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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Riley37" data-source="post: 6483414" data-attributes="member: 6786839">The thread "Vrax the Rock Thrower" raises some questions specific to Ability Checks (please add your $.02 there on anything *specific to ability checks*). A post in that thread inspired some questions about Saving Throws.Here's a list of things which modify ability checks and/or attack rolls and/or saving throws. Yes, there are lots of modifiers to attack rolls which are not listed here, such as cover, etc. I hope you'll see my intent, though. What have I missed?Bardic Inspiration: Ability Check, Attack Roll, Saving Throw, only bonus, only the recipient of Inspiration(the bard decides, on the bard's turn, to give Inspiration, and then the recipient decides when to use that Inspiration)Cutting Words: Ability Check, Attack Roll, *Damage Roll*, only as penalty, only on otherPeerless Skill: Ability Check, only bonus, only selfBend Luck: Ability Check, Attack Roll, Saving Throw, only other, bonus or penalty, d4Dark One's Own Luck: Ability Check, Saving Throw, only self, only bonus, d10Bless: Attack Roll, Saving Throw, self and/or others, only bonus, spell, d4Guidance: Ability Check, self or other, only bonus, spell, d4Resistance: Saving Throw, self or other, only bonus, spell, d4(Spells are subject to the "Combining Magical Effects" rule on page 205.)Lucky halfling racial trait: Ability Check, Attack Roll, Saving Throw, only self, re-rolls a 1. * This interacts non-problematically with Advantage/Disadvantage.Lucky feat: Ability Check, Attack Roll, Saving Throw, only self; also, attack rolls by others against you. (PHB p.167) * If you have Advantage and apply a luck point, then you roll three d20s and take the best one. If you have Disadvantage, do you really get to pick the best of three rolls? is there Order of Operations? Shortcut ruling: rocks fall, everyone dies.Portent: Ability Check, Attack Roll, Saving Throw; self or other; substitute a pre-determined d20 roll.(Portent is a Wizard tradition ability, School of Divination, page 116.) * What happens if you apply Portent to a roll made with adv/dis; does it replace both rolls? If your Portent rolls are 1 and 8, and you're casting at a halfling, and you apply the 1 to the halfing's saving throw, does the halfling then get a re-roll from its Lucky racial trait? Do you use your 8, just to avoid the shortcut ruling?Scenario: Boris the Druid casts Resistance on William the Warlock (and maintains concentration). Betty the Bard gives Bardic Inspiration to William. Paul the Paladin casts Bless on Doris, William and himself. Carol the Cleric casts Bless on Doris, William and herself. Carol maintains concentration on Bless, and therefore cannot also cast Resistance. Susan the Sorcerer casts Burning Hands, in a cone which includes Carol, Doris and William. Susan is level 20, and has Charisma 20, so the saving throw DC is 8+stat+proficiency, or 8+6+10, total 24. (PHB page 205, Saving Throws, refers to "any special modifiers". What are some examples of special modifiers?)Carol rolls a d20 for saving throw, gets 11, rolls d4 for her Bless, gets 1, total 12. Also, she has no proficiency with DEX saves, and has DEX 10, for +0. Uh oh.Doris rolls a d20 for saving throw, gets 11. Doris rolls a d4 for Carol's Bless and a d4 for Paul's Bless, gets 2 and 3, takes the 3. Doris's saving throw is 11+3=14, before stat and proficiency modifiers.William rolls a d20 for saving throw, gets 11. William rolls a d4 for Carol's Bless and a d4 for Paul's Bless, gets 2 and 3, takes the 3. William applies his Bardic Inspiration from Betty, rolls d8, gets 4. William rolls d4 for Resistance (from Doris), gets 1 (darn). William rolls d10 for Dark One's Own Luck, gets 2 (double darn). William's roll is 11+3+4+1+2, or 21, before stat and proficiency modifiers.But wait, it's not over! Susan uses Bend Luck, and rolls d4, getting 4, for -4 to William's saving throw; now it's down to 21.Some minerals might say that none of these modifiers stack, and that only the highest die applies. Is that the 4 from Bardic Inspiration or the roll of 4 on the Bend Luck die? If the former, then 11+4=15. If the latter, then Bend Luck overrides the Bless, Resistance, Bardic Inspiration and Dark One's Own Luck rolls, and Doris and William both have saving throw of 11-4=7 (before stat/proficiency). If only the highest bonus AND the highest penalty apply, then in this case they cancel each other. (Though if the Bardic Inspiration had been 12, and the Bend Luck still 4, that would work out to a net +8.)Fortunately, Betty is a Lore Bard, has another use of Bardic Inspiration, and uses her Reaction on Cutting Words, rolling 7 and thus subtracting 7 from Susan's damage roll. NB this is the only ability listed so far which can apply to damage rolls, *as well as* to d20 success rolls.Bob the Bard, also College of Lore, suddenly appears in the scenario, using a Bardic Inspiration (and his Reaction) to apply Cutting Words to Susan's damage roll, rolling 9. Does his roll replace Betty's roll? Or does he subtract another 9 HP from the damage? (Could a sufficient crowd of Lore Bards, each using Cutting Words - at their annual celebrity roast fundraiser, perhaps - negate all the damage from a Meteor Swarm?)</blockquote>

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