advantage on the damage die/dice or reroll 1s & 2s is another way would feel monstrous to the player every time they see some low damage rolls jump but in the end not really do anything that random luck couldn't accomplish. GWF & such would still be great for being able to do it without flanking, but the lack of risk/cost in achieving a flanking position beyond "I have X feet of movement left" is still a problemHow about +2 damage instead of advantage, nice to have but not big enough to be a necessity. Also keeps Barbarian, Rogue and advantage granting abilities in mind. The biggest plus simplicity.
I've actually never thought to try combining those two rules like that, I really like the idea ! I think I'll have to try that in my current game. Thanks !I actually really like the Facing rule, provided the Mark rule is also in play. That also allows you to make use of tactical positioning to gain advantage, but it takes more work to get that advantage than flanking.
One thing worth remembering is that the accuracy previous editions allowed you to gain by flanking is already built into 5E characters by default - so even the +2 may be too much.
The hit chance is what 65 to 70% in 5E? So a +2 will take it up to 75-80%. (I was specifically talking about using +2 for flanking rather than advantage as has been discussed in the thread - I pretty much think Advantage is a non starter unless you increase monster AC by even more - and probably reduce their attacks as well)You're going to have to explain that to me, especially because the DMG has optional rules where flanking grants advantage. Advantage is essentially always better unless your character is horrible at melee. Either the game is built to account for characters getting circumstantial bonuses like advantage or bless or magic weapons, or the entire combat system is broken.
Seriously, look at the percentages for d20+2 vs d20 advantage, remembering that a natural 20 is always a success. D20+2 is only better when you need the d20+2 roll to be a 19, 20, or 21 to hit, which is like AC 23-25 at level 1 and like AC 28-30 at level 10. Even then I'm not sure if the higher crit rate of advantage doesn't mean it's still better. This is not a scenario we realistically need to care about.
I think flanking being +2 is perfectly fine. However, I would also probably say that flanking counts as advantage, too, so it's spoiled by (and spoils) disadvantage and it doesn't stack with (and is superceded by) advantage. That's a lot more fiddley, but I think it's a good compromise to prevent bonus hunting.