Is it possible to ready an action to counterspell and then use it when a character uses a magic item instead of casting a spell, specifically using dispel magic? I haven't been able to find anything that would address this clearly. I suppose that I might be able to see this as being possible if a character was using a spell completion item or a spell trigger item since it is fairly clear to someone watching that they are using an item to cast a spell. However, the debate that caused this question relates to a command word activated item. In this case it is a pair of boots that cast dimension door when the command word is spoken. My GM asserts that if someone had readied an action to counterspell the character, if the character activated the boots the person with the readied action could then try to counter dimension door using dispel magic. As Ive said I can't find anything that specifically addresses this, but it seems very silly to me. Lets say for the sake of the argument the command word for the boots is 'pickles.' How could someone, even someone who is watching the character closely, possibly figure out 'He said pickles. I must quickly cast my readied spell before his boots activate.' Any insight would be appreciated.
counterspelling item effects
- Thread starter Halcyon
- Start date
Good question....
I'm guessing that if this action is even being considered, it means that the PC involved has seen his opponent use the item previously. He is therefore aware of the effects of the item, and can look out for any signals that the item is being activated.
If this is the case, I would rule that a chartacter can therefore 'ready an action' to cast 'dispell magic' when an opponent uses a specific magic item.
In the case of Items that do not have obvious signals preceeding their activation, perhaps an impromptu 'Sense Motive' check may be called for?
Thats my two pence anyway!
I'm guessing that if this action is even being considered, it means that the PC involved has seen his opponent use the item previously. He is therefore aware of the effects of the item, and can look out for any signals that the item is being activated.
If this is the case, I would rule that a chartacter can therefore 'ready an action' to cast 'dispell magic' when an opponent uses a specific magic item.
In the case of Items that do not have obvious signals preceeding their activation, perhaps an impromptu 'Sense Motive' check may be called for?
Thats my two pence anyway!
In that case, I'd have to rule: no. A character must specify a specific condition to be met in order to ready an action... 'I'll ready an action to trigger if an opponent activates a magic item' doesnt cut it, IMHO. "I'l ready an action to activate when that opponent tries to use his boots of dimension door" however does work. (subject to additional dm rulings as I said above).Halcyon said:
Infiniti2000
First Post
No. You can only counterspell spells. You cannot counterspell items, spell-like abilities, or anything else that is not a spell.Halcyon said:
If someone knew that an enemy was about to activate his boots, you could ready to cast dispel magic on the boots when that person activates them. That would shut down the boots for 1d4 rounds and (obviously) interrupt the action. But, you could not counterspell the dim door of the boots with your own dim door.Halcyon said:
I definitely agree with you Infiniti2000 that it should only be possible to counterspell a spell. However Im not sure that the SRD section on counterspelling makes this entirely clear. Ive also searched through Skip Williams' columns and the FAQ, but I can't find anywhere it is explicitly stated one way or the other. Actually dispelling the item though seems pretty cut and dry.
dcollins
Explorer
Halcyon said:
My reading is "no". First quote is from the SRD. Second quote is from the 3.0 FAQ p. 48.
So my reading is that any items that are command-word or use-activated (like wondrous items such as boots) are "spell-like effects" and cannot be counterspelled.
The one place of ambiguity I see is this: Are spell-completion and spell-trigger items (scrolls & wands) themselves spell effects? And if so, are those possibly counterspell-able? (I lean towards answering "yes" to these specific questions.)
Older thread on "Can You Counterspell a Wand?": http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=125258
Last edited:
I would probably rule "no", but I'd probably also ask "why"? If you're going to require the readied action to be set against a specific, known magic item as people have posted above, wouldn't it make more sense to just cast Dispel Magic on the item when it's your turn to supress the magic item, and forget about all this readying nonsense?
