Since D&D is a combat-driven game, a lot of our storytelling actually happens in the middle of combat. Critical Role DM Matthew Mercer’s famous phrase, “How do you want to do this?” signals to players that the player should narrate the killing blow. Indeed, combat benefits greatly from adding a little bit of narrative flavor. So it’s become commonplace at many tables for the DM to narrate the results of an attack or hand it off to the players. Sometimes, we even narrate the misses.

The Issue

I noticed that I have this habit when narrating missed attacks. When an attack misses a shielded target by 2 or less, I narrate that the attack hits the shield. I’ll often apply this same method for a player behind cover. If it’s a narrow miss, it hits the shield or the cover.

Why do I do this? Probably because the shield (or cover) is the last bit of Armor Class (AC) that you add to the calculation. A shield isn’t always on, it can be donned or doffed. Similarly, a creature does not always have cover. Since these amounts are mathematically added at the end, it exists in that narrative space in my head. So a miss by two or less is always foiled by the armor that we add “on top” of the rest.

Yet, a shield (and cover) aren’t your last line of defense. They’re one of your first. So, narratively, I’ve got this backwards. Not that I need a hard-and-fast system for narrating missed attacks. A missed attack is a missed attack and can be flavored however you want it. But, I’d like to have a better idea of what comes closer to being a hit. If I know what makes a closer call, I am more accurate in my combat narration.

Order of Operations

Generally, an attack that misses by more is going to hit a lower line of defense. An attack that narrowly misses is going to penetrate through several lines of defenses, before getting stopped. The dagger that misses by 1 might stab the notebook in my breast pocket. The dagger that misses by 12 probably didn’t come anywhere near me.

I contacted swordsman Archmage Derek over at The Mage’s College to chat about swordfighting. While Derek likes a more narrative approach in this context, he was happy to indulge me with fleshing out a little bit of crunch. With this knowledge, I was able to establish a loose order of operations.

Note: I don’t recommend keeping this chart on your DM screen and using it as a hard guideline for how attacks must be narrated. Rather, read through it and internalize it so that you have a general feel for the order of operations. If you narrate that something hit a shield when it should have been dodged, it’s not the end of the world. However, if you notice that your players are using this narrative information to divine knowledge about the target’s armor class (AC), you may want to be a little more meticulous about it.

Critical Fail (1)

When you roll a 1, you couldn’t have missed worse. I don’t need to tell you what to do here. If you like penalties on critical fails, you’re already narrating this part. Even without penalties, this is a good place to install some comedic levity.

Standard AC (2-10)

Since creatures start with a base armor class of 10, any miss less than that is simply the result of operator error. It’s just a bad attack. A swing and a miss. Take hints from the rest of combat for how to narrate this. If their opponent is assailing them with a volley of attacks, perhaps the attacker was so overwhelmed that they couldn’t get a proper swing off.

Cover

While cover provides a bonus, it’s not something a player can wear. For targets behind cover, any miss above 10 that’s within the AC bonus provided by cover should strike the cover. So, if I roll a 12 to attack a player behind half-cover (+2), it hits the cover. If I roll a 15 to attack a player behind three-quarters cover (+5), it hits the cover. Anything less than that misses the cover entirely. Anything more than that is subject to the creature’s own armor class benefits.

Shield (1st)

The shield is actually the first line of defense, not the last. So a shield should represent the lowest rung of armor class above the standard AC. So, in most cases where the attacker rolls an 11 or 12 on an attack, that attack will be absorbed by a shield. There’s some edge cases where it goes lower against clumsy (non-dextrous) targets, but generally an 11 or 12 will be rebuffed by a shield.

Note that this and all other subsequent AC ranges will get bumped down the AC ladder for any creature taking advantage of cover.

Dexterity Bonus (2nd)

If you can’t redirect a blow with your shield, your next line of defense is simply moving out of the way. So, your Dexterity modifier should be applied after your shield bonus (if any). If you don’t have a shield, your first option is dodging. Parrying an attack also fits into this category.

So, if you have a shield and a +2 Dexterity modifier, a 13 or 14 attack roll would result in the creature dodging out of the way. If you doff your shield, now you would dodge an attack of 11 or 12. This fiddlyness shows why these rules are really better used as a guideline. While you can easily chart it out, it will vary for each player and can change along with their equipment loadout.

You may consider expanding the range of Dexterity misses to account for the fact that negative Dexterity scores (up to -4) are also possible. This would shrink your standard AC down to a range of 2 to 6 (from 10). Trading fewer chances for a bad attack with more chances for avoidance is thematically satisfying.

Armor (3rd)

If you can’t block a blow with your shield or move out of the way, it will hit your person. With any luck, the blow strikes your armor. Narratively, this doesn’t really jive in D&D because armor actually causes damage reduction–it doesn’t make you harder to hit. D&D’s AC system narratively suggests that armor negates all damage unless you strike an opening. For example, sticking a rapier into the joints of plate metal.

I would also include all magical benefits to AC here, including spells (e.g. Shield, Mage Armor) and benefits conferred by items (e.g. Bracers of Defense).

In most cases, attacks that narrowly miss should glance off of the player’s armor. Even though it’s the first thing the character puts on, its their last line of defense in terms of equipment.

Natural Armor (4th)

If your armor does not absorb the impact (or you’re not wearing any), hopefully you’ve got thick skin. Natural defenses should come last in the narrative line of defenses. So any attack that makes it through cover, is not blocked by a shield, and gets past a creature’s nimbleness/armor/magic items will strike the creature. If they’ve got thick skin, this may be their saving grace.

So, next time you’re playing with a lusty Argonian maid Lizardfolk, remember your order of operations. The last line of defense should take the strongest miss.