Advantage and Disadvantage

Sometimes a special ability, spell, or situation tells you that you have an advantage or a disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll an additional die (ranging from 1d4 to 1d12) along with the d20 when you make the roll. For an advantage, add the extra die result to your check as a bonus. For a disadvantage, subtract the extra die result from your check as a penalty.

Advantages/disadvantages fall into three degrees: minor, moderate, or major. The size of the bonus/penalty die depends on the degree of advantage, as follows:

• Minor: d4
• Moderate: d8
• Major: d12

If multiple situations impose advantage or disadvantage on roll, they combine to increase the degree. A minor advantage/disadvantage increases the degree by one step (so two minor advantages equal a moderate advantage), a moderate advantage increases the degree by two steps (so a minor advantage and a moderate advantage equal a major advantage), and a major advantage increases the degree by three steps. Advantages and disadvantages cancel each other out. For example, a moderate disadvantage decreases the degree of advantage by two steps (so a minor advantage would become a minor disadvantage, and a moderate advantage would become no advantage).

No matter how many sources of advantage or disadvantage you have, you only roll one bonus/penalty die, and the degree can be no greater than major. It is recommended to use green-colored bonus dice and red-colored penalty dice to tell them apart.

You usually gain advantages or disadvantages through the use of special abilities, actions, spells, or temporary situations. The DM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in one direction or another and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result. Typically, fixed bonuses that don’t wear off will give a flat numerical bonus to your modifier (+2, for example), while temporary or situational modifiers use bonus/penalty dice. As a general rule, you should be able to read your numerical bonus off of your character sheet without doing any mental math. Anything unusual will be handled with bonus/penalty dice.

Gameplay note: Advantage/Disadvantage is intended to be a soft mechanic rather than a hard one. In complicated situations there may be many different factors applying advantages and disadvantages. The DM should take a quick look at the situation and make a judgment call about the overall size of the advantage/disadvantage, rather than making a detailed tally of all applicable factors, and is encouraged to apply a health dose of rule of cool where it makes sense. For example, say Lidda is swinging from a rope while trying to shoot her crossbow at a blinded goblin who just ducked under a table for cover. Rather than consulting references for swinging from a rope (there isn’t one), cover, and shooting at a target that can’t see, the DM decides that this is a tricky shot, but cool and and unexpected. They give Lidda minor disadvantage for the shot.

Example Advantages/Disadvantages

The following table lists the magnitude (minor, moderate, or major) of some common combat situations that grant advantage/disadvantage to AC or attack rolls.