Contingency against all dispel effects

[bot]

Would it be legal to set up a contingency worded against any effect that would remove any benificial spell on me?

If so, what spell would you choose? I'm thinking improved invisibilitys since it would make me an illegal target for any non-area effect spell (right?)

[sleepyphoenixx]

I'd say there are some limitations. Contingency can't trigger of other peoples intentions so you'd have to specify a condition that encompasses as many dispel effects as you can think of. A general "anything that removes buffs" is not something i would accept as a DM.
It also must be a spell that affects you so you can't contingency a dispel to counterspell.

Something like "when i'm targeted by a dispel effect, trigger x".

x could be Battlemagic Perception to counterspell the dispel, Spell Turning or, if you have access to psionics, Dispelling Buffer. Maybe Antimagic Field if you have Extraordinary Spell Aim or Mastery of Shaping.
None of those are absolute though.

[Lord Vukodlak]

Would it be legal to set up a contingency worded against any effect that would remove any benificial spell on me?

If so, what spell would you choose? I'm thinking improved invisibilitys since it would make me an illegal target for any non-area effect spell (right?)

The Contingency wouldn't trigger until after the dispel magic fired, by that point you've already been targeted and the casting of the spell is complete. Plus plenty of mid wizards spring for permanent see invisibility.

[bot]

Hmm, I thought that contingency was a kind of immidiate effect - so it could do stuff while the dispel was being cast but before it effects anything - sort of abrupt jump.

Also, what if the trigger was if I successfully identify via spellcraft a dispel effect being cast?

[Crake]

Yeah, I would think that contingency comes into effect before the dispel hits you, since you specified "targeted by" not "hit with". So as soon as you are designated as the target, the effect becomes active, then you get hit, and the spell fails or succeeds. The problem is if it's something like invis, then the spellcaster can always choose another target, such as your teammates, or instead choose to area dispel. On the other hand, if it were spell turning, then the caster wouldn't be any the wiser (since spell turning has no visual effects) and it would spell turn as normal.

[Diarmuid]

If an opponent were casting a targetted Dispel Magic at you and your Contingency made you invisible I dont think they'd then be able to retarget their spell or especially not be able to change the mode of their spell from Targetted to Area.

Choices like targets and mode are part of the casting process and your Contingency doesnt go off until those choices have already been made.

It's very much like Abrupt Jaunt. If what you do makes you no longer eligible to be targetted (cannot be seen, out of range, broken LoE, etc) then the spell would fizzle.

If you went Invis and the caster could already See Invis, then they would still be able to get you. Likewise if you were able to short range teleport but were still within range of the spell you'd still be effected.

[tyckspoon]

If an opponent were casting a targetted Dispel Magic at you and your Contingency made you invisible I dont think they'd then be able to retarget their spell or especially not be able to change the mode of their spell from Targetted to Area.

Choices like targets and mode are part of the casting process and your Contingency doesnt go off until those choices have already been made.


Those decisions (at least the target part) are explicitly made when the spell is cast (see Magic Overview -> Spell Descriptions -> Aiming a Spell.) If you interrupt in the middle of casting and remove yourself as a target, the caster is still free to point his spell somewhere else.

[Yuki Akuma]

...It might be easier to just make a Contingent Dispel Magic set to counterspell anything that tries to dispel your buffs.

It won't work on everything (Dispel Psionics, for instance), but it's better than nothing.

[sleepyphoenixx]

...It might be easier to just make a Contingent Dispel Magic set to counterspell anything that tries to dispel your buffs.

It won't work on everything (Dispel Psionics, for instance), but it's better than nothing.

You can only use Contingency with spells that target you.

[Yuki Akuma]

You can only use Contingency with spells that target you.

...Really?

Oh. Huh.

[Lapak]

You can only use Contingency with spells that target you.If that is the case, Contingent countermeasures can always be bypassed if your attacker targets the Contingent spell itself first, then follows up with a (perhaps Quickend) Dispel as a general strip-your-defenses followup.

Which does burn an action for them, so it's not a total disaster.

[sleepyphoenixx]

Yes, Contingency is not infallible. Your opponent has to know about it to target it though.
If you regularly run into enemies with Arcane Sight up (or you're just paranoid) you can of course disguise the contingency by using stuff like Nondetection.
Which a sufficiently paranoid enemy might then counter with CL boosts.
Which you might then counter.... you get the drift.

Add Craft Contingent Spell and you end up with a neverending series of counters and counter-counters. High level spellcaster battles, taken to the extreme.

[Mnemnosyne]

You can only use Contingency with spells that target you.Actually, the restriction is that the spell must be 'one that affects your person'. It's very oddly worded, because you'd think they would have just written 'a spell with you as the target' if they had meant that, since that's a simpler and more straightforward way of saying it. It does leave the door open for spells that don't specifically target you, as long as they have some sort of effect on you. A contingent solid fog has an effect on you if you're within its area of effect, even though it doesn't target you, for instance.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

If that is the case, Contingent countermeasures can always be bypassed if your attacker targets the Contingent spell itself first, then follows up with a (perhaps Quickend) Dispel as a general strip-your-defenses followup.

Which does burn an action for them, so it's not a total disaster.He would need arcane sight up to target a particular spell effect with no visual manifestation.

"I am the target of an effect that dispels magic." Contingent Celerity. Do what you need to do.