It's a fantasy role-playing game.

DM: You are Scanlan Shorthalt, a gnome bard . You are the member of the famous group of adventurers. Previously, Vax hops up and bravely runs away, away. Tiberius misses a Counterspell as Delilah Briarwood deals him 21 points of psychic damage and drop his Intelligence and Charisma to 1, reducing him to instinctual responses and disabling his flying.
DM: For hitting you. All right. And now he's going to make an athletics check to attempt to grapple you. That is going to be a 13.
Player: As I see this going on, can I call out with Cutting Words to distract him?
DM: You could, yes.
Player: Okay. (singing) Distraction, distraction! Distraction! Distraction, distraction!
DM: Go ahead and roll a d10.
Player: What do I roll?
DM: d10. And subtract that from his attack modifier.
Player: Six.
DM: Okay. With that, as he reaches down in an attempt to grapple you and grab you by the throat, the fingers are coming towards you and you try and attempt to roll out of the way. All of sudden, you hear, "Distraction!" and Lord Briarwood's, (annoyed sigh). You see his massive eyeroll and then goes in for the attack, but that's given you enough time to roll out of the way his hand only meets the ground. He's then going to step back and get adjacent to Lady Briarwood. That ends his turn. Keyleth, you're up.
