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 Array

The first thing we did was examine all the status conditions in Pathfinder and categorize them as Strong, Medium, or Weak.

A Strong status condition is a hard control: If you are hit with one of these, you are out of the game. These are things like petrification, stun, and nauseated. You generally lose all your actions and for particularly onerous conditions, you run away screaming like a little girl. Fear sucks.

A Medium status condition is a partial hard control: If you are hit with one of these, you are pretty severely degraded. Things like entangled, grappled, and prone fall here. You generally have a negative modifier to any actions you can take, and you usually lose some portion of your actions.

A Weak status condition is a soft control: They are debuffs to your rolls which make you worse at being an adventurer. Annoying, but not nearly as crippling as a Medium or a Strong status. But be careful, getting several Weak statuses stacked up on you will, indeed, ruin your ability to be effective. Although it can be kinda cool to see a dude keep on operating under a pile of troubles.

In the Status Array, we listed out all the Strong, Medium, and Weak conditions and associated them in ranks of severity. Namely, all Strong conditions now have a 'lesser' version which is a Medium condition, and then a 'least' version which is a Weak condition. In order to make this 'work' we had to add in a few new conditions, such as slowed and phased.

At-Risk

This allows the DM to, as an optional rule, declare that all monsters and spells which inflict a Strong condition upon a failed save to now inflict the associated Medium condition instead. This removes most cases of 'instant suck' from the game. To maintain balance, Strong conditions 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 is At-Risk. 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. The Weak condition gained from At-Risk always lasts one round, ending at the end of the characters next turn.

Similar conditions from any number of sources do not stack, as per the normal rules. It is possible (if your DM hates you) to have multiple At-Risk rolls to make, as long as they are from different rows of the Status Array. All these rolls and effects are resolved separately at whatever DC applies to each one. Note that if two different Strong conditions have the same Medium effect, you are only under the single medium effect but you are still At-Risk for BOTH Strong conditions. Even though under only one Medium effect, you must resolve both At-Risk rolls and suffer the effects of both, which may or may not lead to the same condition again.

Only Strong conditions can place a character At-Risk. A medium 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.

Spells or abilities which cure the strong status condition also cure the moderate and weak sub-conditions of that condition's array. Creatures immune to a strong condition are generally afflicted with the moderate condition of its array instead. Some abilities, such as the paladin's immunity to fear protect against multiple conditions.

Strong Status Conditions

Status Condition	Status Array	Effect
Ability Damage	Ability Damage ==> Bleed ==> Bruised	One or more ability is reduced, leading to other negative effects.
Confused	Confused ==> Baffled ==> Dazzled	Target treats everyone as an enemy and may attack allies or himself.
Cowering	Cowering ==> Trembling ==> Shaken	Target can take no actions other than wetting pants.
Dazed	Dazed ==> Disoriented ==> Unsteady	Target falls prone and can take no actions. Usually ends automatically after 1 round.
Energy Drain	Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain	Target's level is significantly reduced, leading to numerous other penalties.
Faded	Faded ==> Invisible ==> Concealed	Target is not only invisible, but also difficult to remember.
Fascinated	Fascinated ==> Blind ==> Deafened	Target stares off into space and takes no actions.
Frightened	Frightened ==> Staggered ==> Shaken	Target runs away at full speed taking no other actions.
Helpless	Helpless ==> Prone ==> Flat-Footed	Target falls prone, can take no actions and is subject to coup-de-grace attacks.
Incapacitated	Incapacitated ==> Exhausted ==> Fatigued	Target falls prone, can take no actions other than to crawl 5 feet per round.
Nauseated	Nauseated ==> Afflicted ==> Sickened	Target can take a single move action after depositing recent meals onto the floor.
Panicked	Panicked ==> Startled ==> Anxious	Target drops any held objects and runs away at full speed.
Paralyzed	Paralyzed ==> Immobilized ==> Slowed	Target is frozen in place and can take no actions.
Petrified	Petrified ==> Entangled ==> Torpid	Target is turned to stone and becomes more attractive to birds.
Phased	Phased ==> Incorporeal ==> Nebulous	Attackers have a 50% miss chance, and the creature takes only 50% damage.
Pinned	Pinned ==> Grappled ==> Hindered	Target can only make escape checks.
Stunned	Stunned ==> Rattled ==> Jostled	Target can take no actions and drops any held objects.

Moderate Status Conditions

Status Condition	Status Array	Effect
Afflicted	Nauseated ==> Afflicted ==> Sickened	Skill rolls and concentration checks to cast spells automatically fail.
Baffled	Confused ==> Baffled ==> Dazzled	Target takes a -6 penalty to INT, WIS and CHA, and immediately drops down 6 in the initiative order.
Bleed	Ability Damage ==> Bleed ==> Bruised	Target takes ongoing damage each round.
Blind	Fascinated ==> Blind ==> Deafened	Target can't see, and takes a 50% miss chance on all attacks.
Disoriented	Dazed ==> Disoriented ==> Unsteady	Attacks have a chance to hit neighboring squares instead of intended target.
Energy Drain	Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain	Target's level is reduced, leading to numerous other penalties.
Entangled	Petrified ==> Entangled ==> Torpid	Target cannot move more than 10 feet, and takes -2 to hit and -4 to DEX.
Exhausted	Incapacitated ==> Exhausted ==> Fatigued	Target moves half speed and takes a -6 to STR and DEX.
Grappled	Pinned ==> Grappled ==> Hindered	Target cannot take actions requiring two hands, spell casting is impaired.
Immobilized	Paralyzed ==> Immobilized ==> Slowed	Target cannot move from their space except by forced movement or teleport.
Incorporeal	Phased ==> Incorporeal ==> Nebulous	Creature takes half damage from most attacks.
Invisible	Faded ==> Invisible ==> Concealed	Creature is missed 50% of the time.
Prone	Helpless ==> Prone ==> Flat-Footed	Target falls to ground, takes -4 on melee to-hits and can't used ranged weapons except crossbows.
Rattled	Stunned ==> Rattled ==> Jostled	Target drops everything it is holding into a space it occupies.
Staggered	Frightened ==> Staggered ==> Shaken	Target may only take a standard action or a move action. Full actions are right out.
Startled	Panicked ==> Startled ==> Anxious	Allies can provoke attacks of opportunity from you, and you must fight defensively.
Trembling	Cowering ==> Trembling ==> Shaken	-4 penalty to attacks, AC, DEX-based skills, and concentration checks for spells with somatic components.

Weak Status Conditions

Status Condition	Status Array	Effect
Nebulous	Phased ==> Incorporeal ==> Nebulous	When not in bright light, target takes only half damage from all attacks.
Concealed	Faded ==> Invisible ==> Concealed	Creature is hit only 80% of the time (20% miss chance).
Dazzled	Confused ==> Baffled ==> Dazzled	Target takes -1 penalty to attack and perception rolls.
Jostled	Stunned ==> Rattled ==> Jostled	Target takes -2 to AC and immediately drops by 3 in the initiative order.
Deafened	Fascinated ==> Blind ==> Deafened	Target fails auditory perception checks. Spellcasting is impaired.
Torpid	Petrified ==> Entangled ==> Torpid	Target's next attack takes a -2 penalty, and its move is reduced by 10 feet.
Energy Drain	Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain ==> Energy Drain	Target's level is reduced, leading to numerous other penalties.
Fatigued	Incapacitated ==> Exhausted ==> Fatigued	Target takes a -2 penalty to STR and DEX.
Flat-Footed	Helpless ==> Prone ==> Flat-Footed	Target loses DEX bonus to AC and CMD, and cannot make attacks of opportunity.
Unsteady	Dazed ==> Disoriented ==> Unsteady	Target's AC is reduced by 2, cannot take 5-foot-steps or make attacks with a move component.
Nervous	Cowering ==> Trembling ==> Nervous	Target takes a -2 penalty on attacks, and concentration checks for spells with a somatic component.
Shaken	Frightened ==> Staggered ==> Shaken	Target takes a –2 penalty on attacks, saves, skill and ability checks.
Anxious	Panicked ==> Startled ==> Anxious	Target grants a +2 flanking bonus to all enemies, and cannot make attacks of opportunity.
Bruised	Ability Damage ==> Bleed ==> Bruised	The next heal, first aid check or temp hit points granted the target provide no benefit.
Sickened	Nauseated ==> Afflicted ==> Sickened	Target takes a –2 penalty on attacks, damage, saves, skill and ability checks.
Slowed	Paralyzed ==> Immobilized ==> Slowed	Target cannot move more than 10 feet per move action, cannot charge, run or take 5-foot steps.
Hindered	Pinned ==> Grappled ==> Hindered	Target takes a -2 penalty on attacks, AC and all STR and DEX-based skill checks.