At first you might think the answer is obvious as reaction timing has been well covered, however I'd ask that you consider the question carefully before answering as I don't think it's as straightforward as most people might think.
So we know from this, and from Crawford's clarifications, that unless reaction time is specified, then it occurs after the trigger. However, the wording of Defensive Duelist and shield blurs that distinction because the trigger is being hit and there is no particular ruling (that I can find) about whether you know the result of the damage roll or not before using your reaction to initiate these abilities. Because these abilities interrupt an attack we know that they occur before the trigger resolves, however 'resolution' is essentially just saying, 'moving on to the next thing', thus disallowing the use of the triggered ability, rather than a completion of the mechanical component of the triggering act. The attacker has 'hit', at which point damage is normally calculated, but it is the application of that damage to the target which could be argued as the resolution, thus allowing the player to use the reaction before applying that damage in order to find out whether or not the HIT was interrupted.
So, can you know the damage of a hit before using a reaction-based ability that interrupts the attack, or not?
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"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
I think it's the difference between being hit or when you are damaged. For instance, Hellish Rebuke is triggered when you're being damaged, not hit. Being "hit" is simply "whenever you roll high enough to equal or pass the armor class of your target".
RAI, as neither the feature nor the spell specify this, a case can be made for both sides, and neither would be wrong or correct over the other.
This is one of those cases where table logic and group common sense comes into play. A DM might be perfectly fine allowing the players to know the damage before deciding if they want to use the interrupting feature/spell, another one thinks it is best not to let the players know, and yet another one gives indication on how strong the blow seems without using numeric values and let the players decide what is the best course of action. I personally lean more towards the "no damage declared" front, dancing between the straight "you either use it or not, I'm not going to tell you how many HP you'd lose before you do" and the milder "seems like a very strong/weak/average blow" sides.
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Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
According to the wording of the Shield spell, you gain a +5 bonus to AC, including the triggering attack. So if I understand the question correctly, I would say that, for Shield at least, it's a question of whether or not the HIT was interrupted by the spell.
RAI, as neither the feature nor the spell specify this, a case can be made for both sides, and neither would be wrong or correct over the other.
This is one of those cases where table logic and group common sense comes into play. A DM might be perfectly fine allowing the players to know the damage before deciding if they want to use the interrupting feature/spell, another one thinks it is best not to let the players know, and yet another one gives indication on how strong the blow seems without using numeric values and let the players decide what is the best course of action. I personally lean more towards the "no damage declared" front, dancing between the straight "you either use it or not, I'm not going to tell you how many HP you'd lose before you do" and the milder "seems like a very strong/weak/average blow" sides.
I do agree. This seems somewhat related though: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/02/14/do-you-have-to-declare-sneak-attack-or-divine-smithe-beforehand/ meaning that you would declare before damage. I might make some abilities a bit too good (like Uncanny Dodge or the like) but I don't think it's game breaking, since you're all there to have fun anyway :P. Personally I like to have it real mathematical order of things and my players don't really care tbh :P I often remind the players whenever they can do stuff.
Me: "He hits you, you can use uncanny dodge for this attack, do you want to?" Player: "Yes" Me: "Ok, you get, 2 damage instead of 4. He has another attack" Player: "Darn" Me: "Second attack hits for 12" Player: "Double darn"
You could think of "hit" as a "phase" of its own. I think the game uses these: You declare attack - targeting You roll the attack - attacking You determine if you hit - hitting You determine damage - damaging
Whether you're striking with a melee weapon, firing a weapon at range, or making an attack roll as part of a spell, an attack has a simple structure.
1. Choose a target. Pick a target within your attack's range: a creature, an object, or a location.
2. Determine modifiers. The DM determines whether the target has cover and whether you have advantage or disadvantage against the target. In addition, spells, special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your attack roll.
3. Resolve the attack. You make the attack roll. On a hit, you roll damage, unless the particular attack has rules that specify otherwise. Some attacks cause special effects in addition to or instead of damage.
You could think of "hit" as a "phase" of its own. I think the game uses these: You declare attack - targeting You roll the attack - attacking You determine if you hit - hitting You determine damage - damaging
The damage part can be broken down further into two steps - making the damage roll and applying the damage. A Lore Bard's Cutting Words and the Savage Attacker feat modifies the value of the damage roll before damage is applied, while spells like Hellish Rebuke kick in afterwards.
Defensive Duelist
Shield
At first you might think the answer is obvious as reaction timing has been well covered, however I'd ask that you consider the question carefully before answering as I don't think it's as straightforward as most people might think.
Adjudicating Reaction Timing
So we know from this, and from Crawford's clarifications, that unless reaction time is specified, then it occurs after the trigger. However, the wording of Defensive Duelist and shield blurs that distinction because the trigger is being hit and there is no particular ruling (that I can find) about whether you know the result of the damage roll or not before using your reaction to initiate these abilities. Because these abilities interrupt an attack we know that they occur before the trigger resolves, however 'resolution' is essentially just saying, 'moving on to the next thing', thus disallowing the use of the triggered ability, rather than a completion of the mechanical component of the triggering act. The attacker has 'hit', at which point damage is normally calculated, but it is the application of that damage to the target which could be argued as the resolution, thus allowing the player to use the reaction before applying that damage in order to find out whether or not the HIT was interrupted.
So, can you know the damage of a hit before using a reaction-based ability that interrupts the attack, or not?
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.
I think it's the difference between being hit or when you are damaged. For instance, Hellish Rebuke is triggered when you're being damaged, not hit. Being "hit" is simply "whenever you roll high enough to equal or pass the armor class of your target".
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
RAI, as neither the feature nor the spell specify this, a case can be made for both sides, and neither would be wrong or correct over the other.
This is one of those cases where table logic and group common sense comes into play.
A DM might be perfectly fine allowing the players to know the damage before deciding if they want to use the interrupting feature/spell, another one thinks it is best not to let the players know, and yet another one gives indication on how strong the blow seems without using numeric values and let the players decide what is the best course of action.
I personally lean more towards the "no damage declared" front, dancing between the straight "you either use it or not, I'm not going to tell you how many HP you'd lose before you do" and the milder "seems like a very strong/weak/average blow" sides.
Born in Italy, moved a bunch, living in Spain, my heart always belonged to Roleplaying Games
According to the wording of the Shield spell, you gain a +5 bonus to AC, including the triggering attack. So if I understand the question correctly, I would say that, for Shield at least, it's a question of whether or not the HIT was interrupted by the spell.
I do agree. This seems somewhat related though: https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/02/14/do-you-have-to-declare-sneak-attack-or-divine-smithe-beforehand/ meaning that you would declare before damage. I might make some abilities a bit too good (like Uncanny Dodge or the like) but I don't think it's game breaking, since you're all there to have fun anyway :P. Personally I like to have it real mathematical order of things and my players don't really care tbh :P I often remind the players whenever they can do stuff.
You could think of "hit" as a "phase" of its own. I think the game uses these:
You declare attack - targeting
You roll the attack - attacking
You determine if you hit - hitting
You determine damage - damaging
Subclass: Dwarven Defender - Dragonborn Paragon
Feats: Artificer Apprentice
Monsters: Sheep - Spellbreaker Warforged Titan
Magic Items: Whipier - Ring of Secret Storage - Collar of the Guardian
Monster template: Skeletal Creature
This is the correct answer. "On a hit"/"when you're hit" happens before damage is rolled. The key tweet is this one: "(1) You make an attack roll. (2) You hit or miss. (3) You roll damage if you hit. "When you hit" happens at number 2." which is based on the rules for Making An Attack:
The damage part can be broken down further into two steps - making the damage roll and applying the damage. A Lore Bard's Cutting Words and the Savage Attacker feat modifies the value of the damage roll before damage is applied, while spells like Hellish Rebuke kick in afterwards.
Testing.
"Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation."
― Oscar Wilde.