"When X happens, do Z" rules on statuses, passives and items — procs, stacking payoffs, empower-next, cooldown resets, blocks and cheat death.

Triggers

A trigger is a small rule — when something happens, if a condition holds, do something. Statuses, passives and items can all carry them, and one rule list covers a lot of classic ability design:

a sword whose every third hit fires a lightning bolt,
a stacking passive that pays off at five stacks,
"your next three casts deal double damage",
a kill that resets your dash,
a guard that blocks the next two hits,
a cape that heals you when you drop below 30% health (once a minute),
a charm that lets you survive one killing blow.

Where to author it#

Carrier	Where
A status (lasts while the status is on a unit)	Database → Effects → Status Effects → (a status) → Behavior → Triggers
A passive (lasts while the passive applies)	Database → Effects → Passives → (a passive) → Effects & Triggers → Triggers
An item (lasts while it is worn)	Database → Items → (an item) → Skills & Effects → Status Effects & Procs — each row is a trigger; Rule opens its extras

It is the same editor in all three places.

Set up "every third hit casts a bolt"#

Create the ability the trigger fires — say Arc Bolt: Base Damage 20,
Damage Type Magic, Target Mode Enemies. Its cost, cooldown and range don't matter when a trigger fires it.
Open your weapon in Items → Skills & Effects, click + Add Effect.
Leave the status blank, set When to On hit, Chance 1.
Click Rule, set Every Nth time to 3, and under Also do pick
Cast an ability → Arc Bolt, aimed at The other unit.
Save. Every third hit you land fires Arc Bolt at the target.

Set up "empower your next 3 casts"#

Create a status Surge (any type — Stat Buff with Magnitude 0 is fine),
Max Stacks 3, Duration 10 s.
On Surge's Behavior → Triggers, + Add trigger: When *I hit
something*, Then do Modify this hit → Damage × 2, and tick **Use up a stack each time it fires**.
Give it with an ability that applies Surge — or a trigger's Apply a status
with Stacks 3. Each hit uses one stack; the third removes Surge.

Set up cheat death#

Create a status or passive Second Wind.
+ Add trigger: When A hit would kill me, Then do *Prevent death →
Survive at 30%*, Internal cooldown 120 s.
The first killing blow in any two minutes leaves the carrier at 30% health
instead, with a "Cheated death!" flash.

When (events)#

Event	Fires when
I hit something	Each direct hit you land (abilities, projectiles, beams, chains — not damage over time).
I am hit	Each direct hit that lands on you.
I land a critical hit	Each of your hits that crits.
I basic attack	Each swing of your basic attack. With Modify this hit: that swing's hit.
I cast an ability	Each ability you cast yourself. Triggered casts never count.
I kill something	Your hit or damage over time finishes a target.
A status lands on me	Any status is applied or refreshed on you (filter one).
A status ends on me	A status runs out, is dispelled, breaks or is used up.
I am crowd-controlled	Someone else stuns, roots, silences, fears, knocks back or otherwise controls you.
My health drops below…	Your health crosses below Threshold % — once per crossing.
Stacks reach…	A status reaches Threshold stacks. On a status: its own stacks unless you filter another.
I block with a shield	A raised shield blocks part of a hit on you.
I knock someone into a wall	A knockback or pull you cast stops short against a wall, a solid object or the map edge. The other unit is the one that hit the wall — pair with Apply a status (a stun) on the other unit for a wall stun.
A hit would kill me	Just before a killing blow lands. Pair with Prevent death.
Every few seconds	On a timer (Interval) while the carrier is active.

Then do (actions)#

Action	What it does
Cast an ability	Fires a whole ability — free, no cooldown, no cast XP — at the other unit (your victim, your attacker, the source of the status) or from you (a nova). Your stats scale it and its kills are yours.
Apply a status	Puts a status on you or the other unit, optionally several Stacks at once.
Reset a cooldown	The ability that triggered it, every ability on cooldown, or one you pick. Shorten by takes seconds off instead of finishing it. A charged ability gets one charge back.
Remove stacks	Takes stacks off a status on you (blank = this status) — the payoff half of a stacking passive.
Modify this hit	Hit events only. Damage ×, Flat damage, Make it a critical hit, Ignore shields, or Cancel the hit (block / parry — no damage, none of its statuses). The damage number shows the changed hit.
Prevent death	A hit would kill me only. Leaves you at Survive at % of max health.

Fields#

Field	What it does
When	The event (items: the row's When column).
Threshold	My health drops below: the health %. Stacks reach: the stack count.
Interval (s)	Every few seconds: how often. At least 0.25 s.
Every Nth time	Fire on every Nth matching event — 3 = every third hit. Blank = every time.
Chance (%)	Chance per matching event (items: the row's chance). Blank = always.
Internal cooldown (s)	After firing it can't fire again for this long. Use it on capes, procs and cheat death.
Only for ability / status / damage type	Narrow the event to one ability, one status or one damage type.
Use up a stack each time it fires	Statuses only: each firing removes one stack; the last removes the status.
Row's status goes on	Items only: who the row's status lands on. Default: the other unit on hit events, you otherwise.

Items: the Status Effects & Procs rows#

Every row on an item's Skills & Effects tab is live:

When	The row's status…
On hit	lands on whoever the wearer hits, at the row's chance.
On use	lands on the user when the item is consumed.
While equipped / Passive	is held on the wearer for as long as the item is worn and not broken.
any other event	lands per the event (being hit, a kill, a crit…), plus whatever the Rule adds.

A row may leave the status blank when its Rule does something else (a cape that casts a heal when you're hit).

Gotchas#

Items you already made are now live. Rows set to On hit, On use or
While equipped used to be saved and ignored; with this feature they apply. Check old items if a sword suddenly poisons everything.
No runaway chains. A trigger never fires from its own consequences, and
what a trigger causes can only set off one more layer of triggers (two deep). The server also caps how many triggers fire per tick.
Loops are refused on save. A status whose A status lands on me, *Stacks
reach* or I am crowd-controlled rule casts or applies something that leads straight back to it is refused, naming the chain.
Links must exist. A trigger naming a missing ability or status is refused
on save.
Chance is the server's roll and uses the same random stream as the rest of
combat.
Cheat death needs a limit. Without an internal cooldown or *Use up a
stack*, the carrier cannot die — the dry-run warns you.
Modify this hit only works on hit events, and Prevent death only on *A
hit would kill me* — the editor only offers them there.
Feature flag. Everything here sits behind **World → Features → Combat
Triggers** (on by default). Off, no trigger fires and item rows do nothing.