D&D 5E How the crap do you explain the rogue's Evasion ability?

[iserith]

A wizard didn't do it.

 

[Fanaelialae]

Maybe they roll and wrap their cloak around themselves, like Batman.

 

[Asisreo]

They're exploiting i-frames. If they do a follow-up attack next turn, it counts as a DP. Just block and punish them.

 

[aco175]

I always though the rogue pulls out one of these- and sometimes it works.

 

[Democratus]

I had a rogue in a five foot wide corridor, no exits, no cover, nothing, and a mage dropped an 8th level spell on him, filling the entire corridor with napalm. No damage. Thanks, D&D.

I think the problem is in the description. Clearly the spell didn't fill the entire corridor, as the rogue found a spot where they could be safe from harm.

With spells like Fireball we already accept that some people in the area of effect take half as much damage as others (without moving to another spot on the map). This means that the spell must be inconsistent in how well it fills the area. Rogues are sometimes good at finding a spot where they avoid damage altogether.

 

[Charlaquin]

Just let characters move when they make a successful Dex save. Easy fix.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Maybe they roll and wrap their cloak around themselves, like Batman.

Yup. Wrap, crouch nd tank it.

 

[Undrave]

It's a sidestep.

They sidestep into the margin of the story and come back after the attack.

 

[Zubatcarteira]

They briefly step outside of reality into the 5th dimension and completely avoid the blast.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Narrative description attempted to be layered on top of board game rule. Narrative description not perfect. Board game rule plays fine. Play the board game without worrying the narrative description does not completely make sense from a "real world" perspective.

Add to pile of 650,000 other board game rules that are layered with narrative description to make board game interesting that do not make total "real world" sense. Come to conclusion that if disparity between board game and narrative description affects enjoyment that much... probably should only play board games that do not require narrative descriptions.