Blinded: sight checks and attack rolls

SRD 5.2.1 · Conditions

At the table

  1. Identify whether the task requires sight. If it does, the ability check fails automatically.
  2. Apply Disadvantage to the blinded creature’s attack rolls and Advantage to attack rolls against it.
  3. For a nonvisual task, resolve the stated skill and circumstances; the condition alone does not make every check fail.

Example decision

A blinded scout is asked to read a distant painted signal. Another character then asks the scout to remember the password they heard earlier. Does Blinded make both ability checks automatically fail?

Only the sight-dependent check automatically fails.

Reading the painted signal requires sight, so that check automatically fails. Recalling a previously heard password does not inherently require sight. If remembering it calls for a check, resolve that check normally unless another rule changes it. The attack-roll changes are a separate part of the condition.

Watch for this mistake

Do not replace “requires sight” with “anything the player attempts.” Describe available sounds, touch and remembered information without treating those as restored vision.

Ask the table

Which part of this task actually needs sight, and what other information can the character use?

Source rule

While you have the Blinded condition, you experience the following effects. Can’t See. You can’t see and automatically fail any ability check that requires sight. Attacks Affected. Attack rolls against you have Advantage, and your attack rolls have Disadvantage.

Source: SRD 5.2.1, 177. Online guide.

Source and reuse

This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 (“SRD 5.2.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, available at creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

The explanation, example and table prompt are Table Ready adaptations; source text has been reflowed and tables reformatted. This guide and its printable card are available under the same CC BY 4.0 license. Independent reference; no official affiliation. These rules are optional for our system-neutral adventures.