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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Arial Black" data-source="post: 6715338" data-attributes="member: 6799649">When I started to run Lost Mines of Phandelver I chose to use the optional flanking rule from the DMG.Why? Coming through extensive 3E/PF play, flanking gives a +2 attack bonus, 5E uses advantage instead of such bonuses, so flanking=advantage seemed fair enough.In play, it meant that nearly every melee attack had advantage. It is much easier to get into a flanking position in 5E than it was in 3E. In 3E, if you start adjacent to the enemy, you can move one square without a problem, but when you move two or more you provoke an AoO. But in 5E, you can run circles around and around your enemy without provoking, as long as you don't leave his reach.So it's trivially easy to get into a flanking position in 5E but not 3E, advantage is not only better mathematically than +2 it also cancels disadvantage and some other mechanics key off it. Flanking became the dominant factor in my 5E combats.Still, I didn't think to do anything about it. Then I tried making some characters myself.My barbarian can get it at will, but all attacks on her get advantage too. My paladin of vengeance can get it at will...against one target per short rest.I could cast true strike, but there goes my action for that entire turn...!Why go to all that trouble when I can simply walk around the bad guy into a flanking position at no cost?Then I saw a thread comment that said that his table had stopped using this optional rule that isn't even in the PHB! It's only then that it occurred to me that I could simply choose not to use that rule! I only used it in the first place because I'd been playing with a flanking rule since 3E came out, so I felt that there aught to be one.And now I (finally!) come to the topic of this thread. In all this research, I discovered that advantage should not be trivial and/or without cost. You shouldn't be able to get it just by saying so; just by describing how your punch is a superman punch. If it works like that, then every punch would be described as a superman punch at no cost, and the world would be full of people attacking by jumping up a bit before attacking.I don't think the question of 'common/rare' is what matters here. I think it should be a matter of cost.Even the free advantage you get by using Inspiration is a one-shot deal that has to be regained before using it again, so is usually saved for an important roll.</blockquote>

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