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<blockquote data-quote="Staffan" data-source="post: 8547490" data-attributes="member: 907">Counterspelling is something that's really hard to balance in D&amp;D. The 5e version is probably too powerful, allowing a caster to shut down another caster without that big an opportunity cost (other than spell slots). The 3e version, on the other hand, is probably too weak, because the prospective counterspeller doesn't get to do anything on their own turn – that's too big of an opportunity cost.In Magic, counterspells have the limitation (just like everything else) that they cost mana to cast – I believe the current generic version, Cancel, costs two blue mana and one generic mana (there are cheaper ones, but they generally come with strings attached, like only working on cheap spells, only certain types of spells, or giving the opponent an out of some sort like paying more mana). That's three mana you need to keep open for countering instead of using it on something proactive on your own turn.The closest equivalent to something like that in D&amp;D would be to say that you can't cast an Nth level counterspell if you cast a spell on your last turn with a level equal to or higher than your top spell level (with cantrips counting as 0). So at 7th level when you first get counterspell, keeping it ready means you only get to cast cantrips. At 9th level you can cast a 1st level spell on your turn and still be ready to counterspell as a 4th level spell, but not as a 5th. And so on. That would be a pretty harsh nerf, so perhaps it would be appropriate to balance it out by not making counterspell level-dependent, so it only comes in its level 4 version and using that would counter any spell.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Staffan, post: 8547490, member: 907"] Counterspelling is something that's really hard to balance in D&D. The 5e version is probably too powerful, allowing a caster to shut down another caster without that big an opportunity cost (other than spell slots). The 3e version, on the other hand, is probably too weak, because the prospective counterspeller doesn't get to do anything on their own turn – that's too big of an opportunity cost. In Magic, counterspells have the limitation (just like everything else) that they cost mana to cast – I believe the current generic version, Cancel, costs two blue mana and one generic mana (there are cheaper ones, but they generally come with strings attached, like only working on cheap spells, only certain types of spells, or giving the opponent an out of some sort like paying more mana). That's three mana you need to keep open for countering instead of using it on something proactive on your own turn. The closest equivalent to something like that in D&D would be to say that you can't cast an Nth level [I]counterspell[/I] if you cast a spell on your last turn with a level equal to or higher than your top spell level (with cantrips counting as 0). So at 7th level when you first get [I]counterspell[/I], keeping it ready means you only get to cast cantrips. At 9th level you can cast a 1st level spell on your turn and still be ready to [I]counterspell[/I] as a 4th level spell, but not as a 5th. And so on. That would be a pretty harsh nerf, so perhaps it would be appropriate to balance it out by not making [I]counterspell[/I] level-dependent, so it only comes in its level 4 version and using that would counter any spell. [/QUOTE]

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