Replace Flanking with Cinematic Advantage! (Ep. 189)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ค. 2021
- Michael Shea, author of "Return of the Lazy DungeonMaster" has a creative way of replacing flanking with a new rule called cinematic advantage. Professor DungeonMaster explains how it works and why it's cool.
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I think we all know what happened to Anakin's Cinematic Advantage roll on Mustafar.
Lmao!
And get a nat 1 in the Dex check
@@leandrochavez6480 that would be 2 nat 1s :) haha snake eyes on a d20
He doesn't like dice. They're lost and pooled and random, and they always roll low. Not like inspiration, which is earned and used.
Look, high ground is high ground ok, Cinematic advantage of not.
I have literally been doing this without a name for years, can confirm: it's pretty rad.
Indeed it is
Ditto :)
I'm going to try it out this week if my group's okay with it.
Same
Same here. This is not new. But I am glad someone has "codified it" so that certain players will accept it as an official optional rule lol.
Thank you so much for the video! You really grabbed onto all of the cool bits of this idea, moreso than I think the original article managed to do. I appreciate the discussion and the links to my stuff. I love your show!
Thanks! I love your book. It lives on my shelf next to my Original Players' Handbook!
Indeed. Now explain skill challenges just ONE MORE TIME...
@@commandercaptain4664 What IS this, a CROSSOVER EPISODE?!
This concept was in the 4th edition DMG. Hate that edition or love it, the 4th ed DMG had great advice.
Yes it did. Minions were great!
I never got the hate more than it not like like "DnD"
The best thing I've learned about dnd from this channel and the OSR is that a rules light game isn't limiting... it is freeing! Less rules means less restrictions on creativity.
Yes!
@@Vedexent_ Yes freeing the players from strict rules requires a lot of work from the DM. Consistency in the rules of the world and a soft guiding hand helps a lot. I've brought a lot of players into TTRPGs through 5e and getting them to think as their character and not look at their sheet as though it is a video game requires a lot of work. I see getting players into a rules light game as the next step from 5e.
Wrong. Restrictions create creativity.
This is my favorite DnD channel! I love the focus on storytelling and logical simplification of needlessly complex mechanics.
This reminds me of stunting in exalted.
Anything that gets my players to do something besides say “ ok imma hit the Orc” is great
Thanks for commenting!
I hate it when the DM wants to force the crew to be theatrical. We've hit 20 lutherans with spears, I'm not going to tell you how the 21st gets speared differently.
@@SusCalvin forcing someone to do something they’re not interested in doing isn’t fun. Nobody should be pressured into being cinematic but it’s great to have options for those who do.
@@SusCalvin
D&D of any variation doesn't really support that playstyle very well.
When a starting Exalted PC has to deal 20 Lutherans (or even fairly elite troops that would give a 6 person level 5 D&D party serious trouble), he'd say something like "I throw my spear through the group with such force that a vaccuum is created in its wake. The combined forces rip them to shreds. [rolls damage] Okay, they're pretty much red mist.
@@Carabas72 The trick to fightiting 20 dudes in OD&D is sometimes to bring 30 of your dudes. People have henchmen and mercenary hirelings for a reason.
An OD&D party could mean ten PCs, twelve mercenaries and five attack dogs plus a few non-combat porters, labourers and lantern boys.
You could use resources and terrain at hand creatively. If you sit in ambush and the gang has a mix of crossbows and M-14 rifles ready, you can argue that you get a surprise salvo off on them.
I always thought this is what advantage was for, to have an easy and consistent way of rewarding creative actions by the players.
Same, this seems to add advantage to advantage, which isn't bad, but harder to keep track of over turns.
I had players take the bag off of a prisoner’s head and put it on an umbra hulk they were fighting to nullify it’s gaze. I’ve never been more proud to watch a monster get trounced.
Lol. Sounds like a blast!
This feels like a direct port of “scene aspects” from FATE into D&D. I like it
Came looking for this specific comment. This is FATE aspects applied to D&D. Looks nice, yeah.
@@minicarbonara I've actually incorporated "Combat Maneuvers" into my D&D game as a kind of "limited menu" FATE Aspect system. Works pretty good so far
I love this rule so much, it’s a great way to invite new players to Roleplay without it needing to be a contrived accent. (Accents and affectation are great, but I find they can actually make people who want to play the game less creative in their narration. Particularly if they are new.)
"May all your rolls be 20's"
*total party wipe out for the 4th time in a row*
Curse you Dungeon craft!!
Never really thought about it like that, lol. A dm with all nat 20s leads to a rough game night and tpks
@@96Logan That's why I like Genesys dice. Why TPK when your players will do that for you?
@@commandercaptain4664 those are really cool! I just looked them up, gonna have to snag some
Returning to the table after a 20 year hiatus and have been low-key dreading running combat. I've only ever run theater of the mind combat, and this seems like a perfect fit for me. Brilliant!
Love this rule. I mean I have been doing it without being aware of it since I started GMing, but it's a nice reminder, that I should put stuff in the combat area to encourage this.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Thank you Dungeon Craft. This game-changing video is the single best birthday present I could have wished for. I think a cinematic approach to RPGs is the way to go.
Happy birthday! Thanks for the kind words. May all your rolls be 20s!
You know, I'm usually not a fan of your videos, but I keep coming back for gems like this. Thanks for introducing this idea to me.
I came across a rule at a convention one year that had a similar mentality. Basically, have the players describe the cool thing they want to do. If they make it cinematic enough, they get inspiration. That way, even if the cool thing failed, they now have a reward for attempting it, and a constant method of gaining that inspiration in combat. Thanks to this, I've had people try to catch enemies jumping at them and then lob them back into the pack or worgs that were closing in, or try to slice the stalactite to drop on the dragon. It's a rule I would suggest for any game, but especially larger than life epics.
Genuis.
I just started experimenting with this in my recent session, and my players absolutely love it! There's nothing more rewarding as a DM then when your players all cheer and laugh when the Halfling monk launches himself out of a window to tackle an unsuspecting baddie. If it would look cool on the big screen, the player should do it. After this session, I'm hoping my players start to do more of this. It is truly awesome.
I feel like this concept is one of the first homebrew ideas people come up with, but as usual, Professor (and Sly Flourish) articulate in a super functional way. Awesome!
Thanks! Don't know if I told you, but I mention Bardy McFly in my upcoming "Session Zero" episode. I refer to your Sessions Zero checklist, which is awesome!
Very OSR philosophy. Super glad to see more of this.
More to come.
Four PCs and five henchmen shooting crossbows at once at a dude is proper OSR tactics. Not necessarily swashbuckling just for the sake of it.
Players get ideas on how to use strangely shaped rooms and cover. There's things that impede vision like mists or darkness.
"More rules limit your options...wise words," he mutters to himself as he feeds the algorithm.
exactly my thought. I thought we were doing more with less!
This is exactly right. I groan whenever a new rule book comes out. I think the brilliance of the core 5E system is that abilities, skills, and race/class specific features enables us to create almost any kind of cinematic encounter we want...without having to consider this homebrew! This is also why I tend to not like new sub-classes or spells. Too often they just seem like a new flavor of what we already have.
And thanks so much for doing so!
Limited options breed creativity, however.
@@tahunuva4254 Not to a rules lawyer.
This was great, I think my first dm used this, and it was one of the most exciting experiences of my life for that year
Total Fun Easy quick improv for a simple mechanic. Our group does this all the time. Glad someone wrote it down.
This is soooo cool. I'm going to have to introduce this as a formal rule in my games. I'm of the "Yes and/but -" camp whenever I DM so this will be an easy transition for my players.
I kinda wish some of the DMs I've played with do this too. Too often the response is 'It's not in the rules so no."
The risk of a mishap attached to each advantage scenario I think its what makes it exciting. I hadn't catch this Sly Flourish article, but I was also dabbling with this same idea, also referencing Fate for inspiration.
How did I miss this in Patreon! Yes, no grid advantage! Love this.
If you’re a new patron, it’s been up a while. Some videos sit for 6 months before I air them. So Patrons are now watching July’s videos. Thanks for your support!
Mike Shea is one of my favorite D&D writers of alllllllllllllll time. He's also a sweetheart. I enjoyed his Icespire Peak 1-on-1 play very much.
Great video. I have one friend that often just said, “hackity-smackity” every time it was their turn for combat, and it got repetitive. On the other hand, I was playing in a Call of Cthulhu game where a doctor pulled a bottle of chemicals from their medical bag and splashed it in a cultist’s eyes. The Keeper thought it was a clever idea and told them to roll. They succeeded, and we all got a laugh as that player crowed about “blinding their opponent with science”
Return of the Lazy Dungeon Master is a great read
I adopted a "cinematic" playstyle years ago.
I had once read in print something supporting this type of game-play.
What you are speaking of is of course not a true mechanic, but rather the "Rule of Cool".
Too many DM's will try to thwart players from attempting something cinematically spectacular.
I encourage it at my table.
After 2min in I'm absolutely sure: THIS is one of the best episodes ever!
Thanks!
Cinematic advantage is in fact one of the best rules I have heard of and this was a great video describing it. Interesting enough I just discovered Michael Shea day before yesterday.
Yay! Thanks!
I will have to weave this into my games. It is what I truly miss from the narrative dice in the ffg star wars rpg. That system rewards snuffing the lights, throwing sand at someone, shooting a gas valve, collapsing a tower of boxes etc with bonus dice to roll. It is a lot of fun.
This is really 5e common sense that just makes for a much more cinematic game that the 5e rules didn’t cover. Thanks Professor DC!
Sofa cover?!? Loving it. Perfect dry delivery, FTW.
Stole that form tracy's Hickman's XDM.
I have been playing with a lot of nieces and nephews lately, anything to speed the game up for Jr. High age kids is a win. I am going to use this for sure. Thanks.
Professor I also do this with negotiation and other checks. As in, you can roll straight up, but if you can think of a cool plan you get advantage.
Basically, Advantage rewards creative play. It's never found on the character sheet.
Very cool!
This brings to mind "called shots" from past editions.
[haha] "Sofa Cover" - "Ya, can't hit me, I've got sofa cover" [haha]
Thanks for commenting!
Sofa Cover is OP.
You absolutely do not need a grid to see if you have flanking, just be mostly opposite and done. More rules gives you the options that you did not create on your own - if you are extremely creative, not so useful, but for those that aren't, it's very useful. It also eliminates arguing (it says I can do that), and adds consistency between DMs.
I agree.
Brilliant. High marks to you for bringing this to us. You have 4x advantage!
I agree with nearly everything you've said here, especially adding rules to combat slows things down. My Players have always played like this because they're movie freaks. I've never noticed a grid limiting or slowing they're play. In fact the few times we've played without one, play was slowed with rulers and measuring.
I go one further. I let the players add features to the environment. As long as they are fitting. I let them roll perception as a bonus action, and ask if they can find what they are looking for.
In the game I’m designing, I’m tying this idea to character abilities. An acrobatic swashbuckler can access and swing from the chandelier rope even if it hasn’t been explicitly described, provided it makes sense. The stealth character says, “I hide in the barrel” and there’s a barrel there unless it doesn’t make sense.
There are limits, of course, but anything reasonable should be acceptable.
Love this type of gaming. I played in an Exalted game with similar mechanics and it really makes for a fun game.
Thanks for commenting!
Yeah stunting for exalted was a lot of fun.
"The only thing better than a fostful.of 20's is...fire" had me laughing loudly! 😂❤👍
Thank you! Be sure to check out my latest video: th-cam.com/video/bLAsnpNP4zw/w-d-xo.html
I love the idea of this! It mechanizes the movement and positioning on a board, I’m a fan!
Great rule and a very well presented video! Absolutely love this.
Thanks for commenting!
Fantastic video!!! I've been using advantage like this with my 3.5 D&D for almost 6 months now and I can attest it's awesome!!!
I added this to my campaign guides for my games immediately. I love this rule!
Great episode. Thank you.
This is a glorious rule, can't wait to try it out.
I am a super big fan of yours & of Mike Shea! The two of you have had more of an impact on my DM ing than all other books and sources combined. I loved his article about cinematic advantage, and I’m so glad you made it into a dungeon university video!
This is an awesome idea! Def will incorporate more into future games
This is great! It reminds me a lot of story tags in City of Mist (a PbtA game). There, each scene has different tags (features, essentially) and if the players figure out how to use them to their advantage, they get a +1 to their roll for each tag. So for example if they're trying to hide in a room, and the room has the tags "dark" and "full of furniture" the players can describe how they use both those tags to help them hide, and gain a +2 to their roll.
I immediately started doing this when 5E came out & my mind was blown with the idea of Advantage & I returned to Narrative Play.
Sped up play & it opened up more creative options for the players.
Glad it has a name now, I guess.
It’s also why I don’t use AC anymore & have the players roll themselves to avoid a hit.
Less dice rolling for me & they stay engaged, even when it’s not their turn.
I try and fill the space with lots of features without much thought about how the players will use them, and let their creativity do the rest. I think sometimes they assume that something I've put there without much thought was actually put there as the "key" to the encounter so think of a really awsome way to use it I would have never thought of
Cool!
this is what keeps me DMing D & D. Seeing what amazing things people think up that I would never have thought of. I once DMed 3 separate groups through the same beginner-level scenario and the tactics and results were all incredibly different.
Deathbringer: I would use cinematic advantage to rip off PDM's +1 Vest of Protection and strangle him with it. For the irony.
PDM: Um... DC 20,000 Dexterity. Roll for it.
Lol. He's actually very gentle.
Cinematic advantage seems like it really helps to make memorable moments in each session, and that's what you want. Definitely going to try this out! Thanks for sharing!
This was an amazing video, i loved the examples and the concept is really good
THIS is why I watch this channel! Great new ideas to enhance my time at the table. Thanks PDM :)
Kind of you to say. Thanks for commenting!
Thanks, this rule sounds fantastic.
This is great. Any idea which discourages thinking about meta tactics and encourages thinking about in-world tactics is a good idea in my book, and this is simple enough to be so widely applicable... amazing!
I love this! The only concern that came up for me was when you said (paraphrasing) "maybe those DCs would be a bit higher with your group, if they're particularly capable". To me that feels like punishing PCs for being good at something. I set my DCs based on the world, and if the PCs are good at something, then they're good at it.
This is a recurring issue with Dungeon Craft. When, for example, a lock needs to be picked, the quality of the lock will depend on how skilled the lockpicker is. He seems to have an issue with PCs being good at the things they're supposed to be good at.
Excellent video
This idea has refreshed the game, I have a few players that always like to embellish combat and we usually have the attitude of “get on with it”... this not only validates my players play style, but the excitement as combat goes is like a craps table... I love this! Thank you!
Great stuff!
Looking very dapper, Prof. DM! I just wish these videos were longer. I learn an incredible amount from this series.
finally, a good description for role-playing combat instead of using action economy rules.
This is great. This also encourages recognising key points of interest in the environment which is a great way to give players more interesting ways of interacting other than solely relying on their own abilities and the old "I attack with my sword"
Love this and thanks for putting it out there for my players to digest.
I frickin’ love this idea. This is pure genius!
Thank Sly Flourish!
Simple and clever!!! I love it.
Glad you like it!
Oh man I love this idea, thank you. My fighters and paladin seem to get board with combat and I think this is the perfect idea for making fights more exciting
This looks awesome! Btw, love the jacket!!!
this video made me so happy, I never knew how to said that I like cinematic without wanting some heroic anime stuff.
I want to try new things, I want to try stuff that is not on the books. Thank you so much for this video.
I've never thought of Triple Advantage, I'm definitely going to be using this in my games going into the future.
Great video as always!! Lots of good ideas in here!
Loved the cinematic advantage, definitely I’m gonna use it in my game
Cool!
This is why I subscribe. I do this sometimes I've done this but didn't really think it through
This sounds awesome!
I will be immediately adopting this what a great idea
I subbed to your channel, because I feel like you emphasize immersion and creativity and (idk the word) "thinking about the specifics of each situation", and move away from complicated and arbitrary rules.
I'm looking forward to exploring your content :)
Now that's an awesome idea. I'd had something similar in mind for along the cinematic theme, that came from Riddle of Steel.
This simplifies the already basic mechanics I was futzing around with. Thanks.
This idea as amazing and I'm going to use it.
You know what you did, Mike Shea.
You have given me new ideas as a player.
I do just that in the theater of the mind game I'm designing. It's not advantage because the dice system's different, but gaining positive fictional tags gives players a hefty bonus. This encourage players to maneuver to gain those advantages instead of just striking on and on. But the bad guys can also do this, so in some encounters the main obstacle is disabling a villain's edge. Love it.
Great advice!
Great video as always Professor! This is a great rule for the table. Who doesn't love chucking more dice?
Especially if those dice are on fire, and you are throwing them in to a pool of oil!
Almost as thrilling as playing Tunnels & Trolls in 1975. T&T always just worked this way. But instead of making a roll to translate to "Advantage" on *another* roll, an appropriate stunt could literally unlock anything: one-shot the enemy, make them fall in love with you, whatever you can think of. And the GM would never list out all the possible options--that was up to the wits and creativity of the players!
The OSR movement tries to pull inspiration from just that era. You don't need exact rules for all the weird stuff that can happen.
T&T was about group combat, I think. We combine party combat strength and compare it with the gnoll's combined combat strength or something.
I have always had this in mind to allow players to do this when I DM. I now realize I should definitely inform this as an option to my players since I don't think they know they can improvise the now named "cinematic advantage" moments. I love your vids and this was definitely informative and interesting to watch.
I love the idea!
I've just starting a new campaign with a group of newbies and have been wondering how best to incorporate a more cinematic feel in combat which the group seems to like. I describe what the enemies are doing in a cinematic way but I would absolutely love it for them to use the set pieces for their own characters as well. Just using DM inspiration when they get creative isn't helping because none of them ever want to use it, even when I remind them, because they feel like it's "cheating."
I'll introduce this idea to them and just see if they'd like this option better! Thanks Professor!
This is something I have tried to use frequently as a DM (even using things such as inspiration points to encourage players) but in many cases players are so ingrained in the rules that they are hesitant to deviate from something in black and white. However, when my other players use cinematic advantage and it works out it really makes for a great story...thanks for sharing!
hey, ken! Thanks for your support!
I love this idea!
Great idea! I alrdy always try to do this in my games and now u gave me a great rule set for it
Great for theatre of the mind play!
Yes!
Great stuff friend 👏 👍
Thank you! Cheers!
Amazing as always!
Thanks for commenting!
@@DUNGEONCRAFT1 Thank you for fhe wonderful content!
I'm designing a game where players can gain abilities that give them extra perks if they have Advantage in combat. Definitely planning on plugging this concept in!
Sounds cool!
definitely going to try this
Love it. We did that back in the day although we didn't have a word for it. We almost always played theater of the mind. (Also didn't have (dis)advantage back then. Those are really kind of OP mechanics IMO).