Combat Rules

Standing from prone expends 15 feet of movement, regardless of your speed. If you have less than 15 feet of movement, it takes all your movement to mount, dismount, or stand up. If your speed is 0, you cannot do so.

Before you make a melee attack with a weapon, you can declare your intent to incapacitate, rather than kill. If the attack hits, it deals bludgeoning damage equal to 2 + your Strength modifier instead of the weapon’s normal damage. If the weapon has the nonlethal property, it does its full damage instead. If the attack reduces the target to 0 hit points, it falls unconscious and is stable. A ranged weapon, thrown weapon, or piece of ammunition with the nonlethal property can be used to knock a creature out using a ranged attack, instead of melee. Some effects add additional damage. An attack with such benefits cannot knock a creature out unless the weapon has the nonlethal property and the bonus feature deals the same damage type as the weapon (like Sneak Attack). Effects that deal bonus damage of a different type (like the banishing smite spell) cannot be used to knock a creature out. No spell can be used to deal nonlethal damage unless it states such in the spell’s description, even if the spell deals bludgeoning damage.

You can both draw and administer a potion to yourself or another creature with the Activate an Item action. When you draw and drink a potion yourself, you can take the Activate an Item action as a bonus action.

If you can read the language used to write a spell scroll, you can use it to cast a spell, even if the spell is not on your spell list, is of a level that you cannot normally cast, or you are ordinarily incapable of casting spells.

Getting Bloodied

A creature has a bloodied value equal to half its HP max. When a creature has HP less than its bloodied value, it has the Bloodied condition. The condition ends as soon as its hit points are no longer below its bloodied value, unless another effect is causing the creature to be bloodied.

• If a creature is bloodied when it begins a short rest it must spend two of its hit dice for each dice of Healing it uses during this rest.
• If a creature is bloodied when it begins a long rest it only regains half it’s maximum hit points and none of its hit dice.

• A burned creature is also bloodied.
• The creature has vulnerability to the type of damage from the effect that first gave it this condition.

• 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.

• A deafened creature can’t hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.

Characters who have taken nonlethal damage from lack of water are considered dehydrated gain a level of exhaustion. In addition, if a dehydrated character would take nonlethal damage from hot conditions, that damage instead becomes lethal damage. A character who falls unconscious from nonlethal damage due to thirst begins to take the same amount of lethal damage instead. Damage from thirst, whether lethal or nonlethal, cannot be recovered until the character has been treated; not even magic that restores hit points heals this damage.

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.

Exhausting Wounds

• When a character is reduced to 0 Hit Points, even if they do not fall unconscious (such as expending Incarnum to remain at 1 Hit Point, or other similar features), they gain a level of exhaustion.
• In addition, a character that has a level of exhaustion cannot benefit from a short rest, or spend Hit Dice from item or tattoo features until all levels of exhaustion have been removed. Hit Dice abilities from feats, class abilities, or racial, are not affected.

• A frightened creature has disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of its fear is within line of sight.
• The creature can’t willingly move closer to the source of its fear.

• 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.

• An incapacitated creature can’t take actions or reactions.

• 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.

• A paralyzed creature is incapacitated (see the condition) and can’t move or speak.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity checks in addition to saving throws. Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.
• Any melee attack that hits the creature is a critical hit.

• 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 checks in addition to 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.

• A poisoned creature has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

• A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
• The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
• Melee attack rolls against a prone creature are made with advantage.
• Ranged attack rolls against the prone creature have disadvantage, unless the attacker is elevated at least 15 feet above the target. Ranged attack rolls also have advantage if the attacker is at least 25 feet above it.
• When a creature stands up from prone and is adjacent to the enemy which caused the creature to fall prone, the creature has disadvantage on melee attack rolls.

• A restrained creature’s speed becomes 0, and it can’t benefit from any bonus to its speed.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.
• The creature has disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

A shaken character takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Shaken is a less severe state of fear than frightened.

• A stunned creature is incapacitated (see the condition), can’t move, and can speak only falteringly.

• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity checks in addition to saving throws.
• Attack rolls against the creature have advantage.

You always have at least one level of Exhaustion. In addition, you receive a -1 to all downtime rolls.

If you’re surprised, you can’t move or take actions, and you can’t take a reaction until the surprise ends. In addition, you are denied your Dexterity bonus to your AC (if any).

You are a target, either because you are easily dupped or because you have a status that says your worth the effort. You receive a -1 to all downtime rolls.

• An unconscious creature is incapacitated, can’t move or speak, and is unaware of its surroundings.

• The creature drops whatever it’s holding and falls prone.
• The creature automatically fails Strength and Dexterity checks in addition to saving throws.
• Attack rolls against an unconscious creature have advantage, and any melee attack that hits the creature is a critical hit.

Stowing a weapon requires the object interaction you receive as part of your turn. You can draw a weapon as part of the attack you make with that weapon, provided you have a hand to hold it (or both hands, for two-handed weapons).

Disarming works as-written, with the following change: When you disarm a creature, you can pick up the object (no action required) if you have at least one free hand, or kick, toss, or otherwise move the weapon a number of feet equal to5 + your reach or the reach of the weapon you used.

When you want to grab a creature or wrestle with it, you can use the Attack action to make a special melee attack, a grapple. If you’re able to make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. The target of your grapple must be no more than one size larger than you, and it must be within your reach. Using at least one free hand, you try to seize the target by making a grapple check, a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check(the target chooses the ability to use). If you succeed, you subject the target to the grappled condition (see below). The condition specifies the things that end it, and you can release the target whenever you like (no action required).

• Escaping a Grapple. A grappled creature can use its action to escape. To do so, it must succeed on a Strength(Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check contested by your Strength (Athletics) check.
• Moving a Grappled creature. When you move, you can drag or carry the grappled creature with you, but your speed is halved, unless the creature is two or more sizes smaller than you. You can use the Shove action to move a creature that you have grappled to another space within your reach without breaking the grapple.
• Attacking a Grappling Creature. When another creature has grappled you, you can choose to attack the appendage it used to grapple you rather than the creature itself (which can be useful when the grappler is outside your reach). The appendage has the same statistics as its owner, unless the appendage’s statistics are listed separately (see roper, Monster Manual page 261). When you attack the appendage of a grappling creature instead of the creature itself, the damage you deal is halved.

A new variant action, along with Overrun, Disarm, Tumble, Climb onto a Bigger Creature, etc. When you are grappling a creature, you can use the Attack action to make a special melee attack to hurl the grappled creature. If you can make multiple attacks with the Attack action, this attack replaces one of them. To Toss another creature, you must make a successful Strength (Athletics) check, with the DC determined by both your size and the size of the other creature, as below. If you succeed, you throw the creature a distance up to 5 times your Strength modifier + 5 in feet. When it hits a surface, the thrown creature takes bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it traveled while thrown, as if it had taken damage for falling from a height of the same distance. If you throw the creature a shorter distance, it takes falling damage as if you had thrown it the full distance. The tossed creature lands prone unless it succeeds on a Dexterity (Acrobatics) check with a DC equal to the Strength(Athletics) check used to toss, or uses a feature or spell (such as feather fall) to land safely. Toss DCs The larger a creature, the higher the DC to throw it:

Size	DC	Size	DC
Tiny	5	Large	23
Small	11	Huge	29
Medium	17	Gargantuan	35

The larger you are, the easier it is to throw other creatures. The opposite holds true if you are smaller. The DCs to toss another creature increase by 5 if your size is Small, and 10 if your size is Tiny. They decrease by 5 if your size is Large, by10 if your size is Huge, and by 15 if your size is Gargantuan. No upper limit exists on the size of Gargantuan creatures,so the Dungeon Master sets the DC to Toss a Gargantuancreature based on that particular creature’s size

Once on your turn when you take the Attack action and attack with a melee weapon or make a special melee attack such as a grapple or shove against a creature using one hand, you can make one additional attack using a melee weapon with the light property that you’re holding in the other hand. You don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. You cannot make this additional attack if you have already engaged in versatile fighting in the same turn.

Once on your turn when you take the Attack action and make a special melee attack such as a grapple, shove, or toss against a creature using one hand, you can make one additional attack using a melee weapon with the versatile property that you’re holding in the other hand. You make the attack with one hand on the weapon, even if you still have a free hand. You cannot make this additional attack if you have already engaged in two-weapon fighting in the same turn.

When a creature can make multiple attacks with the Attack action using features such as Extra Attack or Multiattack, special attacks such as a Charge, Grapple, Shove, Overrun, or Toss replace one of those attacks, not all of them.

When you could attack with a weapon, you can instead choose to bash with a shield. You add your proficiency bonus to the attack roll so long as you are proficient with the shield, and your Strength modifier to its attack and damage rolls.   Shields are not considered weapons, so you can still benefit from features like the Dueling fighting style when attacking with a weapon while you have a shield in the other hand. However, because the attack you make with a shield is a melee weapon attack, it can activate features that activate on weapon attacks, such as Divine Smite.

While mounted, you can control a mount that has been trained to accept a rider, or allow it to act independently. Intelligent creatures, such as dragons, always act independently. While controlling a mount, you cannot move except to dismount. Instead, your mount moves both of you as you direct it during your turn, carrying you with it. Your mount can take an action at any time during your turn, but can only Dash, Disengage, or Dodge. An independent mount retains its place in initiative order. Bearing a rider puts no restrictions on the actions an independent mount takes, and it moves and acts as it wishes. In either case, if the mount provokes an opportunity attack while you’re on it, the attacker can target you or the mount.

When your mount takes the Dash action, you must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Animal Handling) or Dexterity (Animal Handling) check in order to remain on the horse. On a failure, you are knocked prone, falling off the mount as above. If your mount is frightened, the DC of both the check and the saving throw increase by 5. Certain saddles give bonuses to these checks and saves, as detailed in their description. Riding bareback imposes disadvantage on all checks and saving throws to remain mounted.