Mental inspiration

Colonists with a high mood can randomly have mental inspirations, giving a stat boost for some time. Unlike mental breaks, you retain full control of the mentally inspired colonist.

At 100 mood, a colonist has an inspiration on average once every 10 days. This can be a huge bonus to a colony, so if you find some of your colonists' moods are running pretty high, that might be a good time to rigorously enforce MORE recreation for them, to push them over the edge into inspiration.

Some traits prevent certain types of inspirations. Additionally, the pawns with the Tortured Artist trait have a 50% to gain an Inspired Creativity inspiration after a mental break ends (with a possible exception of "Run Wild" mental breaks^(verify?)). These pawns can be manipulated to create better artworks* by intentionally giving them a generally poor environment (i.e. a combination of awful accommodations (or barracks), poor food (or outright malnutrition), no access to recreation, and/or any other stressers).

(* or furniture or craftables, if your tortured artist is capable of construction or crafting, respectively. Note that making "weapons" falls under the "crafting" skill.)

There are 8 different, specific inspirations that can strike, usually applied to colonists that have skills that reflect that specific bonus.

Inspirations

Go frenzy

<NAME> will move faster for the next 8 days.

Colonist's great mood lifts them up and makes them move 1.4x as fast, as long as s/he feels inspired.

• Base duration: 8 day
• Minimum skill: None
• Incompatible Trait: Slowpoke

Inspired creativity

<NAME> The next item, art, or furniture [PAWN_pronoun] creates will be two quality levels higher than it would otherwise be. This even allows the creation of legendary items. The inspiration will end after 8 days, or when the creation is completed.

A sudden burst of inspiration gives colonist insight on how to make a quality item. After it is completed, that item will be 2 Quality levels higher than it would otherwise be, allowing for the creation of legendary items. The inspiration is only good for the next one (1) object created.

See also: Quality

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: Artistic 3 / Crafting 3 / Construction 3

Inspired recruitment

<NAME> will successfully recruit the next prisoner regardless of difficulty or resistance. The inspiration will end after 8 days, or when the prisoner is recruited.

Colonist gains insight on how to recruit prisoners into the colony. S/he will successfully recruit the next prisoner s/he attempts to recruit, regardless of difficulty or remaining resistance.

To make the most out of the recruitment, you may manually have the warden prioritize the recruitment attempt on a specific prisoner. If the prisoner has been talked to recently, you will need to disable warden interactions for that prisoner, and wardening for the inspired warden, then wait a while before enabling them both.

The inspiration ends after a prisoner is recruited.

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: Social 3

Inspired surgery

The next time <NAME> performs a surgery, [PAWN_possessive] chance of success will be doubled. A small minimum chance of failure still applies. The inspiration will end after 8 days, or when the surgery is performed.

Colonist becomes more concentrated in surgeries after being inspired, and as a result, the success chance for the next surgery will be doubled. Note however that the 98% success rate maximum still applies i.e. there will always be a 2% chance of failure. Thus high skill doctors operating in high quality hospitals can receive no benefit from this inspiration but it can make a great difference for those with lower Medicine skill who are not good surgeons yet, or operations such as carcinoma removal that have a lower chance of success.^{[Fact Check]}

The inspiration ends after a surgery is performed, even if the surgery fails.

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: Medical 3

Inspired taming

<NAME> will successfully tame the next animal regardless of difficulty. The inspiration will end after 8 days, or when an animal was tamed.

Colonist is inspired to tame an animal. S/he will successfully tame the next animal regardless of difficulty. S/he will not be able to tame any animal that s/he does not have the requisite skill level to tame however.

The inspiration ends when an animal is tamed.

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: Animals 3

Inspired trade

<NAME> will get a significant trade price bonus when closing [PAWN_possessive] next trade deal. The inspiration will expire after 8 days, or when the deal is done.

Colonist is inspired to obtain a great deal. S/he will get a great 18% boost in trade prices, essentially meaning 12 more levels of Social skill.

After one successful trade deal, the inspiration ends.

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: Social 3

Shoot frenzy

<NAME> will shoot more accurately for the next 8 days.

Colonist is somehow inspired to shoot more accurately and will shoot as if s/he has +8 additional shooting levels.

This is more useful if the colony frequently receives raids or if the inspired colonist is a hunter.

• Base duration: 8 days
• Minimum skill: None
• Incompatible Trait: Brawler, non-violent

Work frenzy

<NAME> will work faster for the next 8 days.

Colonist suddenly becomes significantly more productive and will have her/his Global Work Speed multiplied by 1.8x for the duration of the inspiration.

• Base duration: 8 day
• Minimum skill: None

Legacy inspirations

These no longer exist in the current version of the game.

Inspired art

A sudden burst of inspiration gives colonists a great idea for a piece of art, and after it is completed, that piece of art will be 3 levels higher than it would otherwise be. The inspiration is only good for 1 piece of art.

• Replaced by Inspired Creativity in Beta 19.

Base duration: 8 days

Minimum skill: Artistic 6

Version history

• 0.18.1722 - Added with the following inspirations: Work frenzy, Go frenzy, Shoot frenzy, Inspired trade, Inspired recruitment, Inspired surgery, Inspired art. At the time, incapacitation would end the inspiration.
• In 1.1, the Inspired taming inspiration was added.