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View Full Version : D&D 3.x Other Revamping Counterspelling (AKA hold enemy magic at bay while the fighters go to work)



rferries
2017-10-07, 06:46 PM
This revamp greatly increases the utility of counterspelling. It's technically a buff to casters, but since it encourages them to use their resources (i.e. spell slots) defensively I hope it'll allow lower-tier PCs to shine more in combat. It also buffs spontaneous casters more than prepared casters due to the versatility of the spells you can use to counter.

Counterspelling is an immediate action. The enemy may use their own immediate action to counterspell your counterspell.

To counter a spell, you must:



Identify it with a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + spell level). The DC is increased by +2 if the spell is Silent or Stilled, and +1 if cast with Eschew Material Components. These factors are all cumulative (so DC +5 for a Silent, Stilled spell with negated material components).
Expend the energy of a spell slot of equal or greater level to the spell to be countered.
Make an opposed caster level check against the enemy caster. If you win, the spell is countered. If not, you expended your spell slot to no effect.


If you expend a spell of the same school as the spell to be countered, you gain a +5 bonus on the caster level check. If you expend the same spell as the spell to be countered, the counterspell is automatically successful.

You may also counterspell spell-like abilities and supernatural abilities.

To counterspell a spell-like ability (including the summon abilities of demons/devils), you must identify it via a Spellcraft check (DC 20 plus spell level, as for a spell with no components). Otherwise functions as a standard counterspell, as described above.

To counterspell a supernatural ability, you must:



Identify the ability. If it's a racial ability, you must make a Knowledge check (DC 20 plus CR of creature) appropriate to the creature type. If it's a class ability, you must instead make a Spellcraft check (DC 20 plus CR of enemy).
Expend the energy of a spell slot of equal or greater level to the supernatural ability to be countered. The level of a supernatural ability is the highest spell level a sorcerer of the enemy's CR could cast (e.g. a 2nd-level spell slot for a CR 4 enemy).
Make an opposed caster level check against the enemy caster (effective caster level = the enemy's CR). If you win, the supernatural ability is countered (if it is use-activated) or suppressed for 1d4 rounds (if it is continuous). If not, you expended your spell slot to no effect.


If you expend a spell of the same school as the supernatural ability to be countered, you gain a +5 bonus on the caster level check. The school is determined as logically as possible and at the DM's discretion (e.g. evocation for an energy breath weapon, enchantment for a harpy's song, etc.).

The DM decides if you can suppress damage reduction, regeneration, magical flight and similar abilities in this way.

Dispel magic, greater dispel magic, antimagic field, spell turning, mage's disjunction, and similar spells automatically counter spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities of equal or lower level.

[Light] spells counter [Darkness] spells, spell-like abilities, and supernatural abilities of equal or lower level, [Cold] spells counter [Fire], etc.

Dispel evil counters any spell, spell-like ability, and supernatural ability it could dispel, same for dispel good etc.

The Improved Counterspell feat gives you a +4 bonus on caster level checks when counterspelling.