Energy Drained

Conditions

An energy drained creature has gained one or more negative levels — a weakening of its life force that reduces its effectiveness across the board. Each negative level stacks, and if the total equals the creature's Hit Dice, it dies.

Effects per Negative Level

Each negative level imposes the following penalties, and these stack for each additional level:

  • –1 on all attack rolls and saving throws.
  • –1 on all skill checks and ability checks.
  • –1 to effective level — whenever the creature's character level is used in a calculation (caster level, class features based on level, etc.), reduce it by 1 per negative level.
  • –5 maximum hit points per negative level (the creature's current HP are also reduced by 5 if at maximum).
  • Spellcasters lose one spell slot from the highest level they can cast (prepared casters lose a random prepared spell; spontaneous casters lose a spell slot).
Stacking example. A 6th-level fighter with 3 negative levels has –3 on attacks, saves, and skill checks; –15 maximum HP; and is treated as 3rd level for any level-dependent calculations. One more negative level and they die.

Death from Energy Drain

  • If a creature's total negative levels equal or exceed its Hit Dice, it dies immediately.
  • A creature slain this way may rise as an undead of the type that drained it (e.g., a creature drained to death by a vampire may rise as a vampire spawn).

Permanence — The 24-Hour Save

  • If the creature survives, it must make a Fortitude save for each negative level 24 hours after the drain.
  • The DC is 10 + ½ the draining creature's HD + the draining creature's Charisma modifier.
  • Success: the negative level is removed.
  • Failure: the negative level becomes permanent — the creature actually loses a character level (HP, BAB, saves, skill points, and class features for that level are lost).

Ending the Condition

  • Restoration removes all negative levels, whether temporary or permanent.
  • Remove energy drain removes all temporary negative levels.
  • Lesser restoration removes a single temporary negative level.
  • Negative levels that become permanent (failed 24-hour save) require restoration or greater restoration to remove.

Related Conditions

  • Dead — the result when negative levels equal the creature's total Hit Dice.
  • Exhausted / Fatigued — other conditions that stack penalties on ability scores and actions, sometimes applied alongside energy drain.

Common Sources

Undead touch attacks (vampires, wights, wraiths, spectres, shadows); the enervation and energy drain spells; certain traps and environmental hazards on the Negative Energy Plane. Energy drain is a negative energy effect — creatures immune to negative energy (such as undead) are immune to energy drain.