D&D 5E Counterspell nerfed!

[NaturalZero]

I think dropping all PHB spells from monster stat block is a huge boon, I won't mind a nerf to players with magic resistance, and I'm not going to miss counterspell cheese where 3 PCs are shutting down the boss every round. On the other hand, I see how it gets weird when you do this mid-stream to an existing system that has poor, vague casual language definitions of what's "magical."

In 3e, Ex, Su, and Sp were clearly defined as far as dispelling and antimagic. In 4e, things just effected powers and actions in a general way, so there was no confusion. In 5e, the developers lean too hard on casual language, causing poor delineations over what's "magic," what's supernatural but not magical, and what interacts with those things.

The whole counterspelling and magic resistance issue would be completely solved if they just added a spell-like tag to these powers when monsters or npcs get them.

 

[cmad1977]

And a 3+ level spell slot, and, if you're playing RAW, could accidentally stop a big ol' cantrip. And, assuming you do know the spell and it's big, the caster could counterspell your counterspell. Plus the conditions to counterspell are not that easy (within 60', must see the caster and must know they are casting a spell). Counterspell has its uses, but it's already quite limited.

The 60’ limitation has frustrated both me and my pkayers(in a good way).

 

[Ancalagon]

And I the same. Fiery Explosion? Sounds like fireball. A streak of lightning? Sounds like lightning bolt. So you can counter.

But if you are seeing the effect, it is already too late to cast counter spell. Do it before or not at all. It might be a cantrip that you are countering for all you know...

I agree to both these statements.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Couterspell is "too powerful" because people forget that it has to be cast "blind" - you don't have time to figure out what you are countering.

Only if the DM rules that way and uses the optional rule from Xanathar’s. It’s just as RAW to allow PCs to know what the spell is, or to allow a “knowledge” check without any action cost (bc it’s silly to require any action be taken to determine if you recognize something or not), etc.

The only rule that speaks on it is a supplemental optional rule.

 

[Baldurs_Underdark]

Does anyone know which monsters will be affected?

Changes to the PHB, DMG and MM are a complete no-go for me. I play one game where all players have the paper books, and we play at a table. And I play one game through all digital tools, such as DnDbeyond. And I hate to have a situation where there are differences in the rules between those two games.

 

[Aldarc]

I don't particularly like Counterspell as a spell, though this is not to say that I don't like the idea of PCs counterspelling. IMHO, it should be an ability, albeit with some sort either limiter (x uses per day), a contested roll, or require spending a spell slot of an equal level as the spell being countered (though I doubt this latter option would tie in well with the new format).

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I know a lot of DMs will cheer for this, since they detest counterspell, but I feel this is a really bad idea. The change to spellcasters is a step in the wrong direction IMO, and I hope they at least keep the "character is a X level caster," allowing DMs to convert them backwards.

I really hate the asymmetry. I think the stat block should at least create the impression that NPCs follow the same laws of nature as the PCs. If an NPC can Counterspell a PC wizard, then a PC should be able to Counterspell an NPC wizard.

 

[Maxperson]

Why?

Because the new monster format has monsters not actually casting spells

Dungeons & Dragons Just Nerfed One of Its Most Popular Spells

A recent design change in Dungeons & Dragons had some unexpected consequences on a popular spell. [...]

comicbook.com

I expect they will still be able to counterspell the sorcerer. They just wouldn't be able to counterspell the devil who has innate fire, but not really spell abilities.

 

[Maxperson]

I know a lot of DMs will cheer for this, since they detest counterspell, but I feel this is a really bad idea. The change to spellcasters is a step in the wrong direction IMO, and I hope they at least keep the "character is a X level caster," allowing DMs to convert them backwards.

This change simply puts counterspell where it should be. A useful 3rd level spell, instead of a OP spell that almost every caster that could take it, did.

 

[Maxperson]

Couterspell is "too powerful" because people forget that it has to be cast "blind" - you don't have time to figure out what you are countering.

It doesn't matter what the enemy is casting. Whether it's a cantrip or a fireball, you've still shut that caster down completely for 1 of the very few rounds of life that it had.