5e Conditions

(Negative) Conditions

Bloodied: the target is reduced to half HP or less.

Sluggish: the target can take only one of Movement, Action, or Bonus Action on their Turn.
Surprised: the target is Sluggish, but only in the first Round of combat.
Slowed: the target’s movement is halved.
Halted: the target has Disadvantage on DEX Saves and their movement speed is 0.
Grappled: the target is Halted and can be dragged; the grappler is Slowed while dragging them.
Restrained: the target is Halted and attacks against them have Advantage.

Staggered: the target cannot make Opportunity Attacks and is Slowed.
Strained: the target cannot make Opportunity Attacks and has Disadvantage on Attack Rolls.
Disoriented: the target has Disadvantage on STR Saves, Spell Rolls, and attempts to perceive their surroundings.
Stunned: the target is both Sluggish and Disoriented.

Poisoned: the target has Disadvantage on all d20 Rolls except for Save Rolls.
Frightened: the target has Disadvantage on Attack and Spell Rolls if the source of fear is Nearby.
Charmed: the target cannot intentionally harm the charmer, and the charmer has Advantage on Presence Rolls against them.

Prone: the target is Slowed and melee attacks against them have Advantage.
Off-Guard: successful attacks against the target bypass their HP; make an Injury Table Roll if the target is a PC.
Unconscious: the target is Off-Guard and may fall Prone. The target automatically fails STR/DEX Save Rolls and cannot act (move, speak, etc.).
Paralyzed: like Unconscious but the target is aware of their surroundings.
Petrified: like Unconscious but not Off-Guard. In addition, the target has Resistance to all damage and is unaffected by poison or disease. Their weight doubles and they gain 100 temporary HP. When the temporary HP is reduced to 0, the target’s petrified form breaks and they instantly die.

Homebrew Condition Mapping

Clarifications

• Conditions do not stack. For example, only one instance of Slowed, Halted, Sluggish, etc. can apply at a time.
• The more specific condition applies: Petrified overrides Paralyzed, which overrides Unconscious.
• Off-Guard only makes sense if used together with the Strain and Injury rules (coming soon™). If those rules are not in use, apply this version of the Off-Guard Condition instead: “Attack Rolls against the target have Advantage. Any attack that hits the target is a Critical Hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of the target.”
• Nearby means within 30 feet. Read more about abstract distances here (coming soon™).

Optional Rules

• Replace Opportunity Attacks with Glancing Blows. Whenever a rule or Condition refers to Opportunity Attacks, treat it as referring to Glancing Blows instead.
  A Glancing Blow deals automatic damage equal to the relevant melee attack modifier; no Attack Roll is made.
• Conditions that impose any form of Unconscious take effect over 3 Turns (a 3-Turn clock).
  • The target must fail 3 consecutive Saves at the start of their Turns to gain that Condition. For each such failed Save (up to the 3rd), the target takes a -1 penalty to all d20 Rolls; this penalty does not apply to these Save Rolls.
  • On a success, any penalties are removed and the Condition ends.
  • A PC can break out of such Conditions before the 3rd Save by taking Psychic damage equal to the DC of the Save.

Design Notes

The main goal is to make the Conditions snappier than their D&D 2024 counterparts, to avoid locking out the PCs when they apply, and to increase tension and realism in ways that are also fun at the table. NOTE: increased tension is good; intentionally sabotaging or griefing the players is not.

GM Tips

• If the story warrants a looser interpretation of Conditions, go for it. In general, avoid making Conditions harsher when homebrewing, especially for PCs. This game should not be a realistic injury simulator. Conditions exist to spice things up and represent states that cannot be captured well by dwindling HP. Still, narrative logic does not always coincide with player fun, so try not to completely lock players out of the action.
• Becoming Off-Guard requires an appropriately high DC check and should be used sparingly to ramp up tension. For example, a bandit pressing a dagger to a PC’s throat.
• Being Unconscious is especially dangerous when using the Injury version of Off-Guard - this will definitely change how the party approaches Rests.
• Being Paralyzed or Petrified is brutal as well - it’s best to combine these Conditions with the optional 3-Turn clock rule to avoid completely locking out the PCs.
• Replacing Incapacitated with Sluggish affects certain “save-or-suck” spells like Hypnotic Pattern or Modify Memory. This is intentional: these spells become relatively weaker so a GM can use them safely against the PCs, and a PC’s spell is less likely to completely ruin the BBEG’s plans. The same applies to the new Disoriented Condition.

Attribution