Can a Lore bard's Cutting Words feature cancel a critical hit?

Question

The Lore bard's Cutting Words feature says (PHB, p. 54; emphasis mine):

When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll, [...] you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration die and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll [...]

If a creature hits with a natural 20, can a Lore bard use his Cutting Words ability to subtract an inspiration die from the result, thus preventing a critical hit?

Answer 1

Apparently, you cannot. At least not any more.

Jeremy Crawford, the lead rules designer of D&D 5e, was asked in December 2015:

@JeremyECrawford Can I cancel a "Natural 20 Critical Hit" using Cutting Words? 9:26 PM - 2 Dec 2015

He responded:

@LeonardoNocchi Yes, you can. 6:48 PM - 3 Dec 2015

My reasoning at that time for his response: The actual mechanic of cutting words must be to actually reduce the die roll, before modifiers are applied, which is consistent with the wording.

However, on February 3, 2016, Jeremy Crawford reversed his previous ruling.

Cutting Words can't nullify a critical hit—no bonus or penalty can (PH, 194). [Overrides a deleted 12/3 tweet]

If you want to play by the rules as strictly as possible, canceling a crit should never be possible. If you do want to implement crit canceling in your game as a house rule, Crawford's initial, overridden ruling shows that it's not crazy to do so. As with most rulings, consistency is usually preferable to conformity.

Answer 2

No

PHB pg. 194 states, under "Rolling 1 or 20":

If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC.

There is some confusion to whether "Cutting Words" is a modifier. Even though the wording is slightly different from other modifying features like "Bardic Inspiration", you are still clearly modifying the creature's attack roll by "subtracting" the number. That makes it a modifier... end of story.

Answer 3

No

The rules use a certain pattern when referring to modifiers and Cutting Words adheres to that pattern. It is therefore a modifier to a roll result and does not replace the result.

Almost without fail:

If a modifier is a fixed value, the rules use the words "modifier" and "penalty."

See Raise Dead, Resurrection, Slow, Alter Self, Haste, Magic Weapon, Pass Without Trace, Shield, Shield of Faith, Slow, Warding Bond, many Clerics' Channel Divinity abilities, among others.

If the modifier is a variable value resulting from a die roll, the rules use the wording "roll a [die] and [add/subtract] the result" from the d20 roll.

See Bane, Wild magic results 11-12 and 35-36, several Battlemaster Fighter's maneuvers, and others.

I didn't do an exhaustive search through the rules text but I was only able to come up with one instance where the rules break this pattern: Wild Magic Sorcerer's Bend Luck:

roll 1d4 and apply the number rolled as a bonus or penalty (your choice) to the creature's roll.

User Medix also located the Unearthed Arcana Brute Fighter's Brutish Durability:

Whenever you make a saving throw, roll 1d6 and add the die to your saving throw total. If applying this bonus to a death saving throw increases the total to 20 or higher, you gain the benefits of rolling a 20 on the d20.

This ability is worded very similarly to Cutting Words (roll ... add to roll/throw) except that it explicitly addresses the interaction with rolling an adjusted 20 or higher. Keeping in mind the general adage that "Spells (and abilities) do only what they say they do," this suggests that Cutting Words' lack of a similar addendum further supports the interpretation that it may not cancel a critical roll.

So with the one exception of the Wild Magic Sorcerer, the book seems to refer to modifiers in a consistent pattern. This combines with the general rules for making an attack or check which states that, when determining modifiers, the following are considered:

In addition, spells, special abilities, and other effects can apply penalties or bonuses to your attack roll.

If we subscribe to the interpretation that the word "modifier" must appear in the rules text in order for a change to a d20 roll to qualify as a modifier and that otherwise it counts as the natural roll result itself, then we must extend this logic to a number of other abilities/spells that use the same wording for variable affects to a die roll.

I do not believe that is the correct interpretation. Instead, things that change (ie modify) the roll result are modifiers unless the rule explicitly says they function in some other way. Examples of this include dis/advantage, the Lucky feat (or Halfling racial), Wizard's Portent, all of which state that the player chooses which roll result to use and/or replaces (keyword) another result.

Answer 4

Cutting Words modifies the d20 roll, and modifiers don't cancel critical hits

The steps for making an attack are described as follows (emphasis added):

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.

As quoted in the question, the relevant phrase from Cutting Words says "subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll". This describes a special ability that applies a penalty to the attack roll, which is covered above in the bold-face text in step 2. Notably, this is a separate step from the actual d20 roll, which happens in step 3.^*

You might argue that Cutting Words isn't covered in step 2 because it doesn't use the specific words "penalty" or "modifier". However, as far as I know, the rules never explicitly define these as game terms. A modifier is only ever described as a (possibly negative) number that is added to another number (which is usually, but not always a die roll), for example in the section of the introduction of the Basic Rules that describes how d20 rolls generally work (only the relevant excerpt is quoted):

1. Roll the die and add a modifier.

Roll a d20 and add the relevant modifier. This is typically the modifier derived from one of the six ability scores, and it sometimes includes a proficiency bonus to reflect a character’s particular skill. [...]

2. Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties.

A class feature, a spell, a particular circumstance, or some other effect might give a bonus or penalty to the check.

Hence, I don't believe the rules make any meaningful distinction between something that is specifically described as a penalty and a number that is merely described as being subtracted from something without actually using the word "penalty" (likewise for a bonus vs. a number you add, and for a modifier vs. a possibly zero or negative number that you add).

(Side note: you might even argue that the rules should be more clear about what it actually means to "apply" a bonus or penalty, which is the wording used in many cases with no further clarification.)

In any case, if we accept that the subtraction from a d20 roll described in Cutting Words is indeed a modifier, then the rules are clear: a modifier cannot prevent a critical hit from a natural 20 (shown in bold):

If the d20 roll for an attack is a 20, the attack hits regardless of any modifiers or the target's AC. This is called a critical hit, which is explained later in this section.

(Note: This answer is adapted from my answer to a similar question here.)

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^* Even though Cutting Words is typically used after the attack roll in step 3, it is still logically part of step 2.

Answer 5

When a creature that you can see within 60 feet of you makes an attack roll [...] you can use your reaction to expend one of your uses of Bardic Inspiration, rolling a Bardic Inspiration and subtracting the number rolled from the creature's roll. You can choose to use this feature after the creature makes its roll [...] (PHB, p. 54)

This is an example of specific beats general. The general rule is on p. 7:

The d20

1. Roll the die and add a modifier.

2. Apply circumstantial bonuses and penalties.

3. Compare the total to a target number.

Bardic inspiration specifically refers to this as changing the creature's roll; not as a modifier or circumstantial penalty.

The creature's roll is therefore not a 20 and all things that would follow from it being a 20 (automatic hit, critical etc.) don't.

If it helps, for both Cutting Words and Bardic Inspiration, think of the roll as the two dice together. Just like rolling 2d8 or 3d6 is a single roll.

Answer 6

Cutting Words is not a bonus or modifier, it is subtraction from a roll

This is unique language. In 5e subtract is only ever used in the normal English sense, it is never used to refer to the game terms "bonus" or "modifier".

For example, when explaining passive disadvantage:

For disadvantage, subtract 5

When explaining ability modifiers:

To determine an ability modifier without consulting the table, subtract 10 from the ability score and then divide the result by 2 (round down).

When explaining movement with different speeds:

Whenever you switch, subtract the distance you've already moved from the new speed.

And the other notable example of "subtract" being used in a spell, Bane:

Whenever a target that fails this saving throw makes an attack roll or a saving throw before the spell ends, the target must roll a d4 and subtract the number rolled from the attack roll or saving throw.

Cutting Word's unusual mechanics can lead to some confusion, but yes it can subtract from critical rolls (making them no longer a critical) and cause situations that are abnormal.

If you start arguing that the designers are just sloppy or mistaken, then you are going to go down a deep rabbit hole of doubt.

However, at your table your DM is the final arbiter. If you want to tweak the rules to your liking, then you are free to do so. Just be sure to be open about the changes with your players so they can hold expectations about how the game works.