Arcane Ward and Resistance

Question

Does the abjuration wizards arcane ward take damage before or after resistance applies?

The arcane ward ability states that

Whenever you take damage, the ward takes it instead.

Damage Resistance and Vulnerability states

Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage [...] The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage.'

It seems that all modifiers are thus resolved and then you take damage, at which point it's transferred to the ward.

Is this correct?

Answer 1

The complete reading of the rule about resistance and vulnerability reads as (emphasis mine):

Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage. For example, a creature has resistance to bludgeoning damage and is hit by an attack that deals 25 bludgeoning damage. The creature is also within a magical aura that reduces all damage by 5. The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage.

The Arcane Ward falls exactly in the example provided in the ruling itself: the damage is firstly reduced by the Ward, without considering any resistance and/or vulnerability that the wizard may have, then immunity, resistance and/or eventually vulnerability effects can be applied to the received damage which affects the wizard.

This is confirmed by the Sage Advice Compendium, which gives the exact order for computing the final damage, including all the relevant characteristics such as immunities, resistances, vulnerabilities and temporary HPs:

How does Arcane Ward interact with temporary hit points and damage resistance that an abjurer might have? An Arcane Ward is not an extension of the wizard who creates it. It is a magical effect with its own hit points. Any temporary hit points, immunities, or resistances that the wizard has don’t apply to the ward.

The ward takes damage first. Any leftover damage is taken by the wizard and goes through the following game elements in order: (1) any relevant damage immunity, (2) any relevant damage resistance, (3) any temporary hit points, and (4) real hit points.

Answer 2

The ward is applied before resistance is applied. You quoted the relevant section of the text, and while it's a bit unclear from the text, our own Eric asked the designers directly:

Eric: Hi guys, does resistance apply to the abjurer's Arcane Ward ability?

Jeremy: If an abjurer has resistance, it is applied after the ward takes any damage.

This is pretty unambiguous. The intended interpretation is that the abjurer's ward is a modifier to damage and comes under the Resistance rule you quoted.

Answer 3

The target of the damage changes and the ward doesn't have your resistances as it is its own entity.

See SAC:

How does Arcane Ward interact with temporary hit points and damage resistance that an abjurer might have? An Arcane Ward is not an extension of the wizard who creates it. It is a magical effect with its own hit points. Any temporary hit points, immunities, or resistances that the wizard has don’t apply to the ward.

The ward takes damage first. Any leftover damage is taken by the wizard and goes through the following game elements in order: (1) any relevant damage immunity, (2) any relevant damage resistance, (3) any temporary hit points, and (4) real hit points.

Only after the wards hitpoints are exhausted does the abjurer take damage; in the damage calculation of that damage, the abjurer's stat block applies. Before that, the target effectively is the ward that doesn't have those resistances.

Answer 4

Yes it is correct. The relevant part of the raw is this: Whenever YOU take damage

The official example you included covers this too (emphasis mine)

Resistance and then vulnerability are applied after all other modifiers to damage [...] The 25 damage is first reduced by 5 and then halved, so the creature takes 10 damage

The creature in this case, aka you, takes the damage. Then this clause "Whenever YOU take damage" triggers and damage is transferred to the ward. The ward is not a modifier or damage, it replaces who takes it.

Note that both Crawford tweets, AND the sage advice compendiums are not rules, they are rulings. The sage advice compendium clearly states that it is not RAW and doesn't represent RAW, and that has been the case even before Crawford's tweets lost their status as official rulings. Treat sage advice as the name suggests, advice, which indeed often contradicts raw. Crawford says so himself numerous times, for example here:

Official rules are in rulebooks. On Twitter and in Sage Advice, I give rulings and clarifications. The DM decides what to do with them.