Counterspell: Oh No You Di’int

Usable By: Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard

Spell Level: 3

School: Abjuration

Casting Time: 1 reaction

Range: 60 feet

Duration: Instantaneous

Components: S

You attempt to interrupt a creature in the process of casting a spell. If the creature is casting a spell of 3rd level or lower, its spell fails and has no effect. If it is casting a spell of 4th level or higher, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the spell's level. On a success, the creature's spell fails and has no effect.

At Higher Levels. When you cast this spell using a spell slot of 4th level or higher, the interrupted spell has no effect if its level is less than or equal to the level of the spell slot you used.

Review by Sam West, Twitter: @CrierKobold

The world is tense as the heroes stare down the dracolich; the barbarian lies unconscious twenty feet out, ax still stuck in the cracked skull containing the ancient magics holding together the massive undead dragon. The rogue pulls back their bow, aiming right for where the wound sticks, fighter risking it all and rushing at the monstrous villain to aid their rogue’s shot. As the arrow is released, the dracolich’s head snaps towards it- it has foreseen this shot.

“This mundane filth can’t touch its hide, not with the power of SHIELD!”

But as the monster roars, attempting to manifest a mystical barrier to save it from this killing blow, the red cloaked wizard simply holds up their hand, and utters quietly “No.” The undead’s magic fizzles and the rogue’s arrow strikes, cracking the dragon skull in two, slaying the monster and winning the day.

Counterspell is at its best when it's a situational tool that you prepare to engage a specific villain. I want it to exist as a tool like Protection from Energy, something you seek out prior to engaging a full caster villain with an abundance of powerful spells. That isn’t always the case at many tables, though; Counterspell often dictates how the game can be played in its entirety. It feels like a release valve that mitigates all magic, regardless of how powerful, for a 3rd level spell slot, and something DMs feel they have to start leaning on heavily to sculpt encounters that can meaningfully challenge all members of upper tier encounters.

Two primary factors come into play with Counterspell: its range, and its spell level. Counterspell is comparatively a short ranged ability when it comes to the world of spellcasting. If you want to be able to counter the lich’s 9th level spell, you have to make it to within 60 feet of them and all their minions, which can be a tall order. Additionally, Counterspell automatically cancels spells at spell levels equal to or lower than its slot. This makes it critical to establish beforehand whether or not a creature knows what spell is being cast before they can attempt to Counterspell it. This distinction can take Counterspell from a risky blanking of an enemy turn, potentially only eating a cantrip, to something you can reliably save for exactly the right moment.

It's fairly pivotal in its power, and rules as written I believe you don’t know what the spell is as it's being cast as rules released since the PHB have included examples of ways to use reactions to identify a spell as its being cast. Most tables don’t tend to play that slowly though; a lot of groups aren’t going to go through the process of declaring a spell is being cast, ask if anyone within range would like to counterspell, deciding what spell level to use in this specific Counterspell, then requesting an unknown DC check only if the spell is higher level than the Counterspell, all of which can result in having little to no information about what spell was countered, its spell level, etc. That’s a huge headache for many; often times it's going to look like “Villain casts Cloudkill” and a player goes “Not so fast! Counterspell!”

Some games can boil down to managing Counterspell ranges and tactical positioning to mitigate or enable it, specifically in groups with multiple dedicated full casters. In casual groups, I wouldn’t advocate for busting this out all too often as a DM, as eating a player’s action from out of nowhere can feel cheap. It still can be a necessary tool to quickly and easily mitigate an effect that would otherwise wildly warp an encounter, especially in the upper tiers. People like to play with their cool new abilities, though; if somebody has taken Conjure Minor Elementals and wants to play with a battery of mephits, maybe don’t commit to Counterspelling it on the first cast. Let them do their thing once or twice, then start engaging specific countermeasures to encourage variety and enable more characters to shine. If you’re a player, sometimes this will be a silver bullet you pick up and use twice a game, sometimes it's something you can regularly rely on every fight. Knowing what kind of game and setting you’re in is going to be the largest factor in deciding if Counterspell is right for you.

5e Spells

Counterspell: Oh No You Di’int