Hey, #DND5e GMs, do you like #LairActions? They're fun, yah? Being able to do weird stuff to make encounters more interesting, even when it's not the monster's turn, is fun. Cool. Hear me out a little bit. :D
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In case you didn't know, I got my first designer credits for AD&D 2E, worked on a lot of 3e AD&D, and did a little bit for some 5e D&D books. But nowadays I mostly work on #CypherSystemRPG / #Numenera from Monte Cook games (they're actually the same game system).
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One of the really fun things I like about running #CypherSystemRPG is GM intrusions. See, Cypher GMs never roll dice—PCs attack by rolling against monster defenses, PCs defend by rolling against monster attacks, and the GM can just focus on the encounters and story.
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A GM intrusion lets the GM introduce a complication to the current scenario. Maybe a few more monsters show up, or the barbarian drops their weapon, or the big boss had poison on their weapon, or the wizard's spell hits the wrong creature, or a locked door is trapped.
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GM intrusions are fun for the GM. You might think theyre NOT fun for the players, but here's the thing: every time the GM uses a GM intrusion, the receiving PC gets rewarded with extra XP (about 1/10th of a level), …
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… and the player gets to award a similar amount to another PC of their choice. So the GM is creating a risk/reward situation for the players: the intrusion increases the danger/risk, but the PCs are getting a reward (XP) for that.
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(The player also has the option of spending XP to refuse the GM intrusion, but they almost never do that—that free XP for the intrusion is VERY tempting.)
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GM intrusions are integral to the #CypherSystemRPG. Every monster, every class and subclass of character, and almost every adventure encounter includes suggestions for GM intrusions. The game expects you to do several intrusions per session.
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(If you feel weird about offering extra XP in a 5e game for a GM intrusion, you could instead offer inspiration to a character.)
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Lair actions are basically GM intrusions that you can do every round, but only for legendary creatures that have lair actions. But as the redditor in this screenshot shows, you can come up with lair actions for just about any situation—a tavern brawl, a RP encounter, etc.
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TLDR: Feel free to use GM intrusions in your #DND5e game, theyre basically one-use lair actions for any power level or situation, and you can bribe your players into liking them with XP or inspiration.
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And if what Ive said here makes you curious about #CypherSystemRPG (even just for things to loot for your DND5e game), check out the free CS Rules Primer, and the free Numenera quickstart I wrote called Ashes of the Sea.
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https://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/cypher-system-rules-primer/ https://www.montecookgames.com/store/product/ashes-of-the-sea-pdf/