Fear Effects

Whenever the characters encounter something that is supernaturally frightful, use the Frightened condition as the baseline effect. Fear effects typically require a Wisdom saving throw, with a save DC based on how terrifying the situation is. The Sample Fear DCs table provides some examples.

Sample Fear DCs

Example	Save DC
When the characters open a sarcophagus, a harmless yet terrifying apparition appears.	10
A character triggers a magical trap that creates an illusory manifestation of that character’s worst fears, visible only to that character.	15
A portal to the Abyss opens, revealing a nightmarish realm of torment and slaughter.	20

Typically, a Frightened creature repeats the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.

At your discretion, a Frightened creature might be subject to other effects as long as the Frightened condition lasts. Consider these examples:

• The Frightened creature must take the Dash action on each of its turns and uses its movement to get farther away from the source of its fear.

• Attack rolls against the Frightened creature have Advantage.

• The Frightened creature can do only one of the following on each of its turns: move, take an action, or take a Bonus Action.