Advantages / Disadvantages

[slobster]

Two things:

1) I once got a temp ban for using the word "sheeple".

2) Please tell me that you don't honestly believe that WotC is milking gamers of the few cents that dice-makers make off of d20's.

Hehe, I suppose it is true that there is nothing so ridiculous I could type that someone on the internet won't believe that I was serious.

I like the advantage mechanic. I don't believe that there is a pervasive dice conspiracy to force me to buy extra d20s. It would be a redundant conspiracy anyway; I'm a gamer, I love buying dice!

If I get a temp ban, I hope it's not because the mods think my comment was serious. If it's because I used the word "sheeple" . . . actually I think I could understand that.

 

[Yora]

I think Advantage is actually a very good mechanic.

I just don't like it personally. There's something I consider normal and I want things done that way. Even if it's entirely irrational and maybe even additional work. Two dice is way different from Shadowrun dice pools, but it's still a super-small dice pool. I just don't want to play with that.

+/-3 is good enough for me. It's not that bad if you have to keep track only of "if there is anything to give you an advantage" instead of having to worry about multiple effects that provide bonuses of different values and may have different durations.
Which is another important factor of the Advantage mechanic. I like having that one without rolling two dice. And I can, how great is that?

 

[chaochou]

Not had the opportunity to see it in action yet. But reading it, I like it. A straightforward, easy to understand, nothing to track rule which ties creative fictional positioning to a significant mechanical benefit.

 

[Harlekin]

Playtest reports I've read, from those who have played with it, all say it worked great.

We must be reading different playtest reports.

 

[Tush Hog]

Played today and everyone loved advantage/disadvantage.

 

[Ahnehnois]

It's really powerful, but I like it. More of this type of mechanic is a good way to change the feel of the game without encroaching on the nature of magic.

 

[variant]

I don't think it's that powerful. It's like at most a +5/-5 and without the advantage of hitting a DC that is +5 higher or disadvantage of not being able to hit the DC that is normal.

 

[merchantsteve]

I like the advantage/disadvantage mechanic. It reminds me a lot of Savage Worlds and adds a lot to the player's engagement in the dice rolling. I forsee a lot more roleplaying to gain advantage as well as 'edge of seat' rolling during disadvantage. Be honest with yourself - can this mechanic make a player's story of his character's exploits more exciting? I think so.

It also is a simple way to add free-form changes in the midst of a game. For example: If an elf is actively searching for secret doors, treat it as advantage. If running down a hall seeking escape from 20 kobolds and there is a secret door, roll with disadvantage.

The mechanic is simple, fast and adaptable to multiple situations.

In my 30+ years of D&D playing, I have often done a 're-roll' because I felt sorry for a character who invested a lot in his character and wanted to move the story in a certain way. This mechanic is bound to help me NOT 'tailor the rolls'.

 

[Rolflyn]

I don't like the multiple dice in D&D. First, it doesn't feel like D&D. Second, you end up with the worst of both worlds when you you have a mixture of rerolls and flat bonus/penalties which can totally happen in the current rules. Third, it doesn't work well with DMs using hoards of creatures.

I love the concept of advantage/disadvantage, but I would like it to be +3/-3 instead of rerolls.

 

[merchantsteve]

The beauty of the 'module' concept is that the +3/-3 option is just as valid as the multiple dice one. The key here is that advantage/disadvantage is a core concept in the game. That is HUGE. Regardless of how groups play, the rules set only has to specify when it is applied.
I could forsee that in a big battle with 40 kobolds, the DM would use the +3/-3 system for simplicity. In the final battle with the boss and his lieutenants, he might switch to the two dice method or he might not. The core concept is still valid, even if the specific mechanic is mutable.
One advantage I personally see to the 2 dice method is that higher level PCs can have a real failure chance, where a simple -3 may not make much of a difference. The extra -2 on the extreme end has impact.