Dice rolls: Difference between revisions

Attacks done with [[Weapons]] always use an Attack Roll to determine success.  Some spells also use an Attack Roll to determine whether they hit their intended target (such as [[Fire Bolt]] or [[Eldritch Blast]]), though other spells hit the target automatically (such as [[Magic Missile]] or [[Fireball]]).  A spell that hits its target automatically may allow the target to make a Saving Throw instead; see below.

Likewise, a roll of 20 means the attack succeeds regardless of the target's Armour Class.  This is called a '''Critical Hit.'''  A critical hit also affects the result of the Damage Roll. Currently, a critical hit doubles all damage dice involved in the damage roll (including additional dice such as those from Smites or Combat Maneuvers), but not the bonuses from modifiers or other flat damage bonuses such as [[Great Weapon Master: All In]].

Attack Rolls can also have [[Advantage|Advantage / Disadvantage]].

For example, a successful hit with a [[Dagger]] will lead to a D4 being rolled to determine the damage (referred to as 1d4 damage), whereas a successful attack with a [[Greatsword]] will lead to two D6 being rolled (referred to as 2d6) for a total damage of 2 to 12.  Being caught in a [[Fireball]] will cause 8d6 points of damage, though a successful Saving Throw (see below) can reduce it to half.

For attacks made with weapons, the total value resulting from the roll is affected by the attacking creature's [[Ability Score Modifier]].  For the damage of spell attacks, no such modifier applies, except when explicitly granted by a magical item or class feature, such as the [[Warlock]]'s [[Eldritch Invocation|Agonising Blast]] invocation.

A successful save could mean completely avoiding negative effects, or it could mean reducing the damage received.  For example, successfully saving against a spike trap could mean that a creature takes no damage at all, because it successfully evaded the spikes.  On the other hand, if it's caught in the area of effect of a [[Fireball]], then a successful save will merely halve the damage.  Some effects don't allow for a Saving Throw at all, for example the damage taken from [[Magic Missile]].

An example of this is the [[Shove]] action, where the creature attempting the Shove must roll Athletics, and the defending creature is allowed to roll either Athletics or Acrobatics to contest the Shove.  If the attacker's roll is higher than the defender's, the Shove succeeds, otherwise it fails.

For the damage of Spells, there is generally no Ability Score Modifier, though there are exceptions to this rule.  For example, [[Eldritch Invocation|Agonising Blast]] allows the [[Warlock]] to add its Charisma Modifier to the damage of [[Eldritch Blast]].