Conditions
In DC20 combat, conditions represent temporary effects that modify how you can act or how you are treated by others. Most conditions last until the end of an encounter or until you’re healed. Some last longer depending on what caused them.
This is the player-facing reference. If your character has a condition applied to them, consult this page to understand what it does.
THE CONDITIONS
Slowed
Your movement is sluggish. Your Speed is halved. Everything else works normally—you can still act and cast spells, but you won’t get far.
Example: Your Speed is 25 feet. While Slowed, your Speed is 12 feet (rounded down). You can still Sprint and use your full action economy.
Dazed
Your mind is foggy and slow to respond. You lose 1 Action Point on your turn.
If you normally have 4 AP, you have 3 while Dazed. This makes a significant dent in your effectiveness.
Applied by: Stunning spells, mental effects, concussive force.
Impaired
Your senses or reflexes are compromised. You have Disadvantage on all Attack rolls.
You still hit on successes, but your chance of missing increases. You don’t get Disadvantage from other sources simultaneously unless the GM rules they stack.
Applied by: Smoke, magical interference, poison affecting coordination, being struck in the head.
Poisoned
Venom or toxin flows through your body. You have Disadvantage on all checks (Attack rolls, skill checks, saves, everything).
This is a serious condition. It makes you unreliable at literally every action you attempt.
Applied by: Poison, venom, certain magical effects, disease (sometimes).
Frightened
Supernatural or overwhelming fear grips you. You cannot willingly move toward the source of your fear.
You can move sideways, backward, or away. You can attack things that aren’t the fear source. But moving closer to the thing you fear? You cannot force yourself to do it.
Clarification: If the fear source moves out of sight or far away, you can move normally. The condition only prevents movement toward the active fear source.
Applied by: Fear spells, encountering something terrifying, magical coercion.
Stunned
You are locked in place by force, magic, or disorientation. You cannot take any actions. Your Speed becomes 0.
While Stunned, you’re a sitting duck. You can’t move, can’t act, can’t do anything but exist. Reactions may still work depending on their description.
Applied by: Holds, stuns, being hit hard enough to see stars, magical paralysis.
Exposed
You are vulnerable to attack—armor down, guard dropped, or magically weakened. Attacks made against you have Advantage.
Enemies roll twice and use the higher result when attacking you. This makes you significantly more likely to get hit. Being Exposed is dangerous.
Applied by: Disarmed armor, breaking concentration on a protective spell, certain attack effects.
Grappled
Something has hold of you—tentacles, an enemy’s arms, magical restraint. Your Speed becomes 0.
You’re stuck in place but not completely helpless. You can attempt to escape:
- Make a Might check or Agility check (your choice)
- Compare against the grappler’s Might or Agility check
- If you win, you break free
Applied by: Grapple maneuvers, tentacle attacks, magical restraints, being grabbed by a large creature.
Prone
You are on the ground, having been knocked, tripped, or thrown down.
Melee attacks against you have Advantage. (They can walk up and strike you easily.)
Ranged attacks against you have Disadvantage. (Hard to hit a small target on the ground.)
Cost to stand: You must spend half your movement to stand up. So if your Speed is 25, standing up costs 12 feet of movement on your next turn.
Applied by: Trip attacks, explosions, falling, being knocked down.
Blinded
You cannot see. Everything is darkness.
Attack rolls: You have Disadvantage on all your Attack rolls. (Swinging blind is not reliable.)
Attacks against you: Attacks against you have Advantage. (You can’t dodge what you can’t see.)
Effectively, being Blinded makes you very easy to hit and very hard to hit others.
Applied by: Magical darkness, your eyes being covered, certain spells, acid splash in the face.
Invisible
You cannot be seen by normal sight. You are present, but imperceptible.
Attack rolls: You have Advantage on all your Attack rolls. (Enemies don’t see you coming.)
Attacks against you: Attacks against you have Disadvantage. (Enemies can’t aim at what they can’t see.)
Invisibility breaks immediately when you take an action or cast a spell.
Applied by: Invisibility spells, stealth in total darkness, magical concealment.
Bloodied
You are below half your maximum HP. This is a descriptive condition more than a mechanical one, but many abilities trigger when you are Bloodied.
Example: Your max HP is 20. At 10 or fewer HP, you are Bloodied. Some enemies or abilities might gain bonuses while fighting a Bloodied target.
Death’s Door
You are at 0 HP and hanging by a thread. You are not dead yet, but you are dying.
What happens: At the start of each of your turns, you must make a Death Save.
- Roll d20 + Might or Charisma modifier (you choose which)
- Compare to DC 10
- Success: Nothing happens. You’re still on Death’s Door, but you live another turn.
- Failure: Your AP maximum is permanently reduced by 1. (From 4 to 3, 3 to 2, etc.) If your AP max reaches 0, you die.
Escape Death’s Door: The moment you are healed to 1 or more HP, you are no longer on Death’s Door. Your failure count resets. You’re back in the fight.
Example: You reach 0 HP. On your first turn on Death’s Door, you fail the Death Save. Your AP max drops to 3. On your second turn, you fail again. Your AP max drops to 2. On your third turn, you fail a third time. Your AP max drops to 1. On your fourth turn, you fail again. Your AP max reaches 0. You die.
But if a healer casts Cure Wounds on you after your second failure, you jump back to 1+ HP. The condition ends. You’re still standing, and when you take your turn, you have full 4 AP available.
CONDITION CHAINS: HOW CONDITIONS WORK TOGETHER
Conditions often feed each other. A smart enemy might:
- Use a Stun to lock you in place
- Apply Exposed so allies can attack you with Advantage
- Use a follow-up attack to knock you Prone
Once you’re Prone, Stunned, and Exposed, you’re in real trouble. Melee attackers get Advantage (from Exposed), ranged attackers have a harder time (from Prone), and you can’t move to escape (from Stunned).
Removing conditions: Spells that cure or cleanse can remove conditions. Healing doesn’t necessarily remove conditions unless the spell specifically says it does. Short Rests often improve conditions but don’t always remove them entirely.
RESISTING CONDITIONS
When a condition is applied, you might get a save:
- Might save: Resist physical effects (Grapple, Prone, being pushed)
- Agility save: Resist movement restrictions (Slowed, traps)
- Intellect save: Resist mental effects (Poisoned, Dazed)
- Charisma save: Resist social or magical coercion (Frightened)
Roll d20 + the relevant modifier and compare to the DC set by the effect applying the condition. On a success, you resist or reduce the effect.
HEALING & CONDITIONS
Healing typically removes Death’s Door but not other conditions.
Example: You’re Poisoned and Prone. A healer casts Cure Wounds and heals you for 5 HP. You’re no longer dying, but you’re still Poisoned and still Prone.
Some specific healing spells or abilities remove conditions. Check the spell description.
DURATION
Most conditions last until:
- End of combat (if applied during a fight)
- End of the scene (if applied outside combat)
- Until removed by magic (spells, abilities, or items that cleanse)
- Until the cause is remedied (Frightened ends if the fear source leaves; Grappled ends if you escape)
The GM will tell you when a condition ends or if it persists beyond normal duration.
QUICK REFERENCE CARD
| Condition | Effect | Escape |
|---|---|---|
| Slowed | Speed ÷ 2 | Ends naturally |
| Dazed | Lose 1 AP | Ends naturally |
| Impaired | DisADV Attacks | Ends naturally |
| Poisoned | DisADV all checks | Cleanse spell |
| Frightened | Can’t move toward fear source | Fear source leaves or removed |
| Stunned | Can’t act; Speed 0 | Ends naturally |
| Exposed | Attacks vs you have ADV | Ends naturally |
| Grappled | Speed 0 | Win Might/Agility check |
| Prone | Melee ADV, Ranged DisADV | Stand (costs half Speed) |
| Blinded | DisADV Attacks; attacks vs you ADV | Heal blindness |
| Invisible | ADV Attacks; attacks vs you DisADV | Take an action or cast |
| Bloodied | Below half HP; triggers abilities | Heal above half HP |
| Death’s Door | Make Death Saves; 3 fails = death | Heal to 1+ HP |