Prone
Prone
• A prone creature’s only movement option is to crawl, unless it stands up and thereby ends the condition.
• The creature has disadvantage on attack rolls.
• An attack roll against the creature has advantage if the attacker is within 5 feet of the creature. Otherwise, the attack roll has disadvantage.
— Basic Rules
The Prone condition is arguably the most common condition in the 5e combat because it is applied whenever a creature is knocked off of its feet. The Prone condition is the best friend of melee fighters, who can get advantage on their attacks as long as the target is prone without the need for magic. Most often, the Prone condition is applied by the Shove action (or a similar ability) that can be done as part of one of the combatants’ attacks. Most of the time, the Prone condition is one of the easiest to rectify because it only requires half of the creature’s movement to stand up, rather than a saving throw or other spell. The Prone condition can also be considered a beneficial condition because all attack rolls outside of 5 feet have disadvantage. A creature can willingly drop prone without using any of their movement against ranged creatures to give themselves a higher chance of being missed by their attacks. This is doubly so if dropping prone allows the creature to get behind cover of some sort. The biggest tactical advantage that can be gained by the Prone condition is against flying foes: If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as the fly spell. Because, when provoked, creatures fall 500 feet instantly and 500 feet per turn at the start of each turn, knocking a creature Prone while flying can result in upwards of 20d6 damage. Methods Some examples of things that can apply the Prone condition are: • Shove Attack (special melee attack) • Tidal Wave (spell) • Grease (spell) • Tasha’s Hideous Laughter (spell) Walloping Ammunition (magical item)
The Prone condition is arguably the most common condition in the 5e combat because it is applied whenever a creature is knocked off of its feet. The Prone condition is the best friend of melee fighters, who can get advantage on their attacks as long as the target is prone without the need for magic. Most often, the Prone condition is applied by the Shove action (or a similar ability) that can be done as part of one of the combatants’ attacks. Most of the time, the Prone condition is one of the easiest to rectify because it only requires half of the creature’s movement to stand up, rather than a saving throw or other spell. The Prone condition can also be considered a beneficial condition because all attack rolls outside of 5 feet have disadvantage. A creature can willingly drop prone without using any of their movement against ranged creatures to give themselves a higher chance of being missed by their attacks. This is doubly so if dropping prone allows the creature to get behind cover of some sort. The biggest tactical advantage that can be gained by the Prone condition is against flying foes: If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as the fly spell. Because, when provoked, creatures fall 500 feet instantly and 500 feet per turn at the start of each turn, knocking a creature Prone while flying can result in upwards of 20d6 damage. Methods Some examples of things that can apply the Prone condition are: • Shove Attack (special melee attack) • Tidal Wave (spell) • Grease (spell) • Tasha’s Hideous Laughter (spell) Walloping Ammunition (magical item)