Dispel Magic when it targets a spell

[Sagiro]

According to the SRD:

"Targeted Dispel: One object, creature, or spell is the target of the spell. The character makes a dispel check against the spell or against each ongoing spell currently in effect on the object or creature. A dispel check is 1d20 +1 per caster level (maximum +10) against a DC of 11 + the spell’s caster level."

There's still some ambiguity, so I thought I'd canvass the boards for opinions. Specifically, I'm thinking of when a single spell targets multiple creatures, like water breathing or wind walk, and then someone targets that spell with a dispel magic.

If I cast dispel magic, targeting a water breathing spell that's affecting 3 characters, and succeed in my check, it seems like the spell would drop on all three targets. After all, it was all one spell, and not three different castings of water breathing. But that leads to the weird case where one of the recipients of the water breathing has teleported 1000 miles away, or even plane shifted to another plane. Now I cast a dispel magic at one of the other two people, targeting the water breathing spell itself; does the spell drop on the third person, no matter where he is? Is it good enough to have just have one of the orginal targets within range of my targeted dispel magic?

What do you think? Is there some clarifying example in any of the core books?

thanks,

Sagiro

 

[DMFTodd]

The line about "one object, creature or spell" is the confusion.

You can use Dispel Magic against a spell only as that spell is being cast. Once the spell has been successfully cast, you can't Dispel Magic the *spell*, you can only dispel the *effect* of that spell from an object or creature.

So in your water breathing case, you could Dispel Magic as the spell is being cast and stop it from effecting the 3 targets. Once it has been cast however, you have to individually dispel the effect from each target which requires 3 different spells.

 

[kreynolds]

Due to the wording of the description for Dispel Magic: Targeted Dispel, I would rule that only the creature you target is affect by dispel magic. So, in the case of mass fly, one creatures falls from the sky while the others are fine.

 

[Sigma]

Keep in mind though that if all of the creatures are grouped together in the same place, you could always hit them with an area dispel and try to peel the Waterbreathing off of them.