Status Benefits

• Attack Increase: This gives a boost to the character's Attack Power. The number of points by which the stat is boosted and the number of turns that the boost lasts will be specified by the item or ability granting the Attack Increase. The boost should be applied to the final damage of the attack being used, not to the initial stat going in; so for example, if an attack's power is listed as x2 +2, and is benefited by an Attack Increase of 3, then this should be taken as x2 +2 +3, not a +3 to the Attack Power going in to the x2. In this scenario, a character with an Attack Power of 3 would normally deal 8 damage with the x2 +2 attack, but with an Increase of 3 will deal 11 (not 14). If a character already has an Attack Increase and receives another Attack Increase, the numbers for both the boost and the turn count are added concurrently, not consecutively, meaning that the boosts are not added together, but rather whichever number is higher becomes the new value, overriding the lower one (regardless of whether the higher number was the one already there or is the new one being applied). If a character has an Attack Increase and receives an Attack Decrease, the Attack Increase disappears completely but the Attack Decrease is not actually applied (this happens regardless of what any of the actual numbers are); this also works the other way around, an Increase canceling out a Decrease. An Attack Increase does not boost the power of physical attacks that do not draw their strength from the user's Attack Power stat, so something like a projectile weapon or an attacking item will not have its power increased. If a character has an Attack Increase and is also Charged, a physical attack will receive both boosts added together. An Attack Increase (or any Stat Increase) will wear off at the end of a battle.
• Magic Increase: Like an Attack Increase, but it boosts magical attacks instead of physical attacks. It cancels out and is canceled out by a Magic Decrease, but not a Decrease to any other stat, and a character can have any of their other stats Increased at the same time, though each Increase will have its own separate turn count. A magical attack can be simultaneously boosted by a Magic Increase and a Charge. Weapons that draw the power of their basic attack from Magic Power instead of Attack Power will also be boosted by a Magic Increase instead of an Attack Increase, but again the boost is added post-multiplication.
• Defense Increase: A boost to Defense Power this time. Since we don't have to worry about confusing multiplication, this is pretty straightforward; you can just think of the character's Defense Power as being this much higher. Like any other Stat Increase, numbers combine concurrently and it wears off at the end of battle. It cancels out and is canceled out by a Defense Decrease, even if specific numbers aren't the same. Both kinds of defense-piercing attacks (marked [/] or [X] respectively) will ignore a Defense Increase just as they will the base Defense Power, making it no use against them. A Defense Increase can technically be applied outside of battle to reduce the damage from field hazards such as a Long Fall, but in this case regardless of the would-be turn count the effect will only last long enough to complete one puzzle or task, and so multiple items or ability uses are required to protect against multiple hazards.
• Brain Increase: Since Brain Power can be either offensive or defensive, this boost might come into play on either side of the equation, but offensively it acts like any other offensive Stat Increase (assuming the attack being used is psychic), and defensively it's like a Defense Increase but for psychic attacks. A Brain Decrease cancels it out, etc. Note that insane characters have a negative value in their Brain Power stat, and as a result, Brain Increases effectively act like Brain Decreases for them and vice versa; a Brain Increase to an insane character cannot push their Brain Power above 0, and even if it is effectively at 0 from an Increase, the character still counts as insane (even though characters with a natural value of 0 don't count as insane).
• Charge: A Charge differs from a Stat Increase in that it has no turn count, only lasting until the Charged character next attacks (but if the Charged character does something other than attacking, such as using an item or Doing Nothing, the Charge is lost). It also does not differentiate between Attack, Magic, or Brain; any attack, whether physical, magical, or psychic, will be boosted by a Charge, and if the corresponding stat to the attack also has a Stat Increase, then the attack will be boosted by both the Increase and Charge numbers. However, while a Charge can boost psychic attacks, it does not increase the defensive value of the character's Brain Power. If a character who already has a Charge receives another Charge, the two combine into one bigger Charge, their numbers adding together. Due to this, an ability or item that gives its user a Charge will not cause a prior Charge to be lost when used, and can therefore be used multiple turns in a row in order to stack multiple Charges, causing a subsequently used attack to be massively boosted. But like offensive Stat Increases, Charges do not affect moves that don't draw from the user's stats, so things like projectile weapons will not get the boost, and using them while Charged will cause the Charge to be lost. A Charge will be lost if the battle ends and has no effect outside of battle, but is not canceled out by any kind of Stat Decrease (so if a character is both Charged and has a Decrease to the stat that they are using to attack, you'll have to both add the Charge and subtract the Decrease). If a Charged character uses an attack like Solarbeam that requires one or more turns of preparation, the Charge can be carried through the preparation to boost the attack, but if the attack is interrupted before completion, the Charge will be lost. A Charge is not lost if the character is unable to act, for example because of a paralyzing Status Problem, and so once the character is able to act again, their next attack performed can receive the Charge boost. Charging has a unique effect on attacks that score multiple hits in the same turn: the first hit will receive the full Charge boost, and then each subsequent hit will deal 1 less damage than the previous hit (which can fall below the normal, un-Charged power of the attack), but as long as the first hit dealt at least 1 damage after factoring in defenses, the damage of further hits will always be at least 1 (with all hits dealing 0 if the first hit did). If a multi-hit attack has different damage values to each of its hits, still assume that the first hit gets the full Charge and that each subsequent one gets 1 less point of Charging, but this time, if the first hit deals 0 but a later hit should deal more even factoring in the decrease, then that later hit will deal whatever it should and any subsequent hits will then deal at least 1, even if they would normally be weaker than the first hit.
• HP Trickle: Basically the opposite of being Poisoned, the character will recover a small amount of HP (the exact number being specified by the Trickle-inducing item or ability) at the beginning of their Phase of every turn, for a number of turns specified by the item or ability. If a character who is Poisoned receives an HP Trickle, the Poison is removed but the Trickle is not actually applied, and vice versa, so these two conditions cancel each other out and cannot exist on the same character at the same time. Like Poisoning, Trickles carry over to the next battle and compound additional turns. However, more like Stat Increases, the actual number of HP being trickled does not compound, but merely changes to (or stays at) the higher value.
• VP Trickle: Exactly like an HP Trickle, but it restores VP instead. Since there is no equivalent to Poisoning with VP, there is no equivalent canceling out. A character can have an HP Trickle and a VP Trickle going at the same time, too (but each will have its own independent turn count).
• MP Trickle: You guessed it; just like a VP Trickle, but restores MP.
• Shield: A forcefield is set up around the character, and as a result, all attacks targeting them will only cause half (x0.5) their usual damage, rounded down. This applies to all attack types (physical, magical, and psychic), but attacks marked [/] or [X] will ignore Shields. Shields wear off when the battle ceases, and Shield turns are added concurrently, not consecutively. If a character is both Shielded and wearing armor, then the damage done to the armor's HP is also cut in half (except, again, for [/] or [X] attacks)—think of the armor as a separate character who is also Shielded.
• Invisible: As a result of the character becoming invisible to the eye, all attacks targeting the character will miss. Attacks marked [O] are guaranteed to hit, and therefore bypass Invisibility and similar conditions. Psychic attacks of any kind also ignore Invisibility due to conceptually focusing on the target's brainwave signature instead of using eyesight. Lastly, multitarget attacks that bathe the entire opposite side of the battlefield in damaging substances or energies will still affect Invisible characters, but multitarget attacks that merely hit each opponent individually will not, and because of this distinction will be labeled as "Successive" multitarget attacks. Invisibility lasts for a number of turns specified by the causal item or ability, but ends at the end of the battle. Invisibility turns are added concurrently, not consecutively. Invisibility can also be applied in the field in order to pass by a character or camera unnoticed, but it will wear off after this one task.
• Nirvana: A counterpoint to Invisibility, which does not affect psychic attacks; when a character enters a state of Nirvana, their mind becomes undetectable, and thus all psychic attacks targeting them will miss, except for fieldwide multitarget psychic attacks (all of the default multitarget psychic attacks are fieldwide). The character's body is unaffected, so other attacks work normally. Nirvana turns do not compound, and the state wears off at the end of battle. Players can create psychic attacks that are marked [O] to get around this condition, but none of the default psychic attacks have this quality.
• Dodgy: Dodginess means that all attacks targeting the character have a 50% chance of missing—this includes psychic attacks and even fieldwide multitarget attacks, but not [O] attacks. The effect ends after battle, and turns are added consecutively, compounding upon one another. This condition exists more for game balance reasons and has little conceptual justification, but the name "Dodgy" can be seen as a double entendre implying nefarious subterfuge, or something.
• Somebody Else's Problem (S.E.P.): In this state, other characters (both teammates and enemies) are incapable of targeting any actions toward the affected character: only fieldwide multitarget actions will be able to reach them. This is due to the character being enveloped in a field which makes them unnoticeable as opposed to invisible, using the brain's own tendency to see what it wants to see. The effect ends after battle, and turns do not compound; in the field, it can be applied in order to pass by a point unnoticed, just like Invisibility. It works on cameras because the brains of anyone looking at the camera footage will still censor the character, but some robotic characters may be immune to the effects of this condition—if so, this will be noted on their sheets.
• Electrified: The character becomes electrically charged and will shock anyone who touches them; this means anyone who uses a melee attack on them, including armed melee attacks (even if the weapon in question wouldn't logically conduct electricity). In addition to shocking the attacker, the shock prevents the attempted melee attack completely, so the Electrified character will not take any damage or other effects from such attacks. The shock takes the form of 1 Thunder-type damage that ignores Defense Power, but not armor; an immunity to Thunder prevents the shock, but a resistance has no effect, while weaknesses of +2 and +5 are halved to +1 and +2, making characters weak to Thunder take 2 or 3 damage total. Two characters who are both Electrified can freely attack each other without either being shocked; in that case, in the case of a Thunder immunity, or in the case of the full damage of the shock being absorbed by the character's armor, the attack will successfully deal its damage and any other effects. Electrification turns compound like Trickle turns, but it wears off at the end of battle, and its voltage isn't high enough to affect any electronics in the field.
• Reciprocal: In this state, a character will still receive damage (and other effects) from melee attacks (whether armed or unarmed), but the attacker will then receive half of the damage taken, rounded down (as usual, 1 damage means the attacker takes 1 damage, but zero means zero). Like Electrification, the damage to the attacker ignores Defense Power but not armor, but unlike Electrification, being Reciprocal does not protect against damage from other Reciprocal characters (though damage taken from Reciprocity itself is not further reciprocated). If a (melee) attack that drains HP, VP, or MP is used on a Reciprocal character, nothing will happen to either the attacker or the target (explained as the healing effect canceling out the damaging effect even when the exact numbers don't line up). If a character is both Shielded and Reciprocal, then the "half damage" that is done back to the offender is taken before consideration of the Shield's effect, meaning both characters receive the same amount of damage. Spikiness and/or being Made of an Element will interrupt unarmed melee attacks before Reciprocity can take effect, so only 1 damage is dealt to the attacker (unless the attacker is immune to the Element), but since armed melee attacks get through, Reciprocity damage will be dealt against them. If a character is both Reciprocal and Electrified (or Made of Thunder), melee attacks will not be interrupted and the attacker will take Reciprocal damage, but said damage will count as Thunder-type, and Elemental Modifiers will fully apply, for -2, +2, or +5 (or x0); if, however, this attacker is immune to Thunder, then normal, non-Elemental Reciprocal damage will be dealt. Reciprocity turns are added to one another concurrently, not consecutively, and the condition ends at the end of battle.
• Reflective: In this state, all projectile attacks that should hit the affected character after their accuracy calculation will bounce off and return to the character who performed the attack, striking without fail unless the attacker-now-defender is Dodgy or the like, in which case that accuracy check is then performed. Damage from the reflected attack should be calculated as if the attacker had attacked themselves, using their offensive stats against their own defensive stats; the defensive stats of the intended target are irrelevant here. Physical, magical, and psychic projectiles are all reflected, but any kind of melee attacks still work normally. Multitarget projectiles only reflect the portion of the attack directed at the Reflective character, so non-Reflective teammates will still be damaged; if more than one target is Reflective, a fieldwide multitarget attack will only result in one dose of damage against the attacker, but a successive one will reflect one projectile for each Reflective target, dealing multiple doses of reflected damage (though each of these will have a separate accuracy calculation for a Dodgy attacker). If the attacker upon whom the attack is rebounding is also Reflective, then the attack rebounds once again, striking its originally intended target and this time not being reflected; this effectively means that by making yourself Reflective, you can freely attack any Reflective opponents with projectiles. However, a doubly reflected attack like this must also pass the accuracy check on the attacker in order to rebound onto the intended target, meaning that if the attacker is both Reflective and Dodgy/Invisible/whatever, the attack may miss them after rebounding off the target and therefore hit no one. Reflectivity turns do not compound, and the effect ends after battle.
• Fast: The character is enveloped in a time warp or granted an adrenaline boost that allows them to act twice per turn. If a character applies Fastness to themselves, they do not get a second action for the same turn that it is applied. However, teammates of a Fast character may act in between the Fast character's two actions. The effect lasts for a number of turns specified by the item or ability, but ends if the battle ends. Fastness does not compound turns, and is mutually exclusive with Slowness—the two conditions cannot be applied to the same character at once, so instead cancel each other out.
• Flying: The character is rendered lighter than air and floats above the ground while the condition lasts. Opponents who attempt to use melee attacks on a flying target will miss if the attacker's Platform stat is lower than the target's (even if the attacker is also flying), and a select few types of attacks (such as earthquakes and attacks that deal Long Fall damage) will always miss flying characters, but on the downside, Bow-type weapons will deal extra damage to the character (generally +2 or +5, determined by the specific weapon), and the character will receive +2 damage from Wind-type attacks (combined with their normal Elemental Modifier, so they will still take no damage if immune to Wind, but they will take +4 if they have a +2 weakness, and so on). These weaknesses make flight more of a field benefit than a battle one, as it also increases the character's Platform stat to 9 (which means that a melee attacker must have the maximum of 9 Platform to be able to hit). Like most Status Benefits, flight lasts for a specified number of turns in battle (with additional turns added concurrently, not consecutively) and wears off in the field after completing one puzzle or task; what makes it special is that some characters are always flying (which is to say, they are capable of landing, but fly continuously during battles), which will be indicated in the "Notes" section at the end of their character sheets. For these inherent flyers, flight cannot be taken away by abilities that remove Status Benefits, and the +2 Wind weakness of the Benefit form is ignored, with most of these characters having a Wind weakness built into their Elemental Modifiers. Inherent flyers may also have less than the maximum of 9 Platform, in a similar vein to Paper Mario enemies who hovered enough to dodge earthquakes but could still be hit by the hammer. Both inherent flyers and characters with the flight Benefit applied are affected by the Iron Ball item from the Pokémon series, and will also temporarily fall to the ground if Frozen or turned to Stone. Then there are Mario enemies like Paragoombas and Koopa Paratroopas: these enemies are inherent flyers, so their flight cannot be canceled by Benefit-removing abilities, but as soon as they are hit by certain attacks, they lose their wings and become a non-flying version of the same enemy, with the same amounts of max and current HP, VP, and MP, but a different enemy sheet. The Maestro decides what kind of attacks can ground "Para" enemies in a given game, but it may just be anything that manages to damage them (otherwise, see flipping). To complicate things even further, most Bug Fables enemies who are capable of flight will similarly be knocked to the ground if damaged, but unlike "Para" enemies, they retain the same enemy sheet, and can often return to the air without using up their turn. Regardless, inherent flyers of any type are immune to flight as a Status Benefit, with the exception that flight-capable Bug Fables enemies who have been knocked to the ground will return to the air if a flight Benefit is applied, but they will then remain flying under their own power instead of using the Benefit's turn count. All of that aside, attacks marked [O] will hit flying characters of any kind.
• Underground: The character burrows underground and remains there, popping up briefly in order to perform attacks and suchlike but returning below until the condition ends. When applied as a normal Status Benefit, it lasts for a number of turns specified by the causal ability or item, with additional turns being added concurrently, not consecutively, and with flight and burrowing being mutually exclusive Status Benefits that cancel each other out; a character who is underground and has the flight Benefit applied emerges aboveground but does not start flying, instead just losing both Benefits, and a flying character falls to the ground when burrowing is applied, but does not actually burrow. More often than this turn count-style Benefit, though, burrowing underground is an ability of certain Bug Fables enemies, and behaves a little differently depending on the enemy; and similarly, the Pokémon move Dig causes the user to burrow underground and hide there for one turn, then emerge and attack the next, and remain aboveground normally until the move is used again. What these three types of burrowing have in common is that, while underground, the character in question cannot be hit by most normal attacks, be they melee or projectile, and so these will always miss if attempted. All psychic attacks will be able to target the character and will work normally, because psychic attacks operate on a mental plane and don't care if the target's physical body is underground. Other attacks that can reach underground characters are mainly things like earthquakes—or, of course, Leif's ice magic, which specifically goes underground and pops up beneath its target—in other words, the same kinds of attacks that would normally miss flying characters. (Attacks that deal Long Fall damage may or may not succeed against underground targets depending on whether the specific description of the attack would seem capable of this.) When Bug Fables enemies are damaged by an attack whilst underground, they are typically forced aboveground, and remain there, targetable by any attack, until their Phase of the turn rolls around again, at which point they may or may not have some means of returning underground; this is not true of Dig users or receivers of a turn count-style Underground Status Benefit, who will be damaged but remain underground (in Dig's case, until the move is fully executed). Burrowing that is applied as a Status Benefit with a turn count will be removed by abilities that remove Benefits, forcing the character back aboveground, but burrowing via Dig or BF abilities is unaffected by these. Inherently flying characters, or characters currently in a Raccoon State, can have an Underground Benefit applied to them, in which case they are treated just like any other character while being underground, obviously no longer able to do things like dodge earthquakes. All that being said, if a currently underground character attacks another underground character, then most any attack will work normally and hit the target, and attacks marked [O] will hit underground targets no matter the details. In the field, burrowing normally counts as a Unique field ability, and so when applied as a Status Benefit, the beneficiary can imitate this Unique ability for the duration of one puzzle or task.
• Neutralize: When this condition is applied to a character, all other Status Problems and Status Benefits are removed (with the sole exception of Invincibility, which Neutralization cannot overpower), and the character becomes immune to receiving any new ones until the Neutralization wears off (except, again, for Invincibility). Neutralization temporarily cancels out the effects of drunkenness, alcohol poisoning, the Feral state, and mental disorders, but these return once the Neutralization wears off. Neutralization does not remove the effects of being Made of an Element or Spiky. Neutralization is the only Status Benefit that is immune to the effects of items and abilities that "remove all Status Benefits," and if a character is both Neutralized and Invincible, then the Invincibility will not be removed by these either. Newly added turns of Neutralization add to existing turns, and the condition wears off after battle.
• Safeguard: In the same vein as Neutralization, Safeguard removes all Status Problems from a character and prevents any new ones from being acquired, but has no effect on other Status Benefits. Unlike Neutralization, however, it is removed by abilities that remove all Benefits, and turns do not compound.
• Fire State: By using a Fire Flower, the character becomes "Fire [name]." While in this state, the character may choose to augment any of their unarmed physical attacks or magical attacks with fire, meaning the attack will be considered to be of the Fire Element and will also have a 25% chance of inflicting a Burn for 2 turns, in addition to its normal effects. Armed physical attacks and psychic attacks cannot be augmented, and neither can attacks that are already Elemental, except for those which are Fire-type, in which case augmentation will result in a +2 boost to damage but no extra Burn chance (though any existing Burn chance will be retained). If the (unarmed) basic attack is augmented, it can be conceptually altered to tossing a fireball at the target, allowing the character to avoid damage from Electrification and the like. Additionally, the character gains 5 extra "Fire HP" to which damage will be directed instead of their normal HP; if this HP runs out, the Fire State ends, but a character can remain in the Fire State outside of battle, and so it will be carried over to the next battle. Fire can be used in the field to ignite flammable objects and suchlike, but any Unique field abilities involving fire will be considered more potent than those granted by a Fire State (think of it as having a higher value in the same field stat). If the Fire State is refreshed (e.g. the character uses another Fire Flower before losing all five Fire HP), then the Fire HP will be bumped up to the maximum of 5. If a Fire character takes more than 5 damage from one attack, the extra damage is not carried over to their regular HP—however, if the 5 Fire HP is depleted by a multiple-hit attack, then any remaining hits will be directed at the regular HP. Healing will be directed toward the Fire HP if there is any missing, and to the regular HP if it is full, but again, one "hit" of healing does not carry any extra content over to the regular HP. A Fire State generally alters the colors of a character's clothing; a player may design their character's "Fire outfit."
• Ice State: The same thing as a Fire State, but using the Ice Element and the Freeze Status Problem. Fire and Ice States are mutually exclusive, so a character can only be in one of them at a time, and if one is applied after the other, the first will be canceled out.
• Raccoon State: Applied by a Super Leaf, the Raccoon State is governed by the same 5-HP mechanism as the Fire and Ice States, and causes the character to grow brown, catlike ears and a striped brown tail. While in a Raccoon State, the character will automatically fly into the air to dodge earthquakes and other attacks that would miss flying characters, but will remain grounded when targeted by Bows and other attacks that deal extra damage to flying characters. In the field, the character's Platform stat is increased to 9, allowing the character to fly; because the State's duration is based on HP instead of turns, it does not wear off in the field, making it exceedingly useful for exploration. If a character who is naturally flying enters a Raccoon State, then the State works normally, allowing the character to land, but if a character in a Raccoon State receives the Flying Benefit, then this overrules the State and causes the character to always be considered flying; however, the 5 extra HP remains, so the character will still be a Raccoon when the flight wears off (unless the HP is depleted first, obviously). Similarly, a character in a Raccoon State who receives the Underground Benefit remains underground for the duration of the turn count, and can't exactly fly while underground, but will still be a Raccoon when the turn count ends, assuming remaining RHP. A Raccoon State is mutually exclusive with a Fire or Ice State, as those are with one another. The yellow Cape provided by a Cape Feather is an alternate version of the Raccoon State with identical effects.
• Invincible: Typically the result of using a Super Star, the character is cured of all Status Problems (blood alcohol level drops to 0.00) and, while Invincible, takes no damage whatsoever from any kind of attacks and is immune to receiving any new Status Problems. Furthermore, their Attack is at +10 while in this state (this is like an Increase, added to the final power of the attack; if the character has an additional Increase, a Charge, or any other factors to boost power, those do their normal thing, adding to the +10 when relevant); however, Magic Power and Brain Power remain at normal strength. The character is also immune to damage from Electrification, Reciprocity, Spikiness, etc., and can freely attack such characters. If one Invincible character attacks another Invincible character, then the attack will deal its normal amount of damage without the +10; this is the only way to damage an Invincible character. Projectile weapons and other attacks that do not draw from the user's stats will not get this bonus and will still do no damage to an Invincible target, and two Invincible characters still cannot give each other Status Problems, but magical and psychic attacks will cause damage. Although Invincibility is not removed by Neutralization, it is removed by abilities that simply remove all Benefits. Invincibility turns do not compound, and Invincibility does not negate the effects of mental disorders, nor does it cure the Feral state. If used in the field, the character's Strength counts as 9 and they can stride through many hazardous obstacles and survive in environments like space, but as in Mario games, they are still vulnerable to bottomless pits and perhaps some other hazards. Field Invincibility would also protect against enemy First Strikes, but would wear off once the Player Phase of battle begins.
• Stone: A character who has been turned to Stone is immune to damage like one who is Invincible, but cannot take any action during their Phase of each turn. Unlike Invincibility, Stone does not cure Status Problems when it takes effect, but it does prevent the character from being inflicted with any new ones, and it also prevents damage from ailments like Poison while in effect, even though their remaining turns still count down. Similarly, a Stone character cannot be healed by healing abilities or HP/VP/MP Trickles. Like an Invincible character, a Stone character will take normal damage (without the +10) from another Invincible character, but Stone is removed by Neutralization. If a Stone character is also Electrified, direct attackers will still be zapped, but if a Stone character is Reciprocal, direct attackers won't be hurt since they won't deal any damage (or will be Invincible if they do); characters who are Spiky or Made of Earth will also still hurt direct attackers while turned to Stone, but characters Made of other Elements (including Thunder) will not. Lastly, for the duration of being turned to Stone, a character's Weight stat is maximized to 9, and they fall to the ground if flying (whether naturally or as a Status Benefit). Turns do not compound.

HP/VP/MP Trickle
Dodgy
Electrified
Neutralize

Stat Increase
Shield
Invisible
Nirvana
Somebody Else's Problem
Reciprocal
Reflective
Fast
Flying
Underground
Safeguard
Invincible
Stone

HP/VP/MP Trickle
Fire State
Ice State
Raccoon State