Stat Boosting and Debuff Rules

Stat Boosting
There are several methods of boosting your stats. Here, we will outline stat boosts through usage of jutsu and passive (non-equipment) buffs.

Boosters
Certain techniques may boost a character's stats above their current tier. These techniques are referred to as "Boosters". Boosters are separated into 2 categories:
:: Generic Boosters: Generic Boosters are those that often use Chakra to use and, in some way, increases your characters stats. These can be from about any Skill and may be constant such as Lightning Release Armor or temporary as most Taijutsu techniques. These can also be combat styles as well.
:: Unique Boosters: Unique Boosters are more rare and will sometimes not cost chakra, but may have other sort of costs associated with their use. These are techniques like Eight Gates, Sage Mode Transformations. Restricteds may not provide Generic Boosts to stats -- only Unique Boosts.

Boosting Strength
This applies for Generic Boosts and Taijutsu Styles. The strength of the boosts will be determined by the Rank of the Generic Boost and/or Taijutsu Style!
:: E-Rank: (+) 1 Advantage
:: D-Rank: (++) 2 Advantages
:: C-Rank: (+++) 1 Tier
:: B-Rank: (++++) 1 Tier and 1 Advantage
:: A-Rank: (+++++) 1 Tier and 2 Advantages
:: S-Rank: (++++++) 2 Tiers
3 Advantages = 1 Full Tier Boost.

Getting S Tier stats and X Tier Stats
:: S Tier Stats: To obtain S Tier stats, one may either have a Natural A in their stats and boost it up by 2 tiers to turn the stat into an S Tier or the user may obtain S Tier naturally through using Spendable EXP.
:: X Tier Stats: To obtain X Tier stats, one must have a Natural S in their stats. This may ONLY be performed if the user has a Natural S in their stats. The user is then required to boost it up 2 tiers which will turn it into an X Tier stat.

Unique Boosters
Every character that has unlocked a Unique Boost is allowed a single custom technique that can count as their Unique Booster. These are Boosters which do not count towards the 2-Tier limit on boosts and are typically considered to be raising your base stat higher. This allows your character to reach beyond their previous limits. The maximum boost of this is 2 Advantages (++) and when gaging the power of y our technique, using the Boosting Strength section (above), keep in mind that your Unique Booster must be one rank higher than normal.
So to get the full (++), your boosting technique will generally need to be at least C-Rank. Keep in mind that adding drawbacks and weaknesses to your technique could potentially allow you to have a lower rank, while adding abilities to it would force you to increase the rank. It is possible to designate a canon technique as your single "Unique Booster". In this case, up to (++) will be counted as unique for boosting purposes.

Unique Boosting to S-Tier
While it generally takes a Generic Booster 2 Tiers to increase from A to S, Unique Boosts only require 1 Tier to increase from A to S.

Unique Boosting to X-Tier
This is treated just like normal boosts to X-Tier stat. Jinchuuriki may not reach X-Tier in any state while their Bijuu abilities are active.

Physical Styles
Physical Styles include foundation styles such as: Arhat Fist, Gentle Fist, and Strong Fist -- to name a few. Where it serves as the baseline for all of their techniques. For instance, Strong Fist serves as the overall Taijutsu Style for it's techniques such as Leaf Whirlwind, Primarily Lotus, etc etc. You may choose to use a Particular style without benefitting from it's stat boosts by not 'exerting' yourself hard or 'pulling punches' to help conserve stamina. By doing so, you may continue to have access to the Physical Style's techniques and benefit from any additional perks the Physical Style offers, though not benefit from the Physical Style's stat boosts. In the same sense, you can add as much power as you want with a Physical Style or technique as long as it does not exceed the base rank.

Example
If you want to benefit from (++) from Strong Fist instead of (1 Tier), the user would only need to spend as much chakra per post as a D-Rank Physical attack of that style would. As long as you stay within guidelines of the technique, you have free rein over how much power you put into your attacks.

Strengthening and Weakening via UA
UAs or other effects that make techniques of a certain skill 1 rank stronger or 1 rank weaker do not affect Boosts. This means that a UA or Flaw making Physical attacks 1 rank stronger or weaker would not increase nor decrease the boosts you'd get for your style.

Activation and Maintenance
There is no Activation Cost for Physical Styles. Only the maintenance (upkeep) of the style is paid. This upkeep must still be paid in every post it is used including the first post. It is therefore similar to an activation cost, except cheaper (since you don't have to pay the Activation Costs). This benefit does not apply to Jutsu-specific boosts, only the Physical Style, itself.

Physical Style Boosts
When creating a Physical Style, the boosting strengths will be the exact same as Boosting Strengths posted above.

Boost Stacking
When using more than one Booster Technique at the same time (example: A Taijutsu Style an an Aura), the boosts will stack with each other. Just be sure that the two techniques can actually be used together. A character can't simultaneously perform 2 different Taijutsu moves, at once, and expect to combine both boosts. Similarly, there are boosters that simply don't mesh well with each other. Think about your Combinations before using them and, if you are unsure, as a member of staff for clarification.

Stacking Order
There is an official order in which boosts stack on Spatha. Boosts can come from a variety of sources and so it is important to define which ones are applied first and how many can be applied at once.

:: 1st: Unique Abilities: A maximum of 2 may be applied simultaneously.
:: 2nd: KKG/Clan Buffs: Varies. Generally Doujutsu based KKG stat buffs may be applied at the same time as passive physical buffs (For example, Senju) however be sure to ask staff before assuming.
:: 3rd: Enchantments/Chems/Items/Living Expenses/Etc: Varies. Enchantments/Items have their own restrictions as to what can be applied. Those can be found in the Crafting rules. You can only have 1 Chemistry stat buff active at one time and living expenses can be passively active with anything.
:: 4th: Auras: Also known as "Maintained Buffs", these are a catch-all phrase for those Boosts that apply continuously and do not derive from a Fighting Style. This includes techniques/abilities such as Lightning Release Armor, Bijuu Buffs, and Chakra Enhanced Strength. You may also create custom jutsu that buffs your stats (depending on the Skill). You can only have one of these active at a time.
:: 5th: Physical Style: These refer to those physical fighting styles (Tai/Buki/Ken/etc) which passively provide boosts. As the rules currently state, you may only have one physical style active at once.
:: Technique-Specific Boosts: Some techniques will have a bonus to a stat while using. These boosts are tacked onto the jutsu and are limited for that specific attack or sequence of attacks. The boosts end upon interruption or completion of specific action. For example, Leaf Whirlwind. You can only have one of these active at once.

This list does NOT apply to each individual stat, but rather all stats as a whole. This means that when we say "Auras" have a maximum of one we do NOT mean you can have one Aura technique/ability for perception and a separate technique/ability for coordination active at the same time. You can have ONE Aura that does either/or. Alternatively, it can be a single technique and ability that boosts both stats, but they cannot be two separate auras active at once. This list is all encompassing and is not limited to boosting a particular stat.

Stacking Limit
Generic boosters that are combined in this way have their stacking limited to two tiers higher than the base levels of the affected stats. For example, if a character has D-Tier Strength, that character's Strength can then only reach as high as B-Tier, no matter how many generic boosters are stacked together. The only exception to this limit is any boost granted by Unique Abilities; these cannot boost a stat to S-Tier or higher, are always applied first, and are always considered Generic.

Boosts due to Skills
Skill Specialization
When it comes to boosting stats only certain skills are compatible with certain stats. For example, using Fire Element to boost Perception would be impossible just as Taijutsu boosting Intelligence would be. There are three levels a Skill defines a stat by in terms of boosting:
:: Specialization: Using Boosting Strength above, may go to a maximum of +2 Tiers
:: Secondary: Using Boosting Strength above, may not exceed +1 Tier
:: Impossible: The user may never boost that stat using this skill. (May not be the case for custom restricteds or restricted/exclusive techniques)

Note about Secondary
It is important to notice that skills that have Stats as Secondary must have a narrow boost. For instance, Taijutsu is capable of boosting Constitution as a Secondary feature. However this cannot be acknowledged as a general Constitution boost. It would have to be narrowed downed into "Physical attacks only." Taijutsu can be used to help brace for Physical impact, but cannot be used to grant resistance to Fire.

Restricteds
Restricteds are not beholden to these rules and are evaluated separately.

Physical-Base Skills

Taijutsu
:: Specialized: Strength | Coordination | Speed
:: Secondary: Constitution | Perception
:: Impossible: Intelligence | Stamina

Kenjutsu
:: Specialized: Coordination | Strength
:: Secondary: Speed | Perception
:: Impossible: Stamina | Constitution

Bukijutsu
:: Specialized: Coordination | Strength
:: Secondary: Speed
:: Impossible: Intelligence | Perception | Stamina | Constitution

Kyujutsu
:: Specialized: Perception
:: Secondary: Coordination | Strength | Intelligence
:: Impossible: Stamina | Constitution | Speed

Kugutsu
:: Specialized: Coordination
:: Secondary: Perception
:: Impossible: Strength | Speed | Intelligence | Constitution | Stamina 

Ninjutsu-Based Skills

Ninjutsu (No Element)
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: Speed
:: Impossible: Coordination | Intelligence | Perception | Strength | Stamina | Constitution

Fire Element
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: Speed
:: Impossible: Strength | Coordination | Stamina | Constitution | Intelligence | Perception

Lightning Element
:: Specialized: Coordination
:: Secondary: Speed
:: Impossible: Strength | Stamina | Constitution | Intelligence | Perception

Wind Element
:: Specialized: Speed
:: Secondary: N/A
:: Impossible: Strength | Coordination | Stamina | Constitution | Intelligence | Perception

Water Element
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: Perception
:: Impossible: Strength | Coordination | Stamina | Intelligence | Speed | Constitution

Earth Element
:: Specialized: Constitution
:: Secondary: Strength
:: Impossible: Coordination | Stamina | Intelligence | Speed

Fuuinjutsu
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: Speed | Strength | Intelligence
:: Impossible: Stamina | Coordination | Perception | Constitution

Ijutsu
:: Specialized: Strength | Intelligence
:: Secondary: Coordination | Speed | Perception | Constitution
:: Impossible: Stamina

Kuchiyose
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: N/A
:: Impossible: All

Sensory
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: Perception
:: Impossible:  Speed | Coordination | Stamina | Constitution | Intelligence | Strength

Genjutsu

Genjutsu
:: Specialized: N/A
:: Secondary: N/A
:: Impossible: All

There may be certain techniques which function in such a way that they reduce your character's stats. These techniques are called Debuffs. A debuff can be a general reduction over the stat as a whole or specified to affect its boosted level. Those that target whole stats have smaller reductions, but will decrease the target's base level stat, thereby negatively affecting the target's ability to stack boosts. Those that target boosted stats are generally larger reductions, but they do not affect the base level and only work against a stat that is being boosted. The difference between these are simply Base Debuffs and Boost Debuffs. The general guides for the different types of debuffs are listed below. Remember that a technique's specific requirements, effects, weaknesses, cost, how many stats it targets, and so on can either positively or negatively affect how powerful the debuff can actually be. All debuffs are considered base debuffs unless explicitly noted otherwise.

Base Stat Debuff Strength
This applies directly to the target's Base Stats.
:: E-Rank: N/A
:: D-Rank: (-) 1 Disadvantage
:: C-Rank: (--) 2 Disadvantages
:: B-Rank: (---) -1 Tier
:: A-Rank: (-----) -1 Tier and 1 Disadvantage
:: S-Rank: (------) -1 Tier and 2 Disadvantages

Boosts Debuff Strength
This ONLY affects boosts to a target's stats, not the actual Base Stats.
:: E-Rank: (-) 1 Disadvantage
:: D-Rank: (--) 2 Disadvantages
:: C-Rank: (---) -1 Tier
:: B-Rank: (-----) -1 Tier and 1 Disadvantage
:: A-Rank: (------) -1 Tier and 2 Disadvantages
:: S-Rank: (-------) -2 Tiers

Debuff Stat Cap
There is a 2 Tier cap on debuffs to any stat.

Additional Debuff Information
Debuffs beyond (+)
Stats go in the order as follows: (+) > (++) > E > E+ > E++ > D, etce tc. If any stat falls below (+) below E, that stat has "hit zero". If you Hit Zero in any stat, you are rendered completely paralyzed, physically, and are borderline unconscious.

Debuff Constitution beyond (+)
If a target's Constitution Hit Zero, they will immediately die.

Long-Term Buffs/Debuffs
Certain stat boosts/detriments last a large number of posts which may carry over to the next topic. For instance, buffs granted by Provisions. There are also negative affects associated such as poisons, drugs, and drawbacks from certain technique such as the Eight Gates. To accurately and fairly keep track of these, the buff must be carried on to their next topic. This is the same concept for debuffs as well. A player may not pick or choose which topic is affected by the buff/debuff, but instead is immediately affected in their next posted topic. Because your character will also be suffering/benefiting from an active effect, this topic will also become the top priority in your timeline.

Stamina Debuffs
Stamina receives Debuffs as normal: by reducing Tiers. This will reduce your currently available and overall Stamina point totals by the difference of those Tiers. When the Debuff is removed, your overall point total will return to normal, but your currently available total will be the same percentage you had when the Debuff was active.

For example, let's say you have B-Tier Stamina. That's 120 points. Then you take a one tier debuff to Stamina, reducing you to C-Tier, which is 80 points. Now let's say your currently available total before you got the debuff was 110 points, because you used a technique. So with the debuff, you now have 70 points (110 - 40, and 40 is the difference of 120 - 80). If you use no techniques while you have the debuff, you'll go back to 110 points when it ends, but let's say you spend 10 of those points on a jutsu. Now you have 60 points. So, when the debuff goes away, you'll need to calculate your percentage with the debuff: 60/80 = 75%. So when the debuff is gone, you'll still be at 75%, which means you need to calculate 75% of 120: 120*0.75 = 90. So now that your debuff is gone, you have 90 points left.