Stacked Advantage

The advantage and disvantage mechanic from Dungeons & Dragons is an excellent addition to 5th Edition, but somewhat limited in scope. Under standard rules, multiple sources of advantage or disadvantage (hereafter generally referred to as 'advantage') do not have any effect after the first source. Pathways of the Qaadi seeks to expand upon these rules.

Advantage works as per the Dungeon Master's Guide (p.239-240), with the added ability to make use of multiple levels of advantage, thus allowing more nuanced instances of combat and exploration. This is done with special D20s, dubbed the D20+ and the D20-.

The D20+ is a D20 with an additional number '20' in place of the '1', effectively doubling the chance of rolling a critical. It also means that a player cannot critically fail. After all, the more one does to swing a situation in his favor, the better the odds of success.

Conversely, the D20- is a D20 with the number '20' replaced by an additional '1', not only doubling the chances for a critical failure, but also plowering the chance of pulling out an unlikely success.

In the event that a character has multiple unique sources of advantage, each additional source augments the type of D20 rolled. For example, say a Barbarian uses Reckless Attack, granting him (or her) advantage on attack rolls, against a prone enemy, which also grants advantage on attack rolls made within 5ft. A fellow Druid has previously cast Faerie Fire, which confers advantage on all attack rolls made within the area of the spell. The Barbarian would have three stacks of advantage, not only allowing him to roll twice and pick the higher value, but also allowing him to use the special double-20 D20+ in place of the second D20.

The same is true for disadvantage, in that it stacks as well. Multiple instances of Disadvantage will bring the double-1 D20- die into play. The Fate Bender D20 set from ArtisanDice.com are ideal for this rule; alternatively, you can use standard D20s, simply treating the '1' and '20' on the die as the appropriate numbers relative to the required situation.

Because advantage now has numerical value associated with it, cancellation from disadvantage is done simply: Subtract the total disadvantage level from the total advantage level. The result of this calculation will give you the appropriate stack level. For example, if you have -4 disadvantage and +2 advantage, your total will be -2, which is Minor Disadvantage.

Advantage Chart

Advantage Type Dice Rolled Stack Level Supreme Advantage D20+/D20+ +5 Superior Advantage D20/D20+ +3/+4 Minor Advantage D20/D20 +1/+2 No Advantage — — Minor Disadvantage D20/D20 -1/-2 Major Disadvantage D20/D20- -3/-4 Fatal Disadvantage D20-/D20- -5

Advantage Sources

There are seven different possible sources of advantage or disadvantage: Ability Modifier, Inspiration, Magical Items, Party Assist, Spells, Conditions, and Skill Effects. Advantage cannot be stacked from identical sources. For example, if a player has two different magical items that confer advantage on Strength checks, only one will count.

Ability Modifier. Certain outstanding physical or mental abilities can confer advantage or disadvantage accordingly. Think of it this way: if a character possesses unusually high Strength or Intelligence, they would naturally have a higher chance of success in any activity that relied upon those attributes. Conversely, someone who has lower than average stats will have a much more difficult time.

Ability modifiers of +5 to +7 confer Minor Advantage, while +8 to +10 confer Superior Advantage. Disadvantage is calculated somewhat differently — modifiers of -2 to -3 confer Minor Disadvantage, while -4 to -5 confer Major Disadvantage. Note that it is not possible to exceed a modifer of -5; this would require an Ability score of 0, which is generally impossible, except where noted otherwise. These instances are governed by their own rules.

Inspiration. Inspiration is given out by the DM at will. If you have inspiration, you can expend it when you make an attack roll, saving throw, or ability check. Spending your inspiration gives you advantage on that roll.

Magical Item. Some magical items have been given the ability to confer advantage on the wielder. As a general rule, items that do alter a character's Ability scores don't confer advantage or disadvantage, though there are rare exceptions. Specific items (and the books in which they are found) are described in Appendix C.

Party Assist. Sometimes, more than one person can help you perform a task. It therefore stands to reason that the more people help, the greater the likelihood of success. It is only possible to gain one level

Spells. Magic is a powerful tool, and certain spells such as Beacon of Hope or Otto's Irresistible Dance can give advantage or disadvantage. Note that advantage from spells does not conflict with advantage from magical items. Some spells have been updated to give greater amounts of advantage or disadvantage; see Appendix D for details.

Conditions. Certain conditions can confer advantage or disadvantage. See p. 290-292 of the Player's Handbook for more details. Note that exhaustion cannot stack disadvantage levels on itself.

Skills. Depending upon the race, class, or campaign, characters may sometimes have an innate ability to give themselves or others advantage.

Limitations Keep in mind that stacks are situationally specific - if a creature has advantage on attack rolls using Strength, and gains advantage on Strength checks, the stack levels do not accumulate. The DM may allow or disallow stacking from certain sources at will.

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