![]() ![]() Looking at the illustration, I have to wonder why. Pour over the MM, and you will discover the overwhelming majority of creatures are not immune to the stunned condition. Only that is not what is typically happening when we think of stunning a creature. Head gets smacked or mind gets rocked, creature gets dizzy for a time. If you turn to page 292 of your PHB, you will see a lore illustration of what the stunned condition looks like: an ogre who has clearly been bonked in the head and is now stunned. Name one creature immune to the stunned condition! Ten bucks says you couldn’t. Where is the Stunned Condition Immunity?! There are additional perks we have yet to discuss, so bear with us as we justify this nerf and its implications. This new model makes the condition more unique while still providing powerful benefits. ![]() A good alternative we have explored is the following change. ![]() Adjusting the stunned condition would allow for some unique flair and prevent it from bumping shoulders with other conditions. This begs consolidation and mechanical change. Having an effect reference another effect, which in turn references another effect, is a very 3.5 thing to do, forcing a new player to turn to three different references to find out what just one condition does. This flies in the face of 5E’s design principles, which aspire to give uniqueness and distinction to its mechanics. While this is not a minor difference, it shows there is a lot of mechanical overlap. In fact, there is only one difference between stunned and paralyzed: the ability to score an automatic critical hit on a paralyzed target from an attack made within 5 feet of said target. Is this redundancy really necessary? Looking at the stunned condition, we see every single one of its effects are shared between these other conditions. If I have to look these up, you better believe your table will too. What are their mechanical distinctions? I’m a veteran 5E designer and even I am not 100 percent certain. Quick! Off the top of your head without looking anything up, try to explain the difference between these four conditions. This redundancy is already strange, but let’s try a thought experiment. These four conditions are paralyzed, petrified, stunned, and unconscious. Four conditions in 5E start off their list of effects with, “the creature is incapacitated.” This doesn’t even count the incapacitated condition itself, which prevents a creature from taking actions (including bonus actions, reactions, legendary actions, and lair actions). ![]()
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