Conditions alter a creature’s capabilities in a variety of ways and can arise as a result of a
spell, a
class feature, a monster’s
attack, or other effect. Most conditions, such as
blinded, are impairments, but a few, such as
invisible, can be advantageous.
A condition lasts either until it is countered (the
prone condition is countered by standing up, for example) or for a duration specified by the effect that imposed the condition.
If multiple effects impose the same condition on a creature, each instance of the condition has its own duration, but the condition’s effects don’t get worse. A creature either has a condition or doesn’t.
The following definitions specify what happens to a creature while it is subjected to a condition.
Blinded
Charmed
- A charmed creature can’t attack the charmer or target the charmer with harmful abilities or magical effects.
- The charmer has advantage on any ability check to interact socially with the creature.
Deafened
- A deafened creature can’t hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.
Frightened
Grappled
- A grappled creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
- The condition ends if the grappler is incapacitated (see the condition).
- The condition also ends if an effect removes the grappled creature from the reach of the grappler or grappling effect, such as when a creature is hurled away by the thunderwave spell.
Incapacitated
Invisible
- An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense. For the purpose of hiding, the creature is heavily obscured. The creature’s location can be detected by any noise it makes or any tracks it leaves.
-
Attack rolls against the creature have disadvantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have advantage.
Paralyzed
Petrified
- A petrified creature is transformed, along with any nonmagical object it is wearing or carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Its weight increases by a factor of ten, and it ceases aging.
- The creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.
-
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
- The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
- The creature has resistance to all damage.
- The creature is immune to poison and disease, although a poison or disease already in its system is suspended, not neutralized.
Poisoned
Prone
Restrained
Stunned
Unconscious
Exhaustion
Some special abilities and environmental hazards, such as starvation and the long-term effects of freezing or scorching temperatures, can lead to a special condition called exhaustion. Exhaustion is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of exhaustion, as specified in the effect’s description.
If an already exhausted creature suffers another effect that causes exhaustion, its current level of exhaustion increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description.
A creature suffers the effect of its current level of exhaustion as well as all lower levels. For example, a creature suffering level 2 exhaustion has its
speed halved and has
disadvantage on
ability checks.
An effect that removes exhaustion reduces its level as specified in the effect’s description, with all exhaustion effects ending if a creature’s exhaustion level is reduced below 1.
Finishing a
long rest reduces a creature’s exhaustion level by 1, provided that the creature has also ingested some food and drink.