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I totally agree that abjuration needs some love! It's particularly restrictive at low levels, where Protection from Alignment is pretty much in a class of its own. Having some good low-level fodder would go a long ways to livening up abjuration. There are some aspect of abjuration that hasn't been explored very thoroughly. For instance: "Abjurations are protective spells. They create physical or magical barriers, negate magical or physical abilities"; having abjuration spells that negate or impede physical abilities would round out the school nicely; there are very few of these currently.
As for counter-spelling, there's no real way to solve it without a fundamental rule revision which just isn't happening. I totally agree with those suggesting new feats to help it. Too bad we're stuck with improved counterspell as a pretty obnoxious feat tax. Counterspelling is impractical primarily for three reasons (spending the onerous readied action, correctly predicting the target's intentions to cast a spell, and correctly identifying/matching the spell [or alternatively, succeeding on a dispel check]) and I need to spend a feat to partially alleviate one of those limitations?
That'd be great, yeah.I'm not Christopher, but I'd like to see more accessible (see: lower level) versions of spells like Spell Turning.Okay, so something like spell turning, but maybe it only turns back 1d2 spell levels worth of spells?
Okay, so two things about that.
1) Even a 1-spell-level hypothetical lesser spell turning would be better than counterspelling. Counterspelling has a chance of failure and requires you to ready an action; lesser spell turning would automatically turn a level 1 incoming spell targeted at you and doesn't require you to ready at action.
2) Lesser spell turning as a 1st-level spell would probably be better than protection from evil, which is another 1st-level spell. Protection from evil lasts against multiple spells over its duration, but only gives a +2 save bonus and only against evil spells. Lesser spell turning would completely negate 1 targeted spell (which is better than a save bonus) and works on non-evil spells. If lesser spell resistance is a 1st-level spell, it would be slightly stronger than protection from evil. True, protection from evil works on non-targeted spells, so perhaps that's a balancing factor. But also remember that lesser spell turning isn't just negating the incoming spell, it's turning it back on its caster, which is a more powerful result than any other 1st-level abjuration. And honestly, I think the idea of "I expend a 1st-level spell to negate your 1st-level spell cast at me" is more like my ideal concept of how counterspelling should work rather than a specific spell you'd have to prepare.
3) Lesser spell turning as a 2nd-level spell (but only turning 1 spell level) might situationally be more useful that resist energy, but overall I think it would be a weaker spell than other 2nd-level abjurations. So we're between a rock and a hard place with a spell...
What if you treated it like the Cleric ability to convert a slot to a healing spell. The caster could simply drop one of their other spells and cast the turning spell of that level.
I love the abjuration school, a lot. It's my favorite kind of wizard to play as the support caster with the saying a pound of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My first abjurer was in the 3.5 Expedition to Castle Ravenloft and I had to scour the books for enough spells to fill my spellbook with... until I found the spell compendium and one nifty little trick I found in the miniatures book. The only thing I heard before going in was that Strahd was a wizard, so I decided to play the counter wizard. It worked beautifully. Now I look over the Abjurer for Pathfinder and it looks like some of the spells that made abjuration so appealing to me, like forceward and the lvl 2 discordant chant, just aren't there. There is no way to preemptively stop a caster without using your turn for counterspells or be in melee with the step up feats. It may not be the flavor that Golarion has but a mage slayer option for classes other than inquisitor and barbarian might be fun. Like a rogue that can lose sneak attack dice for concentration penalties (like the thug rogue with penalties instead of intimidate bonuses). Maybe a specialty school option for abjurers where you get like a buzzing bee SLA 3+int mod timer per day with a concentration penalty of -1/2 caster level (min 1). Sure the counterspell school exists but a melee touch from one wizard to another... please shoot me.
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One other thought: not only are a lot of abjuration spells buffs, but a lot of them are minutes/level buffs. So, if you're playing an abjuration specialist, you're probably looking at the classic 15 Minute Adventuring Day.
Doug M.
This is true. You aren't exactly waiting for the exact moment to spring your Shield spell and suddenly change the tide of combat. Being buff focused and a squishy wizard kind of ups the ante on you needing to be prepared and you're actually more likely to leap to putting up your buffs as soon as you think you'll need them. A defensive focus should either be good at being well-prepared or good at reacting quickly to a threat, and the abjuration school and abjuration specialists aren't terribly good at either.