D&D 5E Cutting Words and game flow

[Psikerlord#]

I think the ability is perfectly fine. It uses up the limited bardic inspiration resource after all. I'd tell the player the roll, or what the margin was. I certainly wouldnt keep it secret, that nerfs the power far too much - esp when it says you make the call after the roll. Cutting words is probably one of the most fun things about a bard.

 

[Celtavian]

I would never roll the way you're rolling. Fudging is something I do not like. If I fudge for or against the players, I feel like I'm not allowing the game to play as it should. Dice rolls give the game a sense of risk and reward, a sense that the world is not static and controlled. I roll in front of the players. Cutting Words is a dice roll for an ability that can be used a set number of times. A player should know the odds when he's using it.

In your case since you don't run it as I would, I would provide guideline for the player. If you say the blow cuts deep and clean, the player should know Cutting Words has very little chance of missing. If you say the blow strikes the stomach, the player should know maybe a 50-50 chance of Cutting Words helping. If you say the blow glances the leg, the player knows Cutting Words has a good chance of working. You should work out a system to send signals about the possibility of Cutting Words affecting the outcome of the attack.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

You can still fudge the dice and announce a roll value without revealing the die if asked, I suppose.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

Doesn't work on criticals. Critical hits/misses are based in the natural roll of the die. Modifying it with cutting words doesn't change the natural result.

My take is that I won't allow mod to a natural 1 or 20, but for those who get crits on other numbers (eg. 18-20), it would have an effect on the non nat-20s.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

I still don't have a problem with it affecting criticals, particularly if the DM is hiding the roll, and in that case I think it's a good trade off. You can't see the roll to determine whether it's going to help, but it then has the ability to turn a critical into just a hit, or possibly even a miss.

As a DM I'm good with that.

Ilbranteloth

 

[Ashrym]

Aren't there other similar abilities? Maybe they just jumped out to me and I thought there were more than there are, but the PHB seems to me to have several abilities that allow players to do something in the magical zone between seeing a die roll and knowing the results of the action.

So it seems to me that the issue is bigger than Cutting Words and shield and needs some sort of table convention of dealing with it.

Also, I think the WotC tweet is in error about the intention of the game designers.

Combat inspiration specifies seeing the roll before using the reaction to add to AC. That seems like a discrepancy based on the twitter response.

 

[aramis erak]

Combat inspiration specifies seeing the roll before using the reaction to add to AC. That seems like a discrepancy based on the twitter response.

More correctly, it specifies spending the reaction after the roll is announced but before the results/success are announced.

And I agree, it's incompatible with the answer WotC gave.

 

[miniaturehoarder]

Cutting words never empowered the bard to see the roll. Now The Valor bard's version actually does call that the character who already has been effected by the ability DOES see the roll, so that's another issue. Much less a big deal since that one is single use for each die given out and the person being attacked is the only one involved.

Shield is used AFTER one has been hit, no needing to see the attack roll there.

If the die shows a 20, that means the hit _is_ already determined.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

From my reading of the Cutting Words ability, there's no obligation for the DM to share their roll result. Cutting Words is applied after the target rolls but before the DM assesses success or deals damage. Nowhere does it say the player has a right to see a die roll. They can just decide to use Cutting Words after the roll but before success is determined.

 

[painted_klown]

You may find this useful:
https://twitter.com/Wizards_Help/status/534393357816971264

Apologies, I don't seem to be able to embed the tweet in this forum.

Can someone please post what the tweet says?

I can't see the link at work.