Conditions and their effects
| Condition | Effect summary |
|---|---|
| Blinded | Cannot see, auto-fails sight-based checks; attacks against it have advantage, its own attacks have disadvantage |
| Charmed | Cannot attack or target the charmer with harmful effects; the charmer has advantage on social checks with it |
| Deafened | Cannot hear and auto-fails checks that rely on hearing |
| Frightened | Disadvantage on checks and attacks while the source is in sight; cannot willingly move closer to it |
| Grappled | Speed becomes 0 and gets no bonus to speed; ends if the grappler is incapacitated or removed |
| Incapacitated | Cannot take actions or reactions |
| Invisible | Cannot be seen without special senses; counts as heavily obscured, attacks against it have disadvantage, its attacks have advantage |
| Paralyzed | Incapacitated, cannot move or speak, auto-fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks have advantage and any hit within 5 feet is a crit |
| Petrified | Turned to solid substance, incapacitated and unaware, weight increases, resists all damage, immune to poison and disease |
| Poisoned | Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks |
| Prone | Can only crawl; disadvantage on attacks; melee attackers within 5 feet have advantage, ranged attackers have disadvantage |
| Restrained | Speed 0, disadvantage on attacks and Dexterity saves; attacks against it have advantage |
| Stunned | Incapacitated, cannot move, can speak only falteringly, auto-fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks have advantage |
| Unconscious | Incapacitated, drops what it holds, falls prone, auto-fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks have advantage and hits within 5 feet crit |
How conditions interact
Conditions rarely arrive alone. Several of them fold in others automatically: paralyzed, stunned, and unconscious all include the incapacitated condition, and unconscious also knocks a creature prone. When effects overlap, you apply all of them, and the harshest generally wins on any given roll.
The attack-advantage line is where conditions swing a fight hardest. Blinded, paralyzed, restrained, stunned, and unconscious targets all grant advantage to attackers, and paralyzed or unconscious creatures turn every melee hit within 5 feet into an automatic critical. Stacking a couple of these on a boss can end an encounter in a single turn.
Ending a condition
How a condition ends depends on its source. Spell-based conditions usually last for the spell’s duration or until a repeated saving throw succeeds, while others end when the cause is removed, such as a grapple breaking when the grappler is incapacitated. Reading the exact source is always worth doing, since two frightened effects can end on very different triggers.
How Adventure Codex handles it
Adventure Codex focuses on the numeric resources that shift every round, HP, temp HP, death saves, spell slots, and consumables, and keeps them correct across the party. Conditions themselves are narrative flags most tables note verbally, and this reference is here so you can settle exactly what blinded or restrained does without pausing the game to look it up.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between incapacitated and stunned?
Incapacitated only stops you from taking actions and reactions. Stunned includes incapacitated but also drops your movement to 0, makes you fail Strength and Dexterity saves, and gives attackers advantage.
Do conditions stack in D&D 5e?
Yes. A creature can be under several conditions at the same time, and their effects combine. Some conditions also automatically include others, such as paralyzed and unconscious both including incapacitated.
Does being prone give attackers advantage?
It depends on range. Melee attackers within 5 feet of a prone creature have advantage, while attackers farther away have disadvantage. The prone creature also attacks with disadvantage.