Dispel Magic

[Cyronax]

Actually, there is another ability that could be affected by Dispel Magic: the pit fiend's Infernal Summons (a Conjuration).

Which raises the question: does a Dispel Magic get rid of all summoned creatures within range, or only one?

I would guess all summoned creatures, though I wonder if a 6th level spell would scale against a pit fiend's magic? In this one case it might point to a higher level version of dispel magic.

I don't know.

Your revelation gave me mental flashbacks to the World of Greyhawk's Flight of Fiends, an event initiated by the Crook of Rao artifact.

 

[ve4grm]

I don't think a higher-level version is even necessary. The attack roll scales along with the enemy's Will Defense.

 

[WyzardWhately]

It's probably underpowered if it only gets rid of one of the summoned creatures. I'd say it would affect all of them within range, if I had to make a call without other rules to reference.

 

[Lizard]

And yet it is shorter.

Hey, I can do that.

Lizards New Super Improved SRD-Based Game
Dispel Magic: This dispels magic.
Fireball: This creates a ball of fire.
Fly: The caster can fly!
Invisibility: The caster can turn himself or someone else invisible.

There you go. The DM decides any specifics or answers any questions. After all, we don't want to slow the game down with lots of fiddly rules.

More seriously, I think this is another example of how constrained the 'design space' of 4e is getting, and how fewer and fewer truly different effects/concepts/etc can be wedged into it. It looks like almost anything interesting is being dumped into a huge bin labelled 'rituals'; virtually all spells/powers/exploits are simplistic variations on a few themes, with complex concepts like 'mirror image' becoming just a special effect for 'ablative AC buff', for example. You can no longer bring down a flying mage with dispel magic (always fun!), remove a ward/sigil, turn off that annoying magic sword, etc.

 

[Spatula]

The distinction betweens "always hits" and "has a very real chance of missing" is hardly an academic one, especially in a game where the narriative of combat revolves almost entirely around whether attacks hit or miss.

It might be better if it was automatic, given its situational use and status as a daily power, not to mention the fact that the effects you are removing can possibly be used again in the same fight.

 

[Spatula]

More seriously, I think this is another example of how constrained the 'design space' of 4e is getting, and how fewer and fewer truly different effects/concepts/etc can be wedged into it. It looks like almost anything interesting is being dumped into a huge bin labelled 'rituals'; virtually all spells/powers/exploits are simplistic variations on a few themes, with complex concepts like 'mirror image' becoming just a special effect for 'ablative AC buff', for example. You can no longer bring down a flying mage with dispel magic (always fun!), remove a ward/sigil, turn off that annoying magic sword, etc.

Which doesn't mean that there are not alternative ways to reach the same goals. Sigils & wards would presumably fall under rituals, and we still have no idea how those work, or if there would be a way to undo them.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Hey, I can do that.

Lizards New Super Improved SRD-Based Game
Dispel Magic: This dispels magic.
Fireball: This creates a ball of fire.
Fly: The caster can fly!
Invisibility: The caster can turn himself or someone else invisible.

There you go. The DM decides any specifics or answers any questions. After all, we don't want to slow the game down with lots of fiddly rules.

Even the original Dungeons & Dragons game had more specifics than that!

 

[maggot]

They could have just removed it from the game. "Fixed."

And with an even shorter description.

 

[Gentlegamer]

Ideally one asks this question in a Clint Eastwood voice, right before casting the spell.

hong wins the thread.

 

[DandD]

Which either means the original Dungeons & Dragons sucked even more than Lizard's short list (if shorter descriptions mean being better overall), or more probable, Lizard just complained about Dispel Magic in its 4th edition version.

Notice that I do like the Dispel Magic-ability that the game designers intend to release for 4th edition.