Self-Dispelling

[AuraSeer]

I had this situation in a recent game, and I want to make sure my call was correct. If you just want the question itself, without the setup, skip to the last paragraph.

The enemy is a high-level wizard. He had warning of the party's arrival, so he spent several rounds casting defensive spells. By the time the party approaches him, he is under the effects of Improved Invisibility, Haste, Stoneskin, Fly, Protection From Arrows, and probably a couple more spells I'm forgetting about. He proceeds to fly around the area and fire two shots per round with his wand of Lightning Bolt.

After a few rounds of this, a PC spellcaster gets a huge roll on Spot and Listen, and gets a general idea where the bad guy is. She casts Glitterdust to make him visible. The baddie then rolls a 1 on his Will save, and is therefore blinded.

To remove the blinding effect, the bad guy casts Dispel Magic on himself. But he can't choose to dispel only the Glitterdust; all magical effects on him are subject to dispelling. And, because you needn't make a caster level check against your own spell, all the defensive spells he cast on himself automatically go away. (So he begins to fall out of the sky, and is quickly turned into a pincushion.) Is this the right ruling, or did I miss a rule someplace?

 

[CRGreathouse]

No. Read the description of dispel magic:

"Tareted dispel: One object, creature, or spell..." (emphasis mine)

 

[AuraSeer]

Actually the description block in the SRD says, "Target or Area: One spellcaster, creature, or object, or 30' radius burst."

'Spellcaster' is for when you're using DM to counterspell.
'Creature' and 'Object' are for targeted dispel, i.e. check against all spells on the target.
The burst is obviously the area dispel.

As written, DM doesn't appear to be able to selectively zap one spell while leaving all others intact.

 

[CRGreathouse]

I have a copy of the 2nd printing of the PH in front of me, and I can tell you that the text I quoted appeas on page 196, at the beginning of the fourth paragraph of the description.

 

[Nareau]

Hrm...Dispel Magic weirdness.

In the PHB, it says:

Target or Area: One spellcaster, creature, or object; or 20-ft.-radius burst

And then later it says:

Targeted Dispel:One object, creature, or spell is the target of the spell.

Even though they missed it in the initial stat-block for the spell, it's clear that you can target a spell with Dispel Magic.

What I've always wondered about:
Under Targeted Dispel, it says

You automatically succeed at your dispel check against any spell that you cast yourself.

Under Area Dispel, it says

You may choose to automatically succeed at dispel checks against any spell that you have cast.

Which I take to mean that you may choose NOT to do so. You're facing a bunch of Bull Strengthened clerics. You've cast Spider Climb on yourself and your friends. You want to do an Area Dispel, to get all those clerics' spells knocked out. Your Spider Climb spells might be affected. But they're not automatically dispelled, are they?

And another question: What affect (if any) would a Dispel Magic have on a Golem?

 

[CRGreathouse]

No effect on golems.

 

[Mahali]

Correct, your spells wouldn't automatically go away unless you want them too. The caster of Dispel Magic then gets to roll and see if they get dispelled.

AuraSeer: Yes, you missed a rule someplace. In the description of "Fly" where is says that if fly is canceled or dispelled you fall (safely) at 60' per round for 1d6 rounds.

 

[dcollins]

I have a copy of the 2nd printing of the PH in front of me, and I can tell you that the text I quoted appeas on page 196, at the beginning of the fourth paragraph of the description.

CG: I have a 1st Ed. printing, which does not have the "or spell" language in the target information. I must assume that the change isn't in the errata, because I've written most of that stuff in to my book by hand (esp. the spells section).

 

[Oracular Vision]

I just checked the errata and clarifications, and page 196 is not mentioned in either. Odd...

 

[Artoomis]

Sheesh. Read more than just the "Target" info from the spell, please. From the SRD Dispel Magic description:

The character choose to use dispel magic in one of three ways: a targeted dispel, an area dispel, or a counterspell:

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.

Simple enough, eh? You can target one spell if you want. Sorry if I sound snippy, but folks debating when they apparently aren't even reading the spell is a bit irritating. Though why I should be irritated I don't know.