TRPG General Chat

1:44 AM

Someone on Reddit suggested Inspiration should be given for Natural 1s, not Natural 20s, and suddenly this variation on the rule sounds a lot more appealing.

KorvinStarmast

2:57 AM

@nitsua60 as well we should. Core is core.

@Xirema I like the concept, but WoTC's execution of late has been abysmal.

@nitsua60 I am trying to get involved in the play test.

@Xirema so on an opposed grapple, if both get a 20 , then what?

It's a terrible idea, and I wish they'd not do such things

Xirema

@KorvinStarmast I assume the usual rule (whoever is rolling wins ties) applies, but more and more I'm opposed to them doing autofails/autosucceeds.

KorvinStarmast

@nitsua60 bingo

@Xirema me too

@nitsua60 what if I want mage hand? Why can't I have nice things?

Xirema

If we were living in a world where they'd never put auto-miss on nat1s on attack rolls, I'd probably be outraged by the idea of introducing it.

KorvinStarmast

@MikeQ salt marsh will remain 5e

@GcL I have been in one. It was great fun, and no FR nonsense at all. Bard, Lore, 1-20. Great fun.

@Xirema I gotta say, I kinda like that.

Aah, I need to have more time than I have now to digest it all. talk to you all soon.

D&Done or D & Done? 😁

Xirema

@KorvinStarmast Yeah, the moment they suggested "Inspiration on nat20s", I was like "..... I guess, Inspiration has been underused, so something to make it more relevant is fine...." but then they suggested giving it out for nat1s and immediately it clicked as a really good recovery mechanism so that nat1s don't feel as bad. Yeah, you fail the roll, but you get improved odds on a later roll.

nitsua60

3:20 AM

@KorvinStarmast My point was just that there's no point in specifying prestidigitation, since you can effectively, at chargen, swap that with any other arcane cantrip. Why not just say "high elf has arcane cantrip of choice at character creation"?

As to your second question, "because gamers will optimize the fun out of them." =D

@Xirema "here's a thing that we said was one of the three awesome things making 5e special (bounded accuracy, (dis)advantage, and inspiration), that ~~nobody~~ few who play say is awesome. So let's spam them with it."

Xirema

@nitsua60 I literally added a mechanic to my campaign that players can get Inspiration at the end of a 8hr rest, for free, so long as they pass a not-terribly-difficult "party bonding roll" (d100 roll with bonuses and penalties based on how much PCs share their backstories, debate the plot, assist with camping preparations, etc.). They get this inspiration every other night usually.

It still doesn't get used.

They just keep forgetting they have it.

nitsua60

I've had some luck with players remembering inspiration by (a) having a separate bowl of sparkly d20 sitting on the table which are exclusively inspiration-dice, and (b) not awarding inspiration myself but rather having all inspiration awarded by players.
That said, I don't terribly like the effect of inspiration being used, and all my players through the years have agreed that it feels too gamey.

KorvinStarmast

3:38 AM

@nitsua60 half the people I play with either forget they have it of just don't use it. Others like to use it and then earn more. It's a mixed bag.

Xirema

We're using a VTT, so I think what I need to do is add some kind of overlay or macro or something that makes it very obvious that they have inspiration.

KorvinStarmast

Don't disagree with the sentiment of "feels gamey" ... it was a good idea but maybe some tweaks in implementation would be good.

arrgh, off to bed, early day at work tomorrow. Nite and best wishes to all

nitsua60

I feel like the psychology becomes obvious when you contrast with Lucky or Halfling Luck.
Players think of those things as part of their character, so they think of them like a caster thinks of slots.
There's no player I've met who thinks of inspiration-state as part of their character.

@KorvinStarmast o7

Often I'll ask players ten minutes after an awarding "what'd you get that inspiration for, again?"
Usually the recipient can't remember, but the award*er* can.

Joel Harmon

3:54 AM

@Xirema This reminds me of Dungeon World's "gain XP for failing" mechanic, which I tend to enjoy. I believe other systems have done this or similar as well.

@Xirema I don't know VTT, but can you add a halo around character icons?

My general problem with inspiration is forgetting to award it as a DM.

Xirema

@JoelHarmon There's definitely icons you can put on the character.

What I might look for, since I'm using Foundry, is something where, when a PC makes a roll, an extra button appears "Use Inspiration!" to reroll the die.

Which I think only requires me to inject some javascript into the RollMessage.

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Inspiration on nat 1s actually does sound nice, definitely makes for a nice consolation prize when getting terrible luck.

I'll keep that idea in mind for later games.

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