Counterspell

Counterspell (Any one of the attacking spell’s Arcana at ●)

The mage creates Pattern interference that can weaken or even cancel a spell.

• Practice: Shielding
• Action: Instant and contested; successes are compared to the target spell’s Potency
• Duration: Lasting
• Aspect: Covert
• Cost: 1 Mana

When someone directs a vulgar spell at the mage or other targets whom the mage wishes to protect, he can cast a countering spell that creates a form of magical interference, weakening or even canceling the attacking spell, similar to how an obstacle can act as cover against a ranged attack. He must first have Mage Sight to be able to perceive the attacking spell. Like a dodge action, he can cast Counterspell against vulgar spells cast by another mage with a higher Initiative. (He cannot counter attacks with lower Initiatives if he has already performed an action in the turn. See “Dodge,” p. 156 of the World of Darkness Sourcebook, for rules on how this circumvents the normal Initiative order for the turn.) A mage can even counter sympathetic spells cast directly at him (but not those cast at other targets), by sensing the sympathetic conduit being forged by the spell (again, he must have Mage Sight for this).

Successes are subtracted from the target spell’s Potency. If the target spell is left with no Potency, it is canceled entirely. If even a single point of Potency remains, the spell is applied against its target (at its reduced Potency).

A covert spell cannot normally be countered, since the defending mage must first identify its Arcanum components using the normal rules for doing so (see “Scrutiny). Such investigation is not normally possible within the same turn in which the spell is cast, although some Time magic might give a mage the extra time needed or clue him in on what spell the caster will cast before he casts it. Vulgar spells do not need this kind of scrutiny; they are obvious enough to counter within the same turn of casting.

A spell aimed at more than one target does not need to be countered for each target; a successful countering diminishes or prevents its effects against all targets.

A countering mage must have at least one dot in one of the Arcana used by the attacking spell. For example, to counter a conjunctional Mind 3 + Life 2 spell, a mage needs either Mind 1 or Life 1, but not both. If he does not have a proper Arcanum lore, he cannot counter the spell. Counterspell can be learned as a rote (use Occult Skill), but it must be learned separately for each Arcanum to which it applies.

A mage with two dots of Prime can instead use the “Counterspell Prime” spell, to counter any spell, regardless of Arcanum. In addition, Counterspell Prime allows him to counter covert spells (assuming he has active Mage Sight) without first needing to identify them.