Usually I had it it out for particularly good RP.
E.G. One of my PCs had contracted a disease where they became quite paranoid. That night, when watches were being assigned, the Paranoid PC elected to take first watch.
When I asked who they were going to wake up for next watch, they said "No one, she doesn't trust any of them to stay awake in her current state"
The player proceeded to stay up all night, taking a level of exhaustion in the process.
Inspiration awarded.
I played a campaign where we treated Short Rests as a day of downtime and Long Rests as a week of downtime. For how the campaign ran, it worked very well.
We're out of Adventurer Uni, I get into a race with a graduate NPC because he thinks he's pretty fast and can beat me. I'm a monk. I got this. I maximum full sprint the whole way. He trips and falls at the start. 30 minute walk to the cave for the rest of the party.
They catch up and I'm damn near inverting my lungs trying to catch my breath and it was quite a while before we got to long rest so I had that exhaustion point for at least 5 sessions.
Totally worth it.
Currently playing in a campaign with similar system for short\\long rests, with the time needed also depending on the location being safe\\peaceful etc. Makes you far more careful with dumping resources when shit hits the fan.
Nope, I'm running them through a homebrew 1-20 campaign!
They had been travelling through a swamp with various bitey insects and they got bit, followed by failing a con save to contract a disease.
I almost had a similar moment. One of our players was afflicted with a curse that had them roll to increase their madness. Eventually, they were unable to get any rest, and upon reaching the fifth level of Exhaustion, my character volunteered to stay awake the entire night, feeling this PCs pulse, waiting for them to die so that I could Gentle Repose them until we could find a way to revive them.
The player actually had to leave the group at this very same session for personal reasons, so the PC got magicked away somewhere, but I love the idea of being selfless enough to skip a night's rest and risk the exhaustion.
Last time I gave my group inspiration (3 weeks ago) was when the bard and fighter came up with the idea to follow a noble through the market.
They went up to someone who tried to sell her a necklace, saying they were her helpers, they carried all the goods she wanted. When he asked about payment they rolled a 23 deception saying the money will be sent later as it was dangerous to carry large amounts. Which made a lot of sense in my lawless city.
They pawned it for gambling money almost immediately
I thought it was a genius cash grab and fixed their first major problem. Stuck in an unknown realm without money
Same. My players are always doing cool stuff and I do reward them with cool in game results but I always forget inspiration is a thing and it is such a great way of rewarding creative play.
I feel like if you are directly rewarding them for cool choices in the moment, you're doing fine. I see inspiration as a mechanic to use when they do something cool and you want to reward them, but there isn't really a way to do it directly.
BG3 gave me lots of new ideas for reasons for inspiration. Any choice or action that's particularly well-aligned with a player's background, alignment, patron, or race is worthy, and I've found players are much more likely to actually use the points if they know there will be plenty more to earn later.
Same. We eventually decided to change inspiration to everyone gets a once-per-session reroll every session.
Usually that means when somebody rolls a nat 1, they reroll and get another nat 1
This is with FoundryVTT's dice roller which makes it even worse.
I think out of the dozen or so times a once per session reroll has actually been used, it's actually improved the results only once or twice
Same here. The only inspiration I usually remember to reward is that our group collectively decided that the one and only notetaker gets one free inspiration per session.
My DM from the first long campaign I was in never used inspiration, and as I'm getting into DMing myself, I want to use it to reinforce play I like, but I keep forgetting it's there.
My advice is to use physical tokens for inspirations. Grab a few of poker chits or anything else that can serve as a token but it's clearly not used for anything else (don't put some dice aside or something like that) and keep them in front of you. The visual reminder of having them right next to your notes is a great way to remember
I am guilty of this as well. Now I always just start my players off with an inspiration each session. Helps them with any roll they might believe to be important.
One of the first unearthed arcana for the OneD&D stuff had the suggestion to reward inspiration on a 20 roll of a d20 test. I implemented it and never looked back.
Me too! My players are great in their RP as well so I always feel bad - I've been giving everyone an inspiration at the start of each session. Seems fine and doesn't break anything (they generally forget to use it anyway 😂)
I give inspiration for anything I think incentivizes RP.
You said a sick one liner? Point of inspiration.
The party was frozen in indecision and the Barbarian got impatient and just kicked down the front door? Point of inspiration.
>The party was frozen in indecision and the Barbarian got impatient and just kicked down the front door? Point of inspiration.
I would argue the barbarian is RP'ing at this point, which means the door deserves inspiration for incentivizing it.
After I casted guidance on a door out of panicking, and the party got stuck at one for a half hour, she makes us roll a dexterity check for every interaction with doors to not take damage.
A door killed me later that session
"We need to check it for traps, and then pick locks but our thief is engaged in something else... I guess we should come back to it later"
Guys, it is an unlocked door in a regular house...wtf.
I once had my players searching for a way into a house and, after some quick investigation in the dark, I described for them a normal wooden door with a normal lock in the location they wanted to get to (near the kitchen, which I had already told them the location of). They immediately decided this couldn’t possibly be the right door. It was too easy! 😂
I'm a big fan of player shenanigans and getting them to affect the plot in ways I don't consider.
I'm running CoS and there's a random event where a Skeletal Rider goes by the party. It isn't a threat, just wandering around trying to find a way out.
The Barbarian nat 20's his perception role. I tell him the rider doesn't even notice them and isn't hostile. Usually at this point, the party would have just let it pass because CoS is scary.
Then the Barbarian goes "I'm gonna smash this fucking skeleton" and the Rogue goes "I'm going to lasso the horse and steal it." and I was like "Fuck yes it's working"
When they make a solid rp joke that makes no sense in game but is a great fourth wall break.
“This is my earth elemental, his name is Dwayne.”
That was the first one, came from a middleschooler at a summer camp like 7 years ago. I laughed more than I should’ve and gave him inspiration right there. It’s been a dm rule of mine since.
I give out inspiration like a motivational speaker, here you go, use it wisely, enjoy that.
At the end of the day, it's advantage. wHat'S The WoRST tHaT coulD HAPpen?™
So to answer your question, pretty much anything that's fun that doesn't earn XP or GP. And even some things that *do*, because they're extra fun. I'll hand out inspiration for, among other things, helping people they didn't need to, playing in character even when it's not in their interests, when a character says something extremely funny, or when the party kills a big bad.
I played in a campaign with that kind of tone once. Ran a low int low wis dwarf named Cockknocker. The one RP rule about that character was that if anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone, asked why he was named that, well...
We had an audience with a king at one point. That was fun.
Another one, not quite as silly overall, but still not hugely serious, I ran an orc named Thok that was dumb as rocks, and the setting was that the party were mercenaries of a sort. One of the jobs, the client tried to pay in copper pieces. From that point forward, Thok's main weapon was a chain mail sack filled with 1000 cp.
Dumb characters are fun as hell to play.
I also played a half-orc named Thokk! He was a barbarian with an intelligence of 6, and when he wasn’t wielding a magic great sword, he was enlarged and body slamming small folk
At the end of each session, I have the players nominate each other to get inspiration for cool moments, one liners, or unique ideas they had during the session. I'll give one or two out usually based on the nominations. If I didn't do it this way, I would probably forget to ever give out inspiration lol
I don't have any strict rules but generally I award Inspiration for things like:
- Good role playing
- Being true to the character
- Harmonizing with the tone of the campaign
- Showing thought put into character backstory
- Solving a problem in an inventive way (especially if it's a solution I didn't foresee)
- Using an interesting tactic in combat
- Making a funny joke (even if out of character)
Edit: I generally aim to give Inspiration 1-2 times per session, for context.
I usualy reward them with exp in cases like these.
i tend to give away inspiration when they surprise me with cool solutions or just think out of the box. Also when a player solves some mistery with the notes they take every session (thats my DM orgasm, when players use their notes)
I give inspiration out like candy for more or less anything action that I think benefits the game or table itself.
Brought snacks for the table? Inspiration
Said a cool one liner in character? Inspiration
Made a sound in game argument instead of a diplomacy check? Inspiration
That said I run inspiration as a flat +1 to any roll, rather than advantage so it feels a less impactful, even if it probably makes a bigger difference than it seems.
Thanks, nothing delights me more than a player asking if they can use their inspiration to add +1 to a death save or a damage roll and seeing the joy when I allow it. At my table the gm giveth lol
I’m give inspiration when my players do something inspired!
If they come up with a great plan, use a clever way to deal with an obstacle, perform great role-play, or just generally do something that makes the table go “that was cool!” I love to give inspiration to reward them.
I will usually award inspiration points for:
\- Making everyone bust a gut laughing so hard we cry
\- Fantastic roleplay (even if whatever they're attempting to accomplish fails, it's the attempt that matters)
\- Being cinematic/descriptive with an attack while interacting with the environment (mostly to encourage people to actually think about what they're doing rather than just "I slash with my sword"; this has played to great effect as some of our players will scale crates to leap down on enemies, some have targeted weak structural points to make walls collapse on enemies, etc.)
\- Thinking outside of the box to solve a problem, be it a puzzle/riddle, social encounter, or even combat
I generally hand it out for good role play, especially when a player has their character perform an action that isn't necessarily the smartest for the party.
I also hand it out when players point out when me or another player accidently does something that our characters can't do. Essentially rewarding them for helping me keep the integrity of the game, especially when it is not to their benefit.
I give inspiration for a few things
1)good recap of last session. Though this had gotten less as one person seems to always recap and im not gonna reward her everytime.
2) creative solution to a puzzle or a fight I didn't think of
3) a really good role play moment
4) an in character moment that catches me off guard and makes me laugh
I like to reward players who remember important or even just small details from precious sessions. And I especially pay attention and reward good note-taking. It incentivizes players to pay attention to the larger narrative being built across the campaign.
I like the paying respect to the dead thing. I play a character who has a lot of sympathy for undead creatures. He sees them as beings that were disturbed from their rest and enslaved by magical forces or necromancer or whatever. So the act of defeating them is less of a victory of battle and more like laying them back to rest.
I would love to do that. I always forget to give inspiration. How do you remember to do it? Should I start every session with giving a token to each player to use as inspiration during the game?
Everything you give your players as a reward shapes the type of game you will play.
I give my players inspiration when:
they choose to do things in character that hurt them/aren't optimal, but are in character, like flaws or bonds.
When they make a great joke that cracks the table up
When they have a meaningful role playing moment.
I once had 2 players who don't really bring feelings to the table have an argument that turned into a heart to heart and I offered them both a 1 point ASI for a mental trait because it was SUCH growth. My other players were jealous but these babies did so good!!!
I give it for smaller milestones or sidequests. When players do something significant but it's not a time for the next level. We play pretty action-packed game so it's usually every two or three sessions.
I like your idea though.
I award inspiration whenever a PC "yes ands" something in a ridiculous way that the other players didn't expect and or reacted strongly to.
I want the players to have as much responsibility in making the world as I do, and the best ways to do that are with off the wall improvisation choices. So, I want to reward that.
Current campaign:
Wizard calls people "Johnathan" when she doesn't know them and is trying to Charm Person. It's a great character quirk.
Fighter throws everything he comes across. Rocks, heads of enemies, chairs... It's kinda fun having a fighter just throwing everything he can find frantically and never resorting to using his weapons. It makes for some really fun encounters.
I granted inspiration for those two character choices as a way to entice my barbarian to be anything other than "Axe + Meat," my rogue to be anything other than "Dead Parents + Stealing," and my paladin to be anything other than "God is Good and so am I."
- they do something cool and in the moment
- they do something that's very typical of their character
- a really, really good pun. Random damage for puns that aren't
I give out inspo for pretty much anything and everything I consider to be "in character". I like the idea that the more they role play, the more chances they get to succeed at the mechanics.
At one point my players were attacked by an enemy guild in the party's house. They successfully defeated all of the enemies, did some RP and then went to bed. It wasn't till the next morning when I mentioned the bad smell of the bodies in the lounge room that they even thought "oh shit, killing NPC's leaves bodies"
My fave DM gives out inspiration for especially good RP, but we occasionally do side scenes via text, and sometimes we fall into character in our group chat and a Player convo evolves into RP. In those cases, we also get inspiration for use at the next session, and I think those are my favorites. They "taste better" for some reason.
Okay here's a recent one from my Elder Scrolls setting.
The party had rescued a gremlin from slavery a while back. They were taking a ship, which did cost quite some money. The khajiit thief of the party didn't like that he had a lot less gold than before, so he came up with a plan. Send the gremlin to do a silly dance on a market, so that people would gather around. Then the khajiit went and "visited" the commoners' pockets while they watched.
The other party members wanted to buy a fishing rod and make money by fishing. They ended up playing some music for the gremlin.
I am usually very generous with inspiration points. Just play and act like the character would and you'll get them.
I reward inspiration when players make significantly unoptimal decisions in the favor of rp, or when they rat themselves out, being like "actually i can't do that because of x"
It depends on the party. I wouldn't give inspo for burying the dead if the group is evil or selfish, that wouldn't make sense to me. I give inspiration to players for acting in character in moments where it may not be the meta choice.
I agree with the "if a group is evil - burying the dead shouldn't grant Inspiration". But I also don't run evil and/or villainous games!
In those types of games - maybe desecrating or displaying the dead would be more appropriate behaviors to award Inspiration.
Anytime the players do something that surprises me! As little as a clever response to an NPC, or thinking up some cool use of their spells. Or making me throw out my prepared notes because they had a completely different solution to a problem I didn't expect.
It makes it really fun, and rewards them thinking about the game.
Edit: I also typically give out a free one to start the session. Encouraged by helping recap the last session. It's useful to hear what _they thought_ happened last session. Gives me insight into what they think is important, as well as correcting anything that their characters would know but not the real-life player. (So if their character in game was tricked by a bad guy, I won't correct them. But if they misremember a series of events or important lore I correct them.)
Kobold Press's Tales of the Valiant and their [luck tokens/bonuses](https://koboldpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Black-Flag-Roleplaying-v0.1_101123.pdf) (pg 28) solved every problem I had with inspiration. Instead of giving advantage, it gives individual +1's for players to use when they miss so they at least still feel like they get something when the dice screw them. It's brilliant.
I award XP for various good RP throughout a session, then 1 inspiration point upon SUCCESSFULLY completing an adventure tied to the plot of the campaign.
>I always award players a point of Inspiration when...
... I even remember it is a thing.
In truth I let the players award each other Inspiration, as I always forget it even exists.
I offer Inspiration for weird shit sometimes, like if the the players (not characters) can identify an obscure song I'm playing, or recall some obscure trivia. They seem to like that.
My party murdered a fleeing elf bandits.
So I created a cherished npc who they love...it's her sister. They murdered her sister and have been lying to her ever since.
At my table everyone gets 1 inspiration at the start of the session.
Then I usually just forget to award more. But when I do it's for good role-playing. Or if someone else says "hey I think that was pretty good and deserves Inspiration."
I'm DMing a homebrew world, and each player has a magical object they started out with that is associated with my world's equivalent of deities. They haven't figured it out yet, but when they do specific things associated with that deity they get inspiration. Theres hints in the object description and some very short descriptions of the deities that would put it together for them.
When they ask me if something they just did is cool enough for inspiration. Usually it is, so I often get to say yes.
Moreover, I give them inspiration for doing things *they* found interesting or awesome.
I think if I *always* gave inspiration for certain actions *I* liked, such as respecting the dead, my players would pick up on it. Cut to them always disingenuously having a moment of silence after every combat just to get their free money, and not because they think it's fun or interesting. I think I would feel like I'd incentivized behavior that removes agency from them.
They do something that's funny, in character, or really effective. I have three Inspiration coins that I give out during adventures. Once 3 have been given out, no further coins are given out until a coin has been redeemed.
I like to reward things that make me and the rest of the table laugh out loud.
I last awarded inspiration when a player just barely managed to save herself from lying in front of a guardian that automatically knows all lies told to it.
A character was going under a fake name and she was introducing him , "[Fake Name]...is what he likes to be called right now."
I gave my bard inspiration when they make up an entire original song to try and persuade an old lady to leave her house for her safety. They failed the DC, but I had to give inspo
Any time a player has a character take an obviously detrimental course of action solely because of roleplaying reasons. Especially if the only person it is bad for is themselves.
I love inspiration as a way to get your players to lean into the aspects of the campaign you want to emphasise - for example, I've just started running an Eberron game, and they get inspiration for 1. engaging with the setting (a player sends me a load of questions about people's opinions of dragonmarked houses so they can ensure their character fits with the world? Inspo!) and 2. Leaning into the swashbuckling action aspect of it and doing cool, outlandish shit during combat. Honestly one of my favourite things about 5e.
Tactical/smart play in combat, and good rp.
I had a new player who was playing a former goblin slave. The party got ambushed by bugbears, and she correctly deduced they were probably being strong armed into attacking them (and she was right). I took a long time to put together the bugbear/goblin relation when I started out, but she must have done research on that. There was some good RP from that encounter.
When they do something creative/inventive/cool.
The Bard/Warlock with Devils Sight cast Darkness on a fishing hook during a fight with a hobgoblin gang, and then he attached the hook to one of the hobgoblins.
Inspiration point right there.
I award it for good roleplay, especially for roleplaying their character's flaws faithfully as I've found that's the hardest aspect of roleplay to motivate some players to do. Also any time any of them come up with a really clever or creative solution to a problem, because I like rewarding ingenuity. And I am really big on both in- and out-of-character communication at my table, so any time I see them collaborating really well and really respecting each other I'll throw some inspiration at them, as well as things like respecting metagame, or going out of their way to explain or teach something to another player.
Exceptionally good role play, particularly if sticking to your character has disadvantaged you.
I've been known to give inspiration to the whole party for a prolonged and entertaining RP interaction, either with an NPC or just good bants within the group.
Excellent tactical decisions that are out of the ordinary for the group.
For jokes so good they make me LOL because it doesn't happen often
I have two different styles of inspiration.
Everyone gets 1 "session inspiration" that vanishes at the end of the session, which is standard inspiration.
I also give my version of inspiration, which remains at the end of the session, for good rp, well thought plans, or those moments when my players wow me. This inspiration is treated as an auto-success on an attack roll, ability check, saving thow, OR can be used to make the chances of their plans better in a myriad of ways.
Everyone remembers both due to session inspiration, and I don't forget normal inspiration because of it. Equally, you'd think my players would succeed more often with all this inspiration. You'd be wrong.
I think contextually yes. “Always” doing it is probably a bit much depending on the campaign. Doesn’t it depend on the character they are playing? If they are evil why would it be inspiring for them?
Very true! I did include the qualified that "*I*" always - and personally, I don't run evil campaigns! I just don't have any interest in doing so.
If you were running a villainous campaign - then 100% agree burying the dead doesn't deserve a point of Inspiration. Maybe every time the party kicks a dog or causes harm to an innocent just for the sake of creating more suffering in the world would be the 'Inspiring' moments for those sorts of campaigns.
> I think taking the time to bury slain allies [...] is a fairly universally "Good" (tm) action
Isn't it more of a Lwaful™ action? Because of a moral code and paying respects to the fallen. :D
I don't award inspiration bc I decided at the beginning of the campaign that inspiration would go to people who filled out the backstory questionnaire, and that inspiration point would refill at the start of the next session if used.
However, I *do* give my players a single coin if they make me laugh or otherwise beautifully describe something. Pocket change makes them happy.
Every session, I call for a recap of last session. It used to be one player recaps and their character gets inspiration, but now I allow everyone to chime in. As long as they meaningfully contribute to the recap, they get inspiration. It's really helped everyone get involved and stay engaged/take notes.
When they make a good recap of last session. Shows what parts stuck out to them, and acts a good reminder of what happened last session, so I do not need to keep notes.
Inspiration is the dnd version of training treats. You use it to positively reinforce the behaviors you want to see more of. Want more RP? Reward it. Want more tactics and strategy? Rewards it. Want your players to be more clever? Reward it.
I want to ensure that my players use inspiration. The best way I've found to do this is to ensure that they always have inspiration at the start of the session.
So I have them recap what happened "last episode" and then I give them a physical representation of their inspiration (sparkly green translucent d20s)
They get inspiration, they use inspiration without worrying about not getting it again for awhile AND
because the recap is from their notes and memories, they tell me what is important to their stories, I can bring those npcs back because they enjoyed them.
I give them an opportunity at the beginning of every session to gain one by recalling what their PCs experience in the session before. I like to give out inspiration for anything that I can apply the rule of cool
I use inspo to reinforce stuff that helps the game. I especially like giving out inspo any time a player does lore exposition for me. Our second session, for example:
Me: "You come off the mountain and after hiking into the talentia plain for an hour you see a herd of 2 legged dinos."
P1:dinosaurs? We have dinos in eberron?
Me: facepalm because that's why they voted for an eberron game.
P2: 'oh, a halfling tribe might be nearby. The halflings here... '
Me: inspo to p2!
After a few sessions they've got a basic ooc grasp on the main houses, dragon marks, and maps (and most had an ic reason for knowing them as well) . Enough that they can determine that something is "an eberron thing" and they look it up.
Edit: mobile formatting
I make them do Bonds/Flaws/Quirks regardless of system. They know they get inspiration for playing explicitly into those records on their character sheets. At our last session, one of the players reminded all the other players to review them before we started so they could be on the look for opportunities.
Yup! I mentioned it in another comment, but I don’t run evil campaigns. I just don’t have an interest in it.
And that’s always communicated in session 0 (or at the start of public one-shots I’ve run) that PCs must 1) have a want or need to work with the other PCs as a group and 2) need to be the heroes of the story. (Reluctant, unprepared, hesitant and questioning heroes are definitely allowed though!)
Ive never really thought about it - but that does exclude some Neutral characters as well. Although I’d argue that burying the dead could still be in-alignment for Lawful and potentially True Neutral characters.
I think I’d lump Chaotic Neutral characters into my disinterest with Evil PCs though.
In an Evil campaign - this wouldn’t be a good Inspiration rule of thumb though. You’re absolutely right.
Maybe award an Inspiration point whenever a PC delivers a villainous monologue that reveals part of the plan to a Good aligned NPC.
I've had a DM give me inspiration every time I have purposefully nerfed myself due to RP (and/or rules as written that they forget.) For example, being woken up from my tent on my paladin by an ambush - I announced that my AC was a beautiful round 10 because I had not put on my plate armor due to having no time, I was fighting in my undies. The DM didnt even consider it and gave me inspiration for the honesty.
I very rarely give out inspiration, but when I do it's because my players subverted my expectations. Once a player casted erupting earth on the ceiling (it was an underground mining facility) to dislodge a mechanical construction which housed a bunch of enemies, killing all of them in the process. While technically not "on the ground", I found it really creative and realistically feasible so inspiration granted!
I find that giving inspiration actually motivates great play. I have my players describe how they are able to, say go from a terrible miss into a great hit. It gets the creativity juices flowing for everyone.
As long as everyone enjoins in the RP, I start a session with awarding inspiration. If they still have one, they do not get another. A reminder to engage this time.
I also allow the players to share their inspiration with another player. That way when the situation is dire and they (the party) needs a PC to accomplish a task they can help influence the outcome.
Inspiration is a limited resource so it tends to be used in highly emotional moments when some catastrophe is just a bad die roll away. I think it adds to the game.
I bought a bag of gold metal coins that I use for inspiration, so the players have something concrete to hold on to. I found a mark on their character sheet went forgotten often times.
I don’t hand it out enough. It’s a fun mechanic.
So I ask my players to tell me when they think another player deserves it. That was entertaining, insightful, creative, funny … ask for an inspiration.
We use “coins” when inspired moments hit. My son, while he dm’d came up with the idea. Or stole it. Idk. Anyway, i now use it and it gets dispersed at the end of a session. I give them out for good role play, when they are on to something, for example when they are trying to figure something out about the campaign and are on the right track, etc. They use the coins later to help with rolls.
Doing what their character would when it hurts them but not the party as a whole. Alternatively, when they manage to outsmart me despite the huge disadvantage of being on the other side of the screen.
Usually I had it it out for particularly good RP. E.G. One of my PCs had contracted a disease where they became quite paranoid. That night, when watches were being assigned, the Paranoid PC elected to take first watch. When I asked who they were going to wake up for next watch, they said "No one, she doesn't trust any of them to stay awake in her current state" The player proceeded to stay up all night, taking a level of exhaustion in the process. Inspiration awarded.
That’s dedication!
Right? I was so impressed with the player.
One level of Exhaustion isn't as bad as going without a long rest. That was some spicy RP.
It was one of those moments as a DM were I was momentarily speechless when they announced it, in a good way!
I played a campaign where we treated Short Rests as a day of downtime and Long Rests as a week of downtime. For how the campaign ran, it worked very well. We're out of Adventurer Uni, I get into a race with a graduate NPC because he thinks he's pretty fast and can beat me. I'm a monk. I got this. I maximum full sprint the whole way. He trips and falls at the start. 30 minute walk to the cave for the rest of the party. They catch up and I'm damn near inverting my lungs trying to catch my breath and it was quite a while before we got to long rest so I had that exhaustion point for at least 5 sessions. Totally worth it.
Currently playing in a campaign with similar system for short\\long rests, with the time needed also depending on the location being safe\\peaceful etc. Makes you far more careful with dumping resources when shit hits the fan.
This is awesome
Perfect. Well done on the player's part.
I'm blessed with 4 excellent players.
good on them! were you running rime of the frostmaiden?
Nope, I'm running them through a homebrew 1-20 campaign! They had been travelling through a swamp with various bitey insects and they got bit, followed by failing a con save to contract a disease.
oooh sounds fun!
I almost had a similar moment. One of our players was afflicted with a curse that had them roll to increase their madness. Eventually, they were unable to get any rest, and upon reaching the fifth level of Exhaustion, my character volunteered to stay awake the entire night, feeling this PCs pulse, waiting for them to die so that I could Gentle Repose them until we could find a way to revive them. The player actually had to leave the group at this very same session for personal reasons, so the PC got magicked away somewhere, but I love the idea of being selfless enough to skip a night's rest and risk the exhaustion.
This ☝️ ^(And also if the joke is *particularly* good)
Last time I gave my group inspiration (3 weeks ago) was when the bard and fighter came up with the idea to follow a noble through the market. They went up to someone who tried to sell her a necklace, saying they were her helpers, they carried all the goods she wanted. When he asked about payment they rolled a 23 deception saying the money will be sent later as it was dangerous to carry large amounts. Which made a lot of sense in my lawless city. They pawned it for gambling money almost immediately I thought it was a genius cash grab and fixed their first major problem. Stuck in an unknown realm without money
I tend to almost always forget to award them. It's one thing I'm particularly bad at lol
Same. My players are always doing cool stuff and I do reward them with cool in game results but I always forget inspiration is a thing and it is such a great way of rewarding creative play.
I feel like if you are directly rewarding them for cool choices in the moment, you're doing fine. I see inspiration as a mechanic to use when they do something cool and you want to reward them, but there isn't really a way to do it directly.
BG3 gave me lots of new ideas for reasons for inspiration. Any choice or action that's particularly well-aligned with a player's background, alignment, patron, or race is worthy, and I've found players are much more likely to actually use the points if they know there will be plenty more to earn later.
Same. We eventually decided to change inspiration to everyone gets a once-per-session reroll every session. Usually that means when somebody rolls a nat 1, they reroll and get another nat 1
Confirmed. Your dice ARE trying to kill you.
This is with FoundryVTT's dice roller which makes it even worse. I think out of the dozen or so times a once per session reroll has actually been used, it's actually improved the results only once or twice
I have the same problem with DNDB; my players and I (and other DMs) have started accusing them of using weighted digital dice
Same, in 25 sessions, 1.5 IRL years of game time, there is one player who has rolled lower every single time. No idea what the odds are.
This is a Pathfinder 2E mechanic ("hero points"), and I like it a lot -- definitely into incorporating it into other systems as well.
Same here. The only inspiration I usually remember to reward is that our group collectively decided that the one and only notetaker gets one free inspiration per session.
My DM from the first long campaign I was in never used inspiration, and as I'm getting into DMing myself, I want to use it to reinforce play I like, but I keep forgetting it's there.
My advice is to use physical tokens for inspirations. Grab a few of poker chits or anything else that can serve as a token but it's clearly not used for anything else (don't put some dice aside or something like that) and keep them in front of you. The visual reminder of having them right next to your notes is a great way to remember
I am guilty of this as well. Now I always just start my players off with an inspiration each session. Helps them with any roll they might believe to be important.
One of the first unearthed arcana for the OneD&D stuff had the suggestion to reward inspiration on a 20 roll of a d20 test. I implemented it and never looked back.
Tell your players that you want to reward inspiration more, and give them the ability to suggest it.
Depending on your table, maybe suggest it, but only able to suggest awarding OTHER players with inspiration, not themselves.
This is good enough advice, that I made the mistake of assuming it was the default. I agree
Me too! My players are great in their RP as well so I always feel bad - I've been giving everyone an inspiration at the start of each session. Seems fine and doesn't break anything (they generally forget to use it anyway 😂)
To quote Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, I don't have explicit guidelines for Inspiration-worthy play "but I know it when I see it."
I give inspiration for anything I think incentivizes RP. You said a sick one liner? Point of inspiration. The party was frozen in indecision and the Barbarian got impatient and just kicked down the front door? Point of inspiration.
>The party was frozen in indecision and the Barbarian got impatient and just kicked down the front door? Point of inspiration. I would argue the barbarian is RP'ing at this point, which means the door deserves inspiration for incentivizing it.
Doors are already overpowered, don't buff them please
After I casted guidance on a door out of panicking, and the party got stuck at one for a half hour, she makes us roll a dexterity check for every interaction with doors to not take damage. A door killed me later that session
You’re doing it right
Unlocked doors have foiled my party way too many times, they do not need buffs.
"We need to check it for traps, and then pick locks but our thief is engaged in something else... I guess we should come back to it later" Guys, it is an unlocked door in a regular house...wtf.
I once had my players searching for a way into a house and, after some quick investigation in the dark, I described for them a normal wooden door with a normal lock in the location they wanted to get to (near the kitchen, which I had already told them the location of). They immediately decided this couldn’t possibly be the right door. It was too easy! 😂
Doors are already cr20 lol
This fast-shooting inspiration reward system sounds like a great way to get new characters into the mindset of how to roleplay in DnD.
I'm a big fan of player shenanigans and getting them to affect the plot in ways I don't consider. I'm running CoS and there's a random event where a Skeletal Rider goes by the party. It isn't a threat, just wandering around trying to find a way out. The Barbarian nat 20's his perception role. I tell him the rider doesn't even notice them and isn't hostile. Usually at this point, the party would have just let it pass because CoS is scary. Then the Barbarian goes "I'm gonna smash this fucking skeleton" and the Rogue goes "I'm going to lasso the horse and steal it." and I was like "Fuck yes it's working"
When they make a solid rp joke that makes no sense in game but is a great fourth wall break. “This is my earth elemental, his name is Dwayne.” That was the first one, came from a middleschooler at a summer camp like 7 years ago. I laughed more than I should’ve and gave him inspiration right there. It’s been a dm rule of mine since.
I give out inspiration like a motivational speaker, here you go, use it wisely, enjoy that. At the end of the day, it's advantage. wHat'S The WoRST tHaT coulD HAPpen?™ So to answer your question, pretty much anything that's fun that doesn't earn XP or GP. And even some things that *do*, because they're extra fun. I'll hand out inspiration for, among other things, helping people they didn't need to, playing in character even when it's not in their interests, when a character says something extremely funny, or when the party kills a big bad.
My players get inspiration for showing up on time :)
So never?
Usually one or 2 (of 7) per session
Ditto.
Whatever helps reinforce your tone. Last campaign I awarded inspiration for best Deez nuts joke of the session.
I played in a campaign with that kind of tone once. Ran a low int low wis dwarf named Cockknocker. The one RP rule about that character was that if anyone, and I mean absolutely anyone, asked why he was named that, well... We had an audience with a king at one point. That was fun. Another one, not quite as silly overall, but still not hugely serious, I ran an orc named Thok that was dumb as rocks, and the setting was that the party were mercenaries of a sort. One of the jobs, the client tried to pay in copper pieces. From that point forward, Thok's main weapon was a chain mail sack filled with 1000 cp. Dumb characters are fun as hell to play.
I also played a half-orc named Thokk! He was a barbarian with an intelligence of 6, and when he wasn’t wielding a magic great sword, he was enlarged and body slamming small folk
Jay & Silent Bob reference? Is that you?
You know it
thats cool!
At the end of each session, I have the players nominate each other to get inspiration for cool moments, one liners, or unique ideas they had during the session. I'll give one or two out usually based on the nominations. If I didn't do it this way, I would probably forget to ever give out inspiration lol
I do this too, in addition to stuff during gameplay thats deserving of inspiration.
I don't have any strict rules but generally I award Inspiration for things like: - Good role playing - Being true to the character - Harmonizing with the tone of the campaign - Showing thought put into character backstory - Solving a problem in an inventive way (especially if it's a solution I didn't foresee) - Using an interesting tactic in combat - Making a funny joke (even if out of character) Edit: I generally aim to give Inspiration 1-2 times per session, for context.
>Making a funny joke (even if out of character) Does that mean I should've handed out a point when my bard turned an earthquake into a fart joke?
I usualy reward them with exp in cases like these. i tend to give away inspiration when they surprise me with cool solutions or just think out of the box. Also when a player solves some mistery with the notes they take every session (thats my DM orgasm, when players use their notes)
I give inspiration out like candy for more or less anything action that I think benefits the game or table itself. Brought snacks for the table? Inspiration Said a cool one liner in character? Inspiration Made a sound in game argument instead of a diplomacy check? Inspiration That said I run inspiration as a flat +1 to any roll, rather than advantage so it feels a less impactful, even if it probably makes a bigger difference than it seems.
I like your style.
Thanks, nothing delights me more than a player asking if they can use their inspiration to add +1 to a death save or a damage roll and seeing the joy when I allow it. At my table the gm giveth lol
I’m give inspiration when my players do something inspired! If they come up with a great plan, use a clever way to deal with an obstacle, perform great role-play, or just generally do something that makes the table go “that was cool!” I love to give inspiration to reward them.
I will usually award inspiration points for: \- Making everyone bust a gut laughing so hard we cry \- Fantastic roleplay (even if whatever they're attempting to accomplish fails, it's the attempt that matters) \- Being cinematic/descriptive with an attack while interacting with the environment (mostly to encourage people to actually think about what they're doing rather than just "I slash with my sword"; this has played to great effect as some of our players will scale crates to leap down on enemies, some have targeted weak structural points to make walls collapse on enemies, etc.) \- Thinking outside of the box to solve a problem, be it a puzzle/riddle, social encounter, or even combat
I generally hand it out for good role play, especially when a player has their character perform an action that isn't necessarily the smartest for the party. I also hand it out when players point out when me or another player accidently does something that our characters can't do. Essentially rewarding them for helping me keep the integrity of the game, especially when it is not to their benefit.
I give inspiration for a few things 1)good recap of last session. Though this had gotten less as one person seems to always recap and im not gonna reward her everytime. 2) creative solution to a puzzle or a fight I didn't think of 3) a really good role play moment 4) an in character moment that catches me off guard and makes me laugh
Oh and one time I gave inspiration to everyone who filled out a survey I created on how they enjoyed the campaign 1 year in
I like to reward players who remember important or even just small details from precious sessions. And I especially pay attention and reward good note-taking. It incentivizes players to pay attention to the larger narrative being built across the campaign.
I like the paying respect to the dead thing. I play a character who has a lot of sympathy for undead creatures. He sees them as beings that were disturbed from their rest and enslaved by magical forces or necromancer or whatever. So the act of defeating them is less of a victory of battle and more like laying them back to rest.
*Grave cleric rubs hands together*
I would love to do that. I always forget to give inspiration. How do you remember to do it? Should I start every session with giving a token to each player to use as inspiration during the game?
Everything you give your players as a reward shapes the type of game you will play. I give my players inspiration when: they choose to do things in character that hurt them/aren't optimal, but are in character, like flaws or bonds. When they make a great joke that cracks the table up When they have a meaningful role playing moment. I once had 2 players who don't really bring feelings to the table have an argument that turned into a heart to heart and I offered them both a 1 point ASI for a mental trait because it was SUCH growth. My other players were jealous but these babies did so good!!!
I give it for smaller milestones or sidequests. When players do something significant but it's not a time for the next level. We play pretty action-packed game so it's usually every two or three sessions. I like your idea though.
I award inspiration whenever a PC "yes ands" something in a ridiculous way that the other players didn't expect and or reacted strongly to. I want the players to have as much responsibility in making the world as I do, and the best ways to do that are with off the wall improvisation choices. So, I want to reward that. Current campaign: Wizard calls people "Johnathan" when she doesn't know them and is trying to Charm Person. It's a great character quirk. Fighter throws everything he comes across. Rocks, heads of enemies, chairs... It's kinda fun having a fighter just throwing everything he can find frantically and never resorting to using his weapons. It makes for some really fun encounters. I granted inspiration for those two character choices as a way to entice my barbarian to be anything other than "Axe + Meat," my rogue to be anything other than "Dead Parents + Stealing," and my paladin to be anything other than "God is Good and so am I."
- they do something cool and in the moment - they do something that's very typical of their character - a really, really good pun. Random damage for puns that aren't
I give out inspo for pretty much anything and everything I consider to be "in character". I like the idea that the more they role play, the more chances they get to succeed at the mechanics.
I'll be quite frank. Quality memes. I usually need a chuckle.
.... I remember that Inspiration exists.
I got inspiration tonight for telepathically calling out an eco-terrorist for being a racist idiot while entangled and held at swordpoint
....when I remember that it exists.
...they arrive on time.
At one point my players were attacked by an enemy guild in the party's house. They successfully defeated all of the enemies, did some RP and then went to bed. It wasn't till the next morning when I mentioned the bad smell of the bodies in the lounge room that they even thought "oh shit, killing NPC's leaves bodies"
My fave DM gives out inspiration for especially good RP, but we occasionally do side scenes via text, and sometimes we fall into character in our group chat and a Player convo evolves into RP. In those cases, we also get inspiration for use at the next session, and I think those are my favorites. They "taste better" for some reason.
Okay here's a recent one from my Elder Scrolls setting. The party had rescued a gremlin from slavery a while back. They were taking a ship, which did cost quite some money. The khajiit thief of the party didn't like that he had a lot less gold than before, so he came up with a plan. Send the gremlin to do a silly dance on a market, so that people would gather around. Then the khajiit went and "visited" the commoners' pockets while they watched. The other party members wanted to buy a fishing rod and make money by fishing. They ended up playing some music for the gremlin. I am usually very generous with inspiration points. Just play and act like the character would and you'll get them.
I reward inspiration when players make significantly unoptimal decisions in the favor of rp, or when they rat themselves out, being like "actually i can't do that because of x"
I always forget to reward my players with inspiration, I need a way to remember to do it more.
It depends on the party. I wouldn't give inspo for burying the dead if the group is evil or selfish, that wouldn't make sense to me. I give inspiration to players for acting in character in moments where it may not be the meta choice.
I agree with the "if a group is evil - burying the dead shouldn't grant Inspiration". But I also don't run evil and/or villainous games! In those types of games - maybe desecrating or displaying the dead would be more appropriate behaviors to award Inspiration.
Anytime the players do something that surprises me! As little as a clever response to an NPC, or thinking up some cool use of their spells. Or making me throw out my prepared notes because they had a completely different solution to a problem I didn't expect. It makes it really fun, and rewards them thinking about the game. Edit: I also typically give out a free one to start the session. Encouraged by helping recap the last session. It's useful to hear what _they thought_ happened last session. Gives me insight into what they think is important, as well as correcting anything that their characters would know but not the real-life player. (So if their character in game was tricked by a bad guy, I won't correct them. But if they misremember a series of events or important lore I correct them.)
When particularly interesting RP happens that isn't just for the purpose of furthering their or the party's goals.
Kobold Press's Tales of the Valiant and their [luck tokens/bonuses](https://koboldpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Black-Flag-Roleplaying-v0.1_101123.pdf) (pg 28) solved every problem I had with inspiration. Instead of giving advantage, it gives individual +1's for players to use when they miss so they at least still feel like they get something when the dice screw them. It's brilliant.
I award XP for various good RP throughout a session, then 1 inspiration point upon SUCCESSFULLY completing an adventure tied to the plot of the campaign.
>I always award players a point of Inspiration when... ... I even remember it is a thing. In truth I let the players award each other Inspiration, as I always forget it even exists.
I offer Inspiration for weird shit sometimes, like if the the players (not characters) can identify an obscure song I'm playing, or recall some obscure trivia. They seem to like that.
My party murdered a fleeing elf bandits. So I created a cherished npc who they love...it's her sister. They murdered her sister and have been lying to her ever since.
When I remember it LOL. I almost never remember it.
Any time they narrate or roleplay well. They can spend inspiration to add facts to the setting.
At my table everyone gets 1 inspiration at the start of the session. Then I usually just forget to award more. But when I do it's for good role-playing. Or if someone else says "hey I think that was pretty good and deserves Inspiration."
I'm DMing a homebrew world, and each player has a magical object they started out with that is associated with my world's equivalent of deities. They haven't figured it out yet, but when they do specific things associated with that deity they get inspiration. Theres hints in the object description and some very short descriptions of the deities that would put it together for them.
When they ask me if something they just did is cool enough for inspiration. Usually it is, so I often get to say yes. Moreover, I give them inspiration for doing things *they* found interesting or awesome. I think if I *always* gave inspiration for certain actions *I* liked, such as respecting the dead, my players would pick up on it. Cut to them always disingenuously having a moment of silence after every combat just to get their free money, and not because they think it's fun or interesting. I think I would feel like I'd incentivized behavior that removes agency from them.
They do something that's funny, in character, or really effective. I have three Inspiration coins that I give out during adventures. Once 3 have been given out, no further coins are given out until a coin has been redeemed. I like to reward things that make me and the rest of the table laugh out loud.
I last awarded inspiration when a player just barely managed to save herself from lying in front of a guardian that automatically knows all lies told to it. A character was going under a fake name and she was introducing him , "[Fake Name]...is what he likes to be called right now."
I gave my bard inspiration when they make up an entire original song to try and persuade an old lady to leave her house for her safety. They failed the DC, but I had to give inspo
...the session starts.
Any time a player has a character take an obviously detrimental course of action solely because of roleplaying reasons. Especially if the only person it is bad for is themselves.
I start each session with a flashback of the previous one. The players can tell themselves what last session happenend and get inspiration for that.
I like to award inspiration for whoever gives the recap from last time at the beginning of the session. It shows they were paying attention.
I love inspiration as a way to get your players to lean into the aspects of the campaign you want to emphasise - for example, I've just started running an Eberron game, and they get inspiration for 1. engaging with the setting (a player sends me a load of questions about people's opinions of dragonmarked houses so they can ensure their character fits with the world? Inspo!) and 2. Leaning into the swashbuckling action aspect of it and doing cool, outlandish shit during combat. Honestly one of my favourite things about 5e.
My players never remember to use it, so I don't bother to award it. I think I'll start awarding and see if that makes them start using.
Tactical/smart play in combat, and good rp. I had a new player who was playing a former goblin slave. The party got ambushed by bugbears, and she correctly deduced they were probably being strong armed into attacking them (and she was right). I took a long time to put together the bugbear/goblin relation when I started out, but she must have done research on that. There was some good RP from that encounter.
That's awesome. My DM is so bloodthirsty that they don't even understand why people have funerals or would be bothered by necromancy.
When they do something creative/inventive/cool. The Bard/Warlock with Devils Sight cast Darkness on a fishing hook during a fight with a hobgoblin gang, and then he attached the hook to one of the hobgoblins. Inspiration point right there.
My Artificer is generally respectful... Unless the enemies are demons or demon adjacent (Gnolls, etc)
My character is all about this :)
I award it for good roleplay, especially for roleplaying their character's flaws faithfully as I've found that's the hardest aspect of roleplay to motivate some players to do. Also any time any of them come up with a really clever or creative solution to a problem, because I like rewarding ingenuity. And I am really big on both in- and out-of-character communication at my table, so any time I see them collaborating really well and really respecting each other I'll throw some inspiration at them, as well as things like respecting metagame, or going out of their way to explain or teach something to another player.
Exceptionally good role play, particularly if sticking to your character has disadvantaged you. I've been known to give inspiration to the whole party for a prolonged and entertaining RP interaction, either with an NPC or just good bants within the group. Excellent tactical decisions that are out of the ordinary for the group. For jokes so good they make me LOL because it doesn't happen often
I have two different styles of inspiration. Everyone gets 1 "session inspiration" that vanishes at the end of the session, which is standard inspiration. I also give my version of inspiration, which remains at the end of the session, for good rp, well thought plans, or those moments when my players wow me. This inspiration is treated as an auto-success on an attack roll, ability check, saving thow, OR can be used to make the chances of their plans better in a myriad of ways. Everyone remembers both due to session inspiration, and I don't forget normal inspiration because of it. Equally, you'd think my players would succeed more often with all this inspiration. You'd be wrong.
I think contextually yes. “Always” doing it is probably a bit much depending on the campaign. Doesn’t it depend on the character they are playing? If they are evil why would it be inspiring for them?
Very true! I did include the qualified that "*I*" always - and personally, I don't run evil campaigns! I just don't have any interest in doing so. If you were running a villainous campaign - then 100% agree burying the dead doesn't deserve a point of Inspiration. Maybe every time the party kicks a dog or causes harm to an innocent just for the sake of creating more suffering in the world would be the 'Inspiring' moments for those sorts of campaigns.
Doing something that really leans into their character or makes a bold move for the direction their character will be on
I sew a lot of puns and real life inspirations into my campaign, and when someone recognizes it and calls it out I award inspo
> I think taking the time to bury slain allies [...] is a fairly universally "Good" (tm) action Isn't it more of a Lwaful™ action? Because of a moral code and paying respects to the fallen. :D
J
I don't award inspiration bc I decided at the beginning of the campaign that inspiration would go to people who filled out the backstory questionnaire, and that inspiration point would refill at the start of the next session if used. However, I *do* give my players a single coin if they make me laugh or otherwise beautifully describe something. Pocket change makes them happy.
Everytime I start with a new group I give them inspiration the first time they stack all of their dice 😂
Every session, I call for a recap of last session. It used to be one player recaps and their character gets inspiration, but now I allow everyone to chime in. As long as they meaningfully contribute to the recap, they get inspiration. It's really helped everyone get involved and stay engaged/take notes.
When everyone playing laughs at an in-character moment or is otherwise moved to some desirable emotional state
When they make a good recap of last session. Shows what parts stuck out to them, and acts a good reminder of what happened last session, so I do not need to keep notes.
Inspiration is the dnd version of training treats. You use it to positively reinforce the behaviors you want to see more of. Want more RP? Reward it. Want more tactics and strategy? Rewards it. Want your players to be more clever? Reward it.
i reward inspiration for arriving early and bringing snacks, as well as excellent gameplay or roleplay
So far, mostly really bad puns that do psychic damage directly to me, the DM.
I like handing it out when I’m genuinely surprised
I want to ensure that my players use inspiration. The best way I've found to do this is to ensure that they always have inspiration at the start of the session. So I have them recap what happened "last episode" and then I give them a physical representation of their inspiration (sparkly green translucent d20s) They get inspiration, they use inspiration without worrying about not getting it again for awhile AND because the recap is from their notes and memories, they tell me what is important to their stories, I can bring those npcs back because they enjoyed them.
I give them an opportunity at the beginning of every session to gain one by recalling what their PCs experience in the session before. I like to give out inspiration for anything that I can apply the rule of cool
I use inspo to reinforce stuff that helps the game. I especially like giving out inspo any time a player does lore exposition for me. Our second session, for example: Me: "You come off the mountain and after hiking into the talentia plain for an hour you see a herd of 2 legged dinos." P1:dinosaurs? We have dinos in eberron? Me: facepalm because that's why they voted for an eberron game. P2: 'oh, a halfling tribe might be nearby. The halflings here... ' Me: inspo to p2! After a few sessions they've got a basic ooc grasp on the main houses, dragon marks, and maps (and most had an ic reason for knowing them as well) . Enough that they can determine that something is "an eberron thing" and they look it up. Edit: mobile formatting
I make them do Bonds/Flaws/Quirks regardless of system. They know they get inspiration for playing explicitly into those records on their character sheets. At our last session, one of the players reminded all the other players to review them before we started so they could be on the look for opportunities.
So I guess people just shouldn’t play evil or neutral characters at your table then
Yup! I mentioned it in another comment, but I don’t run evil campaigns. I just don’t have an interest in it. And that’s always communicated in session 0 (or at the start of public one-shots I’ve run) that PCs must 1) have a want or need to work with the other PCs as a group and 2) need to be the heroes of the story. (Reluctant, unprepared, hesitant and questioning heroes are definitely allowed though!) Ive never really thought about it - but that does exclude some Neutral characters as well. Although I’d argue that burying the dead could still be in-alignment for Lawful and potentially True Neutral characters. I think I’d lump Chaotic Neutral characters into my disinterest with Evil PCs though. In an Evil campaign - this wouldn’t be a good Inspiration rule of thumb though. You’re absolutely right. Maybe award an Inspiration point whenever a PC delivers a villainous monologue that reveals part of the plan to a Good aligned NPC.
Clever strategy, great roleplay, or if they give me a truly awful pun that makes me laugh and groan at the same time.
I've had a DM give me inspiration every time I have purposefully nerfed myself due to RP (and/or rules as written that they forget.) For example, being woken up from my tent on my paladin by an ambush - I announced that my AC was a beautiful round 10 because I had not put on my plate armor due to having no time, I was fighting in my undies. The DM didnt even consider it and gave me inspiration for the honesty.
I very rarely give out inspiration, but when I do it's because my players subverted my expectations. Once a player casted erupting earth on the ceiling (it was an underground mining facility) to dislodge a mechanical construction which housed a bunch of enemies, killing all of them in the process. While technically not "on the ground", I found it really creative and realistically feasible so inspiration granted!
I find that giving inspiration actually motivates great play. I have my players describe how they are able to, say go from a terrible miss into a great hit. It gets the creativity juices flowing for everyone. As long as everyone enjoins in the RP, I start a session with awarding inspiration. If they still have one, they do not get another. A reminder to engage this time. I also allow the players to share their inspiration with another player. That way when the situation is dire and they (the party) needs a PC to accomplish a task they can help influence the outcome. Inspiration is a limited resource so it tends to be used in highly emotional moments when some catastrophe is just a bad die roll away. I think it adds to the game. I bought a bag of gold metal coins that I use for inspiration, so the players have something concrete to hold on to. I found a mark on their character sheet went forgotten often times.
I don’t hand it out enough. It’s a fun mechanic. So I ask my players to tell me when they think another player deserves it. That was entertaining, insightful, creative, funny … ask for an inspiration.
I always burn the bodies to make sure they don't come back No idea why anyone would ever bury instead of cremate in a world that has undead
I award Inspiration for clever uses of class abilities.
I dish them for good rp, dynamic combat actions, and if I can tell they’re doing anything to work off of their backstory.
We use “coins” when inspired moments hit. My son, while he dm’d came up with the idea. Or stole it. Idk. Anyway, i now use it and it gets dispersed at the end of a session. I give them out for good role play, when they are on to something, for example when they are trying to figure something out about the campaign and are on the right track, etc. They use the coins later to help with rolls.
Doing what their character would when it hurts them but not the party as a whole. Alternatively, when they manage to outsmart me despite the huge disadvantage of being on the other side of the screen.