All 15 Conditions in D&D 5e Explained

Conditions are the standardized status effects in 5e. They tell you exactly what happens when you're Blinded, Poisoned, Grappled, or Stunned. Without them, you'd be looking up "what does paralyzed do" five times per combat. With them, a single word conveys an entire ruleset.

This guide explains all 15 conditions (16 if you count Exhaustion's six levels as their own), when they occur, what they do, and how to remove them.

The Full List

1. Blinded
2. Charmed
3. Deafened
4. Exhausted (six levels)
5. Frightened
6. Grappled
7. Incapacitated
8. Invisible
9. Paralyzed
10. Petrified
11. Poisoned
12. Prone
13. Restrained
14. Stunned
15. Unconscious

Some rulesets add conditions (Diseased, some others). These 15 are the standard SRD set.

Blinded

• Can't see. Fails any check requiring sight.
• Attacks against the Blinded creature have advantage.
• The Blinded creature's attacks have disadvantage.

Causes: Blindness/Deafness spell, Sunlight (for some creatures), darkness with no Darkvision.

Remove: Lesser Restoration, Greater Restoration, spell ending.

Charmed

• Can't attack the charmer.
• Can't target the charmer with harmful abilities or effects.
• The charmer has advantage on Social checks with the charmed target.

Causes: Charm Person, Suggestion, Dominate Person, vampire bite.

Remove: Lesser Restoration, Dispel Magic, ending condition (spell duration, taking damage in some cases).

Deafened

• Can't hear. Fails any check requiring hearing.

Causes: Thunder damage, Silence spell, Deafness.

Remove: Lesser Restoration, Greater Restoration, spell ending.

Exhausted

Six levels, each more severe:

• Level 1: Disadvantage on ability checks.
• Level 2: Speed halved.
• Level 3: Disadvantage on attack rolls and saves.
• Level 4: Maximum HP halved.
• Level 5: Speed reduced to 0.
• Level 6: Death.

Causes: Long travel without rest, certain environmental effects, failing some death-adjacent saves, Berserker Barbarian Frenzy, casting spells without a long rest on some subclasses.

Remove: Long rest reduces by 1 level. Greater Restoration removes 1 level. Various other effects remove levels.

Frightened

• Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source is in line of sight.
• Can't willingly move closer to the source.

Causes: Fear spell, frightful presence (dragons, some other creatures), Phantasmal Killer, certain encounters.

Remove: Calm Emotions, Lesser Restoration, spell ending, breaking line of sight sometimes ends the condition on a save.

Grappled

• Speed becomes 0.
• Grapple ends if the grappler is incapacitated or if some effect removes the grappled condition.

Causes: Being grappled (see our grappling and shoving guide).

Remove: Escape with contested Athletics/Acrobatics, Freedom of Movement, grappler letting go.

Incapacitated

• Can't take actions or reactions.

Causes: Various. Often a subset of other conditions (Paralyzed, Petrified, Stunned, Unconscious all include Incapacitated). Some spells (Banishment, Psychic Scream).

Remove: Depends on the underlying condition.

Invisible

• Impossible to see without special senses.
• Attacks against have disadvantage.
• Attacks from have advantage.

Causes: Invisibility spell, Greater Invisibility, Potion of Invisibility, magical items.

Remove: Spell ending, attacking breaks Invisibility (but not Greater Invisibility), dispel magic.

Paralyzed

• Incapacitated (no actions, no reactions).
• Can't move, can't speak.
• Fails Strength and Dexterity saving throws.
• Attacks against have advantage.
• Melee hits against are automatic critical hits.

Causes: Hold Person, Hold Monster, ghoul attacks, some spells.

Remove: Lesser Restoration, Greater Restoration, spell ending.

Notes: One of the most devastating conditions. Auto-crits on melee hits. A paralyzed boss is a dead boss.

Petrified

• Transformed to stone.
• Incapacitated.
• Can't move, can't speak.
• Weight is multiplied by 10.
• Unaware of surroundings.
• Fails Str and Dex saves.
• Attacks against have advantage.
• Resistance to all damage.
• Immune to poison and disease.

Causes: Flesh to Stone, basilisk gaze, some monsters.

Remove: Greater Restoration, spell ending.

Poisoned

• Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.

Causes: Poison damage, poison spells (Ray of Enfeeblement, Contagion), environmental.

Remove: Lesser Restoration, Protection from Poison, Freedom of Movement (sometimes), passing a save.

Prone

• Disadvantage on attack rolls.
• Attacks against in melee have advantage.
• Attacks against at range have disadvantage.
• Standing up costs half your movement.

Causes: Shove attack, Trip Attack (Battle Master), spells (Thunderwave, Gust of Wind), being knocked down.

Remove: Standing up (half movement). Various spells (Freedom of Movement).

Restrained

• Speed becomes 0.
• Attacks against have advantage.
• Attacks from have disadvantage.
• Disadvantage on Dexterity saves.

Causes: Spells (Web, Entangle, Faerie Fire's cast target variant, Ensnaring Strike), various effects (grappled-restrained).

Remove: Spell ending, escape attempts, Freedom of Movement.

Stunned

• Incapacitated.
• Can't move.
• Can speak only falteringly.
• Fails Strength and Dexterity saves.
• Attacks against have advantage.

Causes: Monk's Stunning Strike, Stunning Ray (from Stunning Smite variant), certain creature features.

Remove: Spell ending, save to end each round.

Unconscious

• Incapacitated.
• Can't move, can't speak.
• Unaware of surroundings.
• Drops whatever it's holding.
• Falls prone.
• Fails Strength and Dex saves.
• Attacks against have advantage.
• Melee hits against are automatic critical hits.

Causes: 0 HP (dying), Sleep spell, various.

Remove: Taking damage (for Sleep), healing, regaining HP, resting, some saves.

Solo Play and Conditions

Solo characters should track their condition state carefully. You're one failed save away from losing a turn (or more). Conditions that remove actions (Paralyzed, Stunned) are fight-enders against a solo character.

Defensive picks that resist conditions:

• Charmed and Frightened: Elves (Fey Ancestry), Aura of Devotion (Devotion Paladin).
• Fear: Aura of Courage (Paladin at 10), Brave (Halfling).
• Mental saves: Gnome Cunning (Int, Wis, Cha saves vs. magic).
• Poison: Dwarven Resilience, Hill Dwarf resistances, Half-Orc.
• Petrified/Paralyzed: Freedom of Movement spell, Greater Restoration access.

The Endlessness and Conditions

Our AI Dungeon Master tracks all 15 conditions plus Exhaustion levels automatically. When you're Frightened, the system applies disadvantage on your attacks while the source is visible. When you're Paralyzed, melee hits against you are automatic crits. Saves to end conditions happen at the right times.

For related reads, our combat rules guide, concentration rules, and action economy give the wider combat context.

Final Takeaway

Knowing conditions is knowing 5e. Every creature feature, spell, and trap in the game eventually comes back to imposing a condition on someone.

Memorize the big ones (Poisoned, Prone, Grappled, Stunned, Paralyzed) first. The rest build on those foundations.

Try a condition-heavy character (Battle Master Fighter with Trip Attack, Monk with Stunning Strike, Wizard with Hold Person) on The Endlessness and watch your enemies spend turns locked down.