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Immediate Interrupt; Trigger: You or an ally is attacked by a creature.

Does a ranger need to call this interrupt before the attack roll, before the damage roll or can he do it whenever he wants? If he can do it whenever he wants, it seems problematic that he can save it for whenever the ally receives near-max damage from an enemy. If he has to call it BEFORE the damage roll, or even before the attack roll, the window of opportunity seems problematically small, especially with a GM who usually rolls attack and then damage behind his screen and exclaims "the goblin stabs you with his dagger and does 15 damage".

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To quote the Dungeons & Dragons Compendium:

Interrupts: An immediate interrupt jumps in when its trigger occurs, taking place before the trigger finishes. If an interrupt invalidates a triggering action, the triggering action is lost.

Example: An enemy makes a melee attack against Keira the rogue, but Keira uses a power that lets her shift away as an immediate interrupt. If the enemy can no longer reach her, its attack action is lost. Similarly, Albanon the wizard might use shield in response to being hit and turn that hit into a miss, or Keira might use the immediate interrupt heroic escape to evade an enemy’s attack before it can deal damage.

"Disruptive Strike" is an interrupt on the attack, so it takes place as soon as the attack starts and definitely before it finishes. And to quote what an attack is:

Attack: An attack roll and its effects, including any damage rolls.

So when does the player need to call it? I say it's up to the DM. Does the DM announce the attacks before rolling? Does the DM roll attack and damage at the same time? Either way, the definition above only specifies when the interrupt happens in game, not when it needs to be called by the player.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ It would seem that in conjunction with the quotations above, the DM should be persuaded to at least separate his/her attack and damage rolls. As he/she is behind a screen, perhaps he/she rolls normally, announces the hit, allows time for reaction, and then reads the damage if no action is taken. \$\endgroup\$
    – EFH
    Oct 8, 2012 at 12:55
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That power has to be used before the attack roll. The player declares that he wants to use it as soon as the GM says the goblin is going to attack.

If your GM doesn't usually announce it, ask him to pause between attack and the damage to let the player to use his power.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ This instance is pretty clear; "attacked" is different than "hit". \$\endgroup\$
    – Robobot
    Oct 7, 2012 at 19:58

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