I've been wondering how others handle situations/dice rolls where the party has failed the roll, but gained 5+ Advantage during the roll. This seems to happen at least once per game session for my party.
Adjudicating excessive advantage
Depends on the skill used in the check. Tell me what it was in this instance and I'll try to come up with some ideas.
You spend the advantage lile you normally would? That's kind of the point of the multiple symbols in the first place.
I've seen it with a number of different rolls. Like I said, it tends to happen quite frequently for my group. The most recent was for an Astrogation roll, which was a failure, but had 5 Advantages, and no Triumph/Despairs.
I've also seen it in combat, but those are much easier to dispose of and narrate.
I get that the characters could use the dice like any other time by giving boosts to different team members, by parceling them out 1 or 2 at a time for extra boost, etc. What I am wondering is if someone ever uses all of the Advantages for one big story decision. It seems like it would fit into the Advantage/Threat axis that something big could, and possibly should, happen.
It could work into a large advantage. Maybe you couldn't plot a course to a sector mid-combat but you found some sort of stellar terrain nearby you can fly into and lose the Imperial tail coming for you. Maybe it even branches into a side-plot when you hear a distress call nearby. Or maybe you just have enough time to rest and plot a course before you leave the terrain. The terrain could even potentially damage the enemy chasing you, as in asteroid fields and TIEs from The Empire Strikes Back.
I've seen it with a number of different rolls. Like I said, it tends to happen quite frequently for my group. The most recent was for an Astrogation roll, which was a failure, but had 5 Advantages, and no Triumph/Despairs.
I've also seen it in combat, but those are much easier to dispose of and narrate.
I get that the characters could use the dice like any other time by giving boosts to different team members, by parceling them out 1 or 2 at a time for extra boost, etc. What I am wondering is if someone ever uses all of the Advantages for one big story decision. It seems like it would fit into the Advantage/Threat axis that something big could, and possibly should, happen.
First time we played, the EotE beginner game, my son failed to charm the flight controller officer, but got 5 advantages. "I know her," he said, "we used to date and we just broke up, and she might be pissed, but she still has a thing for me". This led to her marching him off to the side and threatening to either kiss him or have him arrested, but being so distracted the others in the group were able to hack the locks on the Krayt Fang. So...just like combat in terms of passing around the benefits...
The Astrogation chart in Fly Casual gives options for the use of Advantages. Now on a failure you might have to use them a but differently but the options are there.
In that instance the advantage could be used to completely negate the need for an astrogation check. something like "the thing your flying off to get can be found on another planet in this system"
The other way to use it in that situation is to reveal completely unrelated but highly useful information, "there is an unmarked space station in the outer reaches of this system, looks abandoned, could be some useful stuff there."
Then lastly, I think the best solution, there is the important part of not making any single check a "pass to progress" check. Astrogation is one of the skills that can have this problem. I usualy make failure on an Astrogation check just result in the check taking much longer than expected. So the advantage could be used to modify the trip time of the Hyper ump in the usual way, but the programming of the trip took a couple of turns instead of 1.
My last session, I had an NPC shoot at the party and got 0 successes and 7 or 8 advantages, I narrated it as they were laying down a ton of supressive fire on the 2 PCs that were close together. I upgraded the difficulty PC sniper's next attack (3), added a Setback to both PCs (4 and 5), gave that NPC an extra maneuver that round to go from medium to long range.
In an example of failed Astrogation check with advantage, you must first determine the fail/success.
The failure or success is determined by what were they trying to accomplish: Racing an enemy to the planet first, or just get there. Let's say it was to just get to the planet period and they failed. That maybe resulted in them ending up at a different planet and need to deal with whatever situation that created (space slug approaching) and roll Astrogation again till they get to where they originally wanted to go.
Let's say it was a matter of timing (getting to the planet before the enemy) and they failed. That maybe resulted in them getting to the planet, but the enemy beat them there.
Now that the failure is established, what would the many advantages be? If the group ended up at the wrong planet, maybe the advantages were that it was a wrong planet in the same star system as the one they intended to go, so now they don't even need to use hyperdrive to get there.
If the enemy beat them to the planet, then the advantages could be that they arrive right behind the enemy ship placing them with a perfectly lined up shot.
I typically don't like that failure means that you don't do it, but for Astrogation checks, I don't see the harm of sometimes ending up at the wrong planet.
A player at my table, tried to cross a broken bridge with athletics... first time no success but 6 Advantages, narrated that found out it was to far and stop right in front of the gap... and then discovered that he could trie to climb accross the lower pillars.
later on at a jump he hit no success but a triumph and a despair... (something that happens him quit often) so he jumps to short and is nearly drowning (the despair) but instead of getting rid of the heavier gear to start swimming, some kind of a watercreature came by and wanted to play with this small strange thing, flipping him out of the water on the other side of the bridge (the triumph)