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11 Ways to Take the Suck Out of Inspiration in D&D

The Angry
GM

All right, let me get a couple of things out of the way before we get started. First of all, when I decided to write about
the Inspiration system in Dungeons & Dragons, it took all of my restraint not to do some sort of pun about the whole
system being uninspired in the title. But that sort of crap is the last bastion of the hack blogger/critic who is far less
clever than he thinks he is. Well, I aint a critic, Im very clever, and I cant call myself a blogger without retching a
little. Because I write articles.

Now, I have not made any secret of the fact that I hate the Inspiration system. And I am going to explain why. But,
Im not going to stop there. Because thats the hack blogger/critic approach. Me, Im constructive. Im a force for
motherf$&%ing progress. I dont tear s$&% down. I build s$&%. And the only reason to talk about why Inspiration is
so un- the only reason to talk about why Inspiration is so bland and so easily ignored and overlooked is because
hidden underneath Inspiration is a really powerful, useful tool for both GMs and players. If we can make it less un-
interesting, make it less un- exciting, we can do a lot of cool s$&% with it.

And thats what this article is really about. Not just banging on about how un-awesome Inspiration is, but banging
on about how useful it could be if youre willing to f$&% with it a little. In fact, Im going to give you a whole bunch of
different, optional ways to tweak the Inspiration system to add some real flair to your game. And Im going to give you
some advice on how to use it as written. And then, Im going to give you an alternative Inspiration system that is
almost the same as the one in the book, but that works much better.

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I know that sounds like a lot to promise, but its me. Im f$&%ing awesome.

Oh, by the way, if you LIKE the Inspiration system as its presented in the core D&D rules, thats your prerogative. Ill
make you a deal. If you dont choke my comment section with diatribes about how Inspiration is actually good the
way it is, I wont have to tell you why you are objectively, provably wrong until you cry. And then slap you. Seriously. I
will find a way.

Understanding Inspiration
Lets just review the basics so that we can understand whats wrong with Inspiration so we can use it better. Cool?

When you create a character, you are invited to choose two Personality Traits, one Bond, one Ideal, and one Flaw
that define your character. Personality Traits are simple descriptors of what makes your character unique. Ideals
represent deeply held beliefs and motivations. Bonds represent connections to people, places, and things in the
world. And Flaws represent weaknesses, foibles, compulsions, fears, and other negative aspects of personality.

Now, in theory, when you somehow exemplify one of these traits in play, your DM will reward you with a thing called
Inspiration. Inspiration is a special bonus that you can spend any time you want to gain Advantage on an attack roll,
saving throw, or ability check. Any one you want. Or, you can even choose to give Inspiration away to another player
for whatever reason you want. And then that player can use it whenever they want.

Where do these Traits, Flaws, Ideals, and Bonds (collectively called Personal Characteristics) come from? Well, you
make them up. But each Background includes a list of eight Personality Traits, six Ideals, six Bonds, and six Flaws
you can choose from, roll for, or use as inspiration to invent your own (now you see why I keep capitalizing it when I
talk about the game term). In fact, the whole system is explained in the chapter where Backgrounds are presented.

Thats the theory. And it SEEMS like a good theory. And an okay system. But lets look a little deeper at where it falls
apart.

Where the System Falls Apart

Now, there is this implicit connection between Inspiration, Personal Characteristics, and Background. They are
presented together and sequentially and Backgrounds offer examples of each Personal Characteristic. Moreover, on
PHB 125, it explicitly says that the DM typically awards Inspiration for portraying your Personal Characteristics. It
also lists other ways the DM might award Inspiration, but its pretty strongly implied thats what its for.

And honestly, if it were, that would be pretty cool. If my Ideal is I always try to help those in need, no matter what the
cost, it stands to reason that when I take a big risk to help someone in need, my action might get a little boost.
Theres a drive behind it. At the same time, a handy bribe is useful to give me (the player) a nudge toward giving in
to a characteristic that might hurt me or my friends. If I am suspicious of strangers and expect the worst of them,
and a helpful ranger guide appears to lead my friends and out of the wasteland before we starve, thats a dangerous
Flaw to give in to. So, a little bribe makes me think about not making the best choice, but rather making the choice
my character would make.

Unfortunately, that is absolutely NOT what Inspiration does.

See, the biggest problem with Inspiration is that the bonus that you receive is not tied to the choice you made in
accordance with your Characteristics. When you act like your character, you get to bank a bonus that you can use
whenever you want. The Inspiration isnt tied to the choice you made. Its earned by the choice, but it can be used on
anything. And thats a little backwards. Youd think that the Inspiration bonus for helping those in need would apply
directly to the risky action Im taking to help those in need, connecting motivation, choice, and action.

This gets worse when you consider the ability to pass Inspiration to someone else for whatever reason you want. Not
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only is the bonus disconnected from the choice that ostensibly earned it, it is now disconnected from the character
who made the choice. It literally stops being about choice, action, and personality and becomes a coupon for one
free Advantage useable anytime.

Meanwhile, the Flaw thing falls apart. See, I can earn Inspiration by acting in accordance with ANY Characteristic on
my sheet. So, instead of choosing the Flaw that is going to get me into trouble as a way to earn Inspiration, I could
just as easily choose a positive trait and never endanger myself or the party. Thus, Flaws are the least likely to see
use. After all, I can decide my character might distrust the ranger and assume the ranger has ulterior motives, but in
the end, he doesnt act on that assumption because hes willing to endanger himself (risking the rangers betrayal) to
help his friends in need (by accepting the rangers help). I get Inspiration either way. But one of those things was
more costly than the other.

But lets not stop there. Because theres another weakness in the system. And that weakness is the DM. The thing
is, the DM is encouraged to give Inspiration about once per character per session (DMG 240). And the DM is given a
whole list of good reasons to reward Inspiration. In fact, Personal Characteristics are a very small part of that advice
even though the PHB suggests its a large part of Inspiration. So, in the end, Inspiration actually comes across more
as a DM finding an excuse to give everyone one action point per session they can use to gain advantage on any one
roll. Or using it to bribe players to play the game right.

And, look, Im not down on that. Im all about using incentives to drive the themes of the game. But when you look at
it from that perspective, its pretty bland. Its sort of dull. Un-in- you know. Especially because the connection
between Inspiration and Personal Characteristics is pretty damned powerful if you use it right. Thats when it
becomes a role-playing tool.

On top of that, what Ive found is Inspiration is one of the most easily overlooked bits of game in all of 5E. Ive played
and run numerous 5E games, one shots and short campaigns, with friends and with strangers, and Inspiration is
almost always forgotten. First of all, its very easy for the DM to forget to give it out. Why? Well, first of all, because
the DM has a LOT to keep track of. Thats DMing. But second of all, when you consider that you have four to five
people at the table and each one has five different Characteristics, thats 20 to 25 things to be on the look out for. And
you never know when they are going to come up. Or which ones will come up.

So the DMs who DO use Inspiration tend to give it out for whatever weird, random reasons they have decided to
reward the players. Being funny. Being heroic. Being moronic. Bringing snacks. Good penmanship. Good role-
playing (by which I mean being able to come up with overwrought prose to describe how to swing an axe on a
moments notice). Whatever. Which, again, weakens the power of Inspiration. Its just the here, have an action point
for reasons.

Meanwhile, Ive noticed that players tend to forget about Inspiration. Ive seen a lot of players end sessions with
Inspiration they never thought to spend and didnt even remember they had. So you end up with this bowl of poker
chips in the middle of the table just to remind everyone that Inspiration is even a thing.

And that, to me, is the perfect metaphor for the Inspiration system in D&D.

Its just this thing thats easy to forget and sits in the game not really doing anything. It feels tacked on. Vestigial. An
afterthought. It certainly doesnt seem to have a clear purpose, as evidenced by the fact that the DM and the players
get different advice about it and how it is weirdly disconnected from the mechanics that it seems to be connected to.
It seems thrown in. People like Bonds in Dungeon World and Aspects in Fate, we should probably slap something
like that in there.

I hate to say it like that, but thats how it FEELs.

Using Inspiration Better

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So, before we launch into some ideas about how to actually hack Inspiration to get something cool out of it, lets talk
about how to just use Inspiration in your game and get something out of it. Lets assume you just want the Inspiration
system the game is TRYING to give you. How do you pull it off.

Right off the bat, decide how youre using Inspiration in your game. Are you using it to encourage Personal
Characteristics? Are you using it to reward good role-playing (whatever the f$&% that means)? Are you using it to
reward heroics? Risk? Exploration? Clever play? Whatever. Pick something. Decide what you want it to be about.
Tell the players thats what Inspiration is about. And then STICK TO IT. And for f$&%s sake, pick ONE thing. Make it
about ONE thing. Not whatever you want. It loses its power when the players dont know what its for and when its
for whatever random thing you want it to be for that day. All you do is encourage your players to act randomly.

Once youve decided what Inspiration is about, find a way to remember its there. Poker chips or tokens are a good
start. But keep it in your visual field and in your way, whatever it is.

Now, if youre using the typical (PHB 125) method of rewarding Personal Characteristics, youve got a bigger
challenge. Because you have to keep an eye and reward that s$&%. Heres a great way to handle that.

Get yourself some index cards. On the front of each index card, write INSPIRATION! Gain Advantage on a die roll or
give Inspiration to an ally! On the back of each card, have each player write their characters name and their five
Personal Characteristics. Now, hang each of these cards on the back of your DM screen with the
name/Characteristic side looking right at you. When a player earns Inspiration, give them their card. And when they
use it OR pass it to someone, take the card back. Obviously, give the player receiving Inspiration their card. That
way, you can easily see who doesnt currently have Inspiration AND see their traits right in front of your face. And the
players get a big, bright card they can see that reminds them exactly what they can do with it. Maybe add some
glitter-glue and sparkles. But dont do that.

Now, remind people its there. Big cards are useful. But you dont want anyone leaving Inspiration unused. At the
end of each session, make a big show of collecting the Inspiration back from the players who didnt use it. Do you
still have your Inspiration? Wow, you should have spent it to hit that dragon. Oh well. Ill take it back now. Over time,
players will start to remember it. They wont want to end a session with it.

Finally, ignore that whole once per player per session advice. Its just advice, after all. But the problem is, it
undermines the whole concept of Inspiration. If you can only get it once per session and the GM is always looking for
an excuse to give it, well, the incentive to play your character to the hilt is kind of weak. And the incentive to hoard it
for the perfect moment (and then never end up using it) is kind of strong. So, give it early, give it often. Ideally, most
of your players should have Inspiration most of the time. Is that unbalancing? Eh. Who gives a s$&%. Its worth the
payoff. If you give so much of a crap about acting in character that you think its worth magical free arbitrary bonuses
to die rolls, youve already decided that character and story trump balance. And thats fine. But go with it.

F$&%ing with Inspiration

Now, lets look at some ways to use Inspiration differently. First, Im going to present my alternate scheme for using
Inspiration. Then, Im going to offer a couple of smaller options that you can combine either with the Inspiration
system as written or my Angry Inspiration Method.

Option 1: Angrys Awesome Inspiration System

Forget everything you know about Inspiration. Heres my alternate take.

Every character begins each session with Inspiration, which is a thing you either have or you dont.

If you have Inspiration, you can spend it at any time to take an Inspired Action provided that action somehow ties into

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one of your characters personal characteristics. If your Ideal is I will do anything to save a person in danger, and
you want to swing across a ravine on a vine to rescue someone who is about fall into the ravine and hanging by one
hand, that fits. You can claim an Inspired Action.

When you take an Inspired Action, you can either gain advantage on an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw OR
you can give advantage to someone elses ability check, attack roll, or saving throw provided you are in a position to
assist them directly in some way OR impose disadvantage on someone elses ability check, attack roll, or saving
throw provided you are in a position to hinder their action directly in some way. Whatever it is, the Inspired Action
MUST somehow connect to one of your Personal Characteristics.

So, lets take that I will take any risk to save a person in danger. You could do the aforementioned swinging across
the ravine to catch them from falling thing. Or if they have to attempt a saving throw to avoid a collapsing ceiling,
you could throw yourself at them to save them, giving them advantage on the saving throw. Or if a monster is about
to attack someone standing near you, you can interpose yourself and give the monster disadvantage on the attack
roll. See? Easy.

When you dont have Inspiration, you can Claim a Setback to gain Inspiration. To Claim a Setback you must either
impose disadvantage on one of your own ability checks, saving throws, or attack rolls based on one of your Personal
Characteristics OR make a decision that creates a significant story setback, obstacle, or hindrance. When you want
to Claim a Setback, simply ask the GM. For example: Im easily distracted by shiny objects, so Im distracted by the
giant pile of treasure. Can I Claim a Setback and take disadvantage on my saving throw against the dragons fire
breath? Or: This guy wants to help us, but I distrust all strangers. Im going to be rude and accusatory of him. Can I
Claim a Setback for that? And then the GM might have the stranger refuse to help or get offended or start a fight.
Whatever.

After you Claim a Setback, you get Inspiration. You can use the Inspiration to take an Inspired Action. And on and on
it goes.

This simple system uses the same basic elements as the one in the core rules, but it avoids several of the problems
and it has several advantages.

First, everyone has Inspiration at least once per session because they start each session with Inspiration to spend.
Everyone gets one freebie. Just as the DMG advises.

Second, it creates a strong connection between the action or choice that the player makes and the bonus itself.
Inspiration becomes a little less versatile but it becomes a powerful driver of character. In return for that, you can use
it to help or hinder others instead of just using it yourself or passing it along.

Third, it takes responsibility for Inspiration AWAY from the GM. Why is this a good thing? Well, for a few reasons.
Firstly, it means the GM doesnt have to keep track of it and cant forget about. Secondly, it means the GM cant start
using it in crazy, random, or confusing ways. The connection between character traits and inspiration is right in front
of the players. They understand how playing their character provides them advantages. Which is precisely what you
want to do.

Fourth, it encourages the players to create Characteristics that actually will affect the game. Bonds with your
hometown are nice and all, but if the game will never take place in your hometown, its just a wasted sentence. But a
Bond with a faction that is important in the campaign? That has a real impact. And players will want Characteristics
that provide an impact: positive and negative.

Fifth, players can decide how much they want to engage with the system. Inspiration and personality mechanics are
not for everyone. Thats fine. And some players are inclined to ignore it. Especially when its in the GMs control. But
each player begins with Inspiration they can only use by engaging with the personality system. So even though
players can decide Inspiration isnt worth bothering with, its hard to pass up that bonus. So, at least once per
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session, the player might push to use the Inspiration and get drawn into the system. They might never go so far as to
Claim a Setback, but thats fine. At least they are getting involved. And maybe, someday, theyll want to Claim a
Setback.

Sixth, the incentive is the same for the player and the character. See, Ive seen a lot of people complain about
players gaming the Inspiration system. Metagaming, if you will. And metagaming occurs when the player and the
character want different things. This system aligns the goals of the player and the character. Players and characters
both WANT to play to their personalities. Characters because its who they are and players because they can take
Inspired Actions. So even if they do try to game the system, they are gaming it in a way that leads to better role-
playing choices. Likewise, Claiming a Setback isnt something that either the player or the character WANT. But
characters feel a compulsion to do certain things that might be bad for them (like Flaws or tripping over Ideals)
because thats who they are. And players feel driven to suffer setbacks because they can claim advantages later. So
again, gaming the system leads to a better play experience. And that, kiddos, is how you actually deal with
metagaming!

So overall, with that very slight modification, you get a simple personality system that works much better than
Inspiration as Written. And whether you use it or you dont, you can still do a few other things to make Inspiration and
Personal Characteristics more interesting.

Option 2: Inspiration Writes the Backstory

A long time ago, I wrote an article about an alternative system of writing character backstories. Instead of writing out
a whole f$&%ing fanfiction about your character, most of which was not going to come up in play and all of which the
GM really didnt want to read, I suggested writing three to five vignettes called Significant Memories. These were
short, paragraph long moments in the characters life that stuck with the character and defined them in some way.

If you like that system (and you should, because its awesome), consider using it alongside the Personal
Characteristics system. That is, each player creates or chooses five Personal Characteristics (two Traits, a Bond, an
Ideal, and a Flaw). Then, they write a paragraph for each one that shows a significant even in the characters life
that ties into that Trait, either explaining it or exemplifying it.

Heres an example for my soldier character that doesnt exist but I just made up for the purposes of providing an
example:

Ive lost too many friends, Im slow to make new ones

Shortly after I was conscripted, the hobgoblin war reached Eraz and my legion was sent to the front lines. At the
time, I was excited to go into battle for real. And I was just pleased to have gotten through training. It had been a
miserable, lonely experience except for the fact that I met Kyrie, Wael, Dale, and Arvan there. We became
inseparable. Kyrie kept me from fleeing from the camp and becoming a deserter. Dale and Arvan got me through
training. Wael kept all of our spirits up with his bawdy jokes and songs. I was actually proud of my armor, my pike,
my sword. I was a soldier. And I was ready to run some foul goblins through. And they ambushed us before we even
got to camp, while we were exhausted from the days of forced marching. Their brutality was shocking and their
precision terrifying. They were perfect soldiers, perfect killers, disciplined, cold, savage. The last thing Dale ever did,
the last help he ever gave me, was to get his head caved in by a mace that was meant for my skull. I never saw
what happened to Arvan and Kyrie was never found. But Wael survived. And that was worse. He had taken a
horrible blow, bitten through his tongue, and he would never speak again. Taking his voice was worse than taking his
life would have been. And I was alone again.

See? Theres a background story.

Option 3: Racial Characteristics (and Other Characteristics)

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Now, look, I know there is nothing in the rules that explicitly says your Personal Characteristics HAVE TO come from
your background and only your background. In fact, the rules pretty clearly say you can make them up any way you
want. That said, the rules do a good job of IMPLYING they are tied to your background just by presenting all of the
sample lists with the backgrounds. And you know a certain majority of players are just going to draw from those lists.

The thing is, those lists serve a couple of purposes. First, they obviously provide Characteristics you can use if you
dont want to create your own. Second, they give you an example of what the Characteristics should look like. Third,
they provide an example of how the Characteristics tie into who your character is in game terms by showing the
connection between Characteristic and Background. And fourth, they they actually provide extra descriptions of what
the backgrounds mean. When you run down the list of Characteristics for, say, the acolyte or the hermit, you get a
sense of what acolytes and hermits are and what roles they fill in the world. They serve as extra descriptions.

What I do not understand is why you dont also get a list of Characteristics for races. I mean, they go through this
whole schtick about about what an elf is like and what values most dwarves have. Doesnt that seem like it would
also be a perfect place for these Characteristics? That way, a person could pick and choose. Maybe I take one Elf
Personality Trait and an Elf Bond, but then I take a Sage Ideal and a Sage Flaw and make up my own second
Personality Trait.

So, for example, the Dwarf Characteristics might look something like this:

And if you check out my Pile O S$&%, youll soon discover more Characteristics for more races.

Notice how those Characteristics describe dwarves. They clarify what dwarves are in the world. Even if you dont
use any of them, even if you reject dwarvishness, it tells you what dwarves represent. If you combine those tables
with the racial bonuses and penalties, you get a pretty complete description of a race. That means, if you want to
create your own races, you could do some mechanical bonuses and a list of Characteristics and give the short, short
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version.

Moreover, you could create lists of those traits for other things. Suppose, for example, your campaign takes place in
a kingdom with four different towns, a dwarven stronghold, and an elvish enclave. Each of those settlements could
have a list of personality traits and you could ask players to choose from those instead of from Backgrounds (or
Races) to emphasize upbringing. These could become a great tool for world building. Speaking of which

Option 4: Using Characteristics to Build Campaigns

Imagine you have a campaign in which the PCs are all rebels trying to drive out the evil empire. And you want
everyone to either have sympathy for the rebels or antipathy with the empire. So, you might say your Bonds must
either connect you to the rebellion or show you are against the empire. Or if all the PCs work for the Adventuring
Guild of Adventure, all of their Bonds must connect them to the AGOA somehow. You could even provide lists.

For that matter, if youve got a campaign with multiple factions or organizations, you could give each one an example
list of Bonds and require all the PCs are somehow tied to some organization.

Or, if youre running something inspired by classical mythology with crazy, meddling deities and over-the-top heroes
that are practically demigods fighting medusa for golden fleeces or whatever, maybe everyone has to have a bond
with one of the ten crazy gods of Tuatha de Olympheim or whatever.

Option 5: Changing Up Characteristics

If I were running a dungeon-of-the-week style traditional campaign, you know what I really wouldnt give a s$&%
about? Ideals. Ideals can f$&% right off. Theres no real room for morality in a game like that. The morality is go into
the dungeon, kill the things, take their stuff. Or if I were running an awesome Megadungeon campaign. Same thing.

But what I would care about is Motivation. Why do the PCs want to go into the dungeons and kill things and take their
stuff. Instead of how they feel about serving the greater good or whatever, Id be more interested in knowing whether
they are in it for the money or looking for magic or trying to prove themselves by killing the bestest monsters around
or whatever. So might say hey, kids, forget Ideals. Dont pick an idea. Instead, I want one sentence of what
Motivates you to go into pits filled with monsters and take their stuff.

And if I were running a horror game, maybe instead of Ideals, I want Fears. I want to know what scares you? Being
alone? Bugs and creepy crawly things? Darkness? The unknown?

The point is, instead of being married to Personality Traits, Ideals, Bonds, and Flaws, change up the things you ask
for to tie into the themes of your campaign.

Option 6: Growth and Loss

Heres the problem with Inspiration okay, wait heres ONE MORE problem with Inspiration. Its static. PCs dont
grow. They dont change. They dont overcome their flaws. They dont develop new bonds. And that sucks because
fiction and drama are all about character growth. In fiction, we call characters who dont change flat or static or
un-interesting.

So, whenever there is a big situation in the game, something mind-blowing or traumatic or awesome or whatever,
you should invite players to adopt a new Characteristic. Let them discard one that is played out and create a new
one based on the big situation.

Likewise, in game situations which directly impact PC Characteristics, do not be shy about telling them wipe out a
characteristic. For example, if the characters Ideal is always helps people in danger, and the PC ignores someone
in danger for treasure, feel free to tell the player to erase it and find a new one. If someone loses faith, ask them if
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they want to discard their Bond with their church.

Significant events, for better or for worse, should leave their mark on the characters. If youre playing a character
driven game, that is.

Option 7: The Tabula Rasa Game

Okay, this is a fun one that gets people paying attention to each other at the table. Tell your players not to come up
with Characteristics at all. Let them come to the table with blanks.

Now, during the game, they can claim an Inspiration bonus whenever they want, but they have to explain why their
Personality, Ideal, Bond, or Flaw has inspired them. That is to say, they come up with the trait on the fly. And then
they have to write it in.

If youre using Option 1, they can Take Inspired Actions OR Claim Setbacks as they wish.

Option 8: The Didactic Self Game

Heres a nifty variant on the Tabula Rasa game. Again, the players come with blank Characteristics. Now, have each
player bring five index cards. They should make one blank card for each of two Personality Traits, their Bond, their,
Flaw, and their Ideal. They should write their characters name on each card.

Shuffle up all the cards and hand them out to random players. Players are not allowed to keep their own cards.

Now, just start running the game. Let each player play their character for three or four sessions as they see fit. There
is no Inspiration (or Inspired Actions/Setbacks) available during these first few sessions. Instead, each player needs
to pay attention to the other players and then fill in the cards they have based on how the character is acting.

So, if I have Alices Personality Trait card and Alice seems rude, I might put doesnt consider the feelings of others
or knows she is better than everyone else.

At the end of the three or four session period, everyone gives the cards back to their rightful owners and those
Characteristics, whatever they are, become true. Maybe Alice wasnt trying to be a know-it-all, but she is now. And
now people can gain Inspiration (or take Inspired Actions and Claim Setbacks) based on that stuff.

Option 9: Imposing Setbacks

This system requires you to use Option 1: Angrys Awesome Inspiration System. And it adds an additional layer.

The GM may Impose Setbacks. That is, in a scene during which one of your Characteristics (specifically flaws)
should work against you, the GM can either impose disadvantage on a related roll or require you to take a
detrimental action that somehow creates a story setback. This works exactly the same as Claiming a Setback,
except the GM requires it instead of the player claiming it.

If the player does not have Inspiration, the player gains Inspiration from the Imposed Setback. If the player does
have Inspiration, they may describe how they overcome their Flaw or other trait and they lose their Inspiration.

Youll have to find the right balance of how often to use this, but honestly, rather than sticking to a strict numerical
limit, you should just go by the demands of the story. Moreover, the advantage of this system is that it encourages
players to Claim Setbacks on their terms whenever they dont have Inspiration.

If you want to make this harsher, assume characters DO NOT start each session with Inspiration.

Option 10: Compulsions

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Now, if you really want to f$&% with free-will a little, you can add another layer on top of Imposing Setbacks. Again,
you must be using Option 1 for this to work. You must also be using Option 9. Compulsions work best in games
where the themes are about choice vs. free-will or disempowerment.

A Compulsion is a special type of Characteristic, not a Personality Trait, Bond, Flaw, or Ideal. Its extra. And players
do not choose them. Instead, they come from outside forces. They work like any other Characteristics, granting
Inspired Actions or Providing/Imposing Setbacks (and, for them to really work, the GM must occasionally impose
them). But they represent an external intrusion on the characters free will.

For example, the character might pick up a magic sword that adds the Compulsion I lust for bloody battle and never
shy from an opportunity to spill the blood of my foes. And now, that Characteristic becomes a part of them for as
long as they own the sword. Or, a character might be seduced or possessed by a supernatural entity or have a bond
with a particular being. That might add a weird Compulsion. Curses are another great example. You might gain a
Compulsion if you turn into undead or a lyncathrope. You can do a lot with Compulsions.

Option 11: Insanity

If you really want to go whole hog into horror, you can use these Characteristics as part of a Sanity System. You
must be using Option 1 and Option 9. But do not use Option 10. Instead, this Option replaces Option 10.

An Insanity is a Characteristic that replaces or overrides another Characteristic. It is essentially an uncontrolled

personality trait or behavior that overrides the characters basic traits, ideals, bonds, and even flaws.

Insanities can never grant Inspired Actions. They can only create Setbacks, either Imposed by the GM or Claimed
by the PC.

When a character gains an Insanity (due to a trauma of some kind), they take a random Insanity. For example:
Brontophobia: I am absolutely terrified of loud noises, or Paranoia: I know everyone is plotting against me, but I
cant let them know I know. This Insanity overwrites one of their Characteristics. That is, they lose the Characteristic
and replace it with the Insanity. That doesnt mean their behavior has to change. But their will has weakened and
they cant take Inspired Actions related to that trait anymore.

When a PC has lost all of their Characteristics and replaced them all with Insanities, the character goes permanently
insane. They are beyond all hope. The character is essentially dead and the player needs a new PC.

Anyway
Okay, so thats it. I told you everything thats wrong with Inspiration in D&D and I gave you eleven different options
for better ways to handle it. What more do you want from me, for f$&%s sake? Im done.

Seriously. I have no idea how to end this. Just close the page or whatever.

10/10