See what to do when you can’t see in 5e
The dazzling lights blinded us as we stumbled into the ancient chamber. Then, echoing clicks and whirls, like traps set for prey…and a cackle from the predator deep within. We would need to sharpen our other senses to survive.
Table of Contents
What is Blinded 5e Condition?
The blinded condition in DnD 5e per the Player’s Handbook is:
- A blinded creature can’t see and automatically fails any ability check that requires sight.
- Attack rolls against the creature have advantage, and the creature’s attack rolls have disadvantage.
Blinded usually lasts one minute, unless otherwise specified. The Blinded 5e rules are purposefully loose, to let DMs use their judgment regarding Blinded characters in context.
How does Blindness work in 5e?
The blinded condition in 5e interacts differently when casting spells vs. attacking.
Spell casting while blind 5e:
- If the spell says “a target you can see” it won’t work while blinded in 5e. This means most single-target save spells.
- Most Area of Effect spells still work while blinded, however.
Attacking while blind 5e:
- You get disadvantage on normal attacks
- No Opportunity attacks
- No Sneak Attacks, unless you counteract disadvantage
Blinded also affects any class features or racial traits that require sight, such as the Barbarian’s Danger Sense.
As for Saving Throws, they can be modified by a situational bonus or penalty—such as the Blinded condition. So if it makes sense, it’s well within your DM’s rights to give you disadvantage on a Saving Throw if you’re blinded.
What causes Blindness in 5e?
Besides spells, these can cause the Blinded condition in 5e:
- Blindness/Deafness Spell
- Monster Abilities
- Gem of Brightness
- The Robe of Eyes
- Wand of Wonder
- Moonblade
- Sight Rot Disease
- Malice Poison
- Long-Term Madness
- Sand, dirt, or other projectiles
How long does Blindness last in 5e?
How long Blindness lasts in 5e depends on the source of the Blinded condition. You can be blinded magically, or physically.
The default for being Blinded magically is one minute. But spell descriptions can alter how long the Blinded condition in 5e lasts. For example, the Color Spray spell specifies that creatures blinded by Color Spray are blinded until the end of the caster’s next turn.
If a creature throws sand in your eyes, you might be blinded until you clean out your eyes. But if it is a more severe injury, you may need to wait longer. If it is a permanent injury, you might need the Regenerate spell to grow back the parts you lost.
What does Blinded 5e mean for ability checks?
Blinded in 5e means you fail any ability check that needs sight. But which ability checks need sight? A test you can do is to imagine closing your eyes, then determine whether that ability check is possibly Blinded. Seeing something in the distance? Not possible. Avoiding a spike coming out of a wall? Possible—with disadvantage.
What does Blinded 5e do?
Blindness Cons
- Automatically fail any ability checks needing sight (subject to DM ruling).
- Attack rolls against you have advantage
- Your attack rolls have disadvantage
- No Opportunity attacks
- No spells that require sight
- No feats that require sight
- No abilities that require sight
Blindness Pros
How do you get rid of Blinded 5e?
You can get rid of Blinded in 5e with:
How do you counter Blindness in 5e?
Some ways to counter blindness in 5e are:
High Constitution. Many blinded spells require a Constitution saving throw to avoid being blinded, so if you have a high Constitution (12 or above) you
High Saving throws. Bardic Inspiration and Heroes’ Feast are two abilities that enhance saving throws, and could save you from being blinded.
Fighting Initiate. Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything lets you pick the Blind Fighting Style from the Fighter class (as long as you have proficiency in a martial weapon). The Blind Fighting Style gives you 10 ft of Blindsight, which lets you see within 10 feet even when blinded.
Blindsense. Rogues get 10ft of Blindsense at the 14th level. Blindsense lets you “use nonvisual senses, such as acute smell or hearing, to notice things you cannot see.”
Tremorsense. Transform into a creature with Tremorsense to sense vibrations in a certain radius. This can counteract Blinded’s disadvantage, depending on your DM.
Reckless attack. Barbarians can overcome the disadvantage from Blinded with Reckless Attack.
5e Blinded movement
There are no official rules in DnD 5e for moving while blinded. Many tables have modified movement rules while blinded, however, for extra fun and immersion.
Some ideas for blinded movement in 5e:
- No Dash allowed
- Dexterity saves while over Difficult Terrain
- Roll acrobatics saves to flip and dodge without falling prone
- Roll a dice and move that number of squares
- Halve movement speed
GameCows Tip: If you are playing with figurines, have your blinded character physically close their eyes while moving their figurine around the board! Meta immersion—and chaos!
Blinded 5e FAQs
Does Blindness affect Truesight?
Yes, you can still be blinded while having Truesight. Truesight is more about seeing through illusions or noticing invisible characters than it is about physical vision. Trusight affects magical perception, not physical vision.
Does blindness affect Wildshape?
Yes, but Druids can Wild Shape into creatures with Tremorsense or Blindsense, or immunity to Blinded. You have to have seen the creature beforehand.
Does polymorph remove Blindness?
No, Polymorph doesn’t necessarily remove blindness. But if you polymorph into a creature that is immune to Blindness, it should remove the Blindness condition.
Can you undo Blindness?
You can’t undo Blindness if it’s a magical condition. But, if blindness is done to you physically, you can try to counteract the physical cause of the blindness by using an action, or just wait it out.
Does Blindness stop a Beholder?
Yes, you can blind a Beholder to stop its Eye Rays! The Beholder’s Eye Ray action specifically states that it has to see you.
Now that you can see again, check out how abilities and Conditions in 5e work like Charmed Condition 5e, Frightened Condition 5e, and Darkvision 5e.
Kendra has always been a hardcore fantasy nerd. Growing up in the worlds of Tolkien, Sanderson, Jordan, and Abercrombie, DnD & board games just came naturally. She and her husband, Bryan, started GameCows.com in 2018 as a fun passion project that just took over their lives. An avid board gamer since childhood and chronic DnD chronicler for more than two decades, she loves to play, write, travel, and learn dead languages. She is also a professional content writer at SlashGear.com