Chapter IV · Steel & Initiative · Player's Handbook
Combat
Initiative, your turn, the actions you can take, and the conditions that hamper creatures.
Order of Combat
- Establish positions.
- Everyone rolls Initiative (a Dexterity check).
- Take turns in Initiative order.
- When everyone has gone, the next round begins. A round is about 6 seconds.
Actions
| Action | What it does |
|---|---|
| Attack | Make a weapon or unarmed attack. |
| Dash | Gain extra movement equal to your Speed. |
| Disengage | Your movement doesn't provoke Opportunity Attacks. |
| Dodge | Until your next turn, attacks against you have Disadvantage if you can see the attacker, and you have Advantage on Dexterity saves. Lost if you're Incapacitated or your Speed is 0. |
| Help | Give an ally Advantage on their next check with one of your skills or tools, or distract an enemy within 5 feet so an ally's next attack against it has Advantage. |
| Hide | While Heavily Obscured or behind three-quarters or total cover and out of enemies' sight, make a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check. On a success you're Invisible while hidden, and your total is the DC to find you. |
| Influence | Try to sway a creature's attitude with a Charisma or Wisdom check. |
| Magic | Cast a spell or use a magic item or feature. |
| Ready | Prepare an action to trigger later. |
| Search | Look or listen for something with a Wisdom check. |
| Study | Recall or analyse with an Intelligence check. |
| Utilize | Use a nonmagical object. |
Conditions
Blinded
Can't see; attacks against it have Advantage, its attacks have Disadvantage.
Charmed
Can't attack the charmer or target it with damaging abilities or magic; the charmer has Advantage on social checks against it.
Deafened
Can't hear and automatically fails any ability check that requires hearing.
Exhaustion
Each level gives −2 to d20 Tests and −5 feet of Speed; a Long Rest removes one level; level 6 is death.
Frightened
Disadvantage on ability checks and attack rolls while the source of fear is in line of sight; can't willingly move closer to it.
Grappled
Speed 0; Disadvantage on attacks against anyone but the grappler, who can drag or carry it.
Incapacitated
Can't take actions, Bonus Actions or Reactions, can't speak, and loses Concentration; Disadvantage on Initiative.
Invisible
Advantage on Initiative; unaffected by effects that need to see it; attacks against it have Disadvantage and its attacks have Advantage, unless the other creature can see it.
Paralyzed
Incapacitated and Speed 0; fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks against it have Advantage, and hits from within 5 feet are Critical Hits.
Petrified
Turned to stone: Incapacitated, Speed 0, fails Strength and Dexterity saves, attacks against it have Advantage; Resistance to all damage and immune to Poisoned.
Poisoned
Disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Prone
Can only crawl or spend half its Speed to stand; Disadvantage on its attacks; attacks from within 5 feet have Advantage, others Disadvantage.
Restrained
Speed 0; attacks against it have Advantage, its attacks have Disadvantage, and it has Disadvantage on Dexterity saves.
Stunned
Incapacitated; fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks against it have Advantage.
Unconscious
Incapacitated and Prone, drops what it holds, Speed 0, unaware; fails Strength and Dexterity saves; attacks against it have Advantage, and hits from within 5 feet are Critical Hits.
Dropping to 0 Hit Points
At 0 Hit Points a character falls Unconscious and makes a Death Saving Throw at the start of each turn: roll a d20 with no modifiers; 10 or higher is a success, lower is a failure. Three successes make you Stable; three failures mean death. Successes and failures needn't be in a row, and both reset when you regain Hit Points or become Stable.
- Rolling a 1 counts as two failures. Rolling a 20 means you regain 1 Hit Point.
- Taking any damage at 0 Hit Points is one failure, or two if it's a Critical Hit. Damage equal to or more than your Hit Point maximum kills you outright.
- Massive damage: if damage drops you to 0 and the leftover equals or exceeds your Hit Point maximum, you die instantly.
- An ally can stabilise you with the Help action and a DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check. A Stable creature regains 1 Hit Point after 1d4 hours.
- Monsters usually die the moment they reach 0 Hit Points.