D&D 5E Enemies should only attack when they have advantage (and other quick tips)

[Swarmkeeper]

I’ve posted this one in other threads before but, hey, why not for the monsters/NPCs, too?

Replace Flanking with Cinematic Advantage

Instead of using the optional flanking rule, offer deals to players to trade ability checks using in-world features to gain advantage on their next attack. Chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide offe...

slyflourish.com

 

[Charlaquin]

I’ve posted this one in other threads before but, hey, why not for the monsters/NPCs, too?

Replace Flanking with Cinematic Advantage

Instead of using the optional flanking rule, offer deals to players to trade ability checks using in-world features to gain advantage on their next attack. Chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide offe...

slyflourish.com

I still feel like cinematic advantage is just the Help action with a narrative description. Which is not a bad thing, mind you.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yeah.

Makes me wonder if a house rule that getting up from prone provokes attacks of opportunity would be broken beyond measure....

It could just take even more movement? Or provide advantage on the next attack from an enemy that was adjacent when you got up, but that’s widgety.

One thing I do is provide all enemy teams with “legendary” actions, and make liberal use of “lair actions”, that are just things like all enemies moving together to get into a formation, or a group of hoplites doing a shield push manuever to force the PCs into a disadvantageous position.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

My only issue with this is that it is ineffective, and I can't imagine PCs every doing it.

If round 1 I don't have advantage but I set up so round 2 I do... and round 2 I attack with advantage I am rolling 2d20 and the best I can do is hit once. If I had attacked both rounds I still roll 2d20 just 1 per round and if both hit I hit twice...

add to this attempts that fail to gain advantage being completely dead turns.

No more dead rurn than a missed attack, and shoving prone might open up the enemy for not 1 but a few attacks with advantage.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It could just take even more movement? Or provide advantage on the next attack from an enemy that was adjacent when you got up, but that’s widgety.

One thing I do is provide all enemy teams with “legendary” actions, and make liberal use of “lair actions”, that are just things like all enemies moving together to get into a formation, or a group of hoplites doing a shield push manuever to force the PCs into a disadvantageous position.

This is a really cool idea!

 

[Swarmkeeper]

I still feel like cinematic advantage is just the Help action with a narrative description. Which is not a bad thing, mind you.

Not exactly, unless you mean helping oneself which, of course, isn't really what the Help action does. Cinematic advantage is really about the trade-off. Suggest a creative, risky maneuver for your PC (typically, but not always, as part of a move) and the DM calls for an ability check with an appropriate DC - on a failure your PC faces a consequence, on a success your PC gains advantage on an attack (or grapple or...).

DMs can further encourage risky maneuvers with lower DCs, depending on the approach of the PC I suppose. Using this concept for NPCs might serve to encourage the players to think more about using the environment to their own... erm... advantage.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

But every OTHER enemy has advantage against you until your turn. In a combat where enemies outnumber the party, it’s a pretty good tactic, particularly if the room design allows the enemy to potentially prone multiple characters with a single action (by toppling a column for instance).

You must have missed where this entire discussion went... there were no other enemies.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Depends on how you set up the scene. How many monsters are there? Do you use group or individual initiative for monsters?

and again... as I have said before, yes you can ADD things to MAKE it work but nothing in the example given works.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

This is a really cool idea!

Thanks! Matt Colville has some similar stuff in one of his videos on running the game, but his are more structured and planning-reliant.

I actually plan very little.