Frightened

A frightened creature is overcome by fear and compelled to flee. It can still fight if cornered, but will run if given any opportunity. Frightened sits in the middle of the fear condition chain.

Effects

• Flees from the source of its fear by the fastest available means. If unable to flee, it may fight.
• –2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks.
• Can still take any action — including attacking — if escape is impossible.
• A frightened creature can use special abilities and spells to aid its escape but cannot voluntarily move toward the source of its fear.

The Fear Condition Chain

Fear conditions escalate when additional fear effects are applied to an already-feared creature:

• A shaken creature that becomes shaken again becomes frightened.
• A frightened creature that becomes frightened again becomes panicked.

Ending the Condition

• Frightened with a limited duration ends when that duration expires.
• Remove fear suppresses all fear conditions (including frightened) for 10 minutes.
• Calm emotions suppresses fear effects for its duration.
• Heal and greater restoration remove ongoing fear conditions entirely.

Related Conditions

• Shaken — milder; –2 penalties but no compulsion to flee.
• Panicked — more severe; drops held items and cannot take offensive actions at all.
• Cowering — the most severe fear state; frozen completely, cannot act.

Common Sources

The fear spell; cause fear (affects only creatures with 5 or fewer HD); scare; certain monster abilities (dragons' frightful presence, some undead auras). Frightened is a mind-affecting fear effect — creatures immune to fear or mind-affecting magic are unaffected.