Choking

Condition Severity: Moderate

Effects

• You have no ability to draw in air to breathe, and haven't drawn breath in some time. The edges of your vision are growing darker, and your lips are blue. (Note that creatures which do not need to breathe, such as undead, are typically immune to the Gagging status condition.)
• If you choose to take only the Total Defense action during your turn (i.e. staying as still as you can), you do not need to make a saving throw at the end of your turn.
• If you do anything other than take the Total Defense action during your turn, you must make a saving throw at the end of your turn. The DC for this saving throw is the same DC as the original effect (or an Average DC for the CR of the encounter).

• Whether the save succeeds or fails, you take half your remaining hit points in non-lethal damage.

• Note that if you fall unconscious, you cannot take the Total Defense action, and thus must make a save each round.

• If you fail the save, the Choking condition is replaced with the Asphyxiated condition.
• If you succeed on the save, you are still Choking.

Ended By

If the ability, trap, or effect description includes specific directions for how the condition is ended, then that is the primary means of ending this condition. In many cases, it is the only way to end the condition. If nothing is specifically listed for ending the condition, then the following methods can be used to end it, instead:

• Frequently, the effect causing the Choking condition is contained in a particular area, and moving out of this area immediately ends the condition. If you are underwater, for example, moving to the surface to catch your breath reduces this condition to Gagging, and on the following round, assuming you still have the ability to breathe freely, the Gagging condition ends.
• Any spell or effect which grants you a different means of breathing, or eliminates your need to breathe will reduce this condition to Gagging, and on the following round, end the Gagging condition.
• Alternatively, an adjacent ally can give you mouth-to-mouth, providing you air temporarily, as a standard action. Your ally's action provokes attacks of opportunity from any enemies which threaten your ally. This action immediately reduces the Choking condition to the Gagging condition. For the next 1 round, you may act normally, without the need to make a saving throw against Choking. On your second turn after your ally's assistance, you must either fight defensively or once again make saves against Choking.
• Otherwise, Choking only ends when the effect expires or the source of the effect is eliminated.
• Note that the non-lethal damage caused by Choking remains even after the condition ends.

Array

Gagging → Choking → Asphyxiated