Can We Normalize Handing Out Inspiration Dice In The Middle Of Combat?
So a while back I was dming a game of 5e. The party was fighting the final boss, which was a giant serpent. One player who had never played D&D before (who we will call Bob) happened to know a lot about snakes, and in the middle of combat, after another player was done stabbing it in the eyes, this player gave a suggestion that I will never forget, simply because of how creative it was.
“Hey, if we cut off its tongue, would it. . . no longer be able to smell us”
Baffled at the creativity, I green lit his suggestion, giving him a point of inspiration on the spot. He later used it to reroll a check and kill the snake with another one of his suggestions, breaking its fangs open and forcing its mouth shut. So because of this player and no help from me at all, the final fight of the campaign had a very climactic ending in which the entire party worked as one to force the serpent’s mouth shut.
It ended up being one of the most memorable moments I have ever had playing D&D, and I hope that player is very proud of themself. And who’s knows? Maybe they’ll see this post and it’ll inspire them to keep playing D&D.
TLDR:
Next time your players think of a creative way to go through combat, take note and give them plenty of more options next combat encounter. (And maybe slide an inspiration point their way.
