Spell

A ubiquitous action within many role playing games such as EverQuest is the use of magical spells. A spell is an effect, performance, incantation, process, or instance of using magic, performed by a magic user such as a priest, caster, bard, dragon, other mythical creature or magical equipment. The basis of magical spells varies considerably: a priest requests assistance from their god and/or spirits through prayer, wisdom and faith, a caster evokes spells through recitation of words of the elder dragon tongue which they discovered through intelligence and countless hours of research, bards perform magical songs through dance and dexterous use of instruments, mythical beasts such as dragons are naturally magical and may emit spells through mere speech, magical items exude auras which effect spells when their owners use them.

Buffs

See also Buff Lines

Buffs are beneficial spells which enhance a player's effectiveness in combat, magical ability, or provide some other utility. Some attributes commonly enhanced by buffs include statistics, haste, HP, AC, Damage Shields, Movement Speed, and more. Classes known for casting lots of buffs include Clerics, Shamans, and Enchanters. Many Bard songs are also thought of as temporary buffs.

Debuffs

These are the opposite of buffs, which detriment an enemy's abilities in combat in some way. They include Stuns, Roots, Snares, Mezzes, slows and statistic reducing spells.

Resistance

A defensive attribute of all characters is resistance. This determines how likely a character is to avoid or mitigate the effects of a spell. If a spell is beneficial, it is irresistible. Spells may be categorized by five types of resistance in EverQuest.

• POISON - Covers all forms of venom and poison, conjured or natural, which burn, paralyze or deteriorate a victim's blood and organs.
• MAGIC - A catch-all category for any general form of magic, such as roots, snares, slows, mezzes, wind, earth, and lightning.
• DISEASE - Infections and parasites of all kinds, conjured or natural, which sicken or rot the victim.
• FIRE - All manner of flames, heat and fire, including natural sources of heat like lava.
• COLD - All manner of frost, cold, ice and hail. Many forms of water magic fall under this as well.

The overall chance of resisting a spell or partially resisting a nuke depends on the relative level of the target to the caster, the resist value of the spell, and the relevant resistance attribute of the target. See the PEQ article Spell Resist Data Analysis to get an idea of the mechanics (not necessarily accurate for P99).