2014’s 5th edition introduced the Inspiration mechanic to D&D as a way for DMs to reward their players with advantage on a future ability check, attack roll, or saving throw. This is described both in the Player’s Handbook as well as the Dungeon Master’s Guide. It’s a novel mechanic (built alongside the advantage/disadvantage system) which seeks to reinforce positive player behaviors for the benefit of the table. Inspiration is awarded for role-playing consistent with character background, taking heroic risks, succeeding in a particularly important goal, or adhering to genre norms.
Inspiration, as-written, is great – it doesn’t need to be fixed since there’s nothing wrong with it. Rather, the core idea can be expanded further to 1) increase character autonomy, 2) through game balance allow a GM to increase the challenge/difficulty, and 3) encourage excitement of the game outside of scheduled sessions. So, what changes can boost the role of Inspiration in your D&D* games? *Similar mechanics can be added to your RPG of choice so feel free to make this your own.
1) Increase the cap of Inspiration for each player from one to three. Any Inspiration gain in addition to this may immediately be given to other players who are not yet at their cap. This further encourages positive behavior since players will often hold their Inspiration until needed such that many points are simply lost due to the previous cap.
2) Allow players to spend two Inspiration to re-roll something AFTER instead of being limited to only affecting ability checks, attack rolls, and saving throws before a roll is made. Players are often annoyed when they cash in their Inspiration for advantage that they didn’t end up needing in the first place: you needed a 16 to pass so spent your point only to roll an 18 and a 20. This change gives players greater control in how their rewards are used: those who enjoy risk-taking may continue to use the mechanic as originally intended, but more often. Risk-averse players may instead save until an important roll is already failed, cashing in more for another shot at a critical spell save, or re-rolling an unlucky miss.
3) Allow players to spend an additional Inspiration to affect a DM’s roll. By spending two Inspiration, a player (or players) may either give the DM disadvantage or otherwise negate advantage on a roll. Likewise, per 2) above, the table could spend three Inspiration points to force a DM to roll something after-the-fact, such as an Nat 20 crit when half the party is already down. This specific change encourages your players to share their gains while also allowing a DM to add more challenging challenges relative to the normal CR balance limitations. Due to normal Action Economy balancing, giving the players an opportunity to affect the limited attacks or critical saving throws of challenging enemies such as bosses means a DM is able to bring tougher threats than normal all while reducing boring aspects of play like missing attacks, save or suck spells, or being knocked unconscious by a random enemy early in an important battle.
So, if you agree that these are worthwhile changes to how Inspiration may be used, how do we increase the supply in a way that meets demand while encouraging positive play? Continue to distribute points to players for good role-play, undertaking heroic actions, and/or beating tough challenges, but furthermore seek to reward the players themselves for behaviors away from your table and even between games. Consider rewarding the following:
-Providing a post-session summary in writing either in- or out-of-character. This is doubly useful when other players miss a session. As a DM I always find it valuable to read what the players thought was important, what they might have missed, how they interpreted certain characters or situations, and what might need to be clarified or reinforced later.
-Bringing snacks. I can be bribed with coffee and a danish, a slice of pizza, or even a veggie tray. Any guest that brings food or drinks to help share the weight of hosting a group every session is entitled to an extra Inspiration for their effort and consideration. Of course if a player IS the host, they will earn a point every single session – this is no small responsibility for someone to take on over the lifetime of a game and a few extra dice rolls is a small price to repay that generosity.
-Any reminder of something forgotten that benefits the DM and/or hurts the party. Anyone willing to help the person running dozens of monsters to remember something inconvenient is likely someone that sees the DM as a trusted friend, not an opponent to be beaten. This person cares more for a fair, shared experience than WAAC. (Winning At All Costs – a term used extensively in war-gaming to describe over-competitive, unsportsmanlike players) Be careful with this one: the intent is that helpful information be shared such that the group story improves, not as a mechanic to target another player or suck up to the DM for extra Inspiration. If you are unsure if this is right for your table, skip it.
-Significant downtime/time skips. In-world Inspiration can represent whatever you think fits most appropriately: blind luck, fate, heroic destiny, the manipulations of the Gods, spectacular skill made manifest, etc. When there is significant downtime between adventures consider that these would be happening passively in the background – depending on how your adventures are timed you may find it’s appropriate to distribute Inspiration to the entire party between chapters. Likewise I always make sure that brand new players have at least one (if not two) when they start. The early levels are hard enough as it is with D&D’s all-or-nothing hit/miss mechanics with few exceptions, combined with the likelihood of someone being unfamiliar with the strengths and weaknesses of a brand new character.
-Role-playing an NPC. Often a DM will find themselves in situations where they might have to role-play two or more NPCs in the same scene; this is usually fine until a DM has to talk to themselves. Avoid this by incentivizing the role-playing of recurring NPC roles without a direct-relationship between the controller and the player’s actual character. Player A would therefore not control both their rogue and the rogue’s mother, but player B could control the rogue’s mother while A controls her bodyguard. This should always be voluntary and the interactions relatively short – give players note cards that briefly describe three noteworthy aspects of the NPC: greedy – kind – short-tempered – suspicious – hates goblins – obsessed with nobility – balls fists when frustrated – laughs seldomly but loudly, etc, etc.
-Creative works and Donations. Including but not limited to: drawing characters or scenes, painting their model, writing a story, writing a song, performing IC or OOC, making and sharing memes related to the game, providing needed module or resource books, bringing models or terrain for the table, helping other players in need with transportation, and last but certainly not least: performing an extra role at the table. My next article will cover this last idea in more detail so be sure to check that out in June.
As the DM, you are the final arbiter in which behaviors you think should be rewarded and subsequently encouraged at your table. I am hopeful I’ve properly persuaded you to consider the value that an expanded Inspiration system could add. If you are a player that agrees, please share this with your DM, but before you go, check out my first article: a player’s guide to maximizing your fun in every RPG.
=Thorn
Forever DM
Cat Dad
Head of the Deathskull Boyz gaming club
Amateur game designer
Alliance guild leader of the Scarlet Brotherhood, Warmane – Icecrown server, WoW
9 responses to “The Rule of Three: Tripling the Value of Inspiration”
This is a spin on inspiration. I know a (newer) DM that banned lucky feat because it was “too unbalancing”. Where as, I gave one of my players a lucky coin that gives 1 luck feat use a day, and a weapon that turns 1 miss into a hit, once a day. (Granted, both were rolled on a predetermined loot table I made.)
Sometimes its these silly little things that do make the game feel different for the players, but a lot of this falls into rule of cool.
Definitely a spin.
I like inspiration, it makes my players feel special. And I really like that they ask for someone else to get inspiration because of something someone else has done.
At the beginning of my last session I told everyone they had inspiration simply because the previous session had been purely RP, nothing else.
And I did introduce a lucky coin in the last campaign – there were a whole heap of coins they could find.
The DM is the arbiter who sets the culture of the table. To have the chance to reward what you want to see around the table is an incredible amount of power. Use it wisely.
(Lucky Feat is great should not be blocked)
Great article! From experience, I know extra inspiration really helps the table come together for cinematic events. People are less guarded when they don’t have just a single inspiration, and way more willing to throw an inspiration toward another player for clutch instances.
How have you found the use of inspiration to negatively affect a DM’s roll to change the game? Does it feel more adversarial?
Thank you!
No, though I understand why storyteller DMs might think it could. I think that true player agency is really important unless you’re talking about a brand new group – those tend to benefit more from direction and pacing established by a veteran player. I personally don’t see it as adversarial since I’m really on the player’s side from the start – I want them to succeed; I just know that success will be more rewarding if there are challenges to attain it. Inspiration is just another variable that can be accounted for, and since this benefits players only when needed/wanted, it doesn’t constitute a flat buff that just makes the PCs more powerful all of the time, but rather solely in situations that THEY feel are worthwhile.
Inspiration has always been tricky for me, and you provided some solid ideas! I 100% enjoy the reroll vs advantage idea. I like the reroll as a life-raft where inspiration provides a second chance, rather than simply increasing the odds of a roll.
One of the hardest things for me as a GM was giving inspiration. I felt there was a delicate balance that needed to be had in order for giving inspiration to not appear as favoritism. So, I really like the idea of having the additional ideas for inspiration (bringing snacks, remembering details).
I do dig the idea of characters stacking inspiration, to a max of 3 or so. It kinda kinda reminds me of Luck in Tales of the Valiant. In 5.5 D&D, humans start with heroic inspiration, so giving them an opportunity to add more to their inspiration pool is a great way to include them in the rewards.
Solid advice Thorn, you’ve given me some great ideas to consider for my own game. Looking foward to the next. Cheers!
Thank you for the thoughtful comments.
I didn’t want to complicate the flow with official alternatives, but 5e does offer the ideas of group Inspiration pool as well as player-consensus-awarded Inspiration at the end of a session. I have experienced the latter in both Call of Cthulhu and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay to great success, while Don’t Rest Your Head uses a sort of Inspiration coin that passes back and forth from players to DM and back again.
My next article will expand on the idea of stacked Inspiration to highlight a tool I’ve found invaluable to combat DM fatigue: voluntary player table roles. Spreading some of the minor responsibilities normally defaulted to the game master in exchange for advantage/re-rolls has really helped to reduce my frustrations of feeling responsible for ~90% of the effort at the table. Involving others adds player buy-in by reinforcing the core idea that role-playing games should be fundamentally cooperative experiences.
This is a fantastic topic, Thorn! I absolutely love the idea of increasing the cap to three. When I first started, I was always so worried about spending my one and only inspiration that I’d end up hoarding it all night and even through multiple sessions!
I love the idea of spending an extra inspiration AFTER a roll! I have felt deflated cashing in a hard-earned reward for advantage, only to roll naturally high anyway. Depending on the player’s risk aversion, having this choice is fantastic!
Your ideas for rewarding players away from the table are brilliant, too. I know so many GMs who want to hand out more inspiration but just forget in the heat of combat, so having these clear, real-world opportunities is incredibly helpful.
I’m into game immersion and collaboration, so your ideas for rewarding creative work, note-taking, and character drawings between sessions are such a wonderful way to keep the magic alive during the week. When players invest their energy into making the world feel real outside of game night—whether it’s through art, summaries, or finding that perfect physical accessory for their character—rewarding that spark at the table is just great DMing.
Looking forward to your June article!
Thank you so much!
I also forget to hand out inspiration while juggling GM responsibilities – I’m just as likely to message someone after the game and tell them to mark an extra on their sheet for next time.
Yes, that’s exactly what I’m going for – there’s often weeks of downtime between scheduled games so even small reminders can act to refocus the players in the interim.
I’m lucky to have another experienced DM as a friend and we discussed the possibility of awarding Inspiration to incentivize roleplay, and it feels vaguely similar to doing so for creative work outside of the game sessions: that the reward is small enough to encourage but not large enough to fundamentally change behavior. Her position was largely that people do what they like for their own reasons and that providing too large of a reward to encourage a different behavior could lead to people doing it solely for the reroll(s), while those who are already [roleplaying] didn’t need a reward to do so. There’s wisdom there but I believe it’s possible to balance incentives to encourage new aspects of play as well as reinforcing creative outlets to keep game excitement up for the table between sessions.
Thanks again for your kind words!
[…] Last month I presented an article attempting to persuade Dungeon/Game Masters to expand their Inspiration rewards systems to include positive behavior which supported the game while occurring outside of it. Voluntary Player Roles (VPRs from this point forward) represent valuable aspects of play normally defaulted to the DM but available to be parsed to the players instead. I’d like to take the opportunity to discuss in detail the reasons that VPRs are a valuable tool, particularly when paired with an Inspiration system with a higher max cap, such as the one presented here: https://wallydm.com/the-rule-of-three-tripling-the-value-of-inspiration/ […]