Slow · Game Mechanic Compendium

Definition

A slow reduces how far or how often its target can act, cutting movement speed, attack rate, casting speed, or actions per turn, without stopping it. The stun is the full stop: a target that can neither move nor act is stunned, while a slowed or rooted target still attacks and casts. Haste, a timed speed increase on an ally, is its opposite, and the two cancel each other from the earliest text onward. The status effects mechanic covers the Slowed or Immobilized condition as a system; the slow is the act that applies it.

Behaviour

Delivery ranges from a broad area spell (the 1974 Slow Spell) to a wand bolt that strikes the first monster in a chosen direction (Rogue), a slow riding on a damage spell (Frostbolt), a placed plant firing down a lane (Snow Pea), and a shot that roots on a second hit (Cyber-Web Snare). The usual reduction is a half: half speed in Chainmail, half movement and attack rate in the Players Handbook, half speed and one attack in 5th edition, every other turn in Rogue. Counterplay includes a cancelling haste, a repeated save, and breakouts such as the gnome Escape Artist, which removes “a Root or Snare effect”.

Variations

Root (World of Warcraft Frost Nova, Gloomhaven, Players Handbook Entangle): movement falls to zero while attacks remain; Entangle holds, or slows by half on a save.
Action-economy slow (Rogue, 5th edition, World of Warcraft Curse of Tongues): the target loses turns, reactions, or casting speed rather than distance.
Slow on hit (League of Legends Ashe, World of Warcraft Crippling Poison): attacks, or a chance per strike, apply the slow.
Escalating slow (Marvel Rivals, League of Legends Wither, Players Handbook): hits deepen the slow or turn it into a root, the slow grows over time, or slows accumulate.
Zone slow (Plants vs. Zombies, Players Handbook Web, Marvel Rivals Guardian Shield): a placed area slows whoever passes through it.

Gating

Tabletop slows of the 1970s are slot spells with no saving throw. Rogue puts the slow on a wand of 3 to 7 charges, and Final Fantasy counts uses per spell level, restored at inns. World of Warcraft gates Frostbolt’s slow by mana and Concussive Shot’s by a 12-second cooldown. Plants vs. Zombies charges sun once, after which the plant slows its lane at will. Fifth edition stacks a slot, an action, and concentration, with a save each turn; the Ray of Frost cantrip slows at will. Gloomhaven spends half of a turn’s card play. Marvel Rivals replaced a direct immobilise with a slow-then-root on two charges in 2026.

History and provenance

Men & Magic (1974) lists Slow Spell and defines Haste as its opposite but states no rate for either. The half-speed rate is first stated in the cited texts in Chainmail’s third edition, whose Slowness moves figures at half speed for two turns, and the Players Handbook (1978) extends it to attacks. Chainmail’s 1972 edition has no such spell, though its hills already slow movement. Rogue’s wand of slow monster, present in the 1981 source, is the earliest cited video instance. Final Fantasy (1987) paired SLOW with FAST, and World of Warcraft (2004) attached slows to damage spells under the names snare and root.

Notable examples

Notable examples, in chronological order. Notes describe how the ability behaves in each game; gating is what limits its use there; the latest reference is a widely played game from 2020 or later.
Game	Year	Medium	Gating	How the ability behaves
Dungeons & Dragons Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (Tactical Studies Rules)	1974	Tabletop RPG	Spell slots	Slow Spell, a 3rd-level Magic-User spell, affects up to 24 creatures in an area of at most 6 by 12 inches for 3 turns at a range of 24 inches. The text states no rate; Haste is defined as its opposite, and each counters the other. In Greyhawk (1975) the stone golem can place a Slow spell on one opponent per turn.
Rogue Michael Toy, Glenn Wichman, and Ken Arnold	1980	Video	Charges	The wand of slow monster sends a bolt in a chosen direction to the first monster. A hasted monster loses its haste; any other then acts only on alternate turns, with no save and no expiry. Wands hold 3 to 7 charges, and the wand of haste monster is the opposite. Behaviour cited from the 1981 and later source code.
Final Fantasy Square	1987	Video	Spell slots	SLOW, a level 2 Black Magic spell sold in Pravoka, targets all enemies and "Slows the enemies' thinking and actions"; SLO2, at level 5, targets one enemy. The level 4 spell FAST "nullifies SLOW" and doubles a weapon's rate of fire. Uses are counted per spell level and restored at inns. Wording from the 1990 NES manual.
EVE Online CCP Games	2003	Video	Mana	A stasis webifier, a fitted module that draws capacitor when activated, slows a locked target ship while it runs; by 2007 CCP's guide listed it among the electronic warfare that cannot be countered, and interceptors paired it with warp jammers to pin a ship for others to kill.
World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment	2004	Video	Mana, Cooldown	Frostbolt at rank 1 deals 18 to 20 frost damage and slows movement for 5 seconds, 9 at higher ranks. The hunter's Concussive Shot "Dazes the target, slowing movement speed to 50% of normal for 3 sec" on a 12-second cooldown. Frost Nova is a root, and Thunder Clap cuts attack speed by 10% for 10 seconds.
Plants vs. Zombies PopCap Games (George Fan)	2009	Video	Mana	The Snow Pea, a plant bought with sun and placed in a lane, fires frozen peas that damage and slow the zombies in that lane; a wiki gives half movement and eating speed. Torchwood turns its peas into ordinary ones.
Dungeons & Dragons, 5th edition Wizards of the Coast	2014	Tabletop RPG	Spell slots, Action cost, At will	Slow (3rd level, one action, 120 feet, concentration up to 1 minute) affects up to six creatures in a 40-foot cube. A target that fails a Wisdom save has half speed, -2 to AC and Dexterity saves, no reactions, one action or bonus action, and one attack, and saves again each turn. The Ray of Frost cantrip deals 1d8 cold and cuts speed by 10 feet.
Gloomhaven Isaac Childres (Cephalofair Games)	2017	Board & card	Action cost, Per rest	IMMOBILIZE on an ability-card action is a root: an immobilized figure "cannot perform any move abilities on its turn" but still attacks and uses other abilities, and the token is removed at the end of its next turn. There is no save. The card is one of the turn's two and is recovered by resting, or lost.
Marvel Rivals Latest NetEase Games	2024	Video	Charges	Since Version 20260807, a hit from Peni Parker's Cyber-Web Snare slows by 30% for 1 second and marks the enemy with a Web-Tracer for 5 seconds; a second hit on a marked enemy immobilises it for 0.7 seconds. The snare holds up to 2 charges. Her Spider-Drone stacks an 8% slow per hit for 2 seconds, up to 40%.

Provenance

Earliest documented use: Dungeons & Dragons (1974), tabletop rpg. Confidence: medium. Men & Magic (1974) lists Slow Spell as a 3rd-level Magic-User spell with an area, a duration, and a range, and defines Haste Spell as "exactly the opposite of a Slow Spell in effect". Neither text states what the slow does, hence medium confidence. The half-speed rate is first stated in the cited texts in Chainmail's third edition (dated 1975 from other sources; the scan is undated), whose Slowness moves up to 20 figures at one-half speed for two turns, and in the Players Handbook (1978), where creatures "move and attack at one-half of the normal or current rate". Chainmail's second edition (1972) lists eight spells and no Slowness; the 1971 first printing's six spells are uncited. Antecedents are Chainmail's terrain rule that a hill "Slows movement 50%", a property of the ground, and the webs of the Staff of Wizardry in Monsters & Treasure (1974), a charged item that holds rather than slows. The earliest cited video instance is Rogue's wand of slow monster in the 1981 source; its presence in the 1980 release is unconfirmed.

Sources

Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (Tactical Studies Rules). (1974). Dungeons & Dragons, Volume 1, Men & Magic. Rulebook Magic-User spells, Slow Spell and Haste Spell, p. 26. Accessed 2026-10-24. The 1974 Slow Spell area, duration, and range, and Haste defined as its opposite.
Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson (Tactical Studies Rules). (1974). Dungeons & Dragons, Volume 2, Monsters & Treasure. Rulebook Staves, Staff of Wizardry (Webs). Accessed 2026-10-24. Webs as a power of a charged item in 1974.
Gary Gygax and Robert Kuntz (TSR). (1975). Dungeons & Dragons Supplement I: Greyhawk. Rulebook Magic-User spells, Web; Dragons table, p. 35; Golems table (Stone). Accessed 2026-10-24. Web as a spell, and monsters that cast or breathe slow; the scan is a 1979 printing.
Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren (Guidon Games). (1972). Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures, 2nd edition. Rulebook Fantasy Supplement, Wizards, Spells 1-8, pp. 28-29; terrain table (Hill). Accessed 2026-10-24. The eight-spell list without Slowness, and the terrain slow.
Gary Gygax and Jeff Perren (TSR). (c. 1975). Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures, 3rd edition. Rulebook Fantasy Supplement, Wizards, spells 10 (Slowness) and 11 (Haste), p. 32. Accessed 2026-10-24. Half speed for two turns, from an undated black-and-white reprint.
Gary Gygax (TSR). (1978). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Players Handbook. Rulebook Magic-User Spells (3rd Level), Haste and Slow, pp. 75-76; (2nd Level) Web, pp. 72-73; Druid Spells (1st Level), Entangle. Accessed 2026-10-24. The half-rate effect, no save, cumulative slows, Web, and Entangle's 50% slow on a save.
Michael Toy, Ken Arnold, and Glenn Wichman. Rogue 3.6 source, sticks.c. Website case WS_SLOW_M; file header 3.14 (Berkeley) 6/15/81. Accessed 2026-10-24. The wand of slow monster in a 1981 version.
Michael Toy, Ken Arnold, and Glenn Wichman. Rogue 5.4 source, sticks.c. Website case WS_SLOW_M; wand charge initialisation; chase.c, move_monst. Accessed 2026-10-24. The haste cancel, the alternate-turn rule, and 3 to 7 charges.
Square. (1990). Final Fantasy instruction manual (NES). Nintendo of America. Rulebook Black Magic, Levels 2, 4, 5, p. 78; Pravoka shop list. Accessed 2026-10-24. SLOW, SLO2, and FAST wording and the shop.
Michael Lummis and others (BradyGames). (2004). World of Warcraft: Official Strategy Guide. Book Glossary (Snare); Gnomes, Escape Artist; Hunter, Concussive Shot; Mage, Frostbolt, Frost Nova; Rogue, Crippling Poison; Warrior, Thunder Clap; Warlock, Curse of Tongues. Accessed 2026-10-24. Launch-era slow and root wording, durations, and cooldowns.
Laura Blackwell (PC World). (2009). Plants vs. Zombies review. Article Accessed 2026-10-24. The "enemy-slowing Snow Peas".
Plants vs. Zombies Wiki, Snow Pea. Wiki The movement and eating slow and the Torchwood interaction.
Wizards of the Coast. (2016). System Reference Document 5.1. Rulebook Ray of Frost, p. 174; Slow, pp. 180-181. Accessed 2026-10-24. The 5th-edition Slow and Ray of Frost, matching the 2014 text.
Isaac Childres (Cephalofair Games). (2017). Gloomhaven rulebook. Rulebook Conditions, IMMOBILIZE, p. 22. Accessed 2026-10-24. The root condition and its removal.
NetEase Games. (2026). Marvel Rivals Version 20260807 Balance Post. Website Peni Parker, Cyber-Web Snare. Accessed 2026-10-24. The slow then immobilise, the 2 charges, and the stated reason for the change.
NetEase Games. (2025). Marvel Rivals Version 20250912 Balance Post. Website Peni Parker, Spider-Drone; Invisible Woman, Guardian Shield. Accessed 2026-10-24. The stacking slow and the zone slow.
Riot Games. Nasus champion page. Website Accessed 2026-10-24. Wither, which slows movement and attack speed increasingly over time.
Riot Games. Ashe champion page. Website Accessed 2026-10-24. Frost Shot, the slow on every attack.
CCP Games. (c. 2007). EVE Online Player Guide: The Market Categories (Wayback capture). Website Ship Equipment: Electronic Warfare; Ships: Frigate sized. Accessed 2026-10-28. Stasis webifiers slowing another ship and having no countermeasure, and interceptors tackling with warp jammers and webifiers.
CCP Games. (2005). EVE Online Player Guide: Ship Fitting (Wayback capture). Website 8: Ship Fitting, Mid-Slots and Lo-Slots. Accessed 2026-10-28. Capacitor used only when a fitted module is activated.

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West, James, Jr. (2026). "Slow." Game Mechanic Compendium, updated 2026-10-28. http://localhost:4321/abilities/slow

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