Advantage

[Harlander]

It took you seven days to think of that retort? Witness Harlander's lightning wit in action!

Touché.

(Or your DM is terrible for making six hour sessions of nothing but combat)

Well, yes, that particular GM was the worst example of the craft I've ever experienced, even when combats weren't being stretched to last a whole half-day session, so it doesn't stand up all that well as a general case, but my terrible GM and your mumbling, inarticulate nerd herd are both extremes on scales.

The larger group of people who are less confident RPers can be encouraged by minor mechanical bonuses into improvisation, and yes, even stunting - and these things enhance my enjoyment of combat greatly. (If players feel they have to ham up every action, the bonuses are probably too big)

 

[ExploderWizard]

I don't need D&D combats sounding like a tennis match.

" That fireball was executed beautifully, Advantage wizard."

" And the PCs defeat the orc tribe in straight sets! We'll be right back after these messages."

No thanks.

 

[Tehnai]

I like Advantage, as a name.

It's simple, clear, obvious, and more importantly, only one word.

I mean, let's take for example a new player, let's call him Billy. Billy never played a roleplaying game before, but he's not shy and is getting pretty creative in his tactics. You tell him "Okay, Billy, your fighter has the advantage, that gives him +2 to his roll". The same situation happens later on, but while Billy's fighter is trying to intimidate a goblin to let a child go. Billy's fighter is covered in Goblin blood, so you tell him "Billy, you are a terrifying individual, covered in blood and gore, you have the advantage."

Billy knows that advantage means +2 to something. And thus it is explained and understood.

Having 12 different terms that essentially mean "You get +2 to something" (circumstance bonus, combat advantage, flanking, et al) just confuses new players, especially the ones who don't want to read the rulebooks for XYZ reasons.

I'll take Advantage because it's clear, self-explanatory and, again, only one word.

 

[Piratecat]

Feng Shui with a bunch of inarticulate nerds is about as entertaining as stabbing forks into your eyes.

It's completely off topic, but Feng Shui has a mechanical flaw that really slows it down; by making attack and defense the exact same number, a NPC skilled enough to hurt a PC is almost completely unhittable. Most Feng Shui boss fights involve the players doing ineffective cool stuff until the GM gets bored, at which point the boss keels over.

Decoupling the two values and (usually) making defense a few points lower avoids this entire problem. It's the best kind of house rule, small and easy to remember but with big ramifications.

Okay, gratuitous hijack over. Back to Advantage.

 

[Incenjucar]

Advantages should be for an advantageous situation, not for clever wording of that situation.

I shouldn't get a constant +2 to everything just because I'm a natural story-teller.

 

[Pheonix0114]

Not sure I'd ever let it fly in combat, even if that is part of the rules, as at our table you see if you hit and approximately how hard before either I, as DM, or the player describes the blow.

However, I already do this in roleplaying situations, though it is usually an invisible lowering of the DC that the players are unaware of. This allows players to say "I use my natural charm and wit to entertain the crowd" and roll Preform (Oratory) or to jump up on a table and start talking. I am fine with either, but the second requires more work so I like giving players that go the extra mile a small bonus to their eventual check.