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2011-03-14, 05:32 PM (ISO 8601)
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[3.5] Spell Shield - A Counterspelling Fix
I had this idea for a spell to be used as a general spell-defense or my Skyships in my Magitech System. It turned out to be quite interesting, and doesn't rely on my system, though it does compliment it. I am reposting said spell here for further deliberation.
I thought this was interesting and added some much-needed survivability to casters in terms of taking spell-blows. As it currently is, a standard Wizard Duel would be composed of initiative and then a Fort Save v Death spell. These add a bit more to these kinds of fights as you need more than a single hit to take down your opponent. And everyone knows the old Counterspelling system is almost never used. This is something that could be used to supplement some of Counterspelling's problems. The one thing that Counterspelling has on a Spell Shield is that the Shield protects only the caster. This is meant to supplement, not replace Counterspelling.
Further Note: This spell also gives a measure of resistance against Magic Weapons as long as the shield is protected against Transmutation. Up to two levels per enhancement bonus is removed from the Transmutation Defense, and in return that much of the enhancement bonus is not applied to the attack or damage roll of that attack. In the case of multiple abilities, this effect will take off the highest-bonus ability enhancement it can, working it's way down to finally taking out the normal plus values. As such, it would try to take off the "Vorpal" quality of an attack before it took the "+5". All of this is done automatically and is not controlled or determined by the caster.Last edited by Welknair; 2011-03-14 at 10:21 PM.
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2011-03-15, 02:17 AM (ISO 8601)
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- Mar 2011
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Re: [3.5] Spell Shield - A Counterspelling Fix
I have a similar ability in the game that I run in Pathfinder. I'm a big fan of Hero Points in general, so I gave each class an ability or two based on them. The Spell Shield was one I gave to mages. Expend hero points to get the shield as a standard action, how many hero points used equals how many spells thwarted, for one minute per hero point spent.
That said, I like your version better. More versatile, and as you said, extends mage battles quite a bit and allows them to be a bit more imaginative or interesting.
I personally would do away with the separation by spell school, but that's simply because I like spells being simpler. That's not to douse the merit of it, of course.
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2011-03-15, 04:38 PM (ISO 8601)
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- Dec 2009
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Re: [3.5] Spell Shield - A Counterspelling Fix
Thanks for the feedback. The original version, as you see, did not have this separation. Someone wisely commented that it becomes less of a strategy game and more of a "How fast can I unload as many spell levels as possible". It's very easy to remove the distinction of schools, but it takes away a deal of the possible intricacy that comes with this spell.