It is possible to cast any spell as a counterspell. By doing so, you are using the spell's energy to disrupt the casting of the same spell by another character. Counterspelling works even if one spell is divine and the other arcane.
How Counterspells Work: To use a counterspell, you must select an opponent as the target of the counterspell. You do this by choosing to ready an action. In doing so, you elect to wait to complete your action until your opponent tries to cast a spell. You may still move at your normal speed, since ready is a standard action.
If the target of your counterspell tries to cast a spell, make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell's level). This check is a free action. If the check succeeds, you correctly identify the opponent's spell and can attempt to counter it. If the check fails, you can't do either of these things.
To complete the action, you must then cast an appropriate spell. As a general rule, a spell can only counter itself. If you are able to cast the same spell and you have it prepared (or have a slot of the appropriate level available), you cast it, creating a counterspell effect. If the target is within range, both spells automatically negate each other with no other results.
Counterspelling Metamagic Spells: Metamagic feats are not taken into account when determining whether a spell can be countered.
Specific Exceptions: Some spells can counter other specific spells, often those with diametrically opposed effects.
Dispel Magic as a Counterspell: You can usually use dispel magic to counterspell another spell being cast without needing to identify the spell being cast. Dispel magic doesn't always work as a counterspell (see the spell description).
If a spell has no somatic, verbal, or material components, how does one know that the opponent is trying to cast a spell? Are there telltale signs (such as the glow on the caster's wand and in the caster's eyes on page 207 of the Core Rulebook) that would give away that a spell is being cast?
The Devs said it is noticeable through manifestations. How they occur is not spelled out.
However I don't remember if they said you can spellcasting the spell just by using manifestations.I think they are silent about that, and you need to spellcraft the spell before you can counterspell.
Thank you, Wraithsrike.
I don't think that the spellcraft check is identifying whether or not a spell is being cast. If so, I don't think a non-caster would be able to attempt an attack of opportunity against a spellcaster casting without verbal, somatic, or material components.
Perhaps, at a minimum, it's the moment of intense concentration at the beginning of the casting?
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For reference.
Although this isn’t directly stated in the Core Rulebook, many elements of the game system work assuming that all spells have their own manifestations, regardless of whether or not they also produce an obvious visual effect, like fireball. You can see some examples to give you ideas of how to describe a spell’s manifestation in various pieces of art from Pathfinder products, but ultimately, the choice is up to your group, or perhaps even to the aesthetics of an individual spellcaster, to decide the exact details. Whatever the case, these manifestations are obviously magic of some kind, even to the uninitiated; this prevents spellcasters that use spell-like abilities, psychic magic, and the like from running completely amok against non-spellcasters in a non-combat situation. Special abilities exist (and more are likely to appear in Ultimate Intrigue) that specifically facilitate a spellcaster using chicanery to misdirect people from those manifestations and allow them to go unnoticed, but they will always provide an onlooker some sort of chance to detect the ruse.
Thank you, Gisher.
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If the manifestations include some sort of glowing runes or inscriptions, such as in this picture, it would help make sense of Spellcraft being able to identify them even in lack of something more obvious like crackling electricity or gathering flames.
(The accompanying text (APG p. 25) suggests that Alhazra is casting a spell that allows her to fly, in that picture, which fits the idea of a spell that wouldn't normally have a visible manifestation, such as levitate or fly, might have some showy special effects during the casting itself. Of course oracles, even Wind oracles, don't have levitate or fly, so who knows what she's actually casting. Being blind, she'll never see the manifestation anyway...) :)