Quick note to say I adapted my heartbreaker to use advantage and ran it today that way and the games was much smoother.
I used a modified version as my game uses 2d10 as opposed to a d20. I used advantage and disadvantage to mean roll an additional d10 and take the highest or lowest two.
Previously when there were lots of dice being rolled, most typically in combat the game had become something of a number crunch with, as is typical I suspect lots of modifiers sloshing about. Now they could all be reduced to advantage disadvantage.
the result was the game felt slicker, less crunch and the addition of advantage/disadvantage added excitedment to a roll rather than making it more complex.

A typical example was when one of the Strontium Dogs, LugNut, was jumping from a the roof of a land train firing at a terrorist under cover in the back of a carriage the front half of which they had destroyed with a dimension grenade.
Now in the original rules that would have been 2d10 + attack bonus - 4 (opponent in 2/3 cover) - 2 (shooting wilst moving) vs Opponents Defense. the additional modifiers would have been a bit dull but typical of a 'trad game'. Instead it was 2d10 + attack & disadvantage v defense and that not only made it easier and faster to work out a result but also made the actual rolling more fun.

So I am totally converted to it.

Well since no one else is biting, I will. Did you add and subtract advantage dice for each factor, ending with a number of dice to be rolled with the best two or worst two (or just two) added together, or was it more like how 5 is doing it where you judge who has overall advantage and they get a bonus die?

In other words, +1 for better armor, +1 for higher ground, -1 for shorter weapon, +1 for positioning with the sun at your back = (+1 +1 +1 -1) +2 bonus dice? Note that with the longer weapon this could have been +4 bonus dice.

I also think this could work really well with a 2d10 system if you have a chart of results to which the roll is compared. E.g. 2 = critical failure, 3-4 = fail and complication, 5-7 = fail, 8-10 = fail but perhaps an opportunity, 11 = ? 12-14 = succeed but complication, 14-17 = succeed, 18-19 = succeed and opportunity, 20 = complete success. Well, that's a little more elaborate than I intended, but a couple of those could be collapsed. This would work best with small skill/attribute/etc. ranges, like FUDGE or WW (although for WW I'd rescale everything around 0 with 2 = 0) to keep the number of dice involved relatively small.

Quote from: apparition13;659521Well since no one else is biting, I will. Did you add and subtract advantage dice for each factor, ending with a number of dice to be rolled with the best two or worst two (or just two) added together, or was it more like how 5 is doing it where you judge who has overall advantage and they get a bonus die?

In other words, +1 for better armor, +1 for higher ground, -1 for shorter weapon, +1 for positioning with the sun at your back = (+1 +1 +1 -1) +2 bonus dice? Note that with the longer weapon this could have been +4 bonus dice.

I also think this could work really well with a 2d10 system if you have a chart of results to which the roll is compared. E.g. 2 = critical failure, 3-4 = fail and complication, 5-7 = fail, 8-10 = fail but perhaps an opportunity, 11 = ? 12-14 = succeed but complication, 14-17 = succeed, 18-19 = succeed and opportunity, 20 = complete success. Well, that's a little more elaborate than I intended, but a couple of those could be collapsed. This would work best with small skill/attribute/etc. ranges, like FUDGE or WW (although for WW I'd rescale everything around 0 with 2 = 0) to keep the number of dice involved relatively small.

No I just took a look at the overall situation and granted advantage disadvantage or neither.
The aim was to reduce complexity which had crept in and replace it with something easy to understand and exciting to use in play.
Like I say was very effective.

Blood & Treasure simply does it by giving advantage a +2 bonus on offense, and a +2 bonus on AC if the defender has one.

Quote from: JeremyR;659565Blood & Treasure simply does it by giving advantage a +2 bonus on offense, and a +2 bonus on AC if the defender has one.

Just another modifier though.
The extra dice take highest just made the experience more fun which might seem illogical but was certainly true

Quote from: jibbajibba;659571Just another modifier though.
The extra dice take highest just made the experience more fun which might seem illogical but was certainly true

The mechanic also leaves the range of possible outcomes unaltered: Advantage can make it more likely that you'll perform at your best; but it won't turn an average fencer into Cyrano de Bergerac or allow a neighborhood auto mechanic to design the Iron Man suit.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;659620The mechanic also leaves the range of possible outcomes unaltered: Advantage can make it more likely that you'll perform at your best; but it won't turn an average fencer into Cyrano de Bergerac or allow a neighborhood auto mechanic to design the Iron Man suit.

That's always been the best thing about R&K systems.  However, disadvantage can make something unlikely, but not "you gotta be fucking kidding me" near impossible which stacked penalties can. Bug or feature ymmv.

Alternity used "Steps" these were difficulty modifiers that essentially worked as advantage/disadvantage, but it wasn't as elegant because it was a roll low system so "advantage" was a subtraction of anywhere from a d4 on up to 2d20.


I'm rather fond of the idea myself, it makes book keeping simpler in many ways.

That sounds very much like the way bonus and penalty for Boons and Flaws dice work in Barbarians of Lemuria. Worked well in BoL.

I love the advantage rules; I think its one of the great new ideas to come out of 5e, and I'm sure I'll be using it sooner or later.

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