Statuses
Six conditions can cling to a soldier. Three tick at the start of the afflicted soldier's own turn; three change what they can do. Every status arrives as a rider on a skill or reaction, lasts a stated number of the owner's turns, and burns down by one as each of those turns ends.
| Status | What it does | Carried by |
|---|---|---|
| Poison | Bites at the start of each of the victim's turns. A soldier can die of it — a squad that cannot outlast its wounds is already beaten. | Venom Dart |
| Burn | As Poison: fire instead of venom, usually harder and shorter. | Cinder Burst |
| Regen | The kind tick: mends at the start of each of the owner's turns. | Blessed Renewal |
| Stun | The victim's next turn is stolen outright — spent standing, as a hold. Statuses still tick through it. A stunned soldier cannot react, either. | Stunning Blow |
| Blind | The victim's accuracy is reduced to nothing; their blows all but cannot land while it lasts. | Sand Toss |
| Guard Seal | The victim cannot guard — their guard chance is nothing, shield included. Every landed blow arrives at full weight. | Guard Crush |
The laws of affliction
- Refresh, never stack. A second Poison on the same victim does not double the venom: the affliction keeps the stronger potency and the longer clock. Two of a status is still one of that status.
- Riders need a landed blow. A missed, parried, or negated action inflicts nothing. Each rider then rolls its own stated chance.
- Ticks come first. At the start of a soldier's turn, their afflictions bite before their writ is read. A soldier who falls to their poison never acts; a stunned soldier's stun spends the turn as a hold.
- Stat wounds are their own kind. Skills like Armor Break and War Chant bend a stat — defense halved, attack raised — for a stated number of turns. The same law applies: a reapplied bend replaces the old one; it never stacks.
Fighting the clock
Every affliction is a bet about time. Poison beats enemies who plan to outlast you; Stun beats enemies whose one big turn you cannot afford; Guard Seal pays off exactly when your heavy hitters strike next. Write the writ so the follow-through lands inside the affliction's window.