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All abilities (with a few exceptions) make use of a small set of common terms to explain the result they have on the player. These results are referred to as a ‘State' or ‘States'. A player can have any number of different States simultaneously. A State conferred by a class Trait, such as Immunity to Subdual, is always on and may not be removed by respawn, death, or any other means.
A State may have a duration, after which it expires. If a player would gain a State they are already affected by, the State's duration will simply be adjusted to the new duration if it is longer than the current duration. A State without a duration continues until it is removed by some outside force or until a condition is met. Unless otherwise noted, States cannot apply to dead players and are removed when a player dies or has an ability activate which allows the player struck to avoid death (Troll Blood, Phoenix Tears, Song of Survival).
States imparted at the same time as a killing blow are considered to have taken effect prior to death. If a State which prevented a player from moving expires due to its duration ending, the player it affected must declare, “No longer [State that ended]”. This must be audible out to 20 feet.
The number and variety of Abilities, States, and Special Effects can seem overwhelming, but it doesn't have to be. Here are a few quick steps to help you learn what you need to know to play on the field with magic and abilities.
Only three things can adversely affect you: Weapons, Ammunition, Magic Balls, and Verbals.
Most weapons and Magic Balls have to physically hit you or your equipment to have an effect. No hit, no effect, no problem.
Certain Magic Balls and Specialty Arrows are Engulfing (Iceball, Pinning Arrow, etc), meaning that they can also affect you by hitting your carried equipment or garb. Everything else has to hit your body.
Verbal abilities generally follow the same format: They state your name, point at you, and say an incantation of three repetitions of a phrase that casts the Verbal.
There are lots of abilities, but only a few results. If you read through and understand the States Defined and Special Effects Defined sections below you will understand the result of any ability used against you in combat on the field. All offensive combat abilities (with very few exceptions) result in one of those States or Special Effects. If you don't know what an ability does by its incantation don't worry; ask the caster to explain and they can communicate to you in just a couple of words exactly what happened using States and Special Effects.
Immunities are also very simple: If the ability targeting you is of a given School (which is always part of the incantation) and you have Immunity to that School, then the ability has no effect on you. The only exceptions are if they affect your equipment or your Enchantments instead of you yourself, but there are only a few abilities that do that. If you are unaffected by an ability, you must declare so when the ability is complete. You can also let them know beforehand if you're feeling generous.
Declaring means to give information of the game state verbally. Some abilities and mechanics require declaration. Other things, such as your States, Ongoing Effects, armor points, safety information, etc can be declared at any time. You may make declarations even if you otherwise would not be able to speak, such as by being Frozen or Stunned.
Player becomes Immune to Spirit. Has no effect on magic or abilities already cast or ongoing. Cursed persists after death but is removed on Respawn. Cursed imparted by an Enchantment cannot be removed in any way while the Enchantment is worn, whether it is active or inactive. If the Enchantment is removed, Cursed is not removed unless otherwise noted
Player may not move, speak, or take any action. Can only be affected by mechanics that work on States in general (such as Release) or Frozen in specific (such as Shatter). Otherwise the player and their carried or worn equipment is not affected by combat, magic, etc
This State has both offensive and defensive purposes and greatly limits a player’s ability to interact with play. Insubstantial players:
The player and their carried or worn equipment are not affected by combat, magic, etc that do not specifically work on Invulnerable players. The player is incapable of physically interacting with game items, objectives, or other players in any way other than abilities that specifically allow them to. This does not prevent you from retrieving equipment.
Player may not move their feet. Abilities that allow or require movement fail only if they are cast while the target is Stopped. If an Enchantment effect triggers while a player is Stopped, the activated effect is still applied but cannot be completed until the Stopped state ends. Example: A player is enchanted with Gift of Air and is later Stopped, then hit with a melee weapon. They remain Stopped for the duration of the Stopped effect, then may choose to return to base
Player is unable to act in any manner. May still be affected as per normal
Player unable to cast magic or activate abilities. Has no effect on abilities already activated, magic already cast, Chants already in progress, or enchantments activating such as Phoenix Tears
Special Effects are a common language used to define battlefield events. Special Effects typically trigger when a player or object is hit by a weapon, Magic Ball, or targeted by a completed Verbal. A single event typically only has one relevant Special Effect. For instance a Destruction Arrow is both Armor Destroying and Shield Destroying, but there is no situation in which both of those matter simultaneously. Likewise a sword may be both Armor Breaking and Wounds Kill, but players are not affected by Armor Breaking and armor is not affected by Wounds Kill. When using a melee weapon which causes a Special Effect you must announce it to your opponent at the beginning of an engagement and periodically during the engagement when reasonable. Example: a Barbarian moving to engage an unarmored Scout need not announce ‘Armor Breaking’; however if an armored Paladin moves into the engagement the Barbarian should announce ‘Armor Breaking’ at their soonest reasonable opportunity. The game flows more smoothly and everybody has more fun when Special Effects are stated ahead of time rather than kept as surprises
Armor Breaking: A hit to armor from a weapon, Magic Ball, etc. with the Armor Breaking ability will immediately remove all Armor Points from the location struck if the location struck currently has three or less Armor Points. If the armor currently has four or more Armor Points then the armor has one Armor Point removed as per normal. Example: Armor with 4 points is struck by a weapon with Armor Breaking. The armor loses an Armor Point at the location struck. The armor is struck again in the same location which now has 3 points. The Armor Points at that location are reduced to zero and the wearer is unharmed unless otherwise noted. Denoted by announcing “Breaking”
Armor Destroying: A hit to armor from a weapon, Magic Ball, etc. with the Armor Destroying Special Effect reduces the armor to zero points in the location struck. The wearer is unharmed unless otherwise noted. Denoted by announcing “Destroying”
Phasing: Hits from equipment with the Phasing special effect, and any other special effect delivered by it, do not interact with ongoing abilities nor Traits. For example:
Shield Crushing: A shield that has received any Shield Crushing hits is damaged. A shield that has been damaged any amount may be repaired. A shield that receives 3 Shield Crushing hits is also destroyed. The wearer is unharmed. Hits do not all have to be from the same source; hits from different sources are cumulative. Denoted by announcing “Shield Crushing”.
Shield Destroying: A hit to a shield from a weapon, Magic Ball, etc. with the Shield Destroying Special Effect destroys the shield. The wearer is unharmed unless otherwise noted. Denoted by announcing “Shield Destroying”
Weapon Destroying: A weapon hit by an effect with the Weapon Destroying Special Effect is destroyed
Wounds Kill: Players Wounded by objects with the Wounds Kill Special Effect are killed. Denoted by announcing “Wounds Kill”.