[Bo9S] Wall of Blades maneuver question

[zlorf]

Hi,

Im playing a Warblade and enjoying it.

With the Wall of Blades maneuver, can use it to block a natural 20 (auto hit)?

The DM rolls out in the open , so i'll know if a 20 get rolled, so i won't bother wasting it
my Wall of Blades on it. If he rolled behind a screen then he could say the attack looks like
its going to hit you...but i won't know if its a 20 or just a 19, 1, 17 etc . If its a 20 and I try to use my manuever what happens?

Cheers
Z

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

The attack roll replaces your AC, so if they rolled a nat 20, it still hits any AC. Conversely, if your attack bonus is so ridiculously higher than your AC, that even rolling a 1 would be an improvement, you also don't auto-fail on a 1 with Wall of Blades.

The best part about wall of blades is knowing the number you have to beat in advance. IME, it's better to use it when the foe barely beat your AC by only a few points, so the counter is almost guaranteed to save you. Even if you could beat an enemy's nat 20, it's not likely.

 

[zlorf]

Yes, but should i have the option of saying well, I wont use that maneuver because i know i cannot block a 20. For simplicity, its probably the best way to go i guess. If the DM rolls a natural 20 i cop the hit and dont waste the maneuver.

Thanks for the comments.
Z

The attack roll replaces your AC, so if they rolled a nat 20, it still hits any AC. Conversely, if your attack bonus is so ridiculously higher than your AC, that even rolling a 1 would be an improvement, you also don't auto-fail on a 1 with Wall of Blades.

The best part about wall of blades is knowing the number you have to beat in advance. IME, it's better to use it when the foe barely beat your AC by only a few points, so the counter is almost guaranteed to save you. Even if you could beat an enemy's nat 20, it's not likely.

 

[Hyperfist]

Yes, but should i have the option of saying well, I wont use that maneuver because i know i cannot block a 20. For simplicity, its probably the best way to go i guess. If the DM rolls a natural 20 i cop the hit and dont waste the maneuver.

Thanks for the comments.
Z

You can make the decision to initiate the maneuver after the attack roll has been determined. So if he gets a 20, you can choose not to initiate it. It is the last sentence in the description.

 

[MarkB]

You can make the decision to initiate the maneuver after the attack roll has been determined. So if he gets a 20, you can choose not to initiate it. It is the last sentence in the description.

"After you learn the result of your opponent's attack" may simply mean "after you learn whether it was a success or failure". Even if you interpret it as giving you the total result the DM rolled, you won't know if that resulted from a natural 20 unless you also know your opponent's current attack bonus.

 

[moritheil]

"After you learn the result of your opponent's attack" may simply mean "after you learn whether it was a success or failure". Even if you interpret it as giving you the total result the DM rolled, you won't know if that resulted from a natural 20 unless you also know your opponent's current attack bonus.

I always thought the simplest way to interpret "result" would be "hit" or "miss."

 

[Zurai]

"After you learn the result of your opponent's attack" may simply mean "after you learn whether it was a success or failure". Even if you interpret it as giving you the total result the DM rolled, you won't know if that resulted from a natural 20 unless you also know your opponent's current attack bonus.

I would think the "rolling to confirm..." coming out of the DM's mouth would be a good sign in most cases. At the very least you'd know he rolled in the upper 30% of possibilities, since 15-20 is about the widest range you're likely to ever see for crits in 3.5.