Questions tagged [conditions]
For questions about conditions suffered by a creature, typically negative and as a result of an enemy's actions during combat.
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Can a snake be prone?
It sounds like a silly question, but it caused way more discussion the other night in my Adventurer's league game than I'd care to admit...
In 5e, the prone condition is described as:
A prone ...
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Since advantage and disadvantage caused in a heavily obscured area cancel out, what effect does it have in combat?
The rules say that creatures in a heavily obscured area "effectively suffer from the blinded condition".
The blinded condition states:
Attacks rolls against the creature have advantage, and the ...
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Unlisted effects of Incapacitated Condition
In a game I DM'd, a PC had cast a spell with a Concentration requirement and was subsequently Paralyzed. I quickly checked the description of the Paralyzed condition, which said nothing about ...
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Can a paralyzed creature targeted by an Evocation Wizard's Sculpt Spells feature actually succeed a Dex save?
Say a friendly barbarian is currently paralyzed. Part of the description of the paralyzed condition says:
The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
Its friend, the ...
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Can You Use Teleportation to Stand Up?
I feel like most tables end up asking this question and I think it usually comes down to a table by table decision, but can a caster who has been knocked prone use teleportation to stand up again? I'm ...
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If you are incapacitated, can you move?
The incapacitated condition states that
An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.
Does that effect allow you to move though? Moving is not an action (at least not in 5e).
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Is a character swallowed by a giant toad considered "unseen" on an attack against the toad, granting advantage (which cancels out disadvantage)?
When swallowed by a Giant Toad, you are Blinded and Restrained, both of which give you disadvantage on attacks.
However you also have "total cover against attacks and other effects outside the toad".
...
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Does a creature that is immune to all outcomes (conditions, damage, etc.) of an effect still make a saving throw?
Let's say a 5th level Lore Bard casts fear on a violet fungus not knowing that it is immune to the frightened condition.
Does the violet fungus still make a saving throw? In particular, is a saving ...
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Does the frightened condition provide supernatural knowledge of the location of the source of fear?
The effects of being Frightened are as follows:
A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack
rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight.
The creature ...
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Petrification at low levels
I was considering using a Medusa in my home game against a group of 4th-level characters. With a CR of 6, a Medusa is well within the proper XP range for such a group. However, I'm nervous about using ...
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Does death cure all ills?
In a previous answer, I mentioned the possibility of killing a character and restoring them to life as a possible method of removing conditions from them. On reflection, I have no idea whether this ...
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Can a surprised creature fall prone voluntarily on their turn?
Suppose someone might want their character to drop prone while they're surprised. The relevant text from Being Prone under "Movement and Position" states:
You can drop prone without using any of ...
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What happens if you become frightened of yourself?
You might be wondering how this could happen apart from a contrived scenario of casting a spell like cause fear on yourself (which is allowed). Turns out, it can happen by interacting with the local ...
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What Conditions prevent a caster from using Somatic spells?
The text from Somatic reads that the caster must have a hand free to gesture with when they cast a spell with a somatic component.
None of the conditions such as restrained or grappled seem to ...
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Does immunity to fear prevent a mummy's Dreadful Glare from paralyzing a character?
A Mummy has an ability called Dreadful Glare:
The mummy targets one creature it can see within 60 feet of it. If the
target can see the mummy, it must succeed on a DC 11 Wisdom saving
throw ...
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Does the beholder's charm ray really take a PC out of the fight like this?
I was reading the Beholder's statblock (MM, page 28):
Eye Rays. The beholder shoots three of the following magical eye rays at random (reroll duplicates), choosing one to three targets it can see ...
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Is it impossible to escape the Rod of Lordly Might's paralysis effect early?
On a hit, the Rod of Lordly Might can:
...force the target to make a DC 17 Strength saving throw. On a failure, the target is paralyzed for 1 minute. The target can repeat the saving throw at the ...
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How can I narrate Charm/Fear/Rage/etc effects in a liberating manner?
Or, How can I implement behavior-centric status effects without giving the players a sense of having lost their autonomy?
It's something I have found to be a personal agitant as a roleplayer, and ...
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How can the petrification from the Flesh to Stone spell be removed?
In 5e's version of the flesh to stone spell, if the spell is maintained for the full minute duration, the effect (petrification) lasts until "removed".
How can this petrification be removed?
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Does a petrified creature stay conscious (and sane)?
The next dungeon my party visits will contain some strange statues. Most of them are just Stone Golems, which will attack them. But near the end of the dungeon, the party will discover that one of the ...
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Does casting Light, or a similar spell, have any effect when the caster is swallowed by a monster?
So you've been swallowed by a Giant Toad. Oops. Your fellows are sure to kill it soon enough, but you want to do something in the meantime.
"Well," you say, "perhaps I'll attack the toad from the ...
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What happens if you become Immune to a condition, while suffering that condition?
My level 10 Circle of the Moon Druid is just plumb tuckered out; She is suffering from Exhaustion Level 2.
During combat, she uses Wildshape to turn into an Earth Elemental. However, Earth Elementals ...
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What's the difference between "can't move" and "speed becomes 0"?
While reading through the conditions described in Appendix A of the 5e PHB, I realised, that some of them say a creature "can't move" (e.g. Stunned, Unconscious), while others state that its "speed ...
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How to tell a statue from a petrified creature in 5e?
How can a character investigate whether a lifelike statue is a statue or a petrified creature?
Do permanent spells like Flesh to Stone, or anything causing the Petrified status (in particular a ...
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Do manacles provide any sort of in-game mechanical effect or condition?
Reading the description of manacles, they don't seem to actually do anything rules-wise mechanically when used. Am I missing something or am I just being too literal?
Do the manacles actually ...
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What is the source of the fear in the Hallow spell's extra Fear effect?
When using the "Fear" extra effect of the hallow spell, the spell says that affected creatures are frightened whilst in the spell's area.
With regards to the frightened condition: is the source ...
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Can a petrified character drown?
At the end of our last gaming session my character was fighting a Gorgon in a pool of chest height water.
I had the terrible misfortune of being knocked down and then petrified (turned to stone)
Can I ...
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Can an incapacitated character still use bonus actions?
The Incapacitated condition says:
An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.
Can someone who is incapacitated still take bonus actions?
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Is a paralyzed creature limp or rigid?
When a creature is paralyzed, is it rigid (akin to frozen or petrified but not stone) or limp like a rag doll? Specifically, what happens to what they are holding? Do they have it in a death grip or ...
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How Much Does a Petrified Character Weigh?
This came up in a session this weekend. One of my players was turned to stone (petrified) during combat. After combat, the rest of the party wanted to drag the statue around the rest of the dungeon, ...
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Do PCs roll saves for pre-existing effects while Unconscious?
Inspired by this question about Frightened.
According to Appendix A: Conditions (SRD p. 192),
A condition lasts either until it is countered (the prone condition is countered by standing up, for ...
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When restoring a character's hit point maximum lost from exhaustion, does the character also regain hit points?
When restoring a character's hit point maximum lost from exhaustion, does the character also regain hit points?
For example, the fourth level of exhaustion reduces a character's hit point maximum to ...
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How can I frighten my enemies besides using spells?
I am planning on playing an Oath of Conquest paladin, and I really want to capitalize on the Aura of Conquest feature (XGtE, p. 38):
Starting at 7th level, you constantly emanate a menacing aura ...
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If a character is stunned but still has attacks remaining, can they still make those attacks?
Suppose Alex is a fighter with the Extra Attacks feature, so each time they take the Attack action they can make two attacks. Alex attacks Sam, a Fighter/Monk with access to the Riposte Battle Master ...
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Is Armor Class a difficulty class (DC)?
Frightened talks only about DCs:
[...] You take a status penalty equal to this value to all your checks and DCs [...]
Compare it to Clumsy:
[...] You take a status penalty equal to the condition ...
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Is there advantage on a non-adjacent attack against an unconscious creature?
The unconscious condition states the following two effects (PHB 292):
The creature drops whatever it's holding and falls prone.
Attack rolls against the creature have advantage
Under the prone ...
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What happens when a druid is wild shaped and then is petrified?
If a druid is wild shaped into an animal when they are hit by an effect that imposes the petrified condition, are they:
A. A petrified version of the animal they turned into.
B. A petrified version of ...
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How to rule a permanently blind PC in D&D 4e?
One of my players wants to build a totally blind character, and while we've run RP-only disadvantages in the past, this time around he wants mechanics to back it up. He's interested in taking on the ...
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Is it against RAW to allow an Enlarged/Oversized net to restrain a Huge creature?
A net's rules specify that it has no effect on a Huge (or Gargantuan) creature (probably because the net would be too small to bother such a creature).
However, when targeted by the Enlarge effect of ...
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Does exhaustion affect a creature after it is polymorphed?
I have an ally that is exceptionally exhausted. If I polymorph him into another form, do the negative effects of exhaustion—such as reduced speed—apply to the new polymorphed form?
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Do you remember what happened during Dominate Person?
My character was affected by the dominate person spell (and failed the will save) and was given some orders. Does he have any recollection or memory of the orders after the duration of the effect ...
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Can the versatility of Feign Death be increased by combining it with Lesser Restoration and/or Freedom of Movement?
Feign Death
put[s the target] into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
For that purpose,
the target is blinded and incapacitated, and its speed drops to 0.
However, the ...
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Can the target of Feign Death speak, move, and dodge a fireball?
The Feign Death spell begins with this line:
You touch a willing creature and put it into a cataleptic state that is indistinguishable from death.
I read this as flavor, since ‘cataleptic state’ isn’...
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Does Legendary Resistance allow a Stunned or Paralyzed creature to succeed on a save it would otherwise automatically fail?
Both the Paralyzed and Stunned conditions include the following:
a [paralyzed/stunned] creature is incapacitated (see condition) and can't move (or in the case of paralyzed speak)
The ...
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How can I resurrect a creature that died entirely by starvation or dehydration?
The section of the rules on food and water states that exhaustion resulting from starvation or dehydration cannot be cured until the cause has been eliminated (emphasis added):
Characters who don't ...
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Does immunity to conditions imposed by layers of a Prismatic Wall give immunity to that layer's further consequences?
In a fairly high stakes scenario, I (DM) put a Prismatic Wall in a party's way.
It goes off, does Prismatic Wall things, one person is hit by the Indigo and Violet layers and here we develop a problem....
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What happens when making a dying, surgeless character use her second wind?
Last session happened that our Barbarian fell unconscious, with 0 healing surges, and before she could spend her second wind.
The Avenger then made a Heal check to force her spending her second wind.
...
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When is the Saving Throw rolled for an Infernal Wound?
This came up in a game I was running yesterday.
Two devils (Bearded and Horned) in 5e have weapons that deliver "infernal wounds", which are basically bleed effects. The creatures can be ...
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Can I use an Immovable Rod to Pin an enemy?
In my new campaign I am allowed to choose one uncommon magic item, and was considering the Immovable Rod:
This flat iron rod has a button on one end. You can use an action to press the button, ...
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Does the paladin's Aura of Courage feature remove an existing frightened condition from a frightened ally who enters the aura?
I just reached level 10 with my paladin and gained the feature "Aura of Courage". I understand that currently, I and anyone within 10 feet of me will be immune to the frightened condition.
...