RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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So we all know that a spellcaster can ready an action to counterspell another caster and will automatically succeed at said counterspelling if they are casting the exact same spell. The concept of one wizard waving his hands and speaking mumbo-jumbo while another one goes through a similar arcane chant to oppose him seems a little bit bland to me, especially when the end result is "your fingers flicker a bit but the spell's energy is halted by the opposing caster's unweaving."
So, this is what I've started doing instead:
"As you begin your casting of fireball, you notice the enemy sorcerer beginning his chant of unweaving. Rushing to finish the spell before he can counter, you hastily complete your spell and send the fireball rushing out from your fingertips. However, the sorcerer finishes his unweaving only an instant later, a similar bolt of sizzling energy streaking out to meet your spell head-on. The two spells collide midway, one spell cancelling the hostile energies of the other, and they explode into a massive fiery sphere over the battlefield yet no searing heat escapes the dazzling explosion. The orb of silent flame fades away into the night air as the pitched battle continues all around you and tiny heatless embers cascade softly to the ground below. Next initiative..."
What do you all think?
I've been doing this in exactly the same way FS ever since I started DM'ing. Same as with standing up and showing my players how the combat goes by using my hands, it just adds another dimension and makes players think they're actually doing something else then just throwing dice and moving mini's.
I've got the LARP props anyway, so why not use them?
What do you all think?
That works for me. Fortunately you gave a very dramatic example, are you prepared to do the same when a spellcaster cancels out your Feather Fall or Enlarge spells? What if he uses Dispel Magic instead to counterspell it?
Certainly not show stoppers and I will certainly be thinking of your awesome example on the off chance a counterspell opportunity ever occurs in one of my games...
Your players use counterspells? Mine seem to forget they can DO that!
Your players use counterspells? Mine seem to forget they can DO that!
Sigh...so true, so true.
Your players use counterspells? Mine seem to forget they can DO that!Sigh...so true, so true.
When did they put Counterspells in Dungeons and Dragons?
Or maybe no one remembers them. It could come in handy, maybe a feather fall or a vital heal.
I frequently play a caster, and I have to confess that in the last four years, I've only remembered to counterspell once.
Maybe if I remembered to write it down as a class feature on my character sheet...
I think that if you start having the bad guys do it more often, the players will catch onto the tactic a lot quicker.
Errr, maybe I shouldn't have said that. My DM reads these boards. :)
my characters remember to counterspell especiialy when the BBEG starts casting a healing spell.
I've actually never liked counterspelling as a standard option. Two fireballs canceling each other out? It just seems forced. I mean, even if the two beads of bat guano were to collide in the air, I'd think that they would produce a doubly intense fireball instead of a *fizzle*.
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I've actually never liked counterspelling as a standard option. Two fireballs canceling each other out? It just seems forced. I mean, even if the two beads of bat guano were to collide in the air, I'd think that they would produce a doubly intense fireball instead of a *fizzle*.
You could imagine it the way clerics can cast healing or "negative healing"...
Apart from the imagining thing: What other way to offer an easy to use way of countering spells? (without having to reinvent half of the magic system?)
Greetings,
Günther
You could imagine it the way clerics can cast healing or "negative healing"...
You mean the two magical energy sources canceling each other out? That also seems forced to me, at least for a spell like fireball. I mean c'mon, this is literally a case of fighting fire with fire.
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Not only do I applaud your approach, Fatespinner, I think that every aspect of the game benefits from this kind of descriptive storytelling. My group knows that I often do such things to make the story more thrilling; I describe the brutal precision of monks, the crash of battleaxes cleaving armor, the terrible effects of a (Melf's - can I still say Melf's?) Acid Arrow spell as it chews into the character's flesh. It makes the characters take pride in their abilities and realize how powerful their abilities really are. If ever my descriptions get too over the top, my players can question me to make sure there is no special game effect taking place (eg Did the heavy bolt destroy my armor or is this just flavor info?) but normally they trust and know me well enough that the issue does not arise. I also use this to make battles seem more realisitc. When they last fought a white dragon, the rogue spent his time annoying it with his light crossbow (the dragon was outside and did not land, so he couldn't flank it) . I described almost all of the rogue's shots as "hitting" even when the roll indicated a miss, but said something like "Your bolt strikes the white dragon in the breastbone as it races over you, but its scales are as hard as the thickest plate, and the missile skips away, doing no damage". My group loves it.
We DMs need to remind the players that the game is partially about telling a shared story. Few would read a story that involved a clinical description of a combat. Thus, I try to keep that from happeneing in my game. Your use of descriptive counterspells is exactly what is needed to make the game great.
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You mean the two magical energy sources canceling each other out? That also seems forced to me, at least for a spell like fireball. I mean c'mon, this is literally a case of fighting fire with fire.
It's magic, isn't it?
But I understand your point.
Everyone has different demands on how realistic their setting should feel like. That includes magic...
Greetings,
Günther
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I always think of each spell as having a 'switch' built into it to determine if the spell is 'positive' or 'negative' in a sense.
For example, let's say that the chant for a certain spell is 'Creo ignum motivus imperium.' (Some hackneyed psuedo-Latin there, but the meaning isn't important.) The 'switch word' in this spell might be 'motivus.' When a spellcaster means to cast this spell and bring about the desired effect (say, fireball), he chants exactly as above. When he wants to COUNTER this spell, he simply changes 'motivus' to 'arrestus' and creates a counter-fireball. (Yeah, my Latin is AWFUL, I know.)
Anyway, that's my take on things. You are, as always, welcome to interpret however you like.
I always think of each spell as having a 'switch' built into it to determine if the spell is 'positive' or 'negative' in a sense.
For example, let's say that the chant for a certain spell is 'Creo ignum motivus imperium.' (Some hackneyed psuedo-Latin there, but the meaning isn't important.) The 'switch word' in this spell might be 'motivus.' When a spellcaster means to cast this spell and bring about the desired effect (say, fireball), he chants exactly as above. When he wants to COUNTER this spell, he simply changes 'motivus' to 'arrestus' and creates a counter-fireball. (Yeah, my Latin is AWFUL, I know.)
Anyway, that's my take on things. You are, as always, welcome to interpret however you like.
That's a great way to imagine it. I suppose that subconciously I want counterspelling to be a really special ability (aka dispel magic), maybe because of literature I've read, maybe because I used to play M:tG.
Who Knows?
TS
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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That's a great way to imagine it. I suppose that subconciously I want counterspelling to be a really special ability (aka dispel magic), maybe because of literature I've read, maybe because I used to play M:tG.
Who Knows?
TS
I can understand that (as a former M:tG player myself) but it just seems to me that counterspelling would be one of the first things you learn as a spellcaster. One of the biggest threats to a spellcaster's life is another spellcaster, so defensive measures would be very high on most casters' priority lists. With the support of the mechanics behind it, counterspelling is one of the most oft-overlooked defensive abilities a caster has at their disposal. I think the reason it doesn't get used very often is because most wizard/sorcerer players think "If this dude nails us with a fireball, I can blast him with MY fireball and our cleric will heal us" instead of "Man, I REALLY don't want to get blasted with a fireball because those things HURT. I'll just counterspell him and make him waste his efforts while our fighter and rogue rock his world."
If you play a caster who counterspells, you don't get to be the 'hero' because the fighter/rogue/ranger/whatever is doing all the damage. All you're doing is saving the cleric's spell slots. Most players don't think strategically like this. They want to play up the 'almighty power of wizardry' and obliterate things with nuke spells. Personally, my descriptive way of handling counterspells is one of the things that makes counterspelling 'heroic' in my games. It still makes a showy impression and definitely displays the awesome might of spellpower, but it achieves the same goal mechanically.
I've actually never liked counterspelling as a standard option. Two fireballs canceling each other out? It just seems forced. I mean, even if the two beads of bat guano were to collide in the air, I'd think that they would produce a doubly intense fireball instead of a *fizzle*.
So describe them as exploding with a defeaning roar over the battlefield, but strangely no heat comes from them.
Also, I agree with Fatespinner: if you make counterspelling sound dramatic, it's more likely to be used.
Can you counterspell spells with a range of Touch or Self?
This seems a little weird to me, but I guess if you can chuck and spray ice and fire I guess you could channel your magic to block anothers.
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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Can you counterspell spells with a range of Touch or Self?
This seems a little weird to me, but I guess if you can chuck and spray ice and fire I guess you could channel your magic to block anothers.
The rules for counterspelling say that either the spell's origin or destination must be within range of the counterspeller (range is dictated by the spell being cast). Therefore, in order to counter a spell with a range of Touch, you would have to touch either the caster or the recipient (which might be the same person) with the counterspell. I don't think you can counter spells with a range of 'Personal.'
The rules for counterspelling say that either the spell's origin or destination must be within range of the counterspeller (range is dictated by the spell being cast). Therefore, in order to counter a spell with a range of Touch, you would have to touch either the caster or the recipient (which might be the same person) with the counterspell. I don't think you can counter spells with a range of 'Personal.'Can you counterspell spells with a range of Touch or Self?
This seems a little weird to me, but I guess if you can chuck and spray ice and fire I guess you could channel your magic to block anothers.
Thanks, that was really bothering me here at work ;).