Frightened
- 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.
- Gith and some Halflings will have advantage on all fear saves.
Causes
Common Causes: the spell Fear, Dragons, Pit Fiends, Scarecrows, Bheur Hags, and Conquest Paladins
Affected Groups
Why it matters to players: Frightened, far more than Charmed, is a battlefield control mechanism. The inability to attack effectively or even get close to a target is a fantastic way to bottleneck enemies and ensure you don’t get overwhelmed. Most abilities that cause the fear effect are area-of-effect so always be sure to maximize how many targets you can get within your range.
Spellcasters will have an advantage here that most martials won’t: many spells do not require attack rolls. Saving throws are 100% unaffected by the frightened condition so even if your Wizard is wetting himself, he can still cast Fireball.
Why it matters to DMs: There are a few implications to this effect, but the most mechanical is that it limits the action economy for a lot of creatures. In the case of Dragons and Pit Fiends, it ensures players can’t spend all their time dealing damage at 100% capacity. The early rounds are generally spent overpowering the effect or outsmarting it, like a Cleric casting the Heroism spell or Calm Emotions.
The ability to frighten adds a little bit of mystique to a creature. While players always assume their characters are brave, they are still people and people have moments of weakness. It takes a roleplay element, like a creature being so horrible and so reviled that its name inspires fear across the land, and brings it into a mechanic.
As a word of advice, I don’t not recommend using the Frightened effect on players too often. As previously mentioned, every player wants to believe their character is brave when it matters and challenging that idea is good in doses. However, you don’t want them to feel ineffective in combat too often or they might not get to enjoy the fantasy of themselves as heroes.
Spellcasters will have an advantage here that most martials won’t: many spells do not require attack rolls. Saving throws are 100% unaffected by the frightened condition so even if your Wizard is wetting himself, he can still cast Fireball.
Why it matters to DMs: There are a few implications to this effect, but the most mechanical is that it limits the action economy for a lot of creatures. In the case of Dragons and Pit Fiends, it ensures players can’t spend all their time dealing damage at 100% capacity. The early rounds are generally spent overpowering the effect or outsmarting it, like a Cleric casting the Heroism spell or Calm Emotions.
The ability to frighten adds a little bit of mystique to a creature. While players always assume their characters are brave, they are still people and people have moments of weakness. It takes a roleplay element, like a creature being so horrible and so reviled that its name inspires fear across the land, and brings it into a mechanic.
As a word of advice, I don’t not recommend using the Frightened effect on players too often. As previously mentioned, every player wants to believe their character is brave when it matters and challenging that idea is good in doses. However, you don’t want them to feel ineffective in combat too often or they might not get to enjoy the fantasy of themselves as heroes.
