Counterspell - Spell Defense Options

[Gomez]

Do you have to split up your counterspelling dice for spell defense between all the people that you are protecting? It never says that you do in the rules. It does mention that if an area affect spell effects multiple targets that you are protecting that you only roll once for all the targets instead of for each target seperately.

Example.
A shadowrun team's mage is going to use his counterspelling skill to protect the group of 5 other runners from spells this turn. His counter spelling skill is 4. So does each runner including himself get 4 extra dice to resist spells or does he have to split up the 4 dice among the different runners?

[James McMurray]

No. Everybody gets all the dice.

[Nim]

Also...selecting targets for Counterspelling is a free action. Does the magician need to take this action every turn, or just once per combat?

[James McMurray]

Once you've selected them they stay protected until you elect to stop protecting them or they leave your line of sight. Assuming you want to and maintain a position where you can, you wouldn't even have to declare it in combat. I wouldn't let it stay up all the time, but just prior to going on a mission would be cool. Spell Defense is always active for the caster though, so it would never matter what the situation was there.

I don't remember if it specifies you have to be awake to use SD. If so then it might not be actuve on the mage while he's napping.

[stevebugge]

It actually implies that you cannot use spell defense (on yourself or others) if you are suprised, so I would imagine you can't while you are asleep either.


EDIT: It's the last sentance of the first paragraph under the Spell Defense Heading PG 175 BBB for all the referencemongers.

[James McMurray]

I thought it specified somewhere that spell defense is always active on yourself.

[stevebugge]

Same place actually, it says

[James McMurray]

Cool. Thanks for the quote!

[Shrike30]

I'm pretty sure the modifier on a Surprise test for being unconcious is pretty severe :P

[Demon_Bob]

If the spell affects an area do you have to counterspellthe area or can you just counterspell on you buddy in the center?

Even if you cast the spell?

[Jaid]

area spells can be counterspelled for only part of the area, if you so desire.

[edit] to clarify, you only have to counterspell for the parts you are protecting. if you are protecting something, i believe you have to give it those spell defense dice. however, if you only have spell defense on half of the things in an area, you don't dispel the entire spell, just the parts that target the things you are defending. i hope that was more clear than it looks to me lol :P [/edit]

This post has been edited by Jaid: Jun 27 2006, 03:03 AM

[Abbandon]

So theoretically you could give your team spell defense and then let them wade into a large group of bad guys and start chucking area spells ?? And you would then have to help your guys defend against them ? lol.

That has to be a great way to pick up chicks. Hey ladies check this out i can take a fireball from my mage friend. (subvocal to mge friend, ok dude hit me) Mage friend sends down giant fireball on friend and he ends up resisting or something from the counterspell the mage had already given him.

[lawndart]

This is also an excellent way to blast the snot out of a cluster of guys from a nice dark lurky corner. Let your meat shield melee guy draw their fire/attention and then nuke his site from orbit (it's the only way to be sure), feeding him spell defense so he can walk it off and everyone within X meters can't. It's my mages plan when he gets into melee as well, Manaball on my own head.

[Nim]

[Ryu]

Considering the general efficiency of spell defense, I´d advice against even protected team members inside the area of effect of a medium-to-high-force manaball. But it can be done by one mage.

[Abbandon]

What if your rolling with more than one mage?? Do you get spell defense dice from both if they give it to you?

[Nim]

[Moon-Hawk]

Teamwork test?

[Nim]

[stevebugge]