When to Award Inspiration in D&D | 3 Key Times
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
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Inspiration is a core game mechanic in Dungeons & Dragons. It's supposed that a dungeon master will award inspiration to their D&D players about once every game session. But what should a DM give out inspiration for? Are there specific things players can do to earn inspiration? And what happens if the game master gives out less inspiration than recommended? In this video, we discuss the three key times to award inspiration to your players in Dungeons & Dragons.
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I've told my players that I always forget inspiration and have encouraged them to remind me. So sometimes, when they remember to remind me, a player will make note of how something they or another player at the table did seemed worthy of inspiration. Usually, I agree and they get it.
In a different game system, I ask players to nominate other players for bonus XP for their actions after an adventure arc has completed.
I like to tell my DM, "wow, that was very inspiring!" heh.
All awesome advice.
An yeah any mechanic that only allows someone to have one of a thing usually results in that person never using it.
So allowing storing of more then one is a solid fix.
I remember the first time I got inspiration. An NPC named hank died while we were attempting to rescue them from a ship, so my cleric burned some incense and used some other stuff from the priest pack to give him a burial at sea. I actually only decided to do it because I’d seen the bard get inspiration for improvising a sea shanty on the way to the quest. It’s such a great way to get people roleplaying.
I like the storing of inspirations, definitely using that.
I think the main problem with inspiration for me is that it usually requires me to take my head out of the moment, so maybe I’ll make a note to go through and give inspiration at our halfway breaks and session ends.
One final note, I think if a character leaves a campaign for roleplay reasons (or if they do something inspiration worthy upon their death), their replacement character should get inspiration.
I give my players inspiration for doing the recap from the previous session. It expires at the end of the session, so you don't get the dumb gaminess of waiting to use it, or inspiration lasting many days etc. I don't give inspiration otherwise, but I'm fairly generous with the advantage mechanic for good roleplay from the players things, "make an attack roll with advantage because you succeeded on your stealth check" or "make a history check with advantage because your cleric order would know a decent amount about these bad guys". Or, "what you said was so smart, you get advantage on this persuasion check." I'm effectively doing the same thing, rewarding cunning play, creativity, or helping to create big moments where the players will succeed for effectively role playing on any of the 3 axis of gameplay.
My players haven't abused the "do I get advantage on this because..." so I'm aware that could be the negative side of this system. I've done a pretty good job of getting my players to think and talk in natural language, and then I handle the dice checks as they come about.
We've tried a few different methods in my games, and the one that works the best at avoiding the pitfalls Luke mentioned at the beginning and end (DMs forgetting to award it, and Players hording them) is:
You get Inspiration for showing up to the session!
Everyone starts each session with one, so the DM never has to "remember", and the players know they'll get one next session, so they'll use them.
I give out one each session, for the player who gave a Summary of the last Session. But my Inspiration works different, you can use it reactive and also use it for another player. My players really enjoy this, they like to have this one do-over for important parts. And since they know that they will have another one next Session, they also dont forget to use it.
I sometimes gives inspiration for trying to do something that's very cool. In one of my games, my players had almost defeated a griffin, and as it was trying to fly away, the rogue latches on to it with its grappling hook and holds on. I made it clear that it was a very dangerous situation and I'm not gonna show any mercy if you fall off and die, but of course everyone around the table wanted to see her try. So when she did, I gave rewarded inspiration. You could also interpret it as a sort of "adrenaline kick" or hyperfocus.
I regularly forget to hand it out as well. Something I've done in the past is to give everyone a point of inspiration at the start of every session. While they don't always use it, the players also don't feel as much of a need to hoard it as they know they'll get another one at the start of the next session. I've tried having players comment when they feel someone should get inspiration, but they are equally likely to forget about it as I am.
Inspiration in my games are just automatic once per game session use it or lose it, and then I use bankable hero points as rewards that let them add to roles and do cool stuff as well befitting the moment.
I recommend giving out inspiration for roleplay endevours. I give out inspiration when players take time for themselves, when they get a boost in morale.
For example, if they go for a spar day and get pampered, etc they get inspiration. However, if they do this every day it means they wouldn't get it because they would come accustomed to that living. It's mainly when they do something out of the ordinary.
Plus when they do great roleplay or they feel really good about themselves which gives them a boost
After a session, my players vote amongst themselves on who they think roleplayed the best, and the player with most votes will start the next session with inspiration. This "player inspiration" will only last for that session, and will expire at the end of the session if it is not used.
I also award normal "DM inspiration" when I think a player is playing their characters in a fitting way, or like you said, makes everyone laugh and have a good time. I also award inspiration for awesome moments. This inspiration lasts until used, as it's more rare.
Hot take: Burnable luck score > inspiration. From the DM side: Being able to award multiple luck points is helpful. From the player side: you can choose to burn 1 or 20 luck and can decide when to go hard or just a little. Plus you remeber to use it cuz as luke (who doesn’t suck UA-cam!) players aren’t gonna use a 1-time-use token in fear of a better situation later on
I have taken to using Inspiration as a +1 benefit that can be stacked up over time. I feel like 5e has too much emphasis on advantage/disadvantage. That is easier to keep track of, but there are plenty of other fun mods to work with. You could also do a speed boost, or a temporary resistance to a damage type based on the circumstances.
Between forgetting to give inspiration, as well, and realizing that my bard player is much more reliable with her inspiration, when I'm not giving it out, I would say that my group started playing better when I made it official that I wasn't going to give out any more. The bard is really on the ball, with making sure everyone is constantly inspired, now.
I made it a token and leave the piece out for everyone to see, they bring it up. Encourages creative play, bold decisions and unforgettable in-game moments and I never have to remember to award inspiration. They award it to each other! the only rules, can't award it to yourself and one other person has to agree.
1 player gets Inspiration every session, usually voted on by the group. My two rules are 1) the same player can't have it two weeks in a row, and 2) it only lasts for that session.
this was a great video, Might use this method in my games
The other way that you could do it (that my DM does it for our home game) is: at the beginning of each session, EVERYONE (all players) get Inspiration. You just get it, at the beginning of the session. However, it DOES NOT stack (i.e. you cannot have multiple Inspiration at once), and it expires at the end of the session (because you are going to get a fresh one at the start of next session anyway). I have found that I like this method, for 2 reasons: 1) takes the "forgetting to award Inspiration" issue out of the equation for the DM (simply no longer an issue), and 2) it encourages the players to USE their Inspiration during the session (rather than hang on to it, because they know that they will get a fresh one next session). ALSO, with what Luke was saying (about RPing Ideals, Bonds, Flaws, etc.) or just uplifting the atmosphere of the game. So in other words, you get 1 Inspiration at the beginning of each session, but can earn more (based on playing character well or making group laugh, etc.).
At the end of each session, I give inspiration to a player I think was active and well played, and after that my players then vote on who else should get it.
I also allow my players to gift inspiration to others to help party members. Sort of like "The Fates see your destiny differently."
I am the worst for Inspiration... like you, I tend to only think of it retroactively. So I've started just giving it at the beginning of the subsequent session.
Like you, I always forget to award Inspiration to my players so to solve this I shifted the workload mostly from me to them. First, Inspiration does not carry over from session to session, instead each player gets an Inspiration point if they participated in the session recap (which all of them actively do). Second, I created a rule where each player can award one Inspiration point to another player anytime during a session for something notable that player did (i.e., outstanding roleplaying, creative combat solutions, etc.) - this not only takes most of the burden off of me but also encourages the players to essentially give accolades to their fellow players - which increases positive group dynamics at the table. I don’t change any of the rules around Inspiration other than who is awarding it…that way it keeps things simple and straightforward. I can (and do) still award Inspiration but I try to keep mine to truly noteworthy things. So far it has worked out great though I have had to remind them at times that they can award Inspiration to each other. The players like it and they no longer feel Inspiration-starved.
I completely revamped Inspiration for my game, mostly because of the reason you mention - Players don't use it.
Instead of giving Advantage on a roll, I have an escalating system where a player can spend 1 Inspiration to gain a d4 to a roll, 2 inspiration for a d6, and so on, up to a d12. I also allow my players to use it on a damage roll if they like (and the dice double on a crit, too)
I also have Inspiration reset every session, so there is no reason to hoard it. Everybody starts the session with 1 point, plus everyone can get a second point by participating in the recap of the previous session. Then I try to give it out liberally for all the sorts of things you mentioned in this video during the session.
My group is virtual, doesn’t play every week, and all are very good at rping so we don’t get inspiration from IN game RP. Our dm offers for one player to do the recap AS their character. It’s a fun way to get everyone in the zone and a refresher. Plus the additional commentary can be hilarious. If no one feels up to doing the recap (bad notes or just don’t feel like it) then it’s no big deal and the dm just does it.
I've kinda just houseruled inspiration into token form, in a way that's similar to the Destiny points in the Star Wars RPG. It's an interesting dynamic, and I made the tokens a little more impactful than typical inspiration, with the drawback of a facedown token giving _me_ some extra power to use against them. I can also still award players by flipping their token over when they do something cool, like normal.
So literally today I started using an inspiration system that was inspired by Jake from XPtoLevel3. Basically the players start each session with inspiration. At any point, they can use that inspiration to gain advantage on a roll, or to reroll a failed roll, but they have to use the new roll. Then once it's been used, they can get it back one of three ways.
1. The player roll a Nat1
2. The DM rolls a Nat20 against them
or 3. The DM imposes disadvantage on a roll
I'm also going to use the same system for a group that I DM for in-person, but I have D&D pins that they can use as a physical marker to represent the inspiration.
To prevent forgetting inspiration, I reward players for calling out when I've forgotten it. Once all players reach ECL 3 (level 3, it's D&D 3e), at the end of each session each player may choose to reward another player by spending one of their own awesome-marks (I run inspiration different so I call it something different) to give that other player an action point. However, each player can only do this once per session, and you must identify something they did that session that did not earn them an awesome-mark at the time (but you feel should have). You spend the awesome-mark, and they recover an action point. When you spend it, if the GM agrees that they should have gotten awesome-mark at the time, instead you and the other player both each gain an action point, and the other player gets the awesome-mark the GM should have given them earlier.
One D&D first said to give inspiration when players roll a 20 (because they're building momentum) then changed it to when they roll a 20 (because they become determined to do better). But I feel like it should be when the DM rolls a 1. Then maybe when the players roll a 1, it's just a normal failure, but the DM gets doom, like in Conan 2d20. Everyone who plays Conan says momentum and doom are the best parts of that game.
It’s important to ensure laughter is the only reason to give inspiration. I have an autistic player in my game and she was really touched when I gave her inspiration once. Her last DM only really gave it out when a player made them laugh and, well, this player never did that. After two years of playing, she had never gotten inspiration and felt horribly excluded because she was “wrong” to be the way she was.
I noticed too that players do not use inspiration. Instead of allowing them to stockpile up to 3 as you suggest, I was thinking about saying it has to be used within 2 sessions or it disappears. This might encourage people to use it and also encourage more regular inspirational moments. Do you think it could work?
Great video!
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
Hey Luke. Since you're very adamant on reminding everyone that "Roleplaying is the entire game, not just social interactions." (And I do agree with you on that,. Narrating your attacks in combat, your searches for hidden doors in a dungeon, scanning your surroundings for enemies in a heavily wooded forest are also roleplaying.) What would you personally call a D&D player who looks at D&D with a more "Gamer" mindset?
By that, I mean players who don't really care about the roleplay aspect of the game, not entering the mindset of their character, not using character backstory or personality, and preferring to do things like killing NPCs for XP, as opposed to killing an NPC because they threatened one of their allies, party members, friends,? Etc. Basically, someone who only cares about rolling dice and beating the game.
Luke, you need to put a folded note with the word INSPIRATION on it on your DM screen to remind you. Every session inspiration should be given out if player's roll played their characters well.
Do you let your player's build up inspiration points or just have one, RAW?
...edit, never mind just seen the full video.👍
whooo hooooo first one here! NEVER been the first one to Luke Videos. Luke, you are AMAZING and we all love you dude. Keep it coming dude and keep doing what you do!!!
One option is that when a player rolls a natural 20, you can allow the player to choose if they want inspiration instead of any other benefit.
I think the reason DMs forget to give inspiration is that players forget to use it. I'm playing in a campaign where the DM awards 1 point (which only renews at the beginning of each session) that must be used for other players rolls. This is in addition to and seperate from the RAW inspiration point system.
After every session, if my players write a journal entry for their character, they get inspiration for the next session. Also, I give out "super inspiration" to one person who roleplayed the best in that session; it functions essentially as a guaranteed success.
I have so much going on in my mind that I never remember inspiration. Like never have.
that's good advice
What functions better is that the players lose their inspiration if they don't use it in the next session. I let my players choose at end of each session which player had the coolest roleplay moment's (With the second part iam not sure if it is the right way, becouse they vote not for cool scenes that failed)
We don't use inspiration, we use hero points. You get 3 every session, and at the end of every session we do a review of the game, what you liked, what you didn't like, what you want to see in the future in the game, favorite moment of the session, and best roleplaying of the session. The person who wins best roleplaying gets an extra hero point for the next session.
I only allow players to use inspiration to help another player's roll. I find that makes them more likely to use it.
I just give all players 1 inspiration at the start of ea session. Max 1, but refreshes next time we meet. That way I never forget or have some players miss out where others RP all the time.
Kind of completely defeats the point.
I'm the worst for awarding inspiration lol we switched to hero points, every level they get 5 d20 rerolls. It tops up to 5 every level, encourages them to use them cause not using it just wastes it.
Luke loot i like the way it's sounds
You could make that Inspiration is only for that session. That should make them use them.
Can we normalize the 3rd person way of RP? It’s how most players played pre-CR and Mercer
What are the 4 main reasons to give inspiration? Ideal. Bond. Flaw.
I give inspiration for cleverness or things that make me laugh
Personally I don't use the inspiration rules at all. Instead, I give each player one re-roll per session.
I forget a lot too, but I encourage my players to award them to each other. I award for good jokes and feel good moments as well. It's so common that the players will typically call for it during the laughter. I've also integrated it into a critical failure and critical injury system. If you drop a Nat 1, the player can choose to take a consequence by taking inspiration. Similarly, on a critical hit or nat 1 on a save, they can gain inspiration by choosing to take normal damage and risk a critical injury.
I have an issue where awarding inspriation feels patronizing so i never do it.
I cheat. I give each player an token which they can use to reward another player during the session for good role-playing. Oh, and I ditched the 1 point max and only allow the use of inspiration once per player, per encounter be it combat or rp.
I only award inspiration if the party doesn't have a bard.
Personally, if the game is going well enough, inspiration is unnessisarry.
DM Inspiration and initiative, and maybe death saves, are mechanics I kind of want to dump. Especially initiative.
I try to give inspiration fairly liberally, however my players refuse to use it because they are afraid they will need it later. When having a conversation about it all they say is give us multiple inspirations, which is something I refuse to do. I know the opposite of you
If you don't use inspiration you lose it at the end of the session.
The only reason I forget to give it out, is because they never use them. *LOL
Hot take: inspiration is dumb. Inspiration is a mechanic looking for a purpose-we already award advantage for certain actions by the rules and others by our own judgment. Making an extra mechanic out of the same thing is unnecessary, and giving the player control over the advantage divorces the reward from the action. Inspiration should be more like momentum in a 2d20 game from Modiphius, but then it would be a different game.
I’d say just forget about inspiration. If you want advantage, earn it in the moment. You don’t just get extra re-rolls for the fun of it.
I think I give Inspiration to the player, not the character. I want to reward inventive, creative use of their character’s features, traits, & backstory, not someone pulling a Nat 20 outta there ass on a skill they’re not even proficient with.
It’s something I’ve thought about a LOT, without reaching any firm conclusion. What is the player’s relationship to their character? Where is the line between the player and their character?
When the two come together in a creative, unique, fun way; that works, that’s when I drop inspiration.
Players weren't using them, even on fails because "I might need it later"
OK fine so I stopped
No, you are conflating roleplaying and roll-playing. Rolling a d20 for persuasion is not roleplaying, that's roll-playing, or playing a roleplaying game. This is an important distinction that experienced D&D players and DMs use.
We give inspiration at the start of every game session. Doesn't matter were the game is, in the middle of combat or whatever, when we start the game inspiration is renewed.
Once the game begins, if they use it they can regain it for good role-playing or good game playing.
I will admit that even with this very generous rule folks have to be reminded.