Hi all,
I have questions regarding how these two game elements interact.
Before that, I would like to quote the relevant information:
Haste Circuit (Magic)
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 205
Item Level 8; Price 9,250
Slots 1; Armor Type Light, Heavy; Bulk L
Capacity 10; Usage 1/round
You can activate the haste circuit as a swift action to gain the benefits of a haste spell until you spend another swift action to deactivate it or it runs out of charges. A haste circuit’s charges replenish each day.
This upgrade can be installed only in light or heavy armor.
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Slow
Source Starfinder Core Rulebook pg. 377
Classes Mystic 3, Technomancer 3
School transmutation
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Targets up to one creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart
Duration 1 round/level
Saving Throw Will negates; Spell Resistance yes
Description
An affected creature moves and attacks at a drastically slowed rate. Creatures affected by this spell are staggered (see page 277) and can take only a single move action or standard action each turn, but not both, and it can’t take full actions. A slowed creature moves at half its normal speed (round down to the next 5-foot increment). Multiple slow effects don’t stack. Slow counters and negates haste.
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Countering And Negating
Some spells can be used to counter other specific spells, as noted in their spell descriptions. For instance, you can use slow to counter a casting of haste. This works exactly like the counter effect of the dispel magic spell (see page 351), except you don’t need to attempt a caster level check; if the target is in range, the spell is automatically countered and fails.
Many times, these same spells note that they negate one another as well. This means that a successful casting of one spell on a target under the effects of the second spell undoes those effects, and the effects of the first spell don’t occur.
Ok, so imagine a lvl 9 mystic is fighting an assasin that has the haste circuit installed as an armor upgrade in whatever armor is wearing. The circuit has 10 charges.
The mystic casts the slow spell on the assassin, and it fails the saving throw, so for nine rounds it is slowed, as per the spell description.
As the assasin is staggered, on its turn it can use a swift action to activate the haste circuit.
- I assume this situation is described in the last paragraph of "Countering and Negating", so the haste negates slow. But what are the effects of negating, exactly?
a) Does it mean that the entire 9 rounds of slow dissapear, as if the spell didn't affect you, and the following rounds (as long as you keep the circuit active) you act hasted?
b) Or does the circuit only cancel the slow for 9 rounds, acting normally, and the tenth round you are hasted? (as slow would have expired)
- I believe that when you first activate the circuit with a swift, you still only have one action, because negating the slow effect doesn't give you back your full set of actions (move and standard). Am I correct?
Thank you.
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My reading would be the b) area. The Haste cancels slow as long as it is active, once you shut it off, you're back to being slowed.
Otherwise I feel like it would be too powerful of a spell counter for a single charge to totally negate the Slow spell, allowing you to activate the haste function on the next round.
What do you think about the second part?
"I believe that when you first activate the circuit with a swift, you still only have one action, because negating the slow effect doesn't give you back your full set of actions (move and standard). Am I correct?"
Correct.