To counterspell you generally have to ready an action. What exact action do you need to ready?
a) "I ready to cast a spell as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
b) "I ready to counterspell as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
c) "I ready to counterspell using (Dispel Magic OR appropriate Spell) as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
ad a)
This allows the most flexibility, since i could
1. cast an appropriate spell as a counterspell
2. cast dispel magic to counterspell
3. cast any damaging spell as a last resort to damage evil-wizard(tm) and force him to make a concentration check.
ad b)
This allows options 1 & 2 from above.
ad c)
This only allows option 1 or 2 from above, depending on what was chosen.
I tend toward a) because:
* In the rules it says (PHB 170):
"You do this by choosing the ready action (page 160). In doing so, you elect to wait to complete your action until your opponent tries to cast a spell.
[...]
If the target of your counterspell tries to cast a spell, make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell’s level). This check is a free action. If the check succeeds, you correctly identify the opponent’s spell and can attempt to counter it. If the check fails, you can’t do either of these things. To complete the action, you must then cast the correct spell."
* c) would be just plain worthless, and b) better, but still too risky to even try. You usually only counterspell high-level spells, and the chance that you have the right spell at hand is too small to be worth trying, and a ~50% chance with dispel magic is, well, quite low.
* I don´t see a really big difference in game-mechanics (used action, concentration, ...) between casting a spell and casting a counterspell since the spellcraft-check to identify the spell from evil-wizard(tm) is a free action you always get, even if you don´t counterspell, and you decide which spell you cast at the same time if you counterspell or not.
IMHO the only thing that may speak against that ruling is that "Reading to Counterspell" got its own section on page 160 on the PHB, which could suggest that to counterspell you have to ready to counterspell, not just to cast "a spell".
So, what do you think is meant in the RAW, and how do you personally rule?
a) "I ready to cast a spell as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
b) "I ready to counterspell as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
c) "I ready to counterspell using (Dispel Magic OR appropriate Spell) as soon as evil-wizard(tm) casts a spell."
ad a)
This allows the most flexibility, since i could
1. cast an appropriate spell as a counterspell
2. cast dispel magic to counterspell
3. cast any damaging spell as a last resort to damage evil-wizard(tm) and force him to make a concentration check.
ad b)
This allows options 1 & 2 from above.
ad c)
This only allows option 1 or 2 from above, depending on what was chosen.
I tend toward a) because:
* In the rules it says (PHB 170):
"You do this by choosing the ready action (page 160). In doing so, you elect to wait to complete your action until your opponent tries to cast a spell.
[...]
If the target of your counterspell tries to cast a spell, make a Spellcraft check (DC 15 + the spell’s level). This check is a free action. If the check succeeds, you correctly identify the opponent’s spell and can attempt to counter it. If the check fails, you can’t do either of these things. To complete the action, you must then cast the correct spell."
* c) would be just plain worthless, and b) better, but still too risky to even try. You usually only counterspell high-level spells, and the chance that you have the right spell at hand is too small to be worth trying, and a ~50% chance with dispel magic is, well, quite low.
* I don´t see a really big difference in game-mechanics (used action, concentration, ...) between casting a spell and casting a counterspell since the spellcraft-check to identify the spell from evil-wizard(tm) is a free action you always get, even if you don´t counterspell, and you decide which spell you cast at the same time if you counterspell or not.
IMHO the only thing that may speak against that ruling is that "Reading to Counterspell" got its own section on page 160 on the PHB, which could suggest that to counterspell you have to ready to counterspell, not just to cast "a spell".
So, what do you think is meant in the RAW, and how do you personally rule?
