Most conditions are unchanged, but this section includes a few tweaks to make the effects of said conditions less arbitrary and more consistent.
- Blinded
- Bloodied
- Burned
- Charmed
- Deafened
- Dehydration
- Exhaustion
- Frightened
- Grappled
- Incapacitated
- Invisible
- Paralyzed
- Petrified
- Poisoned
- Prone
- Restrained
- Shaken
- Stunned
- Starving
- Surprised
- Targeted
- Unconscious
- A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.
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.
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.
Level | Effect |
---|---|
1 | Disadvantage on ability checks |
2 | Speed halved |
3 | Disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws |
4 | Hit point maximum halved |
5 | Speed reduced to 0 |
6 | Death |
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.
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.
- 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.
Contamination
Contamination is measured in six levels. An effect can give a creature one or more levels of contamination, as specified in the effect’s description. If an already contaminated creature suffers another effect that causes further contamination, its current level of contamination increases by the amount specified in the effect’s description.
In addition, each time a character finishes a long rest while they have one or more contamination levels, roll 1d20. On a 1, they gain a contamination level.
Upon reaching contamination level 6 or higher, the creature transforms as described in the “Monstrous Transformation” section.
Contamination Symptoms
A contaminated creature suffers the symptoms from its current level as well as all lower levels.
Removing Contamination
Only specific magic can remove contamination levels. Creatures do not recover naturally. The purge contamination spell can remove contamination, but it leaves affected characters exhausted. A heal spell removes all contamination levels from a contaminated character.
Death and Dying while Contaminated
When a humanoid creature with any contamination levels dies, it animates as a husk 24 hours later. A creature with six or more class levels or hit dice rises as a wight instead.
Being raised from the dead reduces a creature’s contamination level by one.
Level | Symptoms |
---|---|
1 | None. |
2 | Hit points regained by expending hit dice halved. |
3 | No hit points regained at the end of a long rest. |
4 | Damage dealt by weapon attacks and spells halved. |
5 | Incapacitated. |
6 | Monstrous Transformation! |
Monstrous Transformation!
A creature who reaches contamination level 6 or higher triggers a transformation into a horrific monster controlled by the Game Master. Once triggered, the transformation finishes in 1 round. It is thereafter permanent. Game Masters are encouraged to narrate a suitably gory description of the transformation.
The Game Master chooses the creature’s new form, which is most often an aberration or monstrosity of some kind. The new form usually has a challenge rating similar to that of the original creature, but under appropriate circumstances you can choose one that is much higher or much lower.
The creature’s game statistics are entirely replaced by those of the chosen monster. The creature assumes the new form’s hit points and hit dice. All contamination levels are removed, though the GM may grant additional traits to the new form similar to any beneficial mutations gained from contamination levels.
The GM determines what remains of the original creature’s personality and memories, if anything. Regardless, the creature is invariably driven mad by the transformation and falls under the GM’s control.
Reversing the Transformation
The means of reversing a monstrous transformation are completely unknown. A monstrous transformation is widely regarded as permanent, though many still search the Ruins for answers.
A wish spell or similar magic can restore a single transformed creature to its previous form, removing all contamination in the process. This is considered a stressful use of the wish spell, and thus there is a 33 percent chance that the caster will be unable to cast wish ever again if they use the spell in this manner.
The transformation is otherwise irreversible by any means short of divine intervention. Nevertheless, at the Game Master’s discretion, it may be possible to temporarily alleviate a transformed creature’s innate madness. However, an intelligent monster who receives long-term treatment of any sort may eventually conspire to contaminate or subtly corrupt its caretakers.