2 advantages versus 1 disadvantage

[Reaper Steve]

I'm pretty sure that no matter how many times you can claim advantage, you still just have 'advantage.' That advantage can be offset by a single disadvantage. Is that right?

I'm fine with that (and I like that best.) But I can hear the arguments: "But I have 3 advantages. You need 3 disadvantages to cancel my extra die roll."
If we get into the "count advantages/disadvantages" game, we might as well be adding dice modifiers instead (no thanks.)

So:
1+ advantages = advantage
1+ disadvantages = disadvantage
1+ of both = standard
neither = standard

 

[mach1.9pants]

I think you are right in your rules interpretation but I will playing the counting game outside of play testing

 

[dd.stevenson]

I was just sitting here wondering the same thing.

I hope you're right. Otherwise, I can see it becoming just another "stacking bonuses" PITA if we have to keep track of the number of advantage sources and disadvantage sources to figure out whether the net result is an advantage or disadvantage.

 

[OnlineDM]

I don't think the rules specifically say one way or the other, but I'm going to handle it at my table as follows:

If you have multiple advantages or multiple disadvantages, it's no different than having just one.

If you have an equal number of advantages and disadvantages, they cancel each other.

If you have advantage from more sources than you have disadvantage from (2 advantages, 1 disadvantage; or 3 advantage, 2 disadvantages, etc.), then you have advantage.

Vice versa for disadvantage.

So, at my table the only benefit from having advantage more than once is that it can let you still have advantage as long as the advantages outnumber the disadvantages.

Frankly, I hope this doesn't come up very often!

 

[Ranganathan]

My understanding is that ad/disad are binary states. You either have ad and or disad or you don't; there's no counting or stacking ad and disad to see which has more. Either you have advantageous conditions or you don't, either you have disadvantageous conditions or you don't. If you have both they're canceled out. Why rule it this way? Speed of play. Rather than counting and keeping track of each potential source for either, it's a simple on/off switch.

 

[The Shadow]

I look at this way: Are things tilted in the PC's favor? Advantage. Are things tilted against? Disadvantage. The amount of tilt doesn't matter, up to a point.
(If things are grotesquely in the PC's corner, why even roll?)

Counting sources of dis/advantage is beside the point. It all comes down to what my gut tells me about the direction things tilt - one big disadvantage can cancel three small advantages, and vice versa.

Of course my gut feeling is strongly guided by things the game explicitly says grant dis/advantage. But things aren't always so clear-cut.

 

[barbiomalefico]

The text seems very clear to me:
"No matter how many times you gain advantage or disadvantage on the same check [...] you roll only one additional d20. If you have advantage and disadvantage on the same check [...] the advantage and disadvantage cancel each other [...]"
So, for any disadvantage reduce the number of advantage of 1, if you reach 0 and still have some disadvantage you have 1 disadvantage. if don't reach 0 you have 1 advantage.

 

[FATDRAGONGAMES]

The way I read it is they do not stack.

 

[Sanglorian]

The text seems very clear to me:
"No matter how many times you gain advantage or disadvantage on the same check [...] you roll only one additional d20. If you have advantage and disadvantage on the same check [...] the advantage and disadvantage cancel each other [...]"
So, for any disadvantage reduce the number of advantage of 1, if you reach 0 and still have some disadvantage you have 1 disadvantage. if don't reach 0 you have 1 advantage.

It seems very clear to me too, but the other way!

If you have advantage from multiple sources, you still only have advantage. If you have disadvantage from multiple sources, you still only have disadvantage. So if you have advantage from any number of sources and disadvantage from any number of sources, it all cancels out and you roll 1d20.

 

[Rhoan01ZBT]

I'll pile on the "does not stack" train, just because that fits with the faster way of running combat that the playtest (and D&D Next) focuses on. If you have one advantage, don't spend time looking for any more. If you have one disadvantage, the same. If you have one (or more) of both, they cancel.

Your mileage may vary, and the DM may waive that in certain circumstances. 5 PCs ganging up on a single kobold swinging from a chandelier? A swarm of kobolds doing the same to a rogue? /shrug