I get what you're saying Norschy, and to be fair I knew it wasn't a smart idea either. Even Orchid would know, before his rage, that his plan was suicidal and there's probably better things to do. However as Harbinger said, inspiration shouldn't just be given based on good writing per say, but rather showing off good character. To me, inspiration should be given when our characters do something [i]heroic[/i], something that your "common man with common sense" wouldn't do. I'm not saying that inspiration should be rewarded for doing insane stunts or taking risks, but like what you said about getting inspiration after boss fights, it could be used to reward those who stepped up to the challenge.

I think we all knew that as soon as Hekazu described the dragon as an adult blue dragon, we were never meant to actually defeat him, and we may not have been guaranteed to survive either. While each of us may have some IC reason to fight for Greenest, even the most valiant of us would know that we don't stand a chance. I don't know the stats for a dragon but I'm sure his AC is way higher than Orchid's, he has way more health, and even his weakest attack would at least put him to zero if not kill him outright. There was no way we could kill this dragon without heavy weapons, high level characters, or some sort of plot coupon. The smarter and more useful thing for our characters to have done would be fighting the kobolds and raiders around the fortress, maybe dodging the dragon's breath when it came near.

That would be the smart thing to do. But it wouldn't be [i]heroic[/i], and I feel that's something that a lot of fantasy games tend to downplay. I get that things aren't always going to be bright and cheery. Personally, I don't even think we can save Greenest. But that doesn't mean we should do the "Logical" thing and try to run away, even if we can bring most of the townfolks with us. The odds are not in our favor and I can't imagine any methods on hand we can use to repel the dragon or take out his minions. But that doesn't mean we still can't take a stand and cut down as many as we can, and show the dragon that even with his power and his numbers, we will still stand up against him. That's being a hero, that's having strength, to be brave. It's easy to have courage when you have an experienced knight or guardian at your back, or when you're part of a large, organized army fighting an unknown force. But we know who our enemies are and we know what's at stake. It's not looking good for us and smarter people have already left. So now we have to be the ones to make the difficult choice: do we save our own skins, or should we save everyone else, even if we could fail?

Making touch choices like that is what inspiration is for. In-Character, inspiration is like a reminder to your character that they've already made a tough choice or did something amazing. When your character is feeling small and alone, facing against a foe he or she couldn't hope to face, inspiration reminds them that once upon a time, they did face that problem before. It's merely taken on a new form to challenge you again. Sometimes the dice isn't in your favor, and occasionally your enemy really is stronger than you. But until the day you die, every challenge you survived, every opponent you defeated, it's another reminder that you have strength, and if you can find it within yourself, you can do it again.

Sorry for the rant. I feel like this is something Orchid would say if people question him about what he was doing, and if he had a better grasp of Common.