D&D 5E How do you handle, "after seeing the roll, but before knowing whether it succeeds" mechanics in online play?

[Shiroiken]

I've currently moved my rolls to be visible to the players (except things like Steath and social skills), but used to gm roll. When I did and these effects existed, I'd announce the die roll number before modifications. I did this both IRL and online, and found both to be a pain in the ass. I quickly moved to just telling the players the result on their end and letting them decide if it's worth it.

When dealing with unknown DCs (and enemy AC), I give them a few seconds to decide if they want to modify before I announce success/failure. Once I make the announcement, the result is final.

 

[Oofta]

I don't worry about it too much, much like @ECMO3 I just don't see that it's worth the extra overhead to strictly enforce it.

 

[billd91]

I wouldn’t necessarily interpret any of these abilities like Cutting Words or Combat Inspiration to require basing the decision on the unmodified die roll. Modified should be fine even at the face to face tabletop. The idea, I think, is simply to make the decision before the DM declares the final result and moves on to the next thing on the docket. That too may be hard if the DM moves briskly, so groups should always be a bit tolerant of walking back the result if the intervention makes a difference.

 

[thom_likes_gaming]

The players get to see the final result, no problem. But figuring out if the roll woukd
succeed or not, that's on them. Simple, no hassle.

 

[el-remmen]

If a player announces after the result because I went too fast and didn't give them a chance to say so, then I let them use the ability. If we've moved on and the player didn't announce b/c they were distracted or forgot, and then want to do go back and do it, too bad. That is on them. Try again next round, I guess.

In any case, I let them choose based on the modified roll.

 

[NotAYakk]

"Before the results are determined" is mainly about "oh crap, they rolled max damage, I want to roll that back and make them miss" in my opinion.

It is a flow issue, not a balance one. The character is supposed to be paying attention, and not rewinding the game state.

So whatever makes the game flow better. Usually that means showing dice plus modifier publicly, and before results just means "don't dawdle".

 

[jgsugden]

Two options I've considered, but not used:

Preroll Declaration: BARD: If they roll between an X and Y on the die, I'll use Cutting Words.

Modified Roll (add 2d6-7 to the roll for a d20 roll to add extra randomness to offset what the system tells you already): BARD: It was a hit? I want to use Cutting Words. So, I roll a d8 for my Cutting Words, and an additional 2d6 and subtract 7, right?