Can You Counterspell a Wand?

I'm wondering: Can you counterspell a spell-storage magic item like a scroll, wand, or staff? I don't see this directly addressed in any of the core rules or FAQ. I do find in the 3.0 FAQ an entry that says this:

Can a monster’s spell-like ability counterspell a character’s spell?

A spell-like ability cannot be counterspelled, nor can it be
used as a counterspell.

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And technically I believe scroll/wands count as spell like-effects and would thus be prohibited from counterspells by this ruling (as mentioned in the DMG, under "Special Abilities: Spell Resistance", and "Handling Magic Items: Saving Throws Against Magic Item Powers").

Is this an open-and-shut case, or has anyone ever seen a different direct ruling on the subject?

As usual, what I'm most interested in is a specific official rules quotation or reference.

SRD35 said:

Activation: Wands use the spell trigger activation method, so casting a spell from a wand is usually a standard action that doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity.

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You cast a spell when activating a wand.

SRD35 said:

How Counterspells Work: To use a counterspell, you must select an opponent as the target of the counterspell. You do this by choosing the ready action. In doing so, you elect to wait to complete your action until your opponent tries to cast a spell. (You may still move your speed, since ready is a standard action.)

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Ergo, wands can be counterspelled.

Andargor

Hmm. Well, that's a pretty good counterargument, andargor.

I see such kind of arguments every week on this board. I think designers themselves are not that much clear about if a spell-effect produced by an items is considered to be an actual spell, a spell-like ability, or a super natural ability.

From the 3.5 DMG on Spell Trigger items:
"Spell trigger activation is similar to spell completion, but it's even simpler. No gestures or spell finishing is needed, just a special knowledge of spell casting that an appropriate character would know, and a single word that must be spoken."

From that I would rule that, unless the character knows what spell is stored in the wand the opponent has, only a Dispel Magic spell readied for countermagic could be used to counter the spell coming from the wand. Once the wand has been used in the presence of the character, and the spell properly identified, then any valid method of counterspelling becomes available.

... Why couldn't you counterspell a wand? I don't understand the reasoning. The quoted text seems pretty clear. Maybe it'd have to be a Dispel, but still.

Jdvn1 said:

... Why couldn't you counterspell a wand? I don't understand the reasoning. The quoted text seems pretty clear. Maybe it'd have to be a Dispel, but still.

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Using a wand is not casting a spell. Note that you can use a wand without drawing an AoO. The wand is creating the spell effect. There's no actual spellcasting involved.

RAW, I don't believe you can counterspell a wand. Contrarily, I've never seen a spellcaster try to counterspell, in any game I've ever run or played since 3.x came, so I'd allow it in my games.

Lord Pendragon said:

Using a wand is not casting a spell. Note that you can use a wand without drawing an AoO. The wand is creating the spell effect. There's no actual spellcasting involved.

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Even though you aren't casting the spell, the spell is still being cast, it's still the same magical energy causing the same magical effect...I think it'd make complete sense that countering a spell with a spell would work no matter where the spell came from.

Lord Pendragon said:

RAW, I don't believe you can counterspell a wand. Contrarily, I've never seen a spellcaster try to counterspell, in any game I've ever run or played since 3.x came, so I'd allow it in my games.

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My players use it all the time, because generally there's only one or two casters, so the cleric and wizard can ready actions to counterspell while the other characters dispense of the caster (and yes, they generally disreguard other creatures until the caster is dead).

Lord Pendragon said:

Using a wand is not casting a spell. Note that you can use a wand without drawing an AoO. The wand is creating the spell effect. There's no actual spellcasting involved.

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I disagree. I think the quote andargor posted above states rather clearly that using a wand is casting a spell. And accordingly, the spell can be counterspelled like any other spell. The fact that casting from a wand requires no components only means that it would be very hard to identify the spell being cast. Off the top of my head, I would probably use the same rules for identifying a spell cast from a wand as I would if it was someone casting a Silent, Still, Eschewed spell (which, IIRC, requires a spellcraft check with a bunch of modifiers and possibly a spot check).

Just for the sake of arguement, though, what type of action would you consider using a wand to be if it's not equivalent to casting a spell? dcollins stated above that he considered a wand to be a spell-like effect. Is that the general consensus among those who don't believe using a wand is the same as casting a spell? I cannot think of any text that would make using a wand a spell-like effect. More importantly, I think that would become problematic in conjuction with the metamagic spell-like ability feats.

Contrarily, I've never seen a spellcaster try to counterspell, in any game I've ever run or played since 3.x came, so I'd allow it in my games.

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Nothin' but the truth.

In order to counterspell a spell, you need to first identify it via Spellcraft check. I don't think there are any rules about identifying a spell from a wand. You could use the method Deset Gled just described, but that would be a house rule.