i totally agree with everything youre saying here, BUT i think modifiers have the advantage of being able to stack, compared to dis/adv being a binary state. this means the player can engage deeper in the fiction to haggle their way to better and better chances (or find themselves in worser and worser circumstances). allowing adv to stack doesnt do much statistically from 4d20 onwards, though the boon/bane mechanic of replacing adv with +d6, and allowing it to stack so you might roll 4d6 take highest, seems to work better (and is cleaner than stacking +2s). there are definitely cons to stacking modifiers, namely if you have to remember lots of random numbers or keep track of random situational conditions or whatever, but i think theyre covered by just making it the players problem to pay attention to and argue for bonuses, and by keeping it all the same modifier size. anyway, just sideways thoughts for context :^)
i totally agree with everything youre saying here, BUT i think modifiers have the advantage of being able to stack, compared to dis/adv being a binary state. this means the player can engage deeper in the fiction to haggle their way to better and better chances (or find themselves in worser and worser circumstances). allowing adv to stack doesnt do much statistically from 4d20 onwards, though the boon/bane mechanic of replacing adv with +d6, and allowing it to stack so you might roll 4d6 take highest, seems to work better (and is cleaner than stacking +2s). there are definitely cons to stacking modifiers, namely if you have to remember lots of random numbers or keep track of random situational conditions or whatever, but i think theyre covered by just making it the players problem to pay attention to and argue for bonuses, and by keeping it all the same modifier size. anyway, just sideways thoughts for context :^)
- niosis