Quickref

A condition is a temporary game state. The definition of a condition says how it affects its recipient, and various rules define how to end a condition. This glossary defines these conditions:

A condition doesn't stack with itself; a recipient either has a condition or doesn't. The Exhaustion condition is an exception to that rule.

While you have the Blinded condition, you experience the following effects.

Can't See. You can't see and automatically fail any ability check that requires sight.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage, and your attack rolls have Disadvantage.

While you have the Charmed condition, you experience the following effects.

Can't Harm the Charmer. You can't attack the charmer or target the charmer with damaging abilities or magical effects.

Social Advantage. The charmer has Advantage on any ability check to interact with you socially.

While you have the Deafened condition, you experience the following effect.

Can't Hear. You can't hear and automatically fail any ability check that requires hearing.

While you have the Exhaustion condition, you experience the following effects.

Exhaustion Levels. This condition is cumulative. Each time you receive it, you gain 1 Exhaustion level. You die if your Exhaustion level is 6.

D20 Tests Affected. When you make a D20 Test, the roll is reduced by 2 times your Exhaustion level.

Speed Reduced. Your Speed is reduced by a number of feet equal to 5 times your Exhaustion level.

Removing Exhaustion Levels. Finishing a Long Rest removes 1 of your Exhaustion levels. When your Exhaustion level reaches 0, the condition ends.

While you have the Frightened condition, you experience the following effects.

Ability Checks and Attacks Affected. You have Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of fear is within line of sight.

Can't Approach. You can't willingly move closer to the source of fear.

While you have the Grappled condition, you experience the following effects.

Speed 0. Your Speed is 0 and can't increase.

Attacks Affected. You have Disadvantage on attack rolls against any target other than the grappler.

Movable. The grappler can drag or carry you when it moves, but every foot of movement costs it 1 extra foot unless you are Tiny or two or more sizes smaller than it.

While you have the Incapacitated condition, you experience the following effects.

Inactive. You can't take any action, Bonus Action, or Reaction.

No Concentration. Your Concentration is broken.

Speechless. You can't speak.

Surprised. If you're Incapacitated when you roll Initiative, you have Disadvantage on the roll.

While you have the Invisible condition, you experience the following effects.

Surprise. If you're Invisible when you roll Initiative, you have Advantage on the roll.

Concealed. You aren't affected by any effect that requires its target to be seen unless the effect's creator can somehow see you. Any equipment you are wearing or carrying is also concealed.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Disadvantage, and your attack rolls have Advantage. If a creature can somehow see you, you don't gain this benefit against that creature.

While you have the Paralyzed condition, you experience the following effects.

Incapacitated. You have the Incapacitated condition.

Speed 0. Your Speed is 0 and can't increase.

Saving Throws Affected. You automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage.

Automatic Critical Hits. Any attack roll that hits you is a Critical Hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of you.

While you have the Petrified condition, you experience the following effects.

Turned to Inanimate Substance. You are transformed, along with any nonmagical objects you are wearing and carrying, into a solid inanimate substance (usually stone). Your weight increases by a factor of ten, and you cease aging.

Incapacitated. You have the Incapacitated condition.

Speed 0. Your Speed is 0 and can't increase.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage.

Saving Throws Affected. You automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws.

Resist Damage. You have Resistance to all damage.

Poison Immunity. You have Immunity to the Poisoned condition.

While you have the Poisoned condition, you experience the following effect.

Ability Checks and Attacks Affected. You have Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

While you have the Prone condition, you experience the following effects.

Restricted Movement. Your only movement options are to crawl or to spend an amount of movement equal to half your Speed (round down) to right yourself and thereby end the condition. If your Speed is 0, you can't right yourself.

Attacks Affected. You have Disadvantage on attack rolls. An attack roll against you has Advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of you. Otherwise, that attack roll has Disadvantage.

While you have the Restrained condition, you experience the following effects.

Speed 0. Your Speed is 0 and can't increase.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage, and your attack rolls have Disadvantage.

Saving Throws Affected. You have Disadvantage on Dexterity saving throws.

While you have the Stunned condition, you experience the following effects.

Incapacitated. You have the Incapacitated condition.

Saving Throws Affected. You automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage.

While you have the Unconscious condition, you experience the following effects.

Inert. You have the Incapacitated and Prone conditions, and you drop whatever you're holding. When this condition ends, you remain Prone.

Speed 0. Your Speed is 0 and can't increase.

Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage.

Saving Throws Affected. You automatically fail Strength and Dexterity saving throws.

Automatic Critical Hits. Any attack roll that hits you is a Critical Hit if the attacker is within 5 feet of you.

Unaware. You're unaware of your surroundings.

On your turn, you can take one action. Choose which action to take from those below or from the special actions provided by your features. See also "Playing the Game" ("Actions"). These actions are defined elsewhere in this glossary:

When you take the Attack action, you can make one attack roll with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike.

Equipping and Unequipping Weapons. You can either equip or unequip one weapon when you make an attack as part of this action. You do so either before or after the attack. If you equip a weapon before an attack, you don't need to use it for that attack. Equipping a weapon includes drawing it from a sheath or picking it up. Unequipping a weapon includes sheathing, stowing, or dropping it.

Moving between Attacks. If you move on your turn and have a feature, such as Extra Attack, that gives you more than one attack as part of the Attack action, you can use some or all of that movement to move between those attacks.

When you take the Dash action, you gain extra movement for the current turn. The increase equals your Speed after applying any modifiers. With a Speed of 30 feet, for example, you can move up to 60 feet on your turn if you Dash. If your Speed of 30 feet is reduced to 15 feet, you can move up to 30 feet this turn if you Dash.

If you have a special speed, such as a Fly Speed or Swim Speed, you can use that speed instead of your Speed when you take this action. You choose which speed to use each time you take it. See also "Speed."

If you take the Disengage action, your movement doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks for the rest of the current turn.

If you take the Dodge action, you gain the following benefits: until the start of your next turn, any attack roll made against you has Disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you make Dexterity saving throws with Advantage.

You lose these benefits if you have the Incapacitated condition or if your Speed is 0.

When you take the Help action, you do one of the following.

Assist an Ability Check. Choose one of your skill or tool proficiencies and one ally who is near enough for you to assist verbally or physically when they make an ability check. That ally has Advantage on the next ability check they make with the chosen skill or tool. This benefit expires if the ally doesn't use it before the start of your next turn. The GM has final say on whether your assistance is possible.

Assist an Attack Roll. You momentarily distract an enemy within 5 feet of you, giving Advantage to the next attack roll by one of your allies against that enemy. This benefit expires at the start of your next turn.

With the Hide action, you try to hide yourself. To do so, you must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check while you're Heavily Obscured or behind Three-Quarters Cover or Total Cover, and you must be out of any enemy's line of sight; if you can see a creature, you can discern whether it can see you.

On a successful check, you have the Invisible condition while hidden. Make note of your check's total, which is the DC for a creature to find you with a Wisdom (Perception) check.

You stop being hidden immediately after any of the following occurs: you make a sound louder than a whisper, an enemy finds you, you make an attack roll, or you cast a spell with a Verbal component.

With the Influence action, you urge a monster to do something. Describe or roleplay how you're communicating with the monster. Are you trying to deceive, intimidate, amuse, or gently persuade? The GM then determines whether the monster feels willing, unwilling, or hesitant due to your interaction; this determination establishes whether an ability check is necessary, as explained below.

Willing. If your urging aligns with the monster's desires, no ability check is necessary; the monster fulfills your request in a way it prefers.

Unwilling. If your urging is repugnant to the monster or counter to its alignment, no ability check is necessary; it doesn't comply.

Hesitant. If you urge the monster to do something that it is hesitant to do, you must make an ability check, which is affected by the monster's attitude: Indifferent, Friendly, or Hostile, each of which is defined in this glossary. The Influence Checks table suggests which ability check to make based on how you're interacting with the monster. The GM chooses the check, which has a default DC equal to 15 or the monster's Intelligence score, whichever is higher. On a successful check, the monster does as urged. On a failed check, you must wait 24 hours (or a duration set by the GM) before urging it in the same way again.

Influence Checks

When you take the Magic action, you cast a spell that has a casting time of an action or use a feature or magic item that requires a Magic action to be activated.

If you cast a spell that has a casting time of 1 minute or longer, you must take the Magic action on each turn of that casting, and you must maintain Concentration while you do so. If your Concentration is broken, the spell fails, but you don't expend a spell slot. See also "Concentration."

You take the Ready action to wait for a particular circumstance before you act. To do so, you take this action on your turn, which lets you act by taking a Reaction before the start of your next turn.

First, you decide what perceivable circumstance will trigger your Reaction. Then, you choose the action you will take in response to that trigger, or you choose to move up to your Speed in response to it. Examples include "If the cultist steps on the trapdoor, I'll pull the lever that opens it," and "If the zombie steps next to me, I move away."

When the trigger occurs, you can either take your Reaction right after the trigger finishes or ignore the trigger.

When you Ready a spell, you cast it as normal (expending any resources used to cast it) but hold its energy, which you release with your Reaction when the trigger occurs. To be readied, a spell must have a casting time of an action, and holding on to the spell's magic requires Concentration, which you can maintain up to the start of your next turn. If your Concentration is broken, the spell dissipates without taking effect.

When you take the Search action, you make a Wisdom check to discern something that isn't obvious. The Search table suggests which skills are applicable when you take this action, depending on what you're trying to detect.

Search

When you take the Study action, you make an Intelligence check to study your memory, a book, a clue, or another source of knowledge and call to mind an important piece of information about it.

The Areas of Knowledge table suggests which skills are applicable to various areas of knowledge.

Areas of Knowledge

You normally interact with an object while doing something else, such as when you draw a sword as part of the Attack action. When an object requires an action for its use, you take the Utilize action.

A Bonus Action is a special action that you can take on the same turn that you take an action. You can't take more than one Bonus Action on a turn, and you have a Bonus Action to take only if a rule explicitly says so. See also "Playing the Game" ("Actions").

A Reaction is a special action taken in response to a trigger defined in the Reaction's description. You can take a Reaction on another creature's turn, and if you take it on your turn, you can do so even if you also take an action, a Bonus Action, or both. Once you take a Reaction, you can't take another one until the start of your next turn. The Opportunity Attack is a Reaction available to all creatures. See also "Opportunity Attacks" and "Playing the Game" ("Actions").

You can make an Opportunity Attack when a creature that you can see leaves your reach using its action, its Bonus Action, its Reaction, or one of its speeds. To make the Opportunity Attack, take a Reaction to make one melee attack with a weapon or an Unarmed Strike against the provoking creature. The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach. See also "Playing the Game" ("Combat").

A creature has a Speed, which is the distance in feet the creature can cover when it moves on its turn. See also "Climbing," "Crawling," "Flying," "Jumping," "Swimming" and "Playing the Game" ("Combat").

Special Speeds. Some creatures have special speeds, such as a Burrow Speed, Climb Speed, Fly Speed, or Swim Speed, each of which is defined in this glossary. If you have more than one speed, choose which one to use when you move; you can switch between the speeds during your move. Whenever you switch, subtract the distance already moved from the new speed. The result determines how much farther you can move. If the result is 0 or less, you can't use the new speed during the current move. For example, if you have a Speed of 30 and a Fly Speed of 40, you could fly 10 feet, walk 10 feet, and leap into the air to fly 20 feet more.

Changes to Your Speeds. If an effect increases or decreases your Speed for a time, any special speed you have increases or decreases by an equal amount for the same duration. For example, if your Speed is reduced to 0 and you have a Climb Speed, your Climb Speed is also reduced to 0. Similarly, if your Speed is halved and you have a Fly Speed, your Fly Speed is also halved.

If a space is Difficult Terrain, every foot of movement in that space costs 1 extra foot. For example, moving 5 feet through Difficult Terrain costs 10 feet of movement. Difficult Terrain isn't cumulative; either a space is Difficult Terrain or it isn't.

A space is Difficult Terrain if the space contains any of the following or something similar:

• A creature that isn't Tiny or your ally
• Furniture that is sized for creatures of your size or larger
• Heavy snow, ice, rubble, or undergrowth
• Liquid that's between shin- and waist-deep
• A narrow opening sized for a creature one size smaller than you
• A slope of 20 degrees or more

While you're climbing, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Climb Speed and use it to climb. At the GM's option, climbing a slippery surface or one with few handholds might require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

While you're crawling, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). See also "Speed."

While you're swimming, each foot of movement costs 1 extra foot (2 extra feet in Difficult Terrain). You ignore this extra cost if you have a Swim Speed and use it to swim. At the GM's option, moving any distance in rough water might require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

### Swim Speed

A Swim Speed can be used to swim without expending the extra movement normally associated with swimming. See also "Swimming" and "Speed."

When you jump, you make either a Long Jump (horizontal) or a High Jump (vertical). See also "Long Jump" and "High Jump."

When you make a High Jump, you leap into the air a number of feet equal to 3 plus your Strength modifier (minimum of 0 feet) if you move at least 10 feet on foot immediately before the jump. When you make a standing High Jump, you can jump only half that distance. Either way, each foot of the jump costs a foot of movement.

You can extend your arms half your height above yourself during the jump. Thus, you can reach a distance equal to the height of the jump plus 1½ times your height.

When you make a Long Jump, you leap horizontally a number of feet up to your Strength score if you move at least 10 feet immediately before the jump. When you make a standing Long Jump, you can leap only half that distance. Either way, each foot you jump costs a foot of movement.

If you land in Difficult Terrain, you must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or have the Prone condition.

This Long Jump rule assumes that the height of the jump doesn't matter, such as a jump across a stream or chasm. At your GM's option, you must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check to clear a low obstacle (no taller than a quarter of the jump's distance), such as a hedge or low wall. Otherwise, you hit the obstacle.

A variety of effects allow a creature to fly. While flying, you fall if you have the Incapacitated or Prone condition or your Fly Speed is reduced to 0. You can stay aloft in those circumstances if you can hover. See also "Falling" and "Fly Speed."

Cover provides a degree of protection to a target behind it. There are three degrees of cover, each of which provides a different benefit to a target: Half Cover (+2 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws), Three-Quarters Cover (+5 bonus to AC and Dexterity saving throws), and Total Cover (can't be targeted directly). If behind more than one degree of cover, a target benefits only from the most protective degree. See also "Playing the Game" ("Combat").

Bright Light is normal illumination. See also "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

An area with Dim Light is Lightly Obscured. See also "Lightly Obscured" and "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

An area of Darkness is Heavily Obscured. See also "Heavily Obscured" and "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

You have Disadvantage on Wisdom (Perception) checks to see something in a Lightly Obscured space. See also "Dim Light" and "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

You have the Blinded condition while trying to see something in a Heavily Obscured space. See also "Blinded," "Darkness," and "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

If you have Darkvision, you can see in Dim Light within a specified range as if it were Bright Light and in Darkness within that range as if it were Dim Light. You discern colors in that Darkness only as shades of gray. See also "Playing the Game" ("Exploration").

If you have Blindsight, you can see within a specific range without relying on physical sight. Within that range, you can see anything that isn't behind Total Cover even if you have the Blinded condition or are in Darkness. Moreover, in that range, you can see something that has the Invisible condition.

A creature with Tremorsense can pinpoint the location of creatures and moving objects within a specific range, provided that the creature with Tremorsense and anything it is detecting are both in contact with the same surface (such as the ground, a wall, or a ceiling) or the same liquid.

Tremorsense can't detect creatures or objects in the air, and it doesn't count as a form of sight.

If you have Truesight, your vision is enhanced within a specified range. Within that range, your vision pierces through the following:

Darkness. You can see in normal and magical Darkness.

Invisibility. You see creatures and objects that have the Invisible condition.

Visual Illusions. Visual illusions appear transparent to you, and you automatically succeed on saving throws against them.

Transformations. You discern the true form of any creature or object you see that has been transformed by magic.

Ethereal Plane. You see into the Ethereal Plane.

A Short Rest is a 1-hour period of downtime, during which a creature does nothing more strenuous than reading, talking, eating, or standing watch. To start a Short Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point.

Benefits of the Rest. When you finish the rest, you gain the following benefits:

Spend Hit Point Dice. You can spend one or more of your Hit Point Dice to regain Hit Points. For each Hit Point Die you spend in this way, roll the die and add your Constitution modifier to it. You regain Hit Points equal to the total (minimum of 1 Hit Point). You can decide to spend an additional Hit Point Die after each roll.

Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Short Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.

Interrupting the Rest. A Short Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:

• Rolling Initiative
• Casting a spell other than a cantrip
• Taking any damage

An interrupted Short Rest confers no benefits.

A Long Rest is a period of extended downtime—at least 8 hours—available to any creature. During a Long Rest, you sleep for at least 6 hours and perform no more than 2 hours of light activity, such as reading, talking, eating, or standing watch.

During sleep, you have the Unconscious condition. After you finish a Long Rest, you must wait at least 16 hours before starting another one.

Benefits of the Rest. To start a Long Rest, you must have at least 1 Hit Point. When you finish the rest, you gain the following benefits:

Regain All HP. You regain all lost Hit Points and all spent Hit Point Dice. If your Hit Point maximum was reduced, it returns to normal.

Ability Scores Restored. If any of your ability scores were reduced, they return to normal.

Exhaustion Reduced. If you have the Exhaustion condition, its level decreases by 1.

Special Feature. Some features are recharged by a Long Rest. If you have such a feature, it recharges in the way specified in its description.

Interrupting the Rest. A Long Rest is stopped by the following interruptions:

• Rolling Initiative
• Casting a spell other than a cantrip
• Taking any damage
• 1 hour of walking or other physical exertion

If you rested at least 1 hour before the interruption, you gain the benefits of a Short Rest. See also "Short Rest."

You can resume a Long Rest immediately after an interruption. If you do so, the rest requires 1 additional hour per interruption to finish.

Hit Point Dice, or Hit Dice for short, help determine a player character's Hit Point maximum, as explained in "Character Creation." Most monsters also have Hit Dice. A creature can spend Hit Dice during a Short Rest to regain Hit Points. See also "Short Rest."

While you have the Exhaustion condition, you experience the following effects.

Exhaustion Levels. This condition is cumulative. Each time you receive it, you gain 1 Exhaustion level. You die if your Exhaustion level is 6.

D20 Tests Affected. When you make a D20 Test, the roll is reduced by 2 times your Exhaustion level.

Speed Reduced. Your Speed is reduced by a number of feet equal to 5 times your Exhaustion level.

Removing Exhaustion Levels. Finishing a Long Rest removes 1 of your Exhaustion levels. When your Exhaustion level reaches 0, the condition ends.

When a creature drops to 0 Hit Points, it either dies outright or falls unconscious, as explained below.

#### Instant Death

Here are the main ways a creature can die instantly.

Monster Death. A monster dies the instant it drops to 0 Hit Points, although a Game Master can ignore this rule for an individual monster and treat it like a character.

Hit Point Maximum of 0. A creature dies if its Hit Point maximum reaches 0. Certain effects drain life energy, reducing a creature's Hit Point maximum.

Massive Damage. When damage reduces a character to 0 Hit Points and damage remains, the character dies if the remainder equals or exceeds their Hit Point maximum. For example, if your character has a Hit Point maximum of 12, currently has 6 Hit Points, and takes 18 damage, the character drops to 0 Hit Points, but 12 damage remains. The character then dies, since 12 equals their Hit Point maximum.

#### Character Demise

If your character dies, others might find a magical way to revive your character, such as with the Raise Dead spell. Or talk with the GM about making a new character to join the group. "Rules Glossary" has more information on being dead.

#### Falling Unconscious

If you reach 0 Hit Points and don't die instantly, you have the Unconscious condition (see "Rules Glossary") until you regain any Hit Points, and you now face making Death Saving Throws (see below).

#### Death Saving Throws

Whenever you start your turn with 0 Hit Points, you must make a Death Saving Throw to determine whether you creep closer to death or hang on to life. Unlike other saving throws, this one isn't tied to an ability score. You're in the hands of fate now.

Three Successes/Failures. Roll 1d20. If the roll is 10 or higher, you succeed. Otherwise, you fail. A success or failure has no effect by itself. On your third success, you become Stable (see "Stabilizing a Character" below). On your third failure, you die.

The successes and failures don't need to be consecutive; keep track of both until you collect three of a kind. The number of both is reset to zero when you regain any Hit Points or become Stable.

Rolling a 1 or 20. When you roll a 1 on the d20 for a Death Saving Throw, you suffer two failures. If you roll a 20 on the d20, you regain 1 Hit Point.

Damage at 0 Hit Points. If you take any damage while you have 0 Hit Points, you suffer a Death Saving Throw failure. If the damage is from a Critical Hit, you suffer two failures instead. If the damage equals or exceeds your Hit Point maximum, you die.

#### Stabilizing a Character

You can take the Help action to try to stabilize a creature with 0 Hit Points, which requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

A Stable creature doesn't make Death Saving Throws even though it has 0 Hit Points, but it still has the Unconscious condition. If the creature takes damage, it stops being Stable and starts making Death Saving Throws again. A Stable creature that isn't healed regains 1 Hit Point after 1d4 hours.

A player character must make a Death Saving Throw (also called a Death Save) if they start their turn with 0 Hit Points. See also "Playing the Game" ("Damage and Healing").

A creature is Stable if it has 0 Hit Points but isn't required to make Death Saving Throws. See also "Playing the Game" ("Damage and Healing").

A dead creature has no Hit Points and can't regain them unless it is first revived by magic such as the Raise Dead or Revivify spell. When such a spell is cast, the spirit knows who is casting it and can refuse. The spirit of a dead creature has left the body and departed for the Outer Planes, and reviving the creature requires calling the spirit back.

If the creature returns to life, the revival effect determines the creature's current Hit Points. Unless otherwise stated, the creature returns to life with any conditions, magical contagions, or curses that were affecting it at death if the durations of those effects are still ongoing. If the creature died with any Exhaustion levels, it returns with 1 fewer level. If the creature had Attunement to one or more magic items, it is no longer attuned to them.

When you would reduce a creature to 0 Hit Points with a melee attack, you can instead reduce the creature to 1 Hit Point. The creature then has the Unconscious condition and starts a Short Rest.

The creature remains Unconscious until it regains any Hit Points or until someone uses an action to administer first aid to it, which requires a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check.

Temporary Hit Points are granted by certain effects and act as a buffer against losing real Hit Points. See also "Playing the Game" ("Damage and Healing").