Flanking Rules

[S'mon]

I will ad hoc attacks to rear get advantage. Usually you need a 5+ on 1 surrounded situation to get this for the 5th & subsequent attackers.

 

[jgsugden]

In my games, an enemy that is flanked provokes OAs (to all enemies that can reach it) whenever it moves (even if it is not leaving reach), rather than granting advantage to the creatures flanking it. Thus, it is a lockdown move more than a 'bonus to hit' move. It works well and preserves the 'sacntity' of advantage. Flanking granting advantage gives advantage too easily...

 

[DEFCON 1]

I also use the +2 for flanking, rather than Advantage in my games.

 

[DND_Reborn]

I think I might suggest a +1 for flanking (+2 would upset Bounded Accuracy too much IMO) and only apply advantage to rear attacks.

 

[TaranTheWanderer]

We had flanking but ditched it. As mentioned above, It was too easy to get advantage and It really undermined the HELP action that is supposed to make combat more cinematic. The purpose of Advantage instead of static bonuses is to allow players to ask the GM, "hey, can I do this cool thing?" and the DM doesn't have to worry about saying, "no, there's no rules for that." Instead he says, "sure, narrate and I'll give someone advantage, or give your enemy disadvantage on their next attack"

One character uses HELP action to FLANK, allowing his ally advantage.
Or maybe he throws sand in an enemy's face, allowing his ally advantage.
Or maybe he screams an intimidating war-cry, allowing his ally advantage.
Maybe he swings from a chandelier and knocks the guy off balance, giving an enemy disadvantage.

It's way more exciting than having your players move their minis behind an enemy and say, 'I flank' all day long.

We are experimenting with using a bonus action instead of a full Help action and it's working pretty well. So to get advantage you can:

1) use a full action Help to give an ally advantage (as I suggested above) or;
2) move in to a flank position and use up your bonus action to give yourself advantage on your main action.

It forces you to use up a bonus action which has a lot of flexibility in 5e, depending on your build. So, maybe you give up an off-hand attack to get advantage. Or maybe you give up a quickened spell or a cunning action. And you still have to be in a flank position.

 

[Monayuris]

We had flanking but ditched it. As mentioned above, It was too easy to get advantage and It really undermined the HELP action that is supposed to make combat more cinematic. The purpose of Advantage instead of static bonuses is to allow players to ask the GM, "hey, can I do this cool thing?" and the DM doesn't have to worry about saying, "no, there's no rules for that." Instead he says, "sure, narrate and I'll give someone advantage, or give your enemy disadvantage on their next attack"

One character uses HELP action to FLANK, allowing his ally advantage.
Or maybe he throws sand in an enemy's face, allowing his ally advantage.
Or maybe he screams an intimidating war-cry, allowing his ally advantage.
Maybe he swings from a chandelier and knocks the guy off balance, giving an enemy disadvantage.

It's way more exciting than having your players move their minis behind an enemy and say, 'I flank' all day long.

We are experimenting with using a bonus action instead of a full Help action and it's working pretty well. So to get advantage you can:

1) use a full action Help to give an ally advantage (as I suggested above) or;
2) move in to a flank position and use up your bonus action to give yourself advantage on your main action.

It forces you to use up a bonus action which has a lot of flexibility in 5e, depending on your build. So, maybe you give up an off-hand attack to get advantage. Or maybe you give up a quickened spell or a cunning action. And you still have to be in a flank position.

Yeah, I think HELP is the 5E flanking. I also agree the 'helper' should narrate how they are actually helping in order to grant the advantage, it's not automatic in my game. Advantage is a cool mechanic, but I think it is granted too easily. It should've been less common in the rules, so DM's have more leeway to grant it for cool maneuvers and tactics.

I don't use flanking my games, but I also don't use the default Opportunity Attack rules. I use the zone of control concept from older editions. When a combatant enters melee with another active combatant they are 'engaged' and in their zone of control The only way to exit is to disengage away from the combatant or take it out. I don't let creatures circle around others with impunity. This tends to make combatants tankier in that a foe can't just flit around them and disengage past.

 

[shadowoflameth]

i don't have a problem with flanking. If your game is showing it to be too powerful for your tastes, just have the enemy use it occasionally. easier to do with large groups. In 5E even weak enemies get much more dangerous when they are having advantage frequently, especially if they have a sneak attack or the like.

 

[5ekyu]

No to flanking. It doesnt make it more tscctical it just rewards small movement shifts way out of proportion to the gains.

If I were ever to use it, flanking would make the Help attack option a bonus action.

 

[DND_Reborn]

If I were ever to use it, flanking would make the Help attack option a bonus action.

That would be an interesting middle-ground so to say. I'll have to keep that in mind and tell my DM next session.

 

[Da_Dingo]

We just started a new campaign and use this rule :

Flanking creature can use their reaction to help another flanking creature. This function like an help action and can provide advantage on one attack.

We tried bonus action and it was too unbalanced between class which regularly use them and those that don't. Reaction seem like a sweet spot for us so far.