Counterspelling

Innate Countermagick and Counterspelling

The books we use conflict with each other on how counterspelling works, so this is meant to make things a bit more unified and cross-sphere friendly.

• A difficulty of 6 and a larger dice pool (as mentioned in V20 and M20 for vampiric counterspelling) make night folk way better at counterspelling than actual wizards. In a concrete example, a mage with Arete 3 (the most you can have for almost a year playing the game) with the difficulty given in M20 (7) will on average roll 1.6 successes but has a 9% chance to botch; whereas a vampire with Wits + Occult dicepool of 6 against difficulty 6 will roll an average of 2.8 successes and has a 1% chance to botch. Further, the Vampire can easily get a dicepool higher where the Mage could not.
  • So we took the base difficulty of 8 from Sorcerer and applied it to Vampires as well.
• Sorcerers requiring Paths to counterspell is hard when there is a huge diaspora of paths that do not line up with other splats' powers.
  • So we increased the ability for Sorcerers and Psychics to counterspell by buying specific counterspell abilities, but don't require them. Either paths or these new abilities work just as well.
• In V20, vampires require Thaumaturgy or Thaumaturgical Countermagic to counterspell. In M20, any Vampire with Occult can counterspell by default innately, though it is an optional rule to require them to have Thaumaturgy or Thaumaturgical Countermagic. We have opted to add a Willpower and Blood point cost to counterspelling for vampires who have Occult but not real Thaumaturgical or Countermagic training in order to give them incentive to learn those things, while making it more difficult to telenuke etc.
• That said, we have removed M20's suggested cap of the vampire's willpower for the counterspelling roll.
• In V20, Thaumaturgical Countermagic says it cannot be used to counterspell non-Vampire blood magic, but the writeup for Magi in that same book says it can be used to counterspell. We have opted to allow it to be used to counterspell non-Vampire stuff. It even has a reduced difficulty, given that unlike Wits + Occult it can only be used to counterspell!

Sorcerers and Psychics

Sorcerers or Psychics can purchase the ability to counterspell the abilities of other night*folk.

The counterspell options for vampires and spirits and magick are more focused because these are relatively common to run into, where counterspelling Werewolves, Fae, etc. will be a bit easier since we see less of them on the game.

Purchasable counterspell options

• Fae, Werewolves, Etc. These are broader because we see them less on the game.
  • Counterspell [Splat Name]: (3xp)

• Vampiric
  • Counterspell Physical Disciplines (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Celerity
      • Fortitude
      • Potence
      • Protean
      • Vicissitude
  • Counterspell Mental Disciplines (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Animalism
      • Auspex
      • Chimerstry
      • Dementation
      • Dominate
      • Obfuscate
      • Presence
  • Counterspell Metaphysical Disciplines (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Assamite Sorcery
      • Koldun Sorcery
      • Necromancy
      • Obtenebration
      • Thaumaturgy
      • Quietus

• Magic and Magick
  • Counterspell Pattern Magic (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Forces, Life, Matter Spheres
      • Paths like...
        • Alchemy
        • Enchantment
        • Healing
        • Hellfire
        • Shadowcasting
        • Shapeshifting
        • Weather Control
      • Psychic powers like...
        • Biocontrol
        • Cyberkinesis
        • Ectoplasmic Creation
        • Psychic Healing
        • Telekinesis
        • Pyrokinesis
  • Counterspell Ephemeral Magic (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Spirit, Mind, Prime Spheres
      • Spirit charms and attacks
      • Ghost charms and attacks
      • Paths like...
        • Fascination
        • Mana Manipulation
        • Oneiromancy
        • Summoning, Binding, and Warding
      • Psychic powers like...
        • Astral Projection
        • Channeling
        • Cyberpathy
        • Psychic Hypnosis
        • Psychic Invisibility
        • Synergy
        • Telepathy
  • Counterspell Relational Magic (3xp)
    • Applies to...
      • Time, Entropy, Correspondence Spheres
      • Paths like...
        • Conjuration
        • Conveyance
        • Divination
        • Fortune
      • Psychic powers like...
        • Clairvoyance
        • Precognition
        • Psychic Vampirism
        • Psychometry
        • Psychoportation

Sorcerer and Psychic Counterspelling

• If Sorcerer or Psychic, MUST HAVE "Counterspell [Type] Disciplines" (against Vampires), "Counterspell [Type] Magic" (against Mages, Sorcerers, Psychics), "Counterspell [Splat]" OR possess relevant Numina
  • e.g. someone without "Counterspell Mental Disciplines" but who does have Psychic Hypnosis can counterspell Dominate 1-4, but not Obfuscate. Someone with "Counterspell Mental Disciplines" can counterspell either.
• Require successful Awareness check to know that spell or discipline is happening, unless it is obvious or vulgar
• Requires aborting to defense or using an action if in combat situation
• Roll Wits + Occult against Diff 8
• Can lower difficulty (up to -3) by spending Mana
• +1 difficulty if power is not directed at the Counterspeller
• If the power is not something that is rolled, every success instead lowers the effective level of the Discipline by 1
  • Example: Celerity 5 being used; counterspell generates 2 successes, makes it equivalent to Celerity 3.
  • Example: Obtenebration 4 user uses Obtenebration 1. Counterspell would need 4 successes to make Obtenebration 1 not work.

Sorcerer Unweaving Standing Effects

• e.g. A Vampire's Majesty that is already active, a Mage's Ward, a Sorcerer's Enchanted Item
• An extended roll, maximum rolls = Willpower
  • If 5 or fewer successes needed, 1 roll per turn
  • If 10 or fewer successes needed, 5 minutes per roll
  • If more successes needed, 1 hour per roll
• Wits + Occult at Diff 9
• Can lower difficulty (up to -3) by spending Mana
• +1 success required for every 2 levels of the power used on top of original successes. As above, if the power is not something that is rolled, every success lowers the effective level of the Discipline by 1.
  • e.g. Majesty (Presence 5) takes 3 successes to dispel. 2 for the power level, 1 because as a non*rolled power this is all that is needed to bring the user's effective level down to 4, assuming they are not high enough Generation to have Presence 6+.
• Must also sacrifice Mana (Tass or vials of Vitae are also acceptable) equal to the Quintessence, Mana, Willpower or Vitae imbued in the effect. Wonders and Wards are difficult to tear down.
  • e.g. Unweaving a Majesty effect costs a point of Mana to unweave since it cost a Willpower to cast.

Vampires

Vampires Counterspelling Disciplines

• Can't!

Vampires Counterspelling Blood Magick

• See Thaumaturgical Counterspelling in V20 core.

Vampires Counterspelling Spheres or Numina

• Requires the vampire to have Blood Magick or Thaumaturgical Counterspelling OR any vampire with Occult can spend 1 Willpower + 1 Vitae per roll
• Require successful Awareness check to know that spell is happening, unless it is vulgar
• Requires aborting to defense or using an action if in combat situation
• With Blood Magick, roll Wits + Occult against Diff 8
• With Thaumaturgical Counterspelling, roll Thaumaturgical Counterspelling dicepool against Highest Power Rating + 3
• Can lower difficulty (up to -3) by spending Vitae (generation limits apply)
• CAN be used to block a spell meant for someone else at +1 difficulty

Vampires Unweaving Effects

• e.g. A Mage's Ward, a Sorcerer's Enchanted Item. Cannot Unweave Disciplines.
• Requires the vampire to haveBlood Magick or Thaumaturgical Counterspelling OR any vampire with Occult can spend 1 Willpower + 1 Vitae per roll
• An extended roll, maximum rolls = Willpower
  • If 5 or fewer successes needed, 1 roll per turn
  • If 10 or fewer successes needed, 5 minutes per roll
  • If more successes needed, 1 hour per roll
• With Blood Magick, roll Wits + Occult at Diff 9
• With Thaumaturgical Counterspelling, roll Thaumaturgical Counterspelling dicepool against Highest Power Rating + 4
• Can lower difficulty (up to -3) by spending Vitae (generation limits apply)
• +1 success required for every 2 levels of the power used on top of canceling out original successes.
• Must also sacrifice Vitae equal to the Quintessence or Mana imbued in the effect. Wonders and Wards are difficult to tear down.

Mages

Mages Counterspelling Disciplines

• Mage must have Spheres appropriate for the Discipline:
  • Celerity, Fortitude, Potence, Protean, Quietus 2-5, Vicissitude: Matter 1 + Life 1
  • Blood Magick: Judge based on Path being used
  • Animalism: Life 1 + Mind 1
  • Auspex, Chimerstry, Dementation, Dominate, Obfuscate, Presence: Mind 1
  • Obtenebration 1-3, Quietus 1: Forces 1
  • Obtenebration 4-5: Matter 1 + Life 1 + Forces 1
• Mostly same as M20 p. 545:
  • Countering Disciplines targeting the Counterspeller is Arete vs 7 and requires the spheres above and can be aborted into as a defensive action in combat.
  • Countering Disciplines targeting anyone or anything else is Arete vs 8 and requires Prime 1 and a Quintessence point, and cannot be aborted into. It can still intercept things earlier in initiative if it was a character's declare.
  • Setting up anti-Discipline (anti-Magick) *can* be done but requires Prime 3, Matter 2, and Life 3 instead of just the Prime 3 it would need against Mages and Sorcerers or Psychics. Anti*Magick must be cast *before* the attacker acts. It requires 1 quintessence per success.

Mages Counterspelling Mages, Sorcerers, Psychics

• See M20 p. 545
  • Countering Disciplines targeting the Counterspeller is Arete vs 7 and requires the spheres above and can be aborted into.
  • Countering Disciplines targeting anyone or anything else is Arete vs 8 and requires Prime 1 and a Quintessence point, and cannot be aborted into. It can still intercept things earlier in initiative if it was a character's declare though.
  • Anti-Magick requires Prime 3 and 1 quintessence per successes, and must be cast *before* the attacker attacks.