Tie on an opposed attack roll

Faragdar · Feb 16, 2002

This question was asked on the WotC boards, but there are differing opinions, since no one has yet found an official rule. I thought I'd check here to see if something was missed, or at least to get a consensus from frequenters of this board.

I'm aware of the opposed skill check rule on page 60, but I don't think that is satisfactory for opposed attack rolls. For one, it's not always obvious what the "key ability" should be, or if that even applies, and I personally think the defender should always win a tie with opposed attack rolls. Some others thought the attacker should always win, since the defender's roll essentially sets the DC for the attacker's roll.

Any opinions? Have I missed a rule, perhaps in the DMG?

kreynolds · Feb 16, 2002

The defender always wins.

Caliban · Feb 16, 2002

I think it would follow the normal rule for opposed checks: highest key ability wins.

For attack rolls your key ability is either your strength or your dexterity (for finessed weapons and ranged attacks).

AuraSeer · Feb 16, 2002

Highest key ability wins? Great. What if they're still tied?

Caliban · Feb 16, 2002

AuraSeer said:
Highest key ability wins? Great. What if they're still tied?

Standard rule is: flip a coin.

Faragdar · Feb 24, 2002

Reply from The Sage

I appreciate the advice here, but since I also sent an e-mail to The Sage, I thought I'd go ahead and post his reply here:

How do you resolve a tie on an opposed attack roll? Is it: a) defender always wins, b) attacker always wins, since the defender essentially sets a DC for the attacker’s roll, or c) it follows the rule for opposed skill checks—if so, what do you consider the “key ability” for an attack roll?
How do you resolve opposed skill checks if there is a tie between the key abilities?
"Ties" go to the attacker.
The defender's roll sets the DC for the attacker. If the attacker meets or exceeds the DC, the attacker succeeds. In the case of opposed checks, the "attacker" is the character taking the action (or the character whose turn it is if you have any doubts).

To tell the truth, I'm now even less sure about which is the right way to go. Caliban's advice differs from The Sage's advice, which both differ from my original ruling. *shrug* I guess I'll go with the official advice, unless there's a really good reason not to.