Heroquest Larp - In Game Effects
During your character's live role playing adventures they will encounter many strange creatures, magical spells and other things which will have some effect upon them. A Wizard may cast a spell causing someone to become frozen to the spot, the howl of a Wolf beast may cause irrational fear in those who hear it or you may be struck by the envenomed blade of an assassin. All of these things have an in game effect upon your character, forcing you to stand still against your will, flee in terror or suffer hideous wounds depending on the effect. As with larp damage calls from weapon blows (damage itself being an effect) these effects are called out to the player as the effect is delivered. Below you will find a short extract describing a simple encounter from an "in character" perspective.
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Shadarar, elven pathfinder, paused at the edge of the
clearing and squinted into the half light of dusk. He was sure that
the Kalid Mage he had been chasing was around here somewhere. From the
other end of the grove he heard an ominous chanting, the Mage was
casting a spell! Shadarar began to sprint towards the where the sound
was coming from. Suddenly the voice stopped and the black and blue
garbed figure of the mage stepped out from the shadows, a conceited
smile upon his face and a ball of flickering black shadows enveloping
his left hand. With a gesture the mage hurled a bolt of utter darkness
in Shadarars direction, which he was just able to avoid thanks to his
elven speed and grace. Continuing his charge Shadarar grimaced as he
heard the mage begin another incantation and prepared to leap out of
the way once more. As he got within ten feet of the mage Shadarar
heard the final words of the spell. Erun, a human warrior from the White Retreat, stormed through the trees, he had heard Shadarar's cries for help and could just make out the stumbling form of the scout ahead of him. Forging ahead he failed to notice the rotting form of the Ghoul to his left. With a cry of pain Erun felt the filthy talons of the Ghoul cut through his armour as if it were not there. Within a second his limbs had become stiff and he was unable to move, a helpless observer, as the Ghoul turned it's attentions to the blinded Shadarar. |
Had that fight occurred during an encounter on an adventure several effects would have been called as explained below;
Firstly the mage cast a Dark Blast Spell at Shadarar. He would have indicated this by pointing at Shadarar and calling "Dark Blast" loudly and clearly ,having completed his casting vocals, to indicate to the player the effect he was being subjected to (magical damage in the case of the Dark Blast).
Shadarar, being an elven scout, has a bit of Dexterity and was able to avoid the damage from the spell. He would role-play this by leaping to one side in a heroic fashion or something similar. It should be obvious from his role-playing that he avoided the blast so he need not shout "Dodge".
The Mage then cast a Blindness spell at Shadarar. To indicate the effect the monster would have pointed at Shadarar and called "Blindness!" followed by the player rank affected by the spell to indicated the effect. Not being a damaging effect his dexterity is no defence and Shadarar is low level so the spell worked on him forcing the player to close his eyes and role-play the fact that he can no longer see. This is dangerous for Shadarar as he relies on his dexterity for armour class and that is hampered by being blind.
Erun then enters the scene only to be struck by a Ghoul on his way in. The Ghoul called his damage ("Power 1" in this case, which is why Erun's physical armour provided no defense) but he also called the effect "Paralysis" after the damage indicating to the player that they must stop moving due to the paralyzation effect of a ghouls touch.
Calling and Delivering Larp Effects
Larp Effects can be delivered at range (pointing at the target and calling the effect), touch (touching the target, usually with both hands, and calling the effect), through a weapon (the effect being called on its own or following the damage call if applicable) or even by the referee directly (in the case of traps, weird auras and other strangeness). In all cases the name of the effect is shouted loudly, clearly and ideally whilst looking the target in the eye so they are in no doubt who you are talking to.
A list of common (and not so common!) larp effects can be found below for reference purposes. It should be noted that many spells and invocations are named after the effect they produce (Blindness, Freeze, etc.), such spells and invocations are linked from the effect description.
Attract - The target of an attraction must move directly towards the source of the effect for ten seconds or until they have moved 20 ft. closer to the source. Attract is usually followed by a limiter (such as "attract good" or "attract life") which may mean that the target is immune (attract good would not work on someone evil and attract life would not effect undead for example). Attract is not a rank based effect, it is not necessary to call a number of ranks or monster hits following the effect.
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Befriend - A befriended character will treat the source of the effect as their best friend in the whole world, would not be prepared to see them come to harm and would fight to defend them if they were threatened. Note however that the source of the effect is also subject to the befriend, believing that the target is their friend also. If a Player Rank or number of monster hits is called following the Befriend effect then it should be assumed to be the Befriend invocation. If no rank or hits are called then it should be assumed that the effect worked and is not an invocation in effect. Befriend lasts for 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Beguilement - A beguiled character will treat the source of the effect as a trusted and respected superior. Thus the character should feel obliged to respond to any reasonable orders given to them by the source of the beguilement as if the orders were issued by their assistant Guildleader or someone of similar authority. Orders that the character would not obey even if issued by such a superior (such as suicide, or a Hospitaler being ordered to attack their friends) are unlikely to be followed by a beguiled individual. If a Player Rank or number of monster hits is called then it should be assumed that it is a Beguilement invocation unless otherwise indicated. If no Player Rank or number of hits are called then it should be assumed that the Beguilement affects them and is not an invocation. Beguilement lasts for 15 Minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Bind - The target's feet become stuck to the floor and the character is unable to move their feet. Whilst under the effect of a Bind the characters dexterity armour class is halved. A Bind can be broken by a character with strength, requiring 5 seconds of roleplaying per foot to pull them free. It is possible to pull someone else out of bind in the same way if the target is not strong enough to free themselves. Unless otherwise indicated a Bind should be assumed to be the Brown Spell Bind with a duration of 15 minutes. Bind only ever effects the feet even if the targets hands are on the floor at the time of the bind.
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Blight - The physical, magical and power damage inflicted by the target when using weapons is reduced by one rank (so a character who would usually inflict triple magic 2 with a weapon would inflict only double magic 1 whilst under the effect of a blight). A Blight effect is usually followed by a weapon type ("Blight, Swords" for example) and the Blight effect only applies when the target is using weapons of that type. If no weapon type is called with the Blight then it should be assumed to be targeting the weapon type wielded in your primary hand. It is possible to be under the effect of multiple Blight effects but each one must be for a different weapon type. Multiple Blights of the same weapon type do not stack. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that a Blight is the result of the rank 5 evil invocation Blight. Blight has a duration of 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Blindness - A blinded character cannot see. The player should close their eyes for the duration of the effect. Blindness lasts 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated when the effect is called. If a Player Rank or number of monsters hits is called after the Blindness effect is called then it should be assumed to be a Blindness Spell unless otherwise indicated. If no Player Rank or number of Monster Hits is called after the Blindness then the target should assume that the Blindness affects them, is not a spell and cannot be dispelled (although it may be removed in other ways, such as a Cure Blindness invocation).
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Blood Drain - Usually this effect is called following a weapon blow, in place of damage. Blood Drain is used to represent attacks which literally suck the blood from a target irrespective of the force of the blow. Blood Drain is always called with a numerical suffix ("Blood Drain 16") and the target struck takes this amount of damage to total life only with no reduction for any type of Armour Class.
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Bone Break - Usually this effect is called following a weapon blow. The limb struck is immediately reduced to -1 Locational life (this has no effect upon total life) and is broken. Bone break does not have a duration, the limb remains broken until fixed. Bone Break only affects limbs, the head and body are immune. A character with a broken limb (arm or leg) cannot use that limb and is in pain until it is fixed.
A broken bone may be fixed either through the use of the Enhanced First Aid Mastery skill or the casting of Cure Mortal Wounds invocation specifically targeted at fixing the bone (a Cure Mortal Wounds cast in this way does not return any life points to the recipient).
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Cone of Cold - see the White Magic Spell Cone of Cold.
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Cryostasis - see the White Magic Spell Cryostasis.
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Curse - Whilst under the effect of a Curse any damage the target receives from weapon blows is increased by one rank (so a character struck for Triple Magic 2 would take Quad Magic 3). Damage taken from other sources, such as spells or invocations is not increased as a result of a Curse. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that a Curse is as a result of the rank 4 evil invocation Curse. Curse has a duration of 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Damage - Any effect which would reduce the life points of a player or the number of hits of a monster is inflicting damage. There are many types of damage and each is reduced by a different type of armour class. The more common types of damage are listed below along with which armour classes are effective against them. All types of damage also cause a pain effect, lasting only a fraction of a second, enough to disrupt any spellcasting.
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Damage - Physical - Physical Damage is usually taken as a result of being struck by a weapon. The chart below summarises the amount of player life damage or monster hits inflicted by the various Physical damage calls;
| Damage Call | Single | Double | Triple | Quad | Quin | Quartz | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| Player Damage | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| Monster Hits | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Physical damage is reduced by physical and/or dexterity armour class only.
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Damage - Magical - Magical damage can be inflicted both with weapons (enchanted blades or magical creatures such as Elementals) or by spells. The vast majority of spells which deal damage deal magical damage. The table below summaries the damage inflicted by the various magical weapon calls;
| Damage Call | Magic One | Magic Two | Magic Three | Magic Four | Magic Five | Magic Six | Magic Seven | Magic Eight | Magic Nine | Magic Ten |
| Player Damage | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| Monster Hits | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Magical damage is reduced by Magical Armour Class and/or dexterity although some spells (such as Magic Missile) may ignore dexterity armour class. This will be made clear in the spell description.
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Damage - Power - Power damage (also referred to as Spiritual Damage) can be inflicted both with weapons (empowered by invocations or Spiritual creatures such as Undead) or directly by invocations (such as Cause Mortal). The vast majority of invocations which deal damage deal Power damage. The table below summaries the damage inflicted by the various empowered weapon calls;
| Damage Call | Power One | Power Two | Power Three | Power Four | Power Five | Power Six | Power Seven | Power Eight | Power Nine | Power Ten |
| Player Damage | 4 | 8 | 12 | 16 | 20 | 24 | 28 | 32 | 36 | 40 |
| Monster Hits | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
Power damage is reduced by Power Armour Class and/or dexterity although some invocations (such as Power Hammer) may ignore dexterity armour class. This will be made clear in the invocation description.
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Damage - Casting - The casting of Spells and Invocations causes damage to the caster equal to the level of the spell being cast. Possession of a Focus (for Spells) or a Talisman (for Invocations) reduces any casting damage taken by 5 points. No form of armour class will ever reduce casting damage.
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Damage - Through - Any weapon damage (including power and magic calls) followed by a call of "through" are not reduced by any armour class with the exception of dexterity.
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Damage - Undodgeable - If "Undodgeable" is called after a damage source ("Quin, Undodgeable" or "Fire Bolt, Undodgeable") then dexterity armour class does not reduce the damage taken from that source.
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Death - A Character struck with a "Death" effect dies instantly unless they have been resurrected previously in their career (i.e. they have lost a Res. chance). If the character has died previously then the Death effect is reduced to a Maim.
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Destroy (Object) - See the Black Spell, Destroy Weapon. If, as a player, an object in your possession other than a weapon is targeted then assume that the effect is not the magical spell Destroy Weapon and that it is effective.
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Disarm - The target of a disarm must immediately drop the weapon wielded in their primary hand. Disarm is usually performed with a weapon, in which case it will work if either the target or their weapon is struck with the disarm effect. Note that disarm only affects weapons, it does not cause anything else held in the hands to be dropped (such as shields, potion bottles or similar items).
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Disease - Minor - A minor disease causes the victim to become weaker over a period of time. Every 30 minutes after receiving the disease the character will lose one Strength category, to a minimum of helpless. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of the disease is the Rank 1 common evil invocation Cause Minor Disease with a duration of four hours. A Rank 1 Cure Disease invocation will cure a Minor Disease.
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Disease - Medium - A medium disease causes the victim to become weaker over a period of time. Every 8 minutes after receiving the disease the character will lose one Strength category, to a minimum of helpless. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of the disease is the Rank 3 common evil invocation Cause Medium Disease with a duration of four hours. A Rank 3 Cure Disease invocation will cure a Medium Disease as will 6 Rank 1 Cure Minor Disease invocations, provided they are all cast upon the victim within a period of one minute.
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Disease - Major - A major disease causes the victim to become weaker over a period of time. Every two minutes after receiving the disease the character will lose one Strength category, to a minimum of helpless. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of the disease is the Rank 5 common evil invocation Cause Major Disease with a duration of four hours. A Rank 5 Cure Disease invocation will cure a Major Disease as will six Rank 3 Cure Medium Disease invocations, provided they are all cast upon the victim within a period of one minute.
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Disease - Fatal - A Fatal Disease immediately reduces the victim to a Strength level of Helpless and renders them immune to any effect which would increase their strength above that level for the duration of the Disease. One Minute after contracting the disease the victim will fall unconscious and Death will occur one minute after that. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of the disease is the Rank 7 Evil Invocation Cause Fatal Disease. A Fatal disease remains in effect until cured or the victim dies. A Rank 7 Cure Disease invocation will cure a Fatal Disease as will six Rank 5 Cure Disease invocations cast within a period of one minute.
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Dismember - Prerequisite skills, weapon attunement and stun and disarm. One handed swords only.
This hero specialist warrior ability is called instead of their normal damage and does no damage whatsoever.
Instead the limb that is struck cannot be used at all until the rank 5 good invocation regeneration has been cast upon it.
Until the regeneration is cast the character suffering from the dismember is considered to be in pain.
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Drop - See the White Magic Spell, Drop.
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Dumbness - Also occasionally referred to as "Silence". A Character under the effect of a Dumbness is unable to speak or communicate verbally in any way, including the casting of spells or invocations. If followed by a Player Rank or number of monster hits it should be assumed that the Dumbness is as a result of the Blue Magic spell of the same name. If no player rank or number of monsters hits are called following the effect it should be assumed that the effect works, is not a spell and cannot be dispelled.
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Ensnare - Ensnare functions in the same way as a Weld effect with the exception that it will only take effect on a character whose feet are on an area of natural terrain. Ensnare will never function within a building or similar terrain. The Ensnare effect results in the targets feet being bound to the floor by rapid plant growth rather than being pulled into the ground as with Weld. If not indicated otherwise it should be assumed that an Ensnare effect is the result of the Druidic Invocation of the same name.
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Entangle - Entangle functions in the same way as Bind with the exception that it will only take effect upon a character whose feet are on an area of natural terrain. Entangle will never function within a building or similar terrain. If not indicated otherwise it should be assumed that Entangle effects are a result of the Druidic invocation of the same name.
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Entombment - Entombment is a variant of Entrapment which requires greater than Triple Strength to escape (not that it is not usually possible for Player Characters to achieve this level of strength). Unless otherwise indicated is should be assumed that any entombment effect is the result of the Brown Spell Entombment and can be dispelled.
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Entrapment - The target is pulled into the Earth up to their knees. The target should kneel on the ground for the duration of the Entrapment. An entrapped characters dexterity armour class is reduced by half for as long as they remain under the effect. A Character with Triple Strength may break themselves or another out of an Entrapment in ten seconds. Alternatively a character may be dug out of an Entrapment in 15 man minutes, with a maximum of four people digging at a time.
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Fear (Effect) - A Fear effect causes the victim to become mortally afraid of the source (such as a Fear invocation or a Wolf's Howl) such that flight is the only solution. The victim will attempt to keep himself at a very safe distance from the source of the Fear, but if trapped will fight and attempt to escape. Fear usually lasts for 1 minute unless otherwise indicated. Terror is a Fear effect which lasts for 15 minutes rather than 1 minute. The fear is irrational such that the victim will be unable to realise that he is unnaturally afraid and so cannot normally cast a Remove Fear upon himself. Fear induced by invocation, or similar effect, is greater than natural fear of an individual or creature. Fear only affects living creatures; Undead, Elementals and other such unnatural creatures are not affected by Fear of any sort.
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Flash - See the White Spell, Flash.
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Flesh Rip - This undead ability can be used through their weapon instead of their usual damage. The damage called is the amount of actual damage taken with no reduction whatsoever for any kind of armour class. Example: flesh rip ten does ten damage.
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Freeze - See the White Spell Freeze.
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Freeze with Fear (Effect) - The victim of a Freeze with Fear becomes so scared that they are unable to move at all even to defend themselves from being struck. The victim should crouch slightly and role-play the fact that they are terrified (shaking, whimpering etc.) without actually moving from their position. Freeze with Fear lasts for one minute unless otherwise indicated. Freeze with Terror is a Freeze with Fear lasting 15 minutes. Freeze with Fear is a Fear effect and is removed by anything which would normally remove fear.
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Frostbite - See the White Magic Spell, Frostbite.
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Fumble - See the White Spell, Fumble.
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Greater Curse - Whilst under the effect of a Greater Curse any damage the target receives from weapon blows is increased by two ranks (so a character struck for Triple Magic 2 would take Quin Magic 4). Damage taken from other sources, such as spells or invocations is not increased as a result of a Greater Curse. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that a Greater Curse is as a result of the rank 8 evil invocation Greater Curse. Greater Curse has a duration of 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Harm - The victim of a Harm effect is immediately reduced to 12 Total Life (this has no effect upon locational life) regardless of armour class or other factors. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that any Harm effect is as a result of the Rank 6 Touch of Evil Invocation.
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Knockback - The target of a Knockback is immediately forced backwards 5 feet but is otherwise free to act normally. Knockback is generally performed using a weapon as part of the Knockback skill. Note that Knockback will take effect upon the target even if the blow is struck to the targets weapon or shield, it is the force of the blow that causes them to be pushed back and not any associated damage.
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Knockdown - The target of a Knockdown is forced to their knees (collapsing slightly so that their elbows touch the ground). Once they hit the ground they are free to rise and act normally. Note that Knockdown will take effect upon the target even if the blow is struck to the targets weapon or shield, it is the force of the blow that causes them to be pushed to the ground and not any associated damage.
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Ice Javelin - See the White Magic Spell, Ice Javelin.
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Life Drain - The targets life force is literally ripped from their body. Life Drain is always followed by a number ("Life Drain 16" or "Life Drain 32" for example) and the target takes an amount of damage equal to the called number. Damage from a Life Drain is reduced by Power Armour Class Only.
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Maim - The target's life force is nearly driven from their body, and they are brought to the verge of death, being instantly incapacitated. The target is treated in all respects as if they had been reduced below zero life and they will die unless tended to urgently.
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Mana Drain - The target's magical energy is ripped from their body resulting in a loss of mana equal to the numerical value of the Mana Drain ("Mana Drain 16" for example). Mana, in the form of unused Spell Slots, is lost taking the low level available Spell Slots first. There is no armour class which will protect against a Mana Drain and no damage is inflicted by the loss of Spell Slots. Should the target not have any Spell Slots to lose then Mana Drain will have no effect upon them.
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Mind Lock - This invocation has a twenty foot range. The duration is variable with a maximum of five minutes. The recipient is rooted to the spot and cannot speak. They may take no hostile action but may parry incoming blows with their weapon(s) or shield. This invocation ends when eye contact between the caster and recipient is broken. This may not be done by the recipient. The caster cannot speak but can move at half speed.
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Mind Stun - This invocation has a twenty foot range. Duration 3 seconds. The caster makes eye contact with the recipient who then receives a stun effect.
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Nerve Strike - Prerequisite skills, weapon attunement and stun and disarm. One handed swords only. This specialist warrior ability is called instead of their normal damage and does no damage whatsoever.
Instead the limb struck is effectively reduced to zero life and cannot be used until ten seconds has passed and then some form of healing has been applied to that limb.
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Pain (Effect) - A character in pain is unable to concentrate well enough to cast spell or invocations and should role-play the fact that they are suffering. Pain is caused by many sources including broken limbs, being struck by weapons and certain spells or invocations such as Inflict Pain. When in pain you are able to drink a potion or activate an item. What you can't do is cast a spell or invocation even if this is from an item just activated.
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Paralysis - A character struck with a Paralysis effect is unable to move in any way until the effect ends. Paralysis lasts for 15 minutes unless otherwise indicated.
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Paranoia - The target becomes Paranoid and believes that everyone is out to get them. Victims of a Paranoia invocation will treat former allies as mistrusted strangers. He is unlikely to attack them outright but certainly would want to separate himself from them and would reduce their willingness to risk personal injury to assist them in any way.
People that the victim would not trust anyway such as total strangers or aggressive Valley Groups (for example) would be treated with extreme hostility. A Paranoid individual would probably leave under such circumstances but would certainly fight if cornered. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that any Paranoia effect is as a result of the Rank 6 Evil Invocation of the same name.
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Poison - This monster ability can be used through their weapon instead of their usual damage. The damage called is the amount of actual damage taken with no reduction whatsoever for any kind of armour class. Example: poison ten does ten damage.
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Possession - The target must obey any and all orders issued by the source of the effect. The target is under the complete control of the source and essentially has no free will. Only orders to directly kill oneself may be ignored. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of a Possession effect is the Rank 8 Evil Invocation of the same name.
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Power Drain - The targets Spiritual energy is torn from them, reducing their current available Power Points by the numerical value called following the effect ("Power Drain 16" for example would take 16 Power from the target). Power Drain is reduced by Power Armour Class only. For each point of Power successfully drained from a target the target also suffers one point of life damage (so a character with 5 points of Power Armour Class who is the target of a Power Drain 8 at range would lose 3 points of Power and 3 points of life). If the target is reduced to 0 Power as a result of a Power Drain then they will be knocked unconscious, although this will never result in the destruction of the targets Talisman as they have not over cast.
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Psi Bolt - (rank 1-5 psionic invocation). This invocation has a twenty foot range. The duration is instantaneous. It takes a full five seconds of uninterrupted concentration per rank, this should be role-played by the user and be obvious to all who can see them.
The recipient takes 5 damage per rank of the psi bolt received. This damage is received to the head as well as to total body life. The only armour class which reduces this damage is Psionic.
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Repel - The target of a Repel must move directly away from the source of the effect for ten seconds or until they have moved 20 ft. further away from the source. Repel is usually followed a limiter (such as "Repel Good" or "Repel Life") which may mean that the target is immune (Repel Good would not work on someone evil and Repel Life would not effect undead for example). Repel is not a rank based effect, it is not necessary to call a number of ranks or monster hits following the effect.
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Repulsion - Repulsion is a special version of Repel originating from the specialist Blue Spell Repulsion. It functions in exactly the same way as a Repel with the exception that it should work on any target, irrespective of their resistances to magic as the effect is caused by a blast of air - the magic does not directly affect the target.
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Shield Arm Bone Break - Prerequisite skills, weapon attunement and stun and disarm. One handed swords only. This specialist warrior ability is called instead of their normal damage and does no damage whatsoever.
The user of this skill should aim a blow at a shield and instead of their normal damage call shout "Shield arm bonebreak". If the blow on its first attempt strikes a shield then the wielder of said shield has a broken arm. See Bone Break.
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Shield Cleave - Prerequisite skills, weapon attunement and stun and disarm. One handed swords only.This specialist warrior ability is called instead of their normal damage and does no damage whatsoever.
The user of this skill should aim a blow at a shield and instead of their normal damage call shout "Shield cleave". If the blow on its first attempt strikes a shield that shield is unusable until either fifteen minutes has passed or the blue spell Mend or the brown spell Reform is cast upon it.
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Sleep - A person who is affected by a Sleep effect must fall to the floor and can do nothing until a single point of damage, or more is received, from any source. Sleep will only affect living creatures; it has no effect upon Undead, Elementals or other unnatural beasts that require no natural sleep. Unless otherwise indicated (such as by adding the "Venom" call following the sleep) it should be assumed that the source of any Sleep effect is the Blue Magic Spell Sleep. If no Player Rank or number of monster hits is called following a Sleep Effect then the target should assume that they are affected and that it is an unleveled magical effect.
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Slip - The Target must stumble as if they had slipped, good role-playing is compulsory, it takes three seconds for them to regain their balance but they are then free to act normally. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that any Slip effect is as the result of the Green Magic Spell of the same name.
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Slow - The target of a slow must move at half speed, including the swinging of weapons, speaking or casting, for the duration of the effect (15 minutes unless otherwise indicated). A target may never have more than one Slow in effect at any time. If a target is struck with a second Slow whilst the first is still in effect then the second will have discernible effect. Slow halves dexterity armour class; this effect stacks with other Dexterity limiting spells such as Bind or Entangle. Unless otherwise indicated (such as by adding the "Venom" call following the Slow) it should be assumed that the source of any Slow effect is the Green Magic Spell of the same name.
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Stun - The limb targeted by the Stun effect may not be used for the duration of the Stun. Unless otherwise indicated the Stun effect should be assumed to be as a result of the Stun skill, lasting 3 seconds. If the Stun is from another source and has a different duration (such as the 15 minutes Stun effect of the Yellow Magic Spell) should call "Stun Limb" followed by the duration of the effect. Stun is not rank related so no Player Rank or number of monster hits should be called following it.
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Throat Slit - Throat Slit is usually called following a physical damage call. If the victim does not have sufficient physical armour class to bounce the physical component of the Throat Slit Damage then their throat is cut. A successfully throat-slitted individual begins bleeding heavily from their throat, inflicting 1 point of player life (or one monster hit) per second until curing is applied to stop the bleeding. The subject of a throat slit is unable to move faster than a stagger and may not talk, including the casting of spells or invocations, until the bleeding is stopped.
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Utter Blight - When an Utter Blight effect is called the source must indicate a single Weapon Type following the effect. The target is unable to use this weapon type at all (either to inflict damage or to parry) for the duration of the effect. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that an Utter Blight effect is as a result of the rank 7 Evil invocation of the same name.
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Vanish - The targeted creature or object disappears. If a creature is the target then they should raise their hand and move away from the area as quickly as possible, if an object is targeted then either the referee will remove it or, if the object is in someone's possession, the owner should discard it immediately. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of a Vanish effect is the Green Magic Spell Vanish Animate or Vanish Inanimate. Vanish is not a ranked based effect and no calling of Player Rank or number of monster hits is required.
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Venom - Blade - Blade Venom is always followed by a rank call "Blade Venom 9!" for example. Blade Venoms inflict 5 points of Total Life Damage per rank to a player or 5 monster hits per rank to a monster. In order for the venom to be effective the character must apply it (using an appropriate phys rep.) to a bladed weapon and then strike an opponent for sufficient damage to injure them (bruising is not sufficient). A Blade Venom is good for only one blow, which must be the first successfully struck following the application of the venom, and will remain on the blade for 15 minutes, or until used, whichever comes first.
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Weakness - A target struck with a Weakness effect will be drained one strength level, summarised below, for as long as the Weakness remains in effect (15 minutes unless otherwise indicated).
| Strength Level | Description | |
| Triple Strength | See Triple Strength Skill. | |
| Double Strength | See Double Strength Skill. Adds +2 Physical Damage | |
| Strength | See Strength Skill. Adds +1 Physical Damage | |
| Normal | All characters begin at normal strength. It provides no in-character bonuses or penalties. | |
| Weak | The character may move no faster than a walk and may no longer strike blows in combat (they may parry and attempt to defend themselves but it should be obvious that they are not physically healthy). A weak individual should role-play the fact that they have almost no physical strength. A weak individual may still cast spells and invocations and may still use items and similar abilities provided they do not require much physical effort. | |
| Helpless | Character cannot fight. Character can move at a slow crawl but cannot climb stairs or perform any physical feat (such as opening a door). A Helpless character may not cast spells or invocations or use abilities that require physical effort (such as Ki). | |
So a Character with Strength would drop to Normal if struck with a Weakness Spell. If the character was struck with another Weakness then they would become Weak. If the same character received a third Weakness whilst the other two were still running they would become Helpless. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of a Weakness effect is the Black Specialist spell of the same name.
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Weld - The target's feet become bound to the floor in such a way that they are unable to move them. As well as restricting the ability to move freely, this has the effect of halving any dexterity the target may have. If the target has Double Strength then they may pull out of the Weld at the rate of five seconds for each foot stuck to the floor. Even if the target's hands, or any other part of their body, is touching the ground only the feet are affected. It is not uncommon to see undead creatures pulling out of Welds even if they lack strength; this is because the Undead feel no pain and are willing to leave parts of their bodies behind if required. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of a Weld effect is the Brown Specialist Magic Spell of the same name.
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Withhold Power - This effect causes an amount of the victim's power as indicated following the Withhold Power call (such as "Withhold Power 32" to become unavailable to them for the duration of the invocation. No form of Armour Class will reduce the amount of power withheld. The power withheld in this fashion is not lost and will return once the duration of the invocation expires. The position of the power (talisman, or self) does not affect this invocation, nor is it affected by it, merely the victim's ability to access the power, from which ever location. It is not possible to withhold an amount of power greater than that to which the victim has access at the time of of being targeted with the effect. The victim may never be rendered unconscious as a result of this effect. Power withheld is still subject to the effects of the Power Drain and Power Steal effects. Unless otherwise indicated it should be assumed that the source of a Withhold Power is the Evil invocation of the same name.
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