D&D 5E My shield is invisible

[devincutler]

How do people handle the Shield spell?

I have two distinct questions about it.

First, you cast it as a reaction, of course. But at what precise point? In other words, if a PC wizard has the Shield spell, does the DM just say the attack hits or misses and leaves it up to the player to guess if the Shield spell's +5 AC will help?

This is how I was running it until a player pointed out that this is unfair if monsters (NPCs) have the shield spell because the DM knows if an attack by a player hits the monster and the DM sees the roll and so can now precisely whether the NPCs' Shield spell will be effective. I had to agree with the player's logic, and changed it so I now tell the PCs whether the Shield spell will block the blow.

How do you run it?

Second, let's say a certain staff has the ability to cast the Shield spell (you know to which one I am referring, no doubt). Normally, activating a magic item is an Action. So how would this work? Is it a reaction to cast Shield out of this staff or an Action to activate it?

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Casting a spell is a big and obvious action. I always say that's exactly what happens, whenever anyone casts Shield, so everyone knows what's going on. I also tell the players exactly the AC that an attack would hit, so they know whether they can use their own Shield spell to block it. In my interpretation of the rules, everyone can see the difficulty of a task (DC) before they attempt it, and can see how well any action was performed (the number on the die roll). This makes it easier for me to narrate, and easier for everyone to stay in character.

When you cast Shield from a staff or wand, it takes the same sort of action as it would normally take to cast that spell. It's an inherent property of the spell, which overrides any sort of generic rules about item usage.

 

[mellored]

The attacker announce the attack roll (or DC), and the defender declares the hit (or save).

i.e.
DM: The orc swings at the guy in robes, 15.
Mage (with 13 AC): I cast shield for 18 AC. His blow bounces off the arcane barrier.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

I give the players the info they need to make informed decisions - even when that info includes details like their enemy's attack roll totals or AC, because those details represent things which can be perceived in-character in a way that the player can interact with meaningfully.

I hate the idea of a player being forced to choose whether or not to use a resource and having no idea if their desired outcome is even possible

As for a staff (or other magic item) that let's you cast shield (or any other reaction spell or bonus action spell), I'd rather have the casting time of spells stay consistent to prevent confusion no matter what source the spell comes from.

 

[Dausuul]

1) I would allow the player to know what the triggering attack roll was, and judge whether to use shield or not. I used to make a thing of hiding information like monsters' attack rolls and ACs from the players; I no longer do so, because I realized it was a bunch of extra work for no real benefit. (Especially ACs, since the players have usually zeroed in on the monster's AC by the end of the fight anyhow.)

2) I'm not sure offhand what the RAW would be, but the clear intention would be that you can cast shield as a reaction.

 

[Shirebrok]

To the first question: I consider the adventurers in the group to be competent at survival and combat. As such, I announce the results of my attack rolls because they're able to tell the difference between a complete whiff and a close call, as well as decide if they should expend a resource or not.

To the second: Well, it's already been answered.

 

[jgsugden]

I generally aim for character knowledge untiol such time as the mechanics are no longer likely to influence player actions.

"The orc swings at you... (rolling behind a screen and not revealing the 20 on the die to the players), you have an 18 AC, right? It slices into you dealing (starts counting the damage up)..."

"Wait, I cast shield!"

"You throw up a shield at the last second, but the orc's blow slices right past it and catches your shoulder..."

"No way, I use my Lucky feat."

(Rerolling) "... but only the robes, missing your flesh by inches. Good thing, too - it was going to be a critical hit."

When it comes to monsters or NPCs using responsive spells like shield, I try to have them act in character. They'll use a shield spell if they get hit and they fear the attacker, even if it is a crit. However, they won't use it to stop the bite from a ferret from a bag of tricks.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

From a narrative perspective, it’s always better to have something better than just “you miss.” I’d probably say that the enemy “makes an arcane gesture and speaks words of power. Your weapon slides off an invisible barrier" (or perhaps crackling purple energy, depending).

I find that whether the players know what they need to roll to hit or not tends not to make much of a difference. Sure, there are abilities they can use, but unless they cheat, dice rolls are dice rolls.

 

[Demonspell]

I tell my players what AC the monsters hit and what AC they need to hit. Even vaguely competent players quickly figure out what AC they need to hit by the end of the first or second round. There is really no point to hiding it.
Also, I don't want to give an impression of being partial either. Its just simpler to tell the party, this is the AC I hit, this is who I am attacking. They can then tell me their AC and whether I hit it.

 

[Rya.Reisender]

There's no "unfair" in D&D. It's not a DM vs. Player game.

The DM should decide this based on what will result is the most fun for the group. It's the DMs responsibility to act the enemy NPCs in character, because that improves the narration and the immersion and that usually leads to more fun for the group. But he can also decide that this one NPC has to get the shield spell up on time no matter what so he can escape and show up later if he considers it important. The players won't be able to tell whether the DM had always planned to let the NPC cast Shield or reconsidered because he thought of something that leads to an interesting event.