Conditions

If more than one condition affects a character, apply them all. If certain effects can’t combine, apply the most severe effect.

Ability Damaged

The character has temporarily lost 1 or more ability score points. Lost points return at a rate of 1 per day unless noted otherwise by the condition dealing the damage. A character with Strength 0 falls to the ground and is Helpless. A character with Dexterity 0 is Paralyzed. A character with Constitution 0 is Dead. A character with Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma 0 is Unconscious. Ability damage is different from penalties to Ability Scores, which go away when the conditions causing them go away.

Ability Drained

The character has permanently lost 1 or more ability score points. The character can regain drained points only through magical means. A character with Strength 0 falls to the ground and is Helpless. A character with Dexterity 0 is Paralyzed. A character with Constitution 0 is Dead. A character with Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma 0 is Unconscious.

Bleed

A creature that is taking bleed damage takes the listed amount of damage at the beginning of its turn. Bleeding can be stopped by a DC 15 Heal check or through the application of any spell that cures hit point damage (even if the bleed is Ability Damage). Some bleed effects cause Ability Damage or even Ability Drain. Bleed effects do not stack with each other unless they deal different kinds of damage. When two or more bleed effects deal the same kind of damage, take the worse effect. In this case, Ability Drain is worse than Ability Damage.

Blinded

The character cannot see. They take a -2 penalty to Armor Class, lose their Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), move at half speed, cannot Run or Charge, and take a -4 penalty on Search checks and on most Strength- and Dexterity-based skill checks. All checks and activities that rely on vision (such as reading and Spot checks) automatically fail. All opponents are considered to have total Concealment (50% miss chance) to the blinded]character, and their location must be pinpointed in order to attack the right square. A blinded character cannot deal any precision based damage (such as sneak attack or skirmish damage). Characters who remain blinded for a long time can grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can even overcome some of them.

Blown Away

Depending on its size, a creature can be blown away by winds of high velocity. A creature on the ground that is blown away is Knocked Down and rolls 1d4 × 10 feet, taking 1d4 points of nonlethal damage per 10 feet. A flying creature that is blown away is blown back 2d6 × 10 feet and takes 2d6 points of nonlethal damage due to battering and buffering.

Broken

Items that have taken damage in excess of half their total hit points gain the broken condition, meaning they are less effective at their designated task. The broken condition has the following effects, depending upon the item.

• If the item is a weapon, any attacks made with the item suffer a –2 penalty on attack and damage rolls. Such weapons only score a critical hit on a natural 20 and only deal ×2 damage on a confirmed critical hit.
• If the item is a suit of armor or a shield, the bonus it grants to AC is halved, rounding down. Broken armor doubles its armor check penalty on skills.
• If the item is a tool needed for a skill, any skill check made with the item takes a –2 penalty.
• If the item is a wand or staff, it uses up twice as many charges when used.
• If the item does not fit into any of these categories, the broken condition has no effect on its use. Items with the broken condition, regardless of type, are worth 75% of their normal value. If the item is magical, it can only be repaired with a Mending or Make Whole spell cast by a character with a Caster Level equal to or higher than the item’s. Items lose the broken condition if the spell restores the object to half its original hit points or higher. Non-magical items can be repaired in a similar fashion, or through the Craft skill used to create it. Generally speaking, this requires a DC 20 Craft check and 1 hour of work per point of damage to be repaired. Most craftsmen charge one-tenth the item’s total cost to repair such damage (more if the item is badly damaged or ruined).

Broken Bone

Unlike hit point damage, a broken bone can be a prolonged, if not permanent debilitation for a creature. The location and severity of the break dictates the exact effects. Curing a broken bone requires a combination of a Heal check (to set the bone and allow it to properly heal), some amount of Healing (whether magical or mundane), and, in more severe cases, some amount of down time. Healing applied towards a broken bone does not cure hit point damage, and vice versa. Some spells may reduce or remove the down time required to heal a broken bone (but not the Heal check and hit point healing). The Restoration, Lesser spell can substitute a long rest, the Restoration spell can substitute one day of full rest, and the Regenerate spell can cure any broken or fractured bones with no other healing required.

• Hand Break: A broken hand covers breaks in the wrist, finger, or hand bones, and makes it very difficult to use the hand effectively, and such use risks further damage. A -4 penalty is incurred to any roll relying on the use of said hand. A broken hand can be set with a DC 10 Heal check, followed by 10 points of Healing dedicated to the hand.
• Hand Fracture: A fractured hand involves compound breaks of multiple wrist, finger, and/or hand bones. A fractured hand is unusable until healed.
• Arm Break: A broken arm covers any break between the shoulder and wrist, and makes it difficult to use the arm or hand effectively. A -6 penalty is incurred to any roll relying on the use of said arm.
• Arm Fracture: A fractured arm involves compound breaks of multiple arm bones. A fractured arm is unusable until healed.
• Foot Break: A broken foot is difficult and painful to put any amount of weight on. Movement rates are halved, and a -2 penalty is applied to both Dexterity and AC. A character with a broken foot may elect to move at full speed, and even take a Run action, but they must make a Fortitude Save after each such act (DC 5 for a full move, DC 10 for a Run action). A failed save results in the break advancing to a fracture.
• Foot Fracture: A fractured foot is painful to the touch and impossible to put weight on. Movement rates are quartered, a -4 penalty is applied to both Dexterity and AC, and running is impossible.
• Leg Break: A broken leg is difficult and painful to move. Movement rates are halved, running is impossible, and a -4 penalty is applied to Dexterity along with a -2 penalty to AC. A character with a broken leg may elect to move at full speed, but they must make a DC 10 Fortitude Save after each such act. A failed save results in the break advancing to a fracture.
• Leg Fracture: A fractured leg is painful to the touch and impossible to put weight on. Movement rates are quartered, a -8 penalty is applied to Dexterity, a -4 penalty is applied to AC, and running is impossible.
• Rib Break: A broken rib is a painful injury that inhibits swift motion. The character is Fatigued until the rib is healed, has a -2 penalty to attack and AC, and takes an additional 1d6 nonlethal damage whenever hit by an attack.
• Rib Fracture: A fractured rib, or multiple broken ribs make breathing and strenuous activity even more difficult. The character is Fatigued until the ribs are healed, has a -4 penalty to attack and AC, and takes an additional 2d6 nonlethal damage whenever hit by an attack.
• Back Break: A broken back involves a break in the vertebrae of the spine, and is severely debilitating. Movement is set to 0 and the character suffers a -8 penalty to Dexterity and a -4 penalty to AC.
• Back Fracture: A fractured back involves extensive damage to the vertebrae of the spine, and renders a creature nearly Helpless. The character's Movement is set to 0, they cannot stand without assistance, their Dexterity is set to 1, they suffer a -4 penalty to AC, and they must make a Fortitude Save in order to make an attack, cast a spell, or perform any other similar task using only their upper body. The DC for this save starts at 5, and increases by 1 each additional time this save is made. A failed save means the character fails to perform the action.
• Neck Break: A broken neck involves a break in the spine between the shoulders and head, and is severely debilitating. The character immediately takes temporary damage equal to their current hit point total, and are Paralyzed until the neck is healed.
• Neck Fracture: A fractured neck is debilitating at best, and often life threatening. The character immediately makes a DC 20 Fortitude Save or dies. If the save succeeds, their hit point total is reduced to zero (before the damage from the fracturing attack is applied, putting them into the negative), and they are Paralyzed until the neck is healed.
• Skull Break: A broken skull represents a crack or break of the skull significant enough to be paired with damage and/or inflammation to the brain. The character's hit point total is reduced to zero (before the damage from the breaking attack is applied, putting them into the negative), and they suffer 2d4 Ability Damage to both Intelligence and Wisdom (roll each separately).
• Skull Fracture: A fractured skull represents several breaks in the skull along with significant brain damage. The character immediately makes a DC 20 Fortitude Save or dies. If the save succeeds, their hit point total is reduced to zero (before the damage from the breaking attack is applied, putting them into the negative), and they suffer 4d4 Ability Damage to both Intelligence and Wisdom (roll each separately).

Checked

Prevented from achieving forward motion by an applied force, such as wind. Checked creatures on the ground merely stop. Checked flying creatures move back a distance specified in the description of the effect.

Confused

A confused character’s actions are determined by rolling d% at the beginning of their turn: 01-10, attack caster with melee or ranged weapons (or close with caster if attacking is not possible 11-20, act normally; 21-50, do nothing but babble incoherently; 51-70, flee away from caster at top possible speed; 71-100, attack nearest creature (for this purpose, a Familiar counts as part of the subject’s self). A confused character who can’t carry out the indicated action does nothing but babble incoherently. Attackers are not at any special advantage when attacking a confused character. Any confused character who is attacked automatically attacks their attackers on their next turn, as long as they are still confused when their turn comes. A confused character does not make attacks of opportunity against any creature that they are not already devoted to attacking (either because of their most recent action or because they have just been attacked).

Cowering

The character is frozen in fear and can take no actions. A cowering character takes a -2 penalty to Armor Class and loses their Dexterity bonus (if any).

Dazed

The creature is unable to act normally. A dazed creature can take no actions, but has no penalty to AC.
A dazed condition typically lasts 1 round.

Dazzled

The creature is unable to see well because of over-stimulation of the eyes. A dazzled creature takes a -1 penalty on attack rolls and Perception checks.

Dead

See Injury and Death for common causes of death. The character’s soul leaves their body. Dead characters cannot benefit from normal or magical Healing, but they can be restored to life via magic. A dead body decays normally unless magically preserved, but magic that restores a dead character to life also restores the body either to full health or to its condition at the time of death (depending on the spell or device). Either way, resurrected characters need not worry about rigor mortis, decomposition, and other conditions that affect dead bodies.

Deafened

A deafened character cannot hear. They take a -4 penalty on Initiative checks, automatically fail Perception checks related to listening, and have a 20% chance of spell failure when casting spells with verbal components. Characters who remain deafened for a long time grow accustomed to these drawbacks and can overcome some of them.

Disabled

A character with 0 hit points is disabled. A disabled character is unable to walk or stand unaided (whether by a wall, crutch of some form, or assisting character), and can only take a single move or move-equivalent action each round without suffering further damage. If a disabled character performs a standard or full round action, at the end of their action they take 1 damage. If this damage puts them below 0, they are now Dying.

Diseased

When a character is injured by a contaminated attack, touches an item smeared with diseased matter, or consumes disease-tainted food or drink, they must make an immediate Fortitude saving throw. If they succeed, the disease has no effect—their immune system fought off the infection. If they fail, they take damage after an incubation period. Once per day afterward, they must make a successful Fortitude saving throw to avoid repeated damage. Two successful Saving Throws in a row indicate that they have fought off the disease and recover, taking no more damage.
These Fortitude Saving Throws can be rolled secretly so that the player doesn’t know whether the disease has taken hold.

Disease Descriptions

Diseases have various symptoms and are spread through a number of vectors. The characteristics of several typical diseases are summarized on Table: Diseases and defined below.
Disease
Diseases whose names are printed in italic in the table are supernatural in nature. The others are extraordinary.
Infection
The disease’s method of delivery—ingested, inhaled, via injury, or contact. Keep in mind that some injury diseases may be transmitted by as small an injury as a flea bite and that most inhaled diseases can also be ingested (and vice versa).
DC
The Difficulty Class for the Fortitude Saving Throws to prevent infection, or (if the character has been infected), to prevent each instance of repeated damage, and to recover from the disease.
Incubation Period
The time before damage begins.
Damage
The Ability Damage the character takes after incubation and each day afterward.

Types of Diseases

Typical diseases include the following:

Blinding Sickness
Spread in tainted water.
Cackle Fever
Symptoms include high fever, disorientation, and frequent bouts of hideous laughter. Also known as “the shrieks.”
Cascade Flu
Spread by brain moles and other vermin. A psionic cascade is a loss of control over psionic abilities. Using power points becomes dangerous for a character infected by cascade flu, once the incubation period has run its course. Every time an afflicted character manifests a power, they must make a DC 16 Concentration check. On a failed check, a psionic cascade is triggered. The power operates normally, but during the following round, without the character’s volition, two additional powers they know manifest randomly, and their power cost is deducted from the character’s reserve. During the next round, three additional powers manifest, and so on, until all the psionic character’s power points are drained. Powers with a range of personal or touch always affect the diseased character. For other powers that affect targets, roll d%: On a 01–50 result, the power affects the diseased character, and 51–00 indicates that the power targets other creatures in the vicinity. Psionic creatures (those that manifest their powers without paying points) cascade until all the powers they know have manifested at least twice.
Cerebral Parasites
Spread by contact with infected psionic creatures. Cerebral parasites are tiny organisms, undetectable to normal sight. An afflicted character may not even know they carry the parasites—until they discover they have fewer power points for the day than expected. Psionic creatures with cerebral parasites are limited to using each of their known powers only once per day (instead of freely manifesting them).
Demon Fever
Night hags spread it. Can cause permanent Ability Drain.
Devil Chills
Barbazu and pit fiends spread it. It takes three, not two, successful saves in a row to recover from devil chills.
Filth Fever
Dire rats and otyughs spread it. Those injured while in filthy surroundings might also catch it.
Mindfire
Feels like your brain is burning. Causes stupor.
Mummy Rot
Spread by mummies. Successful Saving Throws do not allow the character to recover (though they do prevent damage normally).
Red Ache
Skin turns red, bloated, and warm to the touch.
The Shakes
Causes involuntary twitches, tremors, and fits.
Slimy Doom
Victim turns into infectious goo from the inside out. Can cause permanent Ability Drain.

Healing A Disease

Use of the Heal skill can help a diseased character. Every time a diseased character makes a saving throw against disease effects, the healer makes a check. The diseased character can use the healer’s result in place of his saving throw if the Heal check result is higher. The diseased character must be in the healer’s care and must have spent the previous 8 hours resting.
Characters recover points lost to ability score damage at a rate of 1 per day per ability damaged, and this rule applies even while a disease is in progress. That means that a character with a minor disease might be able to withstand it without accumulating any damage.

Dying

A character below 0 hit points is dying. A dying character is Unconscious and in mortal peril. Each round on a dying character's Initiative, they roll a Constitution save, starting at a DC of 14. If the check succeeds, the character's state does not worsen, and they repeat the process the next round. If the check fails, the DC increases by 2 on the next round. A natural 1 increases the check by an additional 2, and a natural 20 puts the character's status to Disabled, though their negative hit points remain until healed, and any further damage returns them to the dying condition. If a check fails with a DC of 20 or higher, the character is Dead.

Entangled

The character is ensnared. Being entangled impedes Movement, but does not entirely prevent it unless the bonds are anchored to an immobile object or tethered by an opposing force. An entangled creature moves at half speed, cannot Run or Charge, and takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls and a -4 penalty to Dexterity. An entangled character who attempts to cast a spell must make a Concentration check (DC 15 + the spell’s level) or lose the spell.

Exhausted

An exhausted character cannot Run or Charge, moves at half speed and takes a -6 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. After 1 hour of complete rest, or by spending healing die during a Short Rest, an exhausted character becomes Fatigued. A Fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.

Fascinated

A fascinated creature is entranced by a supernatural or spell effect. The creature stands or sits quietly, taking no actions other than to pay attention to the fascinating effect, for as long as the effect lasts. They take a -4 penalty on skill checks made as reactions, such as Listen and Spot checks. Any potential threat, such as a hostile creature approaching, allows the fascinated creature a new saving throw against the fascinating effect. Any obvious threat, such as someone drawing a weapon, casting a spell, or aiming a ranged weapon at the fascinated creature, automatically breaks the effect. A fascinated creature’s ally may shake them free of the spell as a Standard Action.

Fatigued

A fatigued character can neither Run nor Charge and takes a -2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become Exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued. Fatigue can also be removed during a Short Rest

Flanked

A flanked character suffers a -2 penalty to their Armor Class.
Whenever a character is threatened by two or more creatures from different directions, they are considered flanked. To determine if two creatures flank an opponent, draw an imaginary line between the centers of their bases. If the line touches or passes through the opponent's square, they are flanking that opponent. A character is flanked when threatened by three or more creatures regardless of position.
Creatures with a reach of 0 feet can’t flank an opponent.

Flat-Footed

A character who has not yet acted during a combat is flat-footed, not yet reacting normally to the situation. A flat-footed character loses their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) and cannot make Attacks of Opportunity.

Frightened

A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best they can. If unable to flee, they may fight. A frightened creature takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use Special Abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, they must use such means if they are the only means of escape.
Frightened is like Shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear.

Grappled

A grappled creature is restrained by a creature, trap, or effect. Grappled creatures do not threaten any squares, and lose their Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) against opponents they aren't grappling. A grappled creature takes a –2 penalty on all attack rolls and Combat Maneuver Checks, except those made to Grapple or escape a Grapple. In addition, grappled creatures are limited in what actions they can take (see Grapple).
A grappled creature cannot use Stealth to hide from the creature grappling it, even if a special ability, such as hide in plain sight, would normally allow it to do so. If a grappled creature becomes Invisible, it gains a +2 circumstance bonus on its CMD to avoid being grappled, but receives no other benefit.

Helpless

A helpless character is Paralyzed, held, bound, sleeping, Unconscious, or otherwise completely at an opponent’s mercy. A helpless target is treated as having a Dexterity of 0 (-5 modifier). Melee attacks against a helpless target get a +4 bonus (equivalent to attacking a Prone target). Ranged attacks get no special bonus against helpless targets. Rogues can sneak attack helpless targets.
As a Full-Round Action, an enemy can use a melee weapon to deliver a coup de grace to a helpless foe. An enemy can also use a bow or crossbow, provided they are adjacent to the target. The attacker automatically hits and scores a critical hit. (A Rogue also gets their sneak attack damage bonus against a helpless foe when delivering a coup de grace.) If the defender survives, they must make a Fortitude Save (DC 10 + damage dealt) or die.
Delivering a coup de grace provokes Attacks of Opportunity.
Creatures that are immune to critical hits do not take critical damage, nor do they need to make Fortitude saves to avoid being killed by a coup de grace.

Incorporeal

Having no physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all non-magical attack forms. They can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, +1 or better magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, or supernatural effects. Even so, damage from corporeal sources deals half damage (rounded down, minimum 1) to an incorporeal creature, and non-damaging spells and effects from corporeal sources have a 50% chance of having no effect on an incorporeal creature.

Knocked Down

Depending on their size, creatures can be knocked down by winds of high velocity. Creatures on the ground are knocked Prone by the force of the wind. Flying creatures are instead blown back 1d6 × 10 feet.

Level Drained

When a character is level drained, their maximum and current health are both reduced by the maximum of the Hit Die of their highest class level (4 for d4, 8 for d8, etc), and receive a -1 penalty to all d20 rolls.
A drained character's HD/level/Caster Level is considered lowered by the amount drained for all level dependant effects not affected by the above penalties (e.g. spell/ability susceptibility, Counterspelling).
Any spells or abilities used by a drained character with level dependent effects use the caster's lowered level. This does not remove access to cast spells or use level dependent abilities so long as their Caster Level is at least 1.
If a character is drained an amount of levels equal to or greater than their level (or Hit Dice if applicable), then they are immediately slain.
Drained levels can be recovered at a rate of one level per day with a successful fortitude save (DC according to draining source), or through the use of spells such as Restoration. All level drain is removed from a creature that is slain.
Some abilities and spells (such as Raise Dead) bestow permanent level drain. These are treated just like temporary negative levels, but they do not allow a new save each day to remove them, and remain when a creature is slain. A creature whose permanent negative levels equal its Hit Dice cannot be brought back to life through spells like Raise Dead and Resurrection without also receiving a Restoration spell, cast the round after it is restored to life.
For example, Drogo is a Wizard 5/Fighter 2 and is drained three levels. His current and maximum hit point totals are reduced by 18 (Wizard being his highest class level with a d6 hit die), He receives a -3 penalty to all d20 rolls, Any spells Drogo casts after being drained have a counter or dispel DC 3 lower than otherwise, and he would now be susceptible to spells or abilities that affect creatures of 4 or more HD. He would retain his normal compliment of spells as a 5th level Wizard, but any spell cast would be done with a Caster Level of 2. Were he to be drained 2 additional levels, his Caster Level would be 0, and he could no longer cast spells.

Nauseated

Experiencing intense stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such characters can take is a single Move Action per turn.

Panicked

A panicked creature must drop anything they hold and flee at top speed from the source of their fear, as well as any other dangers they encounter, along a random path. They can’t take any other actions. In addition, the creature takes a -2 penalty on all Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks. If cornered, a panicked creature cowers. A panicked creature can use Special Abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, they must use such means if they are the only means of escape.
Panicked is a more extreme state of fear than Shaken or Frightened.

Paralyzed

A paralyzed character is frozen in place and unable to move or act. A paralyzed character has effective Dexterity and Strength scores of 0 and is Helpless, but can take purely mental actions. A winged creature flying in the air at the time that it becomes paralyzed cannot flap its wings and falls. A paralyzed swimmer can’t Swim and may drown. A creature can move through a space occupied by a paralyzed creature—ally or not. Each square occupied by a paralyzed creature, however, counts as Difficult Terrain.

Petrified

A petrified character has been turned to stone and is considered Unconscious. If a petrified character cracks or breaks, but the broken pieces are joined with the body as they return to flesh, they are unharmed. If the character’s petrified body is incomplete when it returns to flesh, the body is likewise incomplete and there is some amount of permanent hit point loss and/or debilitation.

Pinned

A pinned creature is tightly bound and held immobile (but not Helpless). A pinned creature loses their Dexterity bonus to AC (if any), and take an additional -4 penalty to their AC from opponents other than the one pinning them. A pinned creature can always attempt to free itself, usually through a Combat Maneuver Check or Escape Artist check. A pinned creature can take mental actions, but cannot cast any spells that require a somatic or material component (or verbal if your opponent elects to block your ability to speak). Pinned is a more severe version of Grappled, and their effects do not stack. See Grapple.

Prone

The character is on the ground. An attacker who is prone has a -4 penalty on melee attack rolls and cannot use a ranged weapon (except for a crossbow). A defender who is prone gains a +4 bonus to Armor Class against ranged attacks, but takes a -4 penalty to AC against melee attacks.
Standing up is a Move Action that provokes an Attack of Opportunity, or can be taken as a Full-Round Action that does not.

Shaken

A shaken character takes a -2 penalty on attack rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
Shaken is a less severe state of fear than Frightened or Panicked.

Sickened

The character takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, weapon damage rolls, Saving Throws, skill checks, and ability checks.

Staggered

A staggered character may take a single Move Action or Standard Action each round (but not both, nor can they take a Full-Round Action).
A character is staggered so long as their nonlethal damage exactly equals their current hit points.

Stunned

A stunned creature drops everything held, can’t take actions, takes a -2 penalty to AC, and loses their Dexterity bonus to AC (if any).

Unconscious

Knocked out and Helpless. Unconsciousness can result from having negative hit points, from nonlethal damage in excess of current hit points, or from other sources that directly cause it.