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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 7411377" data-attributes="member: 996"> The production of a DM screen at least strongly implies the DM has the option of keeping some, if not all rolls, secret.  ;PWhen something is not directly stated, and examples vaguely imply one possible interpretation, you have ambiguity, and 5e is not ambiguous about how to resolve ambiguity:  the DM decides!Ding! IDK, if it requires a lot, the DM can share as much or as little information about a hidden die roll as seems appropriate.  A nice DM might even let players simply ask "Would ________ help?" Sounds about right.OTOH, some DMs will hide the roll, but then call out the AC hit, rather than tracking each PC's AC all the time, which is all the info you need to use Shield efficiently.Parsing unclear phrasing is a bridge too far.  The DM makes rulings, 5e isn't written with the conscious attention to detail of technical manual or rulebook or other publication where precision & clarity are paramount - it's written in natural language. It's /supposed/ to work by the magic-user memorizing a spell that, when he casts it (and thus forgets it) using verbal & somatic components and a glass bead, causes a floating disk of invisible force to hover in front of him, providing various degrees of protection vs different attacks for a while.  I say 'supposed to' 'cause that's how it was back in the day, so obviously that's how it's supposed to be. ;PHow it works now is totally different.  And exactly how it works at a given table is going to vary, like just about everything else... Making a claim at all is really a waste of time, effort & critical thinking - if there's the slightest ambiguity, there is no baseline, there is only what the DM decides.  In essence, any 5e mechanic is non-functional until the DM decides how it will work.  Part of DM Empowerment, really.So, there's really two:  I'd say there's "tell the player hit or not" or  "tell the player the AC hit" (or minor variations on that which hint at it to varying degrees). Balance /barely/ comes into 5e.  It bears on encounter difficulty, and mostly separately, on balance among PCs.  The latter is left to DM-mediated 'spotlight balance,' which shield isn't likely to have a huge bearing on.  The former, shield could influence a bit, the more generous sharing what AC is hit method will mean the spell is always used effectively, while the less information-sharing method will leave some doubt in the player's mind (and enable the narrative of shield being used, but not sufficient). Yes.  It might get cast more often for it's rider benefit, for instance.  So cast more often when the caster is expecting many attacks, and less often in other situations. Hidden rolls are, IMHO, how 5e works /best/, they help keep the flow of the game consistent with player's declaring actions and the DM determining & narrating the results.  Heck, the DM making /all/ rolls, though extra-burdensome, would have definite benefits.  The more you let 5e players roll, the more you risk them calling out /and rolling/ actions and expecting certain results, and the more meta-gaming on high- and low rolls you can expect - it also leaves less latitude to 'fudge' rolls when the encounter guidelines let you down... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />With a hidden roll, you have complete latitude in how nice you want to be to the Shield-caster.  You can make the hidden roll and tell him the AC hit.  You can make the roll and tell him hit or not and let him decide based on that.  And you can make the roll, and tell him 'solid hit' or 'barely hit' or the like, giving him hints.  You can even change it up depending on the circumstances.</blockquote>

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