Exhaustion in D&D 5e — All 6 Levels Explained

Exhaustion is the only 5e condition that stacks. It is measured in levels from 1 to 6, and a creature at level 6 dies. In the 2014 rules each level adds a new penalty from a table (disadvantage on checks, halved speed, and so on). In the 2024 rules the table is gone: every level gives −2 to all d20 tests and −5 feet of speed. In both editions, a long rest removes one level.

Track levels for the whole party with the free condition tracker.

Exhaustion levels (2014 rules)

You suffer the effect of your current level and every level below it. A character at level 3 has disadvantage on ability checks, half speed, and disadvantage on attack rolls and saving throws.

If an exhausted creature gains more exhaustion, its level goes up by the amount the effect says. When an effect reduces the level below 1, all exhaustion effects end.

Exhaustion in the 2024 rules

The 2024 rules (SRD 5.2) replace the table with one formula:

• •D20 tests: every d20 test (attack roll, ability check or saving throw) is reduced by 2 × your exhaustion level.
• •Speed: your speed is reduced by 5 feet × your exhaustion level.
• •Death: you die if your exhaustion level reaches 6.
• •Recovery: finishing a long rest removes 1 level. At level 0 the condition ends.

The practical difference: in 2014, level 1 is mild but level 4 halves your hit point maximum and level 5 roots you in place. In 2024 there are no sudden cliffs, but every single roll gets worse from level 1. Agree on one version before the session starts, because the same level means very different things.

What causes exhaustion

Exhaustion almost always comes from the environment or a long-term strain, not from ordinary attacks. Sources in the SRD include:

• •Forced march: travel beyond 8 hours in a day. At the end of each extra hour, each character makes a Constitution save (DC 10 + 1 per hour past 8) or gains a level.
• •Food and water: going without food past your limit or drinking too little water. Exhaustion from hunger or thirst can't be removed until you eat and drink the full required amount.
• •Extreme cold and heat, frigid water, and suffocation (2024 SRD hazards). Suffocation adds a level at the end of each of your turns once you run out of breath; all levels from it go away when you can breathe again.
• •Disease: the SRD's cackle fever and sewer plague both add exhaustion levels.
• •Berserker Frenzy (2014): a Path of the Berserker barbarian who frenzies gains one level when the rage ends. The 2024 Berserker's Frenzy no longer does this.
• •Magic items and monsters: for example, the 2024 Sphinx of Lore's and Sphinx of Valor's Weight of Years action adds a level on a failed Constitution save.

How to remove exhaustion

• •Long rest: removes 1 level. In 2014 you also need to have eaten and had something to drink.
• •Greater Restoration (5th-level spell): removes 1 level in both editions.
• •Potion of Vitality (2024 SRD): removes all exhaustion levels.
• •Ranger, level 10 (2024): the Tireless feature removes 1 level each time you finish a short rest.
• •Revival: in 2024, a creature brought back from death returns with 1 fewer exhaustion level.

Levels from hunger, thirst and some diseases can't be removed by resting until the cause is fixed.

Common rulings and edge cases

• •It stacks with itself. Conditions normally don't stack (you're either poisoned or not). Exhaustion is the stated exception.
• •Level 4 in 2014 halves your maximum, not your current HP. Your current hit points still can't exceed the new, lower maximum.
• •2024 penalties hit initiative too. Initiative is a Dexterity check, which is a d20 test, so −2 per level applies.
• •2014 "speed halved" then "speed 0": at level 5 your speed is 0, so you can't move at all without help.
• •Monsters can be immune. Many undead and constructs (ghouls, skeletons, liches, golems, animated armor) list exhaustion under condition immunities.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many levels of exhaustion are there in 5e?

Six. In both the 2014 and 2024 rules, a creature that reaches exhaustion level 6 dies.

Does a long rest remove all exhaustion?

No. A long rest removes one level. In the 2014 rules you also need food and drink for the rest to count. Clearing level 5 exhaustion takes five long rests unless magic helps.

What does 2024 exhaustion do?

Each level subtracts 2 from every d20 test you make and 5 feet from your speed. So level 3 is −6 to attacks, checks and saves, and −15 feet of speed.

Does exhaustion affect spell attacks and saving throws?

In 2014, level 3 gives disadvantage on all attack rolls (spell attacks included) and saving throws. In 2024, every level reduces all d20 tests, which covers spell attacks and saves.

Can you die from exhaustion?

Yes. Reaching level 6 kills you in both editions, regardless of your hit points.

Does Greater Restoration remove all exhaustion?

No. It reduces exhaustion by one level per casting.

Related rules

• •All D&D 5e conditions
• •Unconscious and death saving throws
• •Poisoned — the other common "everything gets worse" condition
• •Food & water tracker for starvation and dehydration
• •Travel time calculator for forced marches
• •Condition tracker

Rules checked against the D&D 5e SRD 5.1 (2014) and SRD 5.2.1 (2024).