Advantage and Disadvantage

Sometimes a special ability or power tells you that you have advantage or disadvantage on an ability check, a saving throw, or an attack roll. When that happens, you roll a second d20 when you make the roll. Use the higher of the two rolls if you have advantage, and use the lower roll if you have disadvantage. For example, if you have disadvantage and roll a 17 and a 5, you use the 5. If you instead have advantage and roll those numbers, you use the 17.

Ability Scores and Modifiers

If multiple situations affect a roll and each one grants advantage or imposes disadvantage on it, you don't roll more than one additional d20. If two favorable situations grant advantage, for example, you still roll only one additional d20.

If circumstances cause a roll to have both advantage and disadvantage, you are considered to have neither of them, and you roll one d20. This is true even if multiple circumstances impose disadvantage and only one grants advantage or vice versa. In such a situation, you have neither advantage nor disadvantage.

When you make a roll with advantage or disadvantage, only the d20 is rolled twice. Any additional dice, such as the d4 granted by the resistance force power, are only rolled once.

When you have advantage or disadvantage and something in the game, such as the iktotchi's Precognition trait, lets you reroll the d20, you can reroll only one of the dice. You choose which one. For example, if an iktotchi has advantage on an ability check and rolls a 1 and a 13, the iktotchi could use the Precognition trait to reroll the 1.

You usually gain advantage or disadvantage through the use of special abilities, actions, or powers. Inspiration (see chapter 4) can also give a character advantage on checks related to the character's personality, ideals, or bonds. The GM can also decide that circumstances influence a roll in one direction or the other and grant advantage or impose disadvantage as a result.

Advantage on Other Rolls

Though less common, advantage and disadvantage can occur on other types of rolls as well. When you have advantage or disadvantage on a roll, as with a d20, you roll the dice twice, using the higher of the two results with advantage, and using the lower of the two results if you have disadvantage. If a roll has multiple dice, you roll the dice together and treat the results separately.

For instance, the second bullet of the Weapon Expert feat grants conditional advantage on a weapon's damage roll once per turn, provided you meet the criteria for that advantage. If any additional dice would be added to the damage roll, such as the operative's Sneak Attack feature or the scout's Ranger's Quarry, those additional dice are only rolled once.

If granting advantage or disadvantage on a roll that would have negative consequences rather than positive benefits, advantage and disadvantage should be reversed (as logic dictates). For instance, if a creature has a penalty die on a d20 roll, such as a d4 penalty die from the denounce force power, and they get disadvantage on that die roll, they should roll the d4 twice and take the higher roll, instead of the lower.