Status Effects

"Status effects are the Network's record of what is happening to the runner. The Network is comprehensive."

A reference to the status effects runners apply, take, and dispense on Floor 1. Each status is the floor's way of narrating consequence: when an attack lands, sometimes the damage is the consequence, and sometimes the damage is just the introduction.

The Network divides statuses into four categories — damage over time, control, buffs, death states. Floor 1 runners will most often meet the first two. A runner who has not encountered any of these by the time they reach the stairs has had an unusually quiet floor.

Damage over time

Burning

Color. Fire orange. What it does. Loses 3 HP every 1 second. Spreads to adjacent flammable entities at later thermal-skill milestones. How it ends. 6 seconds default. Can be cured by thermal_dynamics L25 Standards & Practices (when shipped), or by Mend's L30 Cure (when shipped), or by stepping into a liquid cell for one tick. Applied by. Thermal Dynamics abilities, a thermal weapon coating, the ignite flammable reaction (a Plasma Lighter on a flammable target), burning chemical puddles.

Status notes. Burning damage ticks regardless of who applied it. A thermal runner who lights a hostile and then walks away is still doing damage to that hostile. The audience finds this satisfying. The Programming Director encourages thermal runners to lean in. The exception is a creature of fire: the Furnace Moth shrugs off nine tenths of any fire, so a burn does it no harm at all.

"Industrial Safety logs the heat-signature spike. The Network considers combustion within broadcast tolerance."

Shocked

Color. Electric blue. What it does. Loses 2 HP every 0.5 seconds — twice as fast as burning. On electronic entities: temporarily reduces security level by 2 (capped at 0) for the duration, AND applies suppressed for the same duration. On liquid cells: chains shocked to all adjacent entities in the cell. How it ends. 3 seconds default. Taser's Extended Tase pushes to 8 seconds. Cured by electrical_engineering L25 Grounding (when shipped) or Mend's L30 Cure (when shipped). Not removed by liquid — liquid amplifies shocked, the inverse of burning. Applied by. An electrical weapon coating, Electrical Engineering abilities at L20 and beyond, the arc flash reaction (electrical contact + conductive liquid).

Status notes. Shocked is the Floor 1 setup status — the whole reason a runner works the electrical channel. A taser hit that drops 4 damage also delivers 12 HP over 3 seconds of shocked tick. The audience numbers favor the runner who understands this; the runners who treat the taser as a damage weapon look bad on tape. Not against the creatures of electricity, though: the Cable Wraith, the Conduit Leech and the Breaker Polyp shrug off nine tenths of any electric hit, and a shock's tick does them nothing. Machines get no such luck.

"Voltage Reporting logs the discharge. The Network considers controlled current within broadcast standards."

Exposure

Color. Lime green. What it does. Loses 1 HP every 2 seconds — and 16 every 2 seconds while the runner stands in the gas (a toxic puddle, foam, a leak), so the first move is out of it. A mask cuts the gas: the Respirator Mask by a quarter, the Crudely Sealed Hood by half, and Hardened Gloves a tenth more; out of the gas a dose ticks 1 whatever you wear. The gas does nothing else: no sting on the way in, just the Exposure. In a fight it ticks at the start of the runner's turn. How it ends. About a minute on its own; shorter from a Chem-Slick Rat's bite. Water ends it at once: get soaked under an Emergency Shower or at a wall sink — and the wash leaves Exposure Residue behind. An Antidote — the Alchemy L15 field craft built for exactly this — ends it with no residue, and so does an Antitoxin Injector, which heals a little as well, as does Mend's L30 Clean Bill. Sully sells the injector to anyone, and the Antidote to a Bristled runner (30 Janitech standing). A Filtered Stim heals the damage but does not end it. Applied by. Gas: every toxic puddle, the Auto-Buffer J-7's foam trail, a hacked scrubber's slick, and the Outage's leaks and seeps — step onto one or stand in one and you get it. Also the J-7's scrub-over, broken toxic drum spawns, the bite of a Chem-Slick Rat, and one of Blunt Force Trauma's deeper abilities. Status notes. The gas doses enemies too, so most of them walk around it. Machines don't breathe it. The creatures that carry Exposure themselves — the Leak Lurker, the Sump Troll, the Chem-Slick Rat and the rest — shrug off nine tenths of it. Gas a runner made, like a hacked scrubber's slick, spares that runner and their party and doses everyone else.

"Industrial Hygiene logs the exposure. The MSDS sheet is being amended retroactively."

Bleeding

Color. Blood red. What it does. Loses 1 HP every 2 seconds — the slow, lingering DOT. Ten ticks across a 20-second window, 10 HP total if left untreated. Lowest damage-per-moment of any status, longest duration: persistence is the point, not burst. Where burning bursts and shocked stacks fast, bleeding just keeps going — often past the room the runner picked it up in. How it ends. 20 seconds default; decays on its own. Stepping into a liquid cell for one tick washes the wound clean. A runner with Mend L5 bleeds at half speed — one tick every 4 seconds (5 ticks, 5 HP). Mend's L70 Stabilize removes it instantly, and Mend's Cure family clears it (both when shipped). Applied by. Edged and serrated weapon techniques that carry a bleed chance — the first Floor 1 carrier is a rebar weapon's Jagged Stab (25% chance). A runner with Blade L15 (Bleed) applies it on every successful blade hit. Also the bites and claws of organic hostiles — Floor 1's rust rats are the carriers (25% chance). Pure-blunt, pure-puncture, mechanical, electrical, and bot hostiles do not cause bleeding.

Status notes. Bleeding is the floor's patience status. It rarely decides a fight on its own; it decides the fight after the fight, when a runner walks away at low integrity and the wound keeps ticking. Medics neutralize it cheaply — half speed at Mend L5 — which is part of why a bleeding runner who has a medic in the party barely notices, and a bleeding runner who doesn't, sometimes doesn't make the stairs.

"Workplace Health Compliance has flagged the runner for follow-up. Workplace Health Compliance does not do follow-up."

Fragmentation

Color. Shrapnel grey. What it does. Embedded shrapnel — a short, sharp DOT. ~2 HP every 2 seconds over a brief window (default ~4 seconds / 2 ticks, unless a Demolition ability extends it). The opposite of bleeding: small, fast, over quickly. How it ends. Decays on its own (~4s default). A runner with Demolition L10 takes half duration; defiance shortens it further. Applied by. A sourced explosion when the attacker has Demolition L15 (Concussive Discharge), primed demolition charges, and the Fragment imbuement.

"Pop-Up Personnel notes that replacement staffing is available before the injury report finishes loading."

Control

Slipped

Color. Wet cyan. What it does. Movement disabled this turn. The target may still attack if already in range — they simply cannot close distance. NPCs with slipped skip their movement step. Player-applied slipped (from hazard tiles) is logged; the player movement gate uses the hazard tick directly. How it ends. 5–6 seconds default depending on source. Decays automatically. Applied by. Wet Floor Sign's Wet Floor technique, on a hostile that steps next to the caution sign it sets. Wet Floor tiles (40% chance on chebyshev ≤ 1, 6s). The Custodian's charged-attack resolution (50% chance, 5s).

Status notes. Slipped is the Floor 1 anti-mob signature. Drop a Wet Floor Sign in the corridor a hostile is approaching from; the hostile slips on entry, the runner closes the distance with their next move. The Custodian works this trick at scale — he leaves the Wet Floor tiles behind himself as he mops, and the runners chasing him find their corridor has become a hazard. The Custodian is, in this respect, performing his job.

"The custodial staff have left appropriate signage. The runner has not respected the signage."

Grappled

Color. Rope brown. What it does. Cannot move while grappled. Knockback resolution exits early on grappled targets — a grappled runner is locked in place by something that wants them there. How it ends. Cleared by: parry success against the grappling attack, a break free action, the charged-attack resolution completing, or status decay as a safety net. Applied by. The Custodian's charged-attack "mop hook" — the two-turn telegraphed attack that catches a runner and pulls them into range for the Custodian's follow-up. And by runners: a Grab holds the enemy next to the runner through its next turn, if the runner's Defiance wins. A held enemy can still swing.

Status notes. Grappled is the Floor 1 boss signature. If the runner is grappled, they are in the Custodian's encounter and need to break out. The break paths are real — parry timing works, break free works, and the encounter is designed to be escapable. The Programming Director would like to remind aspiring runners that the Custodian's grapple is not a game-over.

"The Custodian has standards. The runner is being held to them."

Pinned

Color. Warning amber. What it does. Something heavy is on top of the runner — a crate thrown by the Bollard, or a dropped Hanging Load. The runner is flat on the deck under it: they cannot move and cannot swing, and hits land at half again their force. Unlike a plain knockdown, a pin does not wear off. How it ends. When the object moves. Shove It Off (it leads the ability bar while pinned) pits the runner's Defiance against the crate, once a turn; a crewmate can lift it or smash it; a knockback that moves it frees the runner too. A Bollard crate shoved with nowhere to slide splits apart where it lies. Applied by. A thrown or dropped load landing on the runner's square, when the runner loses the contest to get clear.

Status notes. A crewmate beside the crate can lift it for their attack, not their turn — the quickest way out of a pin in a party.

"Freight has been asked to stop delivering to contestants."

Snared

Color. Cable grey. What it does. Rooted in place — the snared entity cannot move until the wire releases. It may still act if something is in range; it simply cannot leave the cell. This is the Survival runner's signature control: the snare stops the thing before the floor's hazards come due. On a hostile, the snare roots; on a small animal, the snare roots it the same way — and a rooted animal can then be captured with a Crude Cage (see Survival and Trapping). How it ends. Outside a fight it holds for the snare's duration (6 seconds), then releases. In a fight it holds a hostile for its next turn, and one caught mid-stride stops where it stepped; a hostile snared just before a fight opens loses its first turn of it. The rooted entity can also be freed early by destroying the snare. A single snare fires once. Applied by. The Cable Snare, rigged on a cell with a trap kit. The Clatter Lure is how a Survival runner delivers a target onto a waiting snare — the lure draws it across the wire.

Status notes. Snared is half of the Survival loop. The wire does not kill; it holds, so the floor — an ignited gas valve, a steam vent, a teammate's shot — can finish the job. A snared target standing in a hazard is the kit's whole fantasy in one beat.

"The contestant has been temporarily detained pending floor conditions. The Network thanks them for their patience."

Concussion

Color. Blast grey. What it does. Pressure-wave disruption — the target loses tempo after a blast (a lost action while it's active). Demolition's control status. How it ends. Short by default (~1s from a blast; longer from higher Demolition abilities). A runner with Demolition L10 takes half duration; defiance shortens it further. Applied by. Demolition L15 (Concussive Discharge) on a sourced explosion, primed demolition charges, and the Fragment imbuement.

"The Insurance Adjuster has recorded the pressure wave. The claim remains pending."

Staggered

Color. Impact yellow. What it does. Hit hard enough to lose the next swing — the target's next attack action (melee or ranged) is blocked. Movement is unaffected: a staggered hostile can still close distance, it just arrives without the hit. How it ends. 1 turn by default. Re-application refreshes the duration rather than stacking it. Applied by. Blunt Force Trauma L15 (Stagger) on successful melee hits, and Survival L15 (Tripped) on the entity that springs one of the runner's traps.

Status notes. Staggered is tempo theft. A blunt runner trading swings with a hostile that can't swing back is winning the exchange twice per hit — and a Survival runner whose tripwire staggers on trigger has bought the approach turn for free.

"Risk Management has rated the impact within tolerance. The rating is updated daily."

Suppressed

Color. Tracer orange. What it does. Pinned by incoming fire — the target's next ranged attack is blocked. Melee is unaffected; suppressed is staggered's shape applied to the ranged channel only. How it ends. 1 turn by default. Refresh-only. Applied by. Trigger Discipline L15 (Lead and Pin) on targets damaged by the runner's ranged attacks.

Status notes. Suppression is the Trigger runner's lane control: a hostile that can't return fire while the runner keeps shooting is a hostile in a losing exchange. The discipline's name is the strategy.

"The broadcast's ballistics review board has classified the response as voluntary fire discipline."

Demoted

Color. Tracer orange. What it does. Production has lowered the target's standing — its defense is reduced by 1 against incoming attacks for the duration. How it ends. 1 turn by default; refresh-only. Higher Signal investment extends it. Applied by. Signal L15 (Demoted) on a successful Punish. Production-grade remotes have been observed applying it on their own initiative, even in untrained hands.

"Per production review, the target's role has been reduced. Severance does not apply."

Loud Footfalls

Color. Movement amber. What it does. Sprinting is loud. While the runner carries this status, quiet footwork is off the table — Stealth Routing's Soft Step does not apply, and every stride emits full movement noise on every cell kind. How it ends. Lasts exactly as long as the Sprint that caused it — 30 seconds. Applied by. Mobility L15 (Sprint), automatically, alongside Sprinting. The trade is the design: speed for silence.

"The boom operator did not have to reposition. Everyone on the floor heard that."

Paralyzed

Color. Broadcast cyan. What it does. Held in the shot — the affected hostile's turn is skipped while the status is active. How it ends. ~6 seconds default; decays automatically. Applied by. The Freeze Frame (Production Remote) and Vote Paralyze (Test Audience Remote) techniques.

"The frame holds. The subject does not."

Soaked

Color. Wet cyan. What it does. Drenched. Mostly a tell — except that getting soaked washes Exposure off at once, whatever soaked you. A runner who had Exposure comes out of the water with Exposure Residue instead. How it ends. A few seconds: 15 under an Emergency Shower, 8 at a wall sink. Getting soaked again starts it over. Applied by. An Emergency Shower (stand under it, or use it) and a wall sink (use it). On Floor 2, The Kid's water jet does it too.

"Facilities logs a containment breach at the confluence. The runner is, per the incident report, 'thoroughly serviced.'"

Exposure Residue

Color. Neutral grey. What it does. What washing off Exposure leaves behind. The runner's Defiance counts as 20 lower while it lasts (never below zero), so grabs, slips, staggers and other statuses land more easily. On Floor 1 that is usually all of it. How it ends. Five minutes, then it fades. An Antidote clears it at once, as does Mend's L30 Clean Bill. More water does not — the water is what left it. Washing off again starts the five minutes over; it never goes past −20. Applied by. Getting soaked while carrying Exposure. A runner who showers clean is only wet.

Status notes. The shower is free, and this is what it costs. A runner carrying an Antidote can skip the shower and take the Antidote for the Exposure, which leaves nothing — or shower first and drink it after, to clear the residue.

"Industrial Hygiene has closed the incident. The incident remains on the record."

Buffs

Parry Ready

Color. Guard silver. What it does. The next melee hit against you may be deflected. Roll: 1d6 + floor(Blunt Force Trauma ÷ 2) + the off-hand's parry bonus, against threshold 5. Success: damage halved, status-on-hit blocked, riposte 1d4 back at the attacker, grapple cleared. Failure: full damage, status applied. Window consumed either way. How it ends. 12-second window after entry. Consumed on hit (success or fail), or expires. Applied by. The player's Parry intent. Phase 22e reactive techniques (future content).

Status notes. Parry is a real tool against The Custodian's charged-attack — a successful parry clears the grappled status before the hook lands. Floor 1 runners with any blunt_force_trauma investment should know parry exists.

"Network Compliance notes the runner is operating within posture guidelines."

Braced

Color. Guard silver. What it does. Feet-planted guard. While braced, the runner takes reduced incoming melee and charged-attack damage and is immune to knockback and knockdown until their next turn. How it ends. Lasts until the start of the runner's next turn. Applied by. The Brace technique on the Reinforced Baton, Field Baton, Heavy Pipe Wrench, and The Reprimand.

Status notes. Brace is the blunt runner's way of spending a turn on not losing one. Read an incoming charged attack, plant your feet, and the hit that was supposed to move you simply doesn't.

"The runner has assumed an approved defensive stance. Network Compliance is satisfied."

Blocking

Color. Guard silver. What it does. Set to receive. While blocking, incoming melee and charged hits land at half force, and the runner's chance to resist statuses and controls rises by about 17 percentage points, on top of whatever resistance the runner already carries. How it ends. Lasts until the runner's next turn — the braced convention for "one turn." Applied by. The Block verb — Defiance L15. Once per encounter; spends the turn.

Status notes. Block is the Defiance runner's answer to the hit they can see coming. Read the telegraph, spend the turn, and the swing that was supposed to decide the fight lands at half weight, with its status easier to shrug off.

"Live Broadcast Incident Review has rated the runner as structurally prepared for what is incoming. The rating is provisional."

Sprinting

Color. Movement amber. What it does. Double-pace. The runner moves at twice walking speed — one smooth cell at a time, just twice as fast. Energy is the normal cost per cell. Comes with a cost the floor can hear: sprinting applies Loud Footfalls for its full duration. How it ends. 30 seconds, fixed. Once between Sanctuary visits. Applied by. The Sprint verb — Mobility L15.

Status notes. Sprint is for the corridor the runner needs to not be in — extraction pressure, a closing boss, a teammate down two rooms over. The stealth runner who sprints has chosen: Soft Step is suspended until the footfalls quiet down.

"Stage Management notes the runner is ahead of their marks. The marks will be revised."

Posture

Color. Guard silver. What it does. A braced guard for the Cyber runner's droid — reduces incoming damage for a turn. How it ends. Expires at the start of the next turn. Applied by. The Defensive Posture technique on the MR-T1 / MR-T2 / MR-T3 handsets.

Status notes. Posture keeps a fragile droid alive a turn longer — the cyber runner's hold-the-line button when the unit is taking fire.

"The unit has assumed a defensive posture. A Merritt is family."

Scrub Residue

Color. Buffed grey. What it does. A hazard trail left underfoot by the Roomba Protocol bot's sweep — a slick of cleaning residue on the cells it crosses. Stepping into it is a hazard. How it ends. Decays over time as the residue dries. Applied by. The Roomba Protocol bot on every sweep; its Trail Boost technique spends the trail to harden the bot's next pass.

Status notes. A cyber runner running the Roomba turns the floor itself into a hazard map — sweep a corridor, leave the residue, and let the cells do work the droid doesn't have to.

"The floor has been serviced. Mind the residue. A Merritt is family."

Protective Bubble

Color. Guard silver. What it does. A production field around the runner — incoming melee and charged hits land softer for a beat (reduced damage for one turn). How it ends. Expires at the start of the runner's next turn. Applied by. The Protective Bubble technique on the Signal production remotes (Broken / Patched / Production / Test Audience).

"Production has selected a favorite. Favorites are temporary."

Death states

Defeated

What it means. The entity is out of HP and out of play. Not the same as dead — a defeated NPC becomes a corpse the runner can loot. A defeated runner is in a different state (see Downed). Apex Salvage Group cleanup crews are notified of every defeated entity.

"Apex Salvage Group cleanup crews have been notified."

Downed

What it means. A runner who took lethal damage but is awaiting revival. Cannot act, cannot move, cannot use items. Revivable by another runner with Mend L10 (slow, item-cost), L60 (faster, no combat — when shipped), or L80 (mid-combat magic — when shipped). The runner's death-avoidance abilities may have intercepted the lethal hit first; the L75+ Death-Avoid moments are described elsewhere and don't show up on Floor 1.

"The broadcast cuts to a sponsor while the medics make their decision."

A note on the catalog

The Network publishes status definitions as they become mechanically true. Staggered and suppressed, previously listed here as in-design, now land in live combat and have moved to their full entries above. The Programming Director thanks the audience for their continued investment.

Next → Skills — What training looks like on Floor 1.