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12 months ago ::
Jul 24, 2012 - 12:32PM
#1
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Date Joined:
May 24, 2012
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Charging - Gain advantage on your attack, all attacks against you are made at advantage until the start of your next turn. Outnumbered - If you are outnumbered by 3-1 or more you are at disadvantage. Flanking - Flanking gives you advantage. Feinting - Int/Wis/Dex check, DC is 10+ Opponent's Int or Wis bonus. Next attack has advantage. Two Weapon Fighting - If Dex is less than 15, 2 attacks each at Disadvantage. If Dex is 16+, first attack is normal, second is at disadvantage. Neither weapon can be two-handed or versatile. Taunting (drawing aggro) - Cha vs DC 10+Opponent's Int or Wis bonus. If successful opponent must attack you on its next action. Critical success means the opponent must make an Int or Wis save to attack someone else. We also assign advantage/disadvantage to all rolls during social interaction based on RP. When the dirty, smelly, surly dwarf was trying to find a place to stay in the village one night we got lots of laughs from his bungled attempts. As he got more frustrated and more doors slammed in his face, the players were all having a great time because he would often roll really high on one die on really crappy on the other and even knowing that his blood and mud covered self was causing his problems the player was having too much fun playing the increasingly hostile fighter 
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 12:00AM
#2
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2012
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As much as I love the Advantage/Disadvantage system, this is kindof what I fear about it. If it ends up being a catch-all for every situation that calls for some kind of penalty or benefit, the novelty (speaking for myself; I'm sure others disagree strongly) wears off in a hurry. I'm already skeptical about it being baked into a lot of spells, skills, or circumstances. Basically, I think flat +2 or -2s still have a place in the game (or something similar) alongside Advantage/Disadvantage, but don't agree with the new mechanic replacing those old bonuses wholesale. Obviously, I can just houserule it however I want (and will) but I don't want to see "fresh new gimmicks" being overemphasized in the core ruleset.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 2:00AM
#3
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Date Joined:
Oct 27, 2007
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I agree that the "flat" use of advantage/disadvantage can be overused easily. But the idea of rolling more dice and choosing one or more results can be used in other ways.
For charge I used the orc special ability (d6 extra damage, grant disadvantage) I figured it is good enough for PC's.
The fighter (a player new to D&D) wanted to hit several opponents in one blow. I allowed it the first time with a disadvantage but the auto damage made that a tad powerfull, even on a miss he killed the goblins. I came up with: roll #opponents+1 dice and discard highest, use the rest to determine hit, half damage (auto damage is also half) and grant advantage to all untill next turn. In this way he can't autokill more than one goblin or kobold (maybe rats but that's okay) and any opponent left standing is a bigger threat.
Other ideas: jumping down on someone and hitting for extra damage. Roll 2 dice plus damage plus 1d6 extra damage. Choose which die to use for attack or for DC 15 dex/acrobatics check. A missed acrobatics check means 1d6 falling damage and prone. In this way it is possible to hit the opponent for extra damage but still fall prone. Alternatively, don't allow the choice but let the player designate 1 d20 for attack and other for dex check before rolling. This method could work for other maneuvres that call for an attack and attribute/skill check, as long as there is a penalty (damage, disadvantage next turn, grant advantage to opponents etc.) for a missed check.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 5:23AM
#4
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Date Joined:
Jul 23, 2012
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No custom races. (e.g. No Anubians)
No custom classes. (What's a "Pirate?")
No smoking at the table. (Your DM {me} is allergic to cig smoke.)
No being a huge rules lawyer. (Lawyer: But the rules suggest.. DM: No.)
General beats defined in some cases.
In combat, if you don't attack, you don't get xp. (Bystander rule.)
Players keep track of their own health. (The DM keeps track of monster health.)
Monsters always go after the players. Their iniative bonus defines who goes when. (Less confusion.)
The DM grants a boon to a player when they join. (Mind flayer in brain, forge like a dwarf when you're a gnome, etc.)
Crits deal 3x rolled damage if advantage is present.
You have as many days as your level to be revived if dead.
Try not to suggest ideas to the DM, it gives him (in this case me) evil plans.
Give the DM a reason for all you do.
I think that's a majority of them.
And the #1 item for the morally bankrupt... Why settle for a statue of a nude elf in your bedroom when you have a real, live nude elf, petrified and unpetrified on your command. She wears a tiara, when you utter a command word, she will be petrified, unpetrified, or disciplined. Any attempts by her to remove the tiara will be futile. Use her only as a statue, or to entertain any debauched desires you may have.
125,000 GP.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 7:20AM
#5
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Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2007
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As much as I love the Advantage/Disadvantage system, this is kindof what I fear about it. If it ends up being a catch-all for every situation that calls for some kind of penalty or benefit, the novelty (speaking for myself; I'm sure others disagree strongly) wears off in a hurry.
I am one who disagrees; I think it's a great way to handle those situations and I don't care how many times I see it: it's easy to use / remember! By contrast, I'm ready to scrap +/-2 completely. I hate how much math we used to do - constantly - and I love how much less adv/dis gives you. It's all about making the crunchy parts go fast so the fun parts come up more often! As for my own house rules: - No tracking ammo (or food). - Cover is cover is cover: any cover grants disadvantage on attacks. Done. - Rename "hit dice" something useful and make the rolls an average instead of random. - Spell durations are changed to "until the end of the battle" and "until the next long rest." All that 10 minute, 1 hour, 1 minute junk - useless. - I ignored all the stuff about negative HP, which was complex and different for each character. Anyone who went down made death saving throws; 3 successes got them stable and 3 fails got them dead. (No one went more than 2 total rolls, ever.) Also, as per my opinion above: any time I read an odd +2 here or there, I just changed it to advantage so I wouldn't have to remember the exceptions. (Like using a crowbar or being attacked while prone and all that. And yes: ironically, I remembered those exceptions...)
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 8:07AM
#6
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Date Joined:
Aug 22, 2007
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As much as I love the Advantage/Disadvantage system, this is kindof what I fear about it. If it ends up being a catch-all for every situation that calls for some kind of penalty or benefit, the novelty (speaking for myself; I'm sure others disagree strongly) wears off in a hurry.
I am one who disagrees; I think it's a great way to handle those situations and I don't care how many times I see it: it's easy to use / remember! By contrast, I'm ready to scrap +/-2 completely. I hate how much math we used to do - constantly - and I love how much less adv/dis gives you. It's all about making the crunchy parts go fast so the fun parts come up more often!
..,
Im with nukunuku on this. I am over doing the math with the + bonus/ - penalty. Besides I'm a gambler, advantage/ disadvantage, as good and bad as those can be is still a big gamble.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 25, 2012 - 10:05PM
#7
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2012
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As much as I love the Advantage/Disadvantage system, this is kindof what I fear about it. If it ends up being a catch-all for every situation that calls for some kind of penalty or benefit, the novelty (speaking for myself; I'm sure others disagree strongly) wears off in a hurry.
I am one who disagrees; I think it's a great way to handle those situations and I don't care how many times I see it: it's easy to use / remember! By contrast, I'm ready to scrap +/-2 completely. I hate how much math we used to do - constantly - and I love how much less adv/dis gives you. It's all about making the crunchy parts go fast so the fun parts come up more often!
..,
Im with nukunuku on this. I am over doing the math with the + bonus/ - penalty. Besides I'm a gambler, advantage/ disadvantage, as good and bad as those can be is still a big gamble.
My concern, beyond it just being overused to the point that it seems like it's being forced, is that Advantage might be granted even though circumstances are disparate; where a very small edge over an opponent is being rewarded the same as a "perfect storm"/planets align scenario.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 26, 2012 - 6:12AM
#8
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Date Joined:
Dec 21, 2007
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My concern, beyond it just being overused to the point that it seems like it's being forced, is that Advantage might be granted even though circumstances are disparate; where a very small edge over an opponent is being rewarded the same as a "perfect storm"/planets align scenario.
That's fair. It may be early to worry too much, though. This playtest seemed to be more about whether or not people liked the idea; advice for DMs on how to use it was scarce and I would certainly expect to see more of that. I know I read somewhere that gaining advantage should be about the equivelent of taking an action (like the rogue hiding or the aid another action), so in the short term I think it's well-balanced with the gain.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 26, 2012 - 1:31PM
#9
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Date Joined:
Jun 23, 2012
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My concern, beyond it just being overused to the point that it seems like it's being forced, is that Advantage might be granted even though circumstances are disparate; where a very small edge over an opponent is being rewarded the same as a "perfect storm"/planets align scenario.
That's fair. It may be early to worry too much, though. This playtest seemed to be more about whether or not people liked the idea; advice for DMs on how to use it was scarce and I would certainly expect to see more of that. I know I read somewhere that gaining advantage should be about the equivelent of taking an action (like the rogue hiding or the aid another action), so in the short term I think it's well-balanced with the gain.
Right. I don't want to misrepresent where I stand on the topic, to be certain. I love the Advantage/Disadvantage system overall. It's not a big deal either way, I suppose. If I don't like what the rules suggest, I'll just houserule it into something our table would prefer.
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12 months ago ::
Jul 29, 2012 - 5:13PM
#10
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Date Joined:
May 26, 2012
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Ω - The main downside I've seen for advantage/disadvantage is the players' constant jockeying for any excuse for the additional die. Granted, in a real-world situation a combatant will always try to gain the upper hand, but the players seemed to take it a little too far at times. As for bogging down with too many rolls (which seems a common complaint): aren't people using multiple dice?
Anyways, house rules:
Light blades and Thrown weapons use DEX for attack, STR for damage
When a character drops into negative hit points, s/he may continue to fight (weakened and slowed) with a successful Endurance roll (TN: 10 + negative hp) each round
When a character goes into negative hit points, they lose 100 xp for each point they go into negatives
When making a skill roll, a character may roll 2d10 instead of 1d20 (personally, I like the bell curve and it makes for more consistent results)
Static initiative: our players sit around the table in initiative order (with each character's initiative being base 10 + modifiers). The GM rolls initiative for the opponents each round to determine where in the initiative order they will go. Significantly speeds up game play and players have a sense of battle order when working together.
And a couple I'm considering:
Crossbows take a standard action to reload (but do 2W damage on a hit) - let's face it, crossbows do NOT reload as fast as a bow
Having armor grant damage resistance instead of AC (more realistic from my PoV and makes certain attacks like shoving, tripping, etc. more reasonable as armor should NOT add to the defense)
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