Counterspelling with Magic Items

[sfedi]

Can you counterspell with a spell cast from a Magic Item?
(Rod, Staff, Scroll, Wand, etc, etc.)

 

[UltimaGabe]

As far as I can tell, no.

 

[Darkness]

Agreed, not AFAIK.

Hm, an item that lets you cast dispel magic might work, I suppose. But that's a property specific to dispel magic.

There's also the ring of counterspelling, which works automatically.

 

[sfedi]

I read the section on counterspelling and it only mentions spells prepared.
But I don´t know if this is exactly what they meant.
It doesn´t seem to break anything to allow a spell cast from a magic item to counterspell, but it is not explicitly stated.

Is this why you can´t counterspell from items?

Or is there any other thing I´ve missed?

 

[Darkness]

Yeah, that's pretty much it.

I guess it wouldn't break your game to allow it, though.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

If you wanted to open up counterspelling to items, I could see allowing someone to counterspell using a scroll, but not a wand, staff, or rod.

Why?

Because in the act of counterspelling, you actually cast a modified version of the spell which cancels out a "normal" casting of the spell.

Wands, staves, and rods don't actually cast a spell, because they are spell trigger items instead of spell completion items. There's no actual spellcasting involved - just point 'n' shoot.

A scroll, on the other hand, is basically a prepared spell in which the energy is stored on a piece of paper rather than in your head (or wherever that energy is actually stored!) - it is a spell completion item. Using a scroll, then, is just about identical to actually casting the spell.

So, I'd allow it with scrolls, but not other items, in the event that I'd allow it at all.

Excepting, of course, Dispel Magic wands and their ilk.

 

[Darkness]

Yeah, I was pondering that it would be best to only allow it for certain items, too.

You're right. Scrolls only is probably best.