worry about is a chain effect. I roll a 1 on my saving throw, I gain inspiration. You roll a d20 and get a 12, the rogue rolls a 7, the bard rolls a 16. But because you got inspiration, the rogue rolls again and gets a 5. But because the bard got inspiration the rogue rolls again and gets a 14. I don’t think this is the intended effect.
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Astromancer's Homebrew Assembly
"The relevant equation is: Knowledge = power = energy = matter = mass; a good bookshop is just a genteel Black Hole that knows how to read." - Terry Pratchett
Yeah, the chaining may become a little wild on this, but if that's what you're going for -- more power to you!
My other concern is that your martial characters will have a greater chance of getting inspiration. Your chances of rolling a nat 20 or nat 1 on an attack greatly increase when you have extra attack. That's why 'critical fumbles' aren't a rule in 5e, they disbalance the game against martial classes as they get stronger.
I never remember to give inspiration, so instead I give it as an option each session at the start. I ask a character-based question, and your answer is subsequently presumed to be known in character (things discussed while travelling, or on watch, or during downtime, etc.), you may choose not to answer. If you do answer, you gain inspiration if you didn't already have it. Basically everyone has inspiration once per session, which has been working pretty well for us.
I really need to remember to give out inspiration more often when cool stuff happens.
"Not all those who wander are lost"
You're right, that's not the intended effect. I added the condition: Once per round. That could help the balance overall, I think.
That's a good point. I figured that the balance is that martial characters do have a greater chance of getting it, but that in turn helps the party at large by giving everyone more chances to receive it.
That's kind of the point of this mechanic for me. Technically, if I used the Inspiration rules as they are, my players would ALWAYS have inspiration because they are always doing cool stuff, RPing in character, and being awesome lol.