Sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable about Fifth yet, and I keep getting confused with Third. Is there a way to identify a spell as it's being cast, like spellcraft used to do? If I'm counterspelling, do I just hope that I'm counterspelling something useful?
For my games (both as the DM and the player), we use Passive Arcana to be able to see if you recognise an enemy spell - DC is 10+spell's level and you need to have the spell on your spell list. However in 5e Counterspell just allows you to counter without knowing the spells level (unless of course you want to cast at a higher level), the old mechanic of using the same spell to counter doesn't exist in 5e.
No problem, glad you like it - my group has a few spell casters and some new to D&D players, so having an easy way for them to know what was coming (within reason) helped. A wizard might not know that the enemy Cleric is casting Insect Plague, but knows a spell is coming and can use Counterspell, because its not on the Wizard's spell list - but be able to see that the enemy wizard is about to cast Fireball and then be able to make an educated decision on whether that should be countered or not.
Here's another way to handle knowing what spell/spell level is being cast so a player of a character with counterspell can know when to choose to use counterspell:
The DM tells all the players what spell is being cast, and what level it is.
I've used it to great success, since players in my experience count not having to jump through a hoop (passing some check) just to make an informed decision as a good thing.
There's also the combination that I believe both keeps up the pace of the game and retains some of its mystique: Let people know without a check when a spell is being cast that is on the spell list of someone in the group, and do not when it's not.
That way a group with a wizard and a cleric can react just fine to a whole slew of spells, but they'll still wonder what that druid or bard is doing (when they're casting class-specific spells, in any case).
This requires you to be at least somewhat familiar with spell lists, however, so it may not be the ideal option for everyone.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Sorry, I'm not very knowledgeable about Fifth yet, and I keep getting confused with Third. Is there a way to identify a spell as it's being cast, like spellcraft used to do? If I'm counterspelling, do I just hope that I'm counterspelling something useful?
For my games (both as the DM and the player), we use Passive Arcana to be able to see if you recognise an enemy spell - DC is 10+spell's level and you need to have the spell on your spell list. However in 5e Counterspell just allows you to counter without knowing the spells level (unless of course you want to cast at a higher level), the old mechanic of using the same spell to counter doesn't exist in 5e.
Site Rules & Guidelines || How to Tooltip || Contact Support || Changelog || Pricing FAQ || Homebrew FAQ
If you have questions/concerns, please Private Message me or another moderator.
Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Ok! Thanks for the reply. And I like that rule, I'll have to talk to my DM about implementing that.
No problem, glad you like it - my group has a few spell casters and some new to D&D players, so having an easy way for them to know what was coming (within reason) helped. A wizard might not know that the enemy Cleric is casting Insect Plague, but knows a spell is coming and can use Counterspell, because its not on the Wizard's spell list - but be able to see that the enemy wizard is about to cast Fireball and then be able to make an educated decision on whether that should be countered or not.
Site Rules & Guidelines || How to Tooltip || Contact Support || Changelog || Pricing FAQ || Homebrew FAQ
If you have questions/concerns, please Private Message me or another moderator.
Wary the wizard who focuses on homebrew, for he can create nightmares that you wouldn't even dream of
Here's another way to handle knowing what spell/spell level is being cast so a player of a character with counterspell can know when to choose to use counterspell:
The DM tells all the players what spell is being cast, and what level it is.
I've used it to great success, since players in my experience count not having to jump through a hoop (passing some check) just to make an informed decision as a good thing.
There's also the combination that I believe both keeps up the pace of the game and retains some of its mystique: Let people know without a check when a spell is being cast that is on the spell list of someone in the group, and do not when it's not.
That way a group with a wizard and a cleric can react just fine to a whole slew of spells, but they'll still wonder what that druid or bard is doing (when they're casting class-specific spells, in any case).
This requires you to be at least somewhat familiar with spell lists, however, so it may not be the ideal option for everyone.