Taglines are status affects and abilities that accompany damage dealing strikes. These can apply special affects, status affects, or triggered abilities upon dealing damage. Damage types and taglines can be combined in a player's tagline, such as a character with an enchanted axe may wish to call Cleaving Magic in the instances in which cleaving may allow the character to deal additional damage. Weapons can have several different damage types depending on their use.
Additional taglines beyond these may exist. If the player is unsure of the effects of a tagline, they should ask a marshal or staff member.
Weapon Taglines
Normal
The simplest and most basic tagline is "Normal", which signifies that your strike carries no specific variation to the strike. All weapons can call the "Normal" tagline with their swing, though no spells or abilities carry the normal tagline. This can be used any time the user is not concerned with the damage type of their attack.
Slashing
This tagline is used by swords and other bladed weapons. Some creatures may take more, or less, damage from a slashing attack.
Crushing
This tagline is used by hammers, maces, and clubs. Some creatures may take more, or less, damage from a crushing attack.
Cleaving
This tagline is used by axes and their ilk. Some creatures may take more, or less, damage from a cleaving attack.
Puncturing
This tagline is used by arrows, bullets, and crossbow bolts. Some creatures may take more, or less, damage from a puncturing attack.
Magic
This tagline is used by weapons each are enchanted. Some creatures may require this tagline to even be affected by the damage.
Silver
This tagline is used by weapons which have had a silvering kit applied to it, or are specifically created with Silver or True Silver. Some creatures may require this tagline to even be affected by the damage.
Special Taglines with Effects
Entangle
An entangled character is held and cannot move, attack, or defend. An entagled creature can break free with Enhanced Strength +1 on a ten (10) count, and on a five (5) count with Enhanced Strength +2. An entangled character may not be killed if they are breaking free. An entangled character may be cut out on a 10 count by another character.
Disease
A diseased character may not have any visible effect, and the disease must be removed in some manner even if the damage it caused is healed. They cannot run, nor can they attack; a diseased character may only defend. This effect must get through armor or to hit points and lasts 10 minutes until dispelled.
Paralyze
A paralyzed character is unable to move under their own power and may either simply stand unmoving or fall to the ground, unable to move but conscious unless rendered otherwise. A character who is paralyzed may not defend themselves. This effect must get through armor to hit points and lasts for 10 minutes or until dispelled.
Poison
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Poison tagline, you will be poisoned for 10 minutes (loosing 1 HP/minute). Resist Toxin or Resist Metabolic are the appropriate resists, as per the description.
Fear
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Fear tagline, you will be affected just like the Fear spell/effect for 10 minutes. Bravery negates. Resist Mind Effecting is the appropriate resist, per the description.
Terror
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Terror tagline, you will be paralyzed with fear for 10 minutes just as if you were affected by the Terror effect. Bravery negates. Resist Mind Effecting is the appropriate resist, per the description.
Weakness
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Weakness tagline, you will be affected just like the spell Curse of Weakness for 10 minutes. Resist Magic is the appropriate resist.
Nausea
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Nausea tagline, you will be nauseated for 10 minutes. Resist Toxin or Resist Metabolic are the appropriate resists, as per the description.
Curse
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Curse tagline, you will be affected just like the spell Curse of Pain for 10 minutes. Resist Magic is the appropriate resist.
Elemental Damage
In addition to the normal damage dealt by the weapon, this swing may have an additional affect against certain creatures. Elemental Damage includes: Fire, Ice, Lightning, Stone.
Darkness is a special case where it's more akin to Light than the other elemental damages, however at this time there are no revealed special qualities to it like Light. It is notable in that Resist Elemental will not apply to Darkness.
Light
The Light tagline always counts as "magic" against creatures affected by it. This tagline does double damage to some Undead, Demons, and other creatures of darkness, bypassing most DRs other than those specifically vs Light.
Body
The body tagline bypasses all armor and goes directly to a target's hit points. The damage will leave the target's armor unaffected from the attack. Shields may block and weapons may be used to parry this tagline, and it must land on the target to affect their hit points.
Massive
The massive tagline will bypass all defenses and cannot be blocked or parried normally. If an attack lands on the target or their items, such as a sword or shield, the damage is taken by the target. It must go through a target's armor before it affects their hit points. The Massive tagline ignores a target's Damage Reduction, bypassing it to do full damage.
Certain skills such as Parry, Shield Block, and Shield Bash can be used to stop one swing of this tagline.
Life Drain
This attack is a rare tagline which bypasses armor and goes directly to hit points, like the Body tagline. In addition, this attack drains the vitality of its target and transfers it to the attacker, effectively healing the attacker by the amount of damage to the target. Certain skills such as Parry, Shield Block, and Shield Bash can be used to stop one swing of this tagline.
Demise
This tagline will do damage and is also a Deadly effect unless resisted or protected against. Do not expect to see it on anything other than the most powerful of beings. The Deadly effect must get through armor to hit points before taking effect.
Certain Skills such as Master Fortify will stop the attack from outright killing the target, though the tagline will add a damage equivalent to the most powerful of attacks, Deadly Attacks, to the damage swing.
Permanent Wound
If you take hit point damage from an attack with the Permanent Wound tagline, that damage cannot be magically healed for the remainder of the event, until resurrection, or certain ritual magics are cast to remove the effect – whichever comes first. Please note that this damage MAY be healed from regeneration granted by Fortify skills, or healing performed via Surgery.
Level Drain
If you are struck by an attack with the Level Drain tagline, you will be treated as if you have half your normal maximum hit points and will inflict half your normal maximum damage for ten minutes.
Petrification
If you are struck by an attack with the petrification tagline that gets through your armor (i.e. it deals Body/HP damage), your physical body has been turned into stone. In this state you are dead. If you are some way "fixed" from the petrification state, you are still considered to be in the Dead state, and will need additional fixing.
If you are shattered while stone, such as the destroy item, shatter armor, or shatter item spell, you are immediately dusted and must resurrect, if capable, as if you had been disintegrated.
Paralyze Gaze
This is an additional delivery method of the paralyze status effect. There are 2 methods in which the Paralyze Gaze effect is delivered. The first is via packet. The second is similar to a Vampire's dominate effect, which occurs on a 10 count of sustained eye contact.
The Paralyze effect from a Paralyze Gaze lasts for one minute...after the user has broken eye contact. Fortify will reduce the timer as normal, but the timer will not begin until eye contact is complete.
Compel
A fun new effect. This is a mind effecting charm affect. At this time, this effect will only come from a staff member.
This effect will force the target or targets of the effect to obey a command. Examples of this may be "come to me", "dance", or "follow". This effect cannot compel a knight to break their oath.
This is a heavy role play effect and it is encouraged that all play along.
Pierce
This tagline allows the attack to bypass any and all magical defenses on the target. Examples include: Armor of the Spirit, Defense Against Magic, Ward, Barrier of Protection, as well as magic items that grant a defense such as a Parry pendant, or a shield enchanted to gift the Shield Block skill.
Avoidance magics that make a being not there, like displace, are not effected by the Pierce, because the packet misses the target. The same goes for an item that might grant an evade or such.
This only effects magic and not natural abilities.