Trigger: You are hit by an attack

Ki Ryn · 15th July 2009, 02:34 AM

The Warlock power "Shielding Shades" has:

Trigger: You are hit by an attack
Effect: Reduce the attack's damage to 0.

Are damage dice rolled before the Warlock has to decide whether to use this power?

Mort_Q · 15th July 2009, 02:42 AM

That depends on the DM. Some people roll their damage dice with their attack roll to save time. That said, RAW, it would be before damage is rolled, but I don't think it is unfair if it happens afterward.

Personally, I think it behooves the DM to be aware of what interrupts the PCs have, and if not actually suggest them, then to make sure they leave an appropriate amount of time for the the player to respond.

UltimaGabe · 15th July 2009, 02:56 AM

Mort Q got it. It's similar to the situation of anything that allows a reroll- some DMs allow it to be decided after they're told whether the roll was a success or not, others won't. In my opinion, if a player has such a power, he should make sure of the DM's policy beforehand, so that it's their responsibility to use it before it becomes invalid.

odhen · 15th July 2009, 05:19 AM

As a DM I'd prefer it to be used before you find out the damage total, but it's not really gamebreaking if it's used after damage is revealed. I wouldn't tell someone they couldn't use it in such a situation. (As a player I know that sometimes you forget you have a counter to something as soon as it happens).

I roll damage with an attack roll, but the players know if they're hit before they know the damage.

As a player, I always try and use such powers as soon as I find out I'm hit, and before damage.

**Piratecat** · 15th July 2009, 04:38 PM

When the rules are vague, I ask myself "What's most fun for the player?" It's no fun at all to use the power on a wussy attack; it's incredibly cool to use it when you'd otherwise be bitten in half. I'd tell the player the damage and then let them decide. At the very least I'd use descriptive text like "the monster's jaws snap down on your arm in a way that's probably going to shred off most of your skin." That can give the player the clues they need to decide.

Flipguarder · 15th July 2009, 06:10 PM

I think it's more fun to describe the type of attack it is, then they decide to use it or not.

Ki Ryn · 16th July 2009, 05:37 AM

I just discovered the Shield Shades is an "Immeadiate: Reaction", meaning it goes off after the trigger is completely resolved. I think that means you get to see the damage roll before deciding (as opposed to an "Immeadiate: Interupt", which would stop the attack procedure between the to hit roll and the damage roll).

I think.