Choking
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Condition Severity: Moderate
You have no ability to draw in air to breathe, and haven't drawn breath in some time. The edges of your vision are growing darker, and your lips are blue.
Effects
- If you choose to take only the Total Defense action during your turn (i.e. staying as still as you can), you do not need to make a saving throw at the end of your turn.
- If you do anything other than take the Total Defense action during your turn, you must make a saving throw at the end of your turn. The DC for this saving throw is the same DC as the original effect (or an Average DC for the CR (challenge rating) of the encounter).
- If the save fails, you take Primal (undefined damage type) damage equal to four times (4x) the CR of the attacking creature or effect minus your CON score (not modifier), minimum 1 point of Primal damage.
- In addition, failing the save causes the Choking condition to be replaced with the Asphyxiating condition, but the effects of Asphyxiating do not begin until the start of your next turn.
- If the save succeeds, you take Primal (undefined damage type) damage equal to two times (2x) the CR of the attacking creature or effect minus your CON score (not modifier), minimum 1 point of Primal damage.
- In addition, because you succeeded on the save, the condition does not worsen, but you are still Choking.
- Note that if you fall unconscious, you cannot take the Total Defense action, and you either begin breathing normally (if you were holding your breath on purpose) or you must make a save each round (if there continues to be no air to breathe after you pass out).
- (Note that creatures which do not need to breathe, such as undead, constructs, oozes, etc., are typically immune to the Gagging status condition.)
Ended By
If the ability, trap, or effect description includes specific directions for how the condition is ended, then that is the primary means of ending this condition. In many cases, it is the only way to end the condition. If nothing is specifically listed for ending the condition, then the following methods can be used to end it, instead:
- Frequently, the effect causing the Choking condition is contained in a particular area, and moving out of this area immediately reduces the condition one step, and another step each round at the end of your next turn until the condition is ended. If you are underwater, for example, moving to the surface to catch your breath immediately reduces this condition to Gagging, and on the following round at the end of your turn, the condition is cleared entirely.
- Any spell or effect which grants you a different means of breathing, or eliminates your need to breathe will reduce this condition to Gagging, and on the following round, end the Gagging condition.
- Alternatively, an adjacent ally can give you mouth-to-mouth, providing you air temporarily, as a standard action. Your ally's action provokes attacks of opportunity from any enemies which threaten your ally. This action immediately reduces the Choking condition to the Gagging condition. For the next 1 round, you may act normally, without the need to make a saving throw against choking. On your second turn after your ally's assistance, you must either fight defensively or once again make saves against choking.
- You can spend a move action to attempt an Escape Artist check against the Maneuver Defense of the creature who inflicted this status. If there is no creature involved, the target is a challenging DC based on the CR (challenge rating) of the effect. If you succeed on this check, you can act this round without the need to make a saving throw. If you fail the Escape Artist check, you must make a saving throw this round, even if you take no other actions. A successful Escape Artist check does not end the condition; it only shrugs off its negative effects for the round.
- Otherwise, Choking only ends when the effect expires or the source of the effect is eliminated.
- Note that the Primal damage caused by Choking remains even after the condition ends.