D&D 5E D&D 5E Does flanking grant advantage ?

[Halivar]

It isn't a house rule. it's straight from the DMG.

Let's say optional rule then.

 

[zaratan]

One big difference between 5E and 3E&4E is that in 5E you only provoke Opportunity Attacks by moving out of a hostile creature's reach (who can see you).
In 3E and 4E you tended to provoke if you moved from a space within the reach.

The 5E version makes it easier when you're playing "theater of the mind" style without a grid.
But when you're playing with a grid it makes getting behind someone alot easier than in 3E&4E.
So you might want to house rule how Opportunity Attacks work as well if you add the flanking rules.

As a LARPer, I entirely concur that flanking and outnumbering gives a huge advantage in combat that 5E doesn't simulate. But then it's not a hardcore combat sim.
I actually rather like the facing rule and the use of using your Reaction to change your facing during someone else's turn.

This.

It's preatty easier to flank in 5e and the bonus for that is way bigger. And how advantage doesn't stack, flank make more important things obsolete.

 

[Mouseferatu]

I love how the advantage/disadvantage mechanic has replaced so many of the fiddly bonuses. That said, some bonuses do still exist in 5E, and I feel flanking is the right place for them. If I were to use a flanking optional rule, I'd suggest it grant +1 or +2 to hit, rather than granting advantage. Far less overwhelming and far less of an impact on other rules.

 

[Yaarel]

No, but an ally can grant you advantage:

SRD5: Help

You can lend your aid to another creature in the completion of a task. When you take the Help action, the creature you aid gains advantage on the next ability check it makes to perform the task you are helping with, provided that it makes the check before the start of your next turn.

Alternatively, you can aid a friendly creature in attacking a creature within 5 feet of you. You feint, distract the target, or in some other way team up to make your ally’s attack more effective. If your ally attacks the target before your next turn, the first attack roll is made with advantage.

I find this post to be the best answer. It is official and core.

It also how I would probably rule it any way.

Flanking can grant advantage to an ally, but it requires an action to set up the attack.

 

[Yaarel]

I love how the advantage/disadvantage mechanic has replaced so many of the fiddly bonuses. That said, some bonuses do still exist in 5E, and I feel flanking is the right place for them. If I were to use a flanking optional rule, I'd suggest it grant +1 or +2 to hit, rather than granting advantage. Far less overwhelming and far less of an impact on other rules.

Maybe a bonus to attacks when flanking can be one part of some kind of team fighting feat?

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I find this post to be the best answer. It is official and core.

It also how I would probably rule it any way.

Flanking can grant advantage to an ally, but it requires an action to set up the attack.

It seems pretty silly that faking an attack is a better distraction than actually attempting to kill an enemy. That's the big problem there.

EDIT - I get the balance issues, but it totally fails to stand up to the "what's actually happening?" test. 4E put balance ahead of making sense... Just sayin'...

 

[Dragoslav]

I like your thinking, but this houserule skews boss fights against solos more than they already are.

What if you added a feature to every creature meant to be faced as a solo encounter like: "On Guard: This creature is ferociously alert in combat and is a worthy opponent against even multiple attackers: it does not grant advantage for being flanked."

 

[Ruin Explorer]

What if you added a feature to every creature meant to be faced as a solo encounter like: "On Guard: This creature is ferociously alert in combat and is a worthy opponent against even multiple attackers: it does not grant advantage for being flanked."

Then that fixes that problem!

 

[strider13x]

Then that fixes that problem!

The problem doesn't exist in that it's a DM call. The players don't get to decide "I'm flanking so give me my bonus". They can state the intent, but the DM gets to rule if and when Advantage is given. No need to specifically qualify if a monster can avoid being flanked, the situation will inform the DM. Maybe the monster is guarding it's young so it is hyper vigilant. Or maybe the monsters belly is full and it's groggy. Either way the PCs don't know, this is why we use DMs to make those calls.

 

[Otterscrubber]

FWIW, we've been running with this rule since day 1, and it really evens out in the end, because monsters are also smart enough to seek advantage. It makes our fights more mobile, as everyone is trying to get into flanking and out of being flanked. This is our solution to otherwise static combat.

Agreed, this optional rule to grant advantage to flanking almost always gives a bonus to the monsters rather than the Pcs as they are often outnumbered at the start of a fight. Although I have found that it does make it a cakewalk when players are fighting one tough monster, they will often have advantage. This can make what should be a tough boss fight a steamroll.