Status Conditions

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Status Conditions

In D&D and Pathfinder, status conditions date all the way back to the mighty Gygax. But old EGG was kind of a jerk, to be honest. (Seriously? A Sphere of Annihilation trap in the first room?! Dick move, man.)

So we are addressing status conditions, with an eye to the overriding point of all gaming: Having fun.

Frankly, missing an entire combat or gaming session because you rolled a "1" at the wrong time sucks. Bad luck is part of gaming, but bad luck that ruins your fun should not ever have a place at any gaming table that doesn't involve money.

The status conditions used in Epic Path are listed in the table below, sorted into arrays. You can search the page to find them by name, or click in each header to sort alphabetically by column. See below the table for explanations of what arrays are and how they may optionally be used to add even more dynamism to conditions.

Status Condition Arrays

Weak	Moderate	Strong
Ability Dilution	Ability Damage	Ability Drain
Anxious	Startled	Panicked
Bruised	Bleed	Ruptured
Cloistered	Displaced	Exiled
Dazzled	Blind	Fogged
Distracted	Mesmerized	Fascinated
Drowsy	Sluggish	Asleep
[[Energy Drain]]	[[Energy Drain]]	[[Energy Drain]]
Fatigued	Exhausted	Incapacitated
Flat-Footed	Wobbly	Helpless
Gagging	Choking	Asphyxiating
Grabbed	Grappled	Pinned
Hindered	Entangled	Entrapped
Humbled	Slandered	Disgraced
Impaired	Crippled	Maimed
Influenced	Charmed	Dominated
Jinxed	Hexed	Cursed
Jostled	Rattled	Stunned
Muddled	Baffled	Confused
Nervous	Trembling	Cowering
Quelled	Prone	Splayed
Shaken	Cringing	Frightened
Sickened	Afflicted	Nauseated
Slowed	Immobilized	Paralyzed
Torpid	Benumbed	Petrified
Unsteady	Disoriented	Dazed
Vexed	Antagonized	Compelled
Weakened	Withered	Atrophied

Status Arrays Explained

Each row of the table above represents one array, each consisting of three status conditions -- one strong, one moderate and one weak. Generally speaking, each trio of conditions share a theme, and the effects of the conditions scale up. This means that Quelled, Prone and Splayed (for example) are all related to getting knocked down. If you are Quelled, you've been knocked down to one knee, or turned around the wrong way. If you are Prone, you're face down on the ground. If you are Splayed, you're knocked flat on your back, or jumbled up in a heap of limbs. This same principle applies to each of the arrays in the table above. Similarly, the effects of Quelled, the weak condition, are not as severe as the effects of Prone (the moderate condition), which is, itself, not as bad as Splayed (the strong condition).

A strong status condition often severely limits you in what actions you can take until the condition is removed. Some strong conditions even force you to use your actions in particular (usually bad) ways, such as running away screaming.

A Moderate status condition severely degrades your ability to act, but doesn't prevent you from acting entirely.

A Weak status condition is a minor debuff to one or more specific aspects of your character. Annoying, but not nearly as crippling as a Moderate or a Strong condition. But be careful! Getting several Weak statuses stacked up on you will, indeed, ruin your ability to be effective.

Stacking Conditions

You can never suffer from two conditions in the same array. Only the strongest condition from any particular array applies. You can, however, be afflicted with multiple status conditions from different arrays.

The same status conditions usually cannot stack with themselves (with the exceptions of Dazzled, Ability Damage and Energy Drain). You can't be knocked Prone if you're already Prone.

Immunity to Conditions

Creatures immune to a specific condition are afflicted with the next weaker status condition in the array. If they are immune to all conditions in the array (such as a Paladin's immunity to all four of the Fear arrays), then they do not get any status condition applied to them.

In some cases, a GM may rule that an attack which inflicts damage plus a status condition deals no damage if the target creature is immune to the status condition. (Optional)

Similarly, a GM may rule that an attack which inflicts damage plus a status condition must deal damage to the target creature in order to have any chance of inflicting the status condition. (Optional)

Escalating Conditions (Optional Rule)

Optionally, if the same condition is applied to you a second time, that condition gets escalated to the next higher condition in the array. Note that the weak condition can only escalate the same weak condition to the moderate condition of its array. Getting hit with the weak condition of the array after you are already affected by the moderate condition has no further effect. For example, if you are Quelled, and a creature inflicts Quelled on you again, you become Prone. If a creature inflicts Quelled on you while you are Prone, it has no effect. But if a creature inflicts a Prone while you are Prone, it escalates to Splayed. Once you're afflicted with the strongest condition in the array, however, it cannot be escalated any further than that.

Clearing Conditions

Each status condition lists one or more criteria for getting rid of it.

It is also important to note that some creatures or magic items can inflict status conditions in such a way that the listed "Ended-By" criteria are changed. In such cases, the monster's bestiary entry or the magic item's description take precedence over the status condition entry.

However, in addition to the listed ways of ending the condition, the following spells and abilities can always be used to clear status conditions:

• Lesser Restoration can cure any weak status condition.
• Restoration can cure any weak or moderate status condition.
• Greater Restoration can cure any weak, moderate or strong status condition.
• Limited Wish and Wish can be used to emulate the appropriate Restoration spells.
• The Paladin's Cleansing ability can cure status conditions, depending on the Paladin's level.
• The Warlord's Chirurgeon ability emulates the effects of the Restoration line of spells.
• Other classes may also have abilities which cure status conditions.

At-Risk (Optional Rule)

Status Arrays allow the referee to (optionally) declare that all monsters and spells which inflict a Strong condition upon a failed save now inflict the associated Moderate condition instead. This removes most cases of 'instant suck' from the game. To maintain balance, these modified abilities or spells also place the victim in an At-Risk state. To resolve At-Risk, use the following progression:

When a condition is applied, if it is a Strong condition, instead bump it down to the associated Moderate condition in the Status Array and allow a save at the listed DC. If this is successful, resolve as normal. If this save is failed, the character is affected by the Moderate condition and gains the special At-Risk condition, which CANNOT be cleared in any way except by resolving the underlying Moderate condition. An At-Risk character must roll a second save at the end of their NEXT turn against the original DC of the status. If this second save is successful, the Moderate condition changes to the associated Weak condition. If this second save is failed, the Strong condition is applied as normal.

It is possible (if your DM hates you) to have multiple At-Risk rolls to make, as long as they are from different status arrays. All these rolls and effects are resolved separately at whatever DC applies to each one.

Only Strong conditions can place a character At-Risk. A moderate or a weak condition which is applied directly from a monster is not affected by these rules, they are only triggered by 'save or suck' Strong conditions. Optionally, GM's can also create attacks which inflict a moderate status condition, that then reduce to a weak status condition on a successful save. Note that it is possible (although mercifully rare) for extremely powerful monsters to have String conditions against which there is no save: Players should be prepared with alternate methods of handling such situations, as such terribly unfair attacks are not subject to the At-Risk mechanic unless the referee specifically grants such a mechanic.

Status Array Example using At-Risk

Say you want to make a creature which has a Panicked attack (or you want to adjust an existing monster). Using the table above, you would find the Panicked condition's row, and the special attack would inflict a Startled condition on any target that fails the save, instead of Panicked. At the end of any afflicted player's next turn, they would make a second save, and if they fail that save as well, they become panicked. If you wish, this creature's attack could inflict the weak status: Anxious, even if a successful save is made, or only inflict it if the first save is failed but the second save is made.