Aura of Conquest and Fear...what happens?

[Grixis]

If you are a 9th level oath of conquest paladin and cast fear on someone in your aura...what happens?

Fear causes then to spend their turns running until out of your sight. The aura reduces frightened creatures' speed to zero.

Do they then spend their entire turn just standing there? In which case, party wins!

[Skyblaze]

Yeah, they're essentially frozen in place. Which makes the conquest paladin pretty strong.

[Puh Laden]

Fear's entry says that the creatures have to take the Dash action "unless there is nowhere to move."
If your speed is 0, there is nowhere to move to.
Therefore, the creatures can take actions besides "Dash."

[DarkKnightJin]

Fear's entry says that the creatures have to take the Dash action "unless there is nowhere to move."
If your speed is 0, there is nowhere to move to.
Therefore, the creatures can take actions besides "Dash."

Pretty sure a creature without anywhere to Dash too is limited to taking the Dodge action.

It's a bit finicky, but I'm reading it as physically having nowhere to move to(that isn't closer to the source of their Fear), blocked off by walls or barriers.
Not by being so scared you can't do anything but quiver in terror. And probly pee yourself.

[Unoriginal]

Technically they use the Dash action, it's just that doubling your speed of 0 does nothing.

[Asmotherion]

Well, it seems quite streight forward to me;

Raw: The creature is forced to use the Dash action to move away from the source of it's fear. It's speed is reduced to 0, so the dash action results in the creature wasting it's action frozen in place. It can still use a bonus action and/or reaction however.

RP Interpretation: The creature is frozen in fear and cannot move at all.

Raf: I'd still allow 5 feet of movement (10 with the dash action) and a DC 10 dex save or fall prone because of clumsy panicked movements.

[Unoriginal]

Raf: I'd still allow 5 feet of movement (10 with the dash action) and a DC 10 dex save or fall prone because of clumsy panicked movements.

That's making the ability weaker, though.

[Asmotherion]

That's making the ability weaker, though.


I don't know, it has a chance to bestow the prone condition, which arguably makes it stronger. 10 feet of movement is also easy to follow for someone with his full speed, so if he is hunting a specific target, there is no escape.

It's just something I thought on the spot really, to enhance the feeling of things trying to desperatelly run away in vain. Haven't thought a lot about balance issues.

[Davrix]

I don't know, it has a chance to bestow the prone condition, which arguably makes it stronger. 10 feet of movement is also easy to follow for someone with his full speed, so if he is hunting a specific target, there is no escape.

It's just something I thought on the spot really, to enhance the feeling of things trying to desperatelly run away in vain. Haven't thought a lot about balance issues.

Id kinda go for this rule and I play exactly this type of paladin but keep in mind a few things.

The aura that makes this work is only 10 ft so the moment they move out of 1ft you have negated the effect competently.

So instead I would suggest something along the lines that the monster could make a wisdom DC against the paladins spell save as his action and on a fail they fall prone or on a success they get to move 5 ft away. This still tech does weaken the power but I also do like the idea of them trying to crawl away