South House Games


Campaign Setting Index => Gameplay Index

Status Effects

Status effects are boons or afflictions that can affect player characters or NPCs. Many weapons, manipulations, and abilities cause or alleviate these effects. Most status effects have three Severities (I, II, and III) with the impacts increasing with the number.

Potions are one or more status effects combined into a solid, liquid. or vapor. Apothecaries who meet the Element modifier prerequisites are able to create potions from common plants and materials.

The saving throw to resist an affliction is the same as the Element Prerequisite. Afflictions that are balanced allow a Dominant Element saving throw.

Afflictions

Bleeding

 Bleeding I: At the beginning of each turn for a character or NPC afflicted with Bleeding, take 1 damage
 Bleeding II: Bleeding I, but 2 damage
 Bleeding III: Bleeding I, but 3 damage

Potion Prerequisites:

 Bleeding I: Water 1
 Bleeding II: Water 2
 Bleeding III: Water 3

Blindness

When a character is afflicted with Blindness it can mean true Blindness from the loss of an eye, manipulation, deep darkness, poison, or simply being blindfolded properly. However it happens, characters will have DISADV on (or be unable to perform at the GM's discretion) many actions which require sight. A common example is attacking. All attacks made by the blinded character have DISADV and all enemy attacks made against them have ADV.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Blindness: Earth 5

Disease

Diseases are complex and not really a status effect by themselves. They are a combination of other afflictions whose durations vary and whose nature may change over time. In general, the greater the element imbalance, the more severe the condition.

Disorientation

A Disoriented character ranges from simply dizzy to manic. Its milder levels add difficulty to actions while at its extreme end the character is at risk of losing touch with reality. Insanity is what occurs when Disorientation III becomes permanent, but the effects of true insanity will vary on a case by case basis.

 Disorientation I: A character or NPC must pass an Easy Air saving throw at the beginning of their turn or fall prone from dizziness
 Disorientation II: Disorientation I, but the save is against the Area DC
 Disorientation III: Special case, invloves permanence of the effects or Insanity.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Disorientation I: Air 2
 Disorientation II: Air 4
 Disorientation III: Air 6

Fatigue

Fatigue is the natural result of overwork and not enough rest. It can also be induced by various herbs mixed into potions which interfere with the body's basic processes.

 Fatigue I: All d20 rolls are considered Hard
 Fatigue II: Fatigue I, Slow I
 Fatigue III: DISADV on all d20 rolls, Slow II

Potion Prerequisites:

 Fatigue I: 1 Earth, 1 Air, 1 Water
 Fatigue II: 2 Earth, 2 Air, 2 Water
 Fatigue III: 3 Earth, 3 Air, 3 Water

Fear

Fear is part of the human experience, but there are some situations, creatures, and rare herbs that are capable of heightening the fear response beyond the expected. The saving throw against Fear is the Dominant Element.

 Fear I (Hesitation): Character may not take Special Actions or Reactions
 Fear II (Doubt): Fear I, all skills, abilities, and manipulations cost 1 additional EP
 Fear III (Terror): Fear II, must make a Dominant Element saving throw at the beginning of each turn. If failed, character must (as nearly as possible) Dash in the opposite direction of the source of the Fear

Potion Prerequisites:

Fear requires the Exotic Knowledge skill and retrieval of the proper ingredients. There are rare poppies that grow in remote locations rumored to create this effect if properly distilled.

 Fear I (Hesitation): 1 Earth, 1 Air, 1 Water
 Fear II (Doubt): 2 Earth, 2 Air, 2 Water
 Fear III (Terror): 3 Earth, 3 Air, 3 Water

Immobilized

An Immobilized character has their legs pinned or are otherwise stuck in place with their hands free. All attacks and Grapple attempts against them have ADV, they cannot move, and they automatically fail saving throws which require moving in some way from their current location. In addition, skills that require moving to a different location or repositioning of the feet or legs such as Sublime Footwork and Punish Error no longer function.

Infection

Infection may come as part of a disease or a particularly virulent potion. If left untreated, the victim will suffer permanent disability or even death.

 Infection I (Discomfort):
 Infection II (Amputation):
 Infection III (Death): Fatigue III and feverish. Can rise or move about only with great difficulty

Nausea

 Nausea I (Sick): Fatigue I, Disorientation I
 Nausea II (Debilitated): Fatigue II, Disorientation I
 Nausea III (Incapacitated): Fatigue III, Disorientation II

Potion Prerequisites:

 Nausea I: Earth 1, Air 2, Water 1
 Nausea II: Earth 3, Air 5, Water 3
 Nausea III: Earth 3, Air 7, Water 3

Paralysis Characters cannot voluntarily move or take actions of any type except saving throws that require no movement of any kind and against the Paralysis affliction as stated in the manipulation or ability description.

Potion Prerequisites:

Paralysis requires the Exotic Knowledge skill and retrieval of the proper ingredients. This is usually venom from deadly reptiles or amphibians, but there are rumors of plants that secrete viable toxins as well.

Sleep

Some manipulations and Potions induce sleep on the target. The Air element clouds their mind and overrides normal sleep/wake patterns. The body senses this and moves to correct the imbalance, so this kind of sleep is usually short-lived.

Characters who are afflicted by this status effect are considered to be Incapacitated and Stable with their current HP. Characters put to sleep this way will not wake up due to the normal sounds around them at the time of their affliction. However, shaking them, hitting them with an attack, being hit by an area of effect manipulation, or some similar interaction will wake them.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Sleep: Air 5

Slow

 Slow I: Movement speed is halved
 Slow II: Slow I, cannot take Reactions or Special Actions
 Slow III: Slow II, cannot Move and take an Action in the same turn

Potion Prerequisites:

 Slow I: Earth 2
 Slow II: Earth 4
 Slow III: Earth 6

Boons

Amplify (Element)

A certain element within the character is amplified, raising that modifier for a short period of time. No modifier can ever go beyond +10.

 Amplify (Element) I: Raise (Element) modifier by 1
 Amplify (Element) II: Raise (Element) modifier by 2
 Amplify (Element) III: Raise (Element) modifier by 3

Potion Prerequisites:

 Amplify (Element) I: (Element) 3
 Amplify (Element) II: (Element) 6
 Amplify (Element) III: (Element) 9

Each character's ER (Element) is raised by their (Element) modifier.

Awake

Remove the Sleep status effect from the target.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Awake: Air 3

Clarity

A certain element within the character is amplified, raising that modifier for a short period of time. No modifier can ever go beyond +10.

 Clarity I: Add 1 to Water saving throws
 Clarity II: Add 2 to Water saving throws
 Clarity III: Add 3 to Water saving throws

Potion Prerequisites:

 Clarity I: Water 1
 Clarity II: Water 2
 Clarity III: Water 3

Focus

A certain element within the character is amplified, raising that modifier for a short period of time. No modifier can ever go beyond +10.

 Focus I: Add 1 to Air saving throws
 Focus II: Add 2 to Air saving throws
 Focus III: Add 3 to Air saving throws

Potion Prerequisites:

 Focus I: Air 1
 Focus II: Air 2
 Focus III: Air 3

Fortify

A certain element within the character is amplified, raising that modifier for a short period of time. No modifier can ever go beyond +10.

 Fortify I: Add 1 to Earth saving throws
 Fortify II: Add 2 to Earth saving throws
 Fortify III: Add 3 to Earth saving throws

Potion Prerequisites:

 Fortify I: Earth 1
 Fortify II: Earth 2
 Fortify III: Earth 3

Haste:

All the physical processes of a character are sent into overdrive for a short period of time, delivering huge benefits in terms of speed and ability to act. There is a significant cost, however, and the body requires time to recover from the massive exertion.

Double movement speed and number of all actions available per turn, add Earth and Air modifier to Defense (if one already is added to Defense, add the other), and ADV on all Earth and Air saving throws and ability checks requiring movement. Add 2 to Fatigue severity after the effects wear off. Fatigue from Haste does not reduce during Recovery, only from Rest.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Haste: Earth 4, Air 4

Hope

The effects below are for characters who are not yet afflicted by Fear. If a character is already afflicted by Fear, they may retry the saving throw using the effects below.

 Hope I: All saving throws against Fear are Easy
 Hope II: All saving throws against Fear are made with ADV
 Hope III: All saving throws against Fear are automatically passed

Potion Prerequisites:

 Hope I: 1 Earth, 1 Air, 1 Water
 Hope II: 2 Earth, 2 Air, 2 Water
 Hope III: 3 Earth, 3 Air, 3 Water

Inspire

All d20 rolls are considered Easy.

Potion Prerequisites:

 Inspire: Water 7

Rally (WIP)

 Rally I: Effect
 Rally II: Effect
 Rally III: Effect

Potion Prerequisites:

 Rally I:
 Rally II:
 Rally III:

Refresh

Description

 Refresh I: Remove Fatigue I affliction
 Refresh II: Immediately gain the benefit of a Recovery
 Refresh III: Immediately gain the benefit of a Rest

Potion Prerequisites:

 Refresh I: 1 Earth, 1 Air, 1 Water
 Refresh II: 3 Earth, 3 Air, 3 Water
 Refresh III: 5 Earth, 5 Air, 5 Water

Remedy

Remedies include cures for Disease and Infection as well as antivenoms. An Apothecary must make a successful Lore (Medicine) with Humoral Diagnosis or know the recipe for an equivalent condition to know exactly how to combat a given condition. Some remedies will take effect within a short time of ingestion with little to no side effects, but more powerful ones may leave the body fatigued or require recovery time.

A remedy is made like any other potion and has the same costs and Element modifier requirements. An Apothecary may successfully identify and diagnose a condition, but not have the requisite Element modifiers to craft a remedy. The recipe for a remedy is the amount of elements required to balance out a condition.