Rules of the Game - More Magical Oddities

Not long ago, it was my pleasure to appear as a guest at BashCon on the University of Toledo campus. While there, I had an opportunity to discuss the Rules of the Game web feature with a roomful of fans. Part of the discussion included an overview of last month's column on magical oddities in the D&D game. Based on what those fans had to say, it seems that last month's column left quite a few oddities unexamined. Here, then, are a few more.



A counterspell represents a potent option for any spellcaster who faces another spell user. Unfortunately, many players shy away from counterspells because they don't think they understand how counterspells work. That's a shame, because there isn't much to using a counterspell. You can find the rules governing counterspells on page 170 in the Player's Handbook. The counterspell rules are only a few paragraphs long, but here's a summary of the details, along with additional commentary.

• You can cast just about any spell as a counterspell. (See the Resolving Counterspells section and the notes below on counterspells as readied actions for some key exceptions.)

When you know how to cast a spell, you also know how to cast it as a counterspell. Casting a spell as a counterspell involves altering the spell slightly so that its magical energy suppresses and negates another spell rather than producing the spell's usual result.

Except where noted here, casting a counterspell works just like casting a spell. You must concentrate to cast a counterspell and your counterspell is ruined and wasted if something disrupts your concentration while you're casting. When you cast a spell as a counterspell, the spell is used up, just as if you had cast the spell normally. You also expend any material or experience point components the spell normally requires.

• In general, a spell can counter only itself.

For example, you use a fireball spell to counter another character's fireball spell. Variations on a spell cannot counter each other. For example, you cannot use a fireball spell to counter delayed blast fireball spell or vice versa.

Metamagic generally doesn't affect counterspells because a spell altered with a metamagic feat doesn't change a spell into a different spell. A maximized fireball, for example, is still a fireball and anyone can use a regular fireball spell to counter the maximized spell. You can even counter a spell altered with metamagic with the same spell that has been altered with a different feat. For example you might counter a maximized fireball spell with an enlarged fireball or a widened fireball.

Exceptions to these general rules abound. First, some spells naturally counter each other, such as haste and slow. Such pairings are noted in the spells' descriptions.

Second, the Improved Counterspell feat allows you to counter a spell with any higher level spell of the same school.

With the Improved Counterspell feat, for example, you could use delayed blast fireball to counter a fireball spell because both spells are evocation spells and delayed blast fireball is a higher level spell than fireball. According to the D&D FAQ, you can use the Heighten Spell feat to increase a spell's level for use with the Improved Counterspell feat. For example, the fireball spell is a 3rd-level evocation spell. Shatter also is an evocation spell, but it's only a 2nd-level spell. If, however, you use Heighten Spell to increase a shatter spell's level to at least 4th level, you can use it to counter a fireball spell if you also have the Improved Counterspell feat.

Finally, a dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell can be cast as a counterspell. See the Resolving a Counterspell section for details.

• You use the ready action to cast a counterspell.

A counterspell requires you to loose your magic at just the right moment to nullify another spell. To manage that trick, you must use the ready action, which is described on page 160 of the Player's Handbook.

Because the ready action is a standard action, you can move up to your speed either before or after you ready your counterspell (but not both). If you don't otherwise move during the turn you ready a counterspell, you can take a 5-foot step either before or after you ready the counterspell or as part of the counterspell itself (but you're still allowed only one 5-foot step in a round). See Rules of the Game: All About Movement for details.

Since you use a standard action as a readied action (see the Player's Handbook), you should use a spell with a casting time of one standard action or less as a counterspell (but see the section on counterspell variants in Part Two).

• In most cases, you'll need to identify the spell your foe is casting before you can choose the correct counterspell.

You can identify any spell as it is being cast by making a Spellcraft check with a DC of 15 plus the spell's level. This does not require an action (see the Spellcraft skill description). You can make a Spellcraft check to identify a spell as it is being cast whenever you can see the caster performing the spell's somatic components (if any) or when you can hear the spell's verbal components (if any). The rules don't say so, but you also ought to be able to identify any spell as it is being cast if you can see the spell's material components (if any), provided that the material component is something unique to the spell. For example, if you note a ball of bat guano and sulfur in a spellcaster's hand, that's a good indication that a fireball spell is on the way. If your foe is wielding a holy symbol, however, that could indicate any number of divine spells.

In general, it's pretty easy to notice a spell's somatic, verbal, or material components as the caster uses them. When in doubt, however, the DM can call for a DC 5 Spot or Listen check (as appropriate) to note the component. Remember to apply check penalties for distance or other conditions as noted in the skill descriptions.

The rules don't come right out and say so, but since you must see a somatic (or material) component or hear a verbal component to identify any spell as it is being cast, you cannot identify a spell that doesn't have any verbal, somatic, or material components. An example of this is a silent and stilled spell that doesn't have a material component. This makes such spells difficult to counter (but see the next section).



If you've selected the correct spell to counter another character's spell (by using the same spell cast as a counterspell, by using a spell that naturally counters the foe's spell [such as using slow to counter haste], or by taking advantage of the Improved Counterspell feat), the target spell is automatically negated. Neither your spell nor the other character's spell has any of its normal results. Instead, the two spells completely nullify each other.

If you decide to use a dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell as a counterspell against another spell, success isn't automatic. You target the other spellcaster with your dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell, and you must make a caster level check with a DC of 11 + the other spellcaster's caster level to successfully counter the other spell. If you use the dispel magic spell, your maximum bonus on your caster level check is +10, as noted in the spell description. If you use the greater dispel magic spell, your maximum bonus on your caster level check is +20, also as noted in the spell description.

It's possible to blindly counter another character's spell using a dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell as a counterspell. You simply skip the Spellcraft check to identify the other character's spell as it is being cast. Failing to identify the other character's spell has no affect on your chance to counter the spell.

The rules don't specifically say so, but you can use a dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell to counter any spell, even a spell that normally isn't subject to dispelling. For example, you could use a dispel magic spell to counter another character's wall of force spell. This works because when you use a counterspell, you're catching and disrupting the spell before it actually has any results.

You can also use a dispel magic spell or greater dispel magic spell as a standard counterspell against another dispel magic spell or greater dispel magic spell. In this case, you must first identify the opposing spell. If you succeed, you can counter the target spell normally, without making a caster level check. There is no saving throw against a counterspell, nor does spell resistance apply to counterspells (because a counterspell affects the target spell, not the spell's caster).

The rules don't specifically say so, but you need to see or touch the other spellcaster to counter a spell (because the other spellcaster is your counterspell's target). You also need line of effect to the other spellcaster and the other spellcaster must be within range for the spell you're using as a counterspell. If your line of effect is blocked or you're out of range, your counterspell's magical energy cannot reach the other spellcaster and negate that character's spell. This means you cannot use a spell with a personal range as a counterspell (because the spell's range is limited to your person) under most circumstances. You still can counter another character's personal range spell, however, by using a dispel magic or greater dispel magic spell as a counterspell, or by taking advantage of the Improved Counterspell feat and using a spell with sufficient range to reach your opponent.



You can find general rules for interactions between magical effects in several places. Key pieces of text include the section entitled Combining Magical Effects on page 171 in the Players Handbook, the text on spell schools on page 172 in the Players Handbook, and the discussion of spell descriptors on page 174 in the Players Handbook. Rules of the Game: Reading Spell Descriptions also deals with this topic.

Some of the most important interactions between magical effects arise when one effect blocks or negates another effect. Unfortunately, the general rules for magical interactions don't cover these effects very well. Instead, you must look at the descriptions for the individual effects before you can resolve the interaction. This week, we'll take a look at a few sample interactions that illustrate some principles you can use when considering magic that interferes with other magic.



Understanding the dispel magic spell provides a good basis for understand how antimagic effects work in general. This section provides a summary of the dispel magic spell description along with some additional commentary. Everything noted here also applies to the greater dispel magic spell unless noted otherwise. Dispel magic defeats spells and spell-like effects. Everything here also applies to spell-like effects unless noted otherwise.

You can cast dispel magic three different ways (and that alone makes it an unusual spell): As a targeted spell, as an area spell, or as a counterspell. The previous two installments in this series dealt with counterspells, so let's take a look at dispel magic's other two functions.


As a Counterspell Effect

As when casting dispel magic as a counterspell, you must make a caster level check with a DC of 11 + the subject spell's caster level to end the subject spell. When using the dispel magic spell, your maximum bonus for the caster level check is +10. When using the greater dispel magic spell, your maximum bonus for the caster level check is +20.


As a Targeted Effect

When casting a targeted dispel magic, you aim the spell at a creature, object, or spell. You must follow all the rules for selecting a target for the spell -- that is, you must be able to see or touch the target (see page 175 in the Player's Handbook and Rules of the Game: Reading Spell Descriptions. Targeting a creature or object is pretty straightforward. Targeting a spell, however, can prove tricky. If the spell you're targeting has a visible or tangible effect, you can select the target just by looking at it or touching it, as appropriate. If the spell you target is intangible, things get a little tougher.

A detect magic spell can determine the location of the target spell's magical aura, and you reasonably can assume that locating the spell's aura with detect magic is sufficient to target the spell with dispel magic. The DM might also allow you to target a specific spell with dispel magic when you can surmise what the spell is. For example, the barbarian in your group enters a rage and then abruptly freezes in place, not attacking. You might sensibly work out that the character is the subject of a hold person or hold monster spell, and you could target that spell with dispel magic without first resorting to detect magic.

A targeted dispel magic affects only the target, not other creatures, objects, or spells nearby. If the target is an object or creature, the dispel magic has a chance to end every spell that is currently operating on that object or creature, as noted in the spell's description. A dispel magic targeted on a creature does not also affect the creature's equipment, and a dispel magic targeted on a single object in a creature's possession does not affect the creature itself or any other objects in its possession. It's worth pointing out here that a creature and its equipment usually are treated as one entity when the creature receives a spell. For example, when a creature receives a displacement spell, both it and its equipment are displaced. Exceptions to this general rule abound, and dispel magic is one of them.

When you aim a targeted dispel magic spell at a particular spell, only that spell is subject to dispelling. This can be very helpful when you wish to free an ally of one detrimental spell without dispelling any beneficial spells the character has received.

When you select an object as the dispel magic's target, you can end every spell or spell-like effect currently operating on the object. If the target object is a magic item, you can make a caster level check to suppress all the item's magical powers for 1d4 rounds, as noted in the dispel magic spell description. An item's non-magical properties remain unaffected by dispel magic. A +1 longsword suppressed by a dispel magic spell remains a masterwork longsword.


If the target object is a magic item that also has received one or more spells, you have a chance to end each spell currently operating on the item and a chance to suppress all the item's magical abilities. The spell description doesn't make this point clear, but it's the easiest way to handle things. Dispel magic can't suppress an artifact's magical properties, but it can end spells an artifact has produced.

Aiming a targeted dispel magic at a summoned creature proves similar to aiming the spell at a magic item. The spell has a chance to banish the summoned creature, as noted in the spell description (and in the notes on the summoning subschool on page 173 in the Player's Handbook). If the summoned creature also has received one or more spells, you have a chance to end each spell, plus a chance to banish the summoned creature. If a single summoning effect has brought forth multiple creatures and you target your dispel magic spell on one of them, you can banish only the creature you have targeted.



Instead of casting a targeted dispel magic (or using the spell as a counterspell), you can cast the spell as an area spell that fills a 20-foot burst.

An area dispel can't suppress magic items, but it can remove ongoing spells from creatures or objects. For each creature within the burst that has received one or more spells, you make a caster level check against the spell with the highest caster level. If that check fails, you make checks against progressively weaker spells until you dispel one spell or fail all your checks against the spells affecting that subject. Once the area dispel magic removes one spell from a subject, it has no further effects on that subject.

An area dispel magic also ends spells operating in the same area as the burst. If the burst covers the subject spell's point of origin, a successful caster level check from you negates the whole effect, even if the burst does not cover the subject effect's whole area. See page 175 in the Player's Handbook and Rules of the Game: Reading Spell Descriptions for discussions of a magical effect's point of origin. If the dispel magic's burst merely overlaps the subject spell's area without covering the spell's point of origin, a successful caster level check from you negates only the portion of the subject spell that the burst covers.

When the burst from an area dispel magic covers two or more summoned creatures, make a single caster level check. If the check succeeds, you banish each creature the burst covers. If a summoned creature also has received one or more spells, your area dispel has a chance to remove one spell (as noted previously) and a chance to banish the summoned creature.

A targeted or area dispel magic can affect only a spell that is currently operating. When a spell has an instantaneous duration, it can't be dispelled because the magical effect is already over before the dispel magic can take effect.

Some spells aren't subject to dispel magic, as noted in their descriptions (for example, wall of force).

A dispelled spell ends as if its duration had expired. Usually, this means that the spell ends immediately. Be alert for spells that remain for awhile after they expire (for example, the fly spell).



Some spells or groups of spells negate each other. For example, haste and slow counter or dispel each other, and the darkness spell can counter or dispel any spell with the light descriptor, provided the subject spell is of an equal or lower level.

When two spells counter or dispel each other, either spell can function as a counterspell against the other, as noted in Part One.

The rules aren't very clear about what happens when opposing spells dispel each other. In general, you can rule that the two spells negate each other. When two opposing spells have targets, one spell can remove the other when aimed at the same target. Treat the second spell just like a targeted dispel magic except that no caster level check is required and only the opposing spell is negated. For example, if a creature has received a haste spell, targeting a slow spell on the same creature automatically removes the haste effect, leaving the subject neither slowed nor hasted. When two opposing spells can affect multiple targets, they only negate each other when they share the same targets. For example, when you cast a slow spell on six enemies and two of them have received haste effects, the spell removes the two haste effects, leaving the other four targets subject to the slow spell's normal effects.

When two opposing spells have areas, one spell can remove the other when aimed at the same area. If the second spell's area covers the first spell's point of origin, both spells are completely negated (no caster level check is required). If the second spell's area of effect merely overlaps the first spell's area without covering the spell's point of origin, the two spells negate each other only the area where the areas overlap.

Light and Darkness Descriptor Spells: Most spells with the light and darkness descriptors have target entries. This means that you must aim a spell with the darkness descriptor at the same target as a spell with the light descriptor if you want to use the former spell to dispel the latter spell. Spells with the light and darkness descriptor have an unusual property, however; they cause their targets to emit light or darkness and when cast on moveable objects, the illuminated or darkened areas also are mobile.

Whenever two such areas are aimed or moved so that the areas they affect overlap, the two spells usually temporarily suppress each other. This means that the usual light conditions prevail in the area of overlap. For example, a daylight spell makes a dim chamber bright with light. A darkness spell fills the same room with shadows. If the two spell effects are allowed to overlap, there will be an area of dim light in the area of overlap bordered on one side (the daylight side) by bright light and on the other (the darkness side) by shadowy light. In this case, the two spells otherwise do not affect each other. If the two effects move away, both spells work again.

It's also possible that the higher level spell keeps working and the lower level is suppressed. For example, when you cast a darkness spell on an object and then move the object so that the darkened area covers the area where a light spell provides illumination, the lower level light spell stops working until someone moves the darkness effect away.

Though this discussion of mobile spell effects pertains to spells with the darkness and light descriptors, you might find it helpful when dealing with other mobile spell effects as well.



That wraps up our present look at magical oddities. We've covered a fair amount of ground this month, and I hope you're now in a better position to deal with these topics when they arise in your games.



Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and was the Sage of Dragon Magazine for many years. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (rabbits and deer are not Skip's friends) or works on repairing and improving the century-old farmhouse that he shares with his wife, Penny, and a growing menagerie of pets.

Based on the original Dungeons & Dragons® game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson and on the new edition of the Dungeons & Dragons game designed by Jonathan Tweet, Monte Cook, Skip Williams, Richard Baker, and Peter Adkison.

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