Dispel Magic

[Bellberith]

Okay simple question i am sure was answered in the past but because the search function is broken i cannot find it.


When you cast dispel magic as a counter-spell against another dispel magic. do you still need to make the dispel check? or do you follow the exact spell rules and both negate eachother automatically?

[Pickford]

Okay simple question i am sure was answered in the past but because the search function is broken i cannot find it.

When you cast dispel magic as a counter-spell against another dispel magic. do you still need to make the dispel check? or do you follow the exact spell rules and both negate eachother automatically?

PHB 223 says the answer is yes you must.

[GameSpawn]

By my understanding of the rules, if you correctly identify the spell (with your spellcraft check), you can counter the spell automatically. If you fail to identify the spell, you need to succeed on your dispel check.

[Kelb_Panthera]

Technically it's your choice. You can either auto-counter per the general counterspell rules or you can use dispel magic's counterspell function if you feel like a gamble just for the fun of it. The two rules aren't mutually exclusive.

[Khanjar]

The answer is in the details of Dispel Magic (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dispelMagic.htm). Look at the very bottom where it tells you that if you're using dispel magic to counterspell something you MUST make a dispel check.

Unless you're countering an opponent's dispel magic with your own casting of dispel magic. Then it's an autosuccess because your'e using the same spell as per the counterspelling rules (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicOverview/castingSpells.htm#counterspells).

edit: fixed some formatting

[Psyren]

By my understanding of the rules, if you correctly identify the spell (with your spellcraft check), you can counter the spell automatically. If you fail to identify the spell, you need to succeed on your dispel check.

If you are countering with dispel magic you do not need to identify the spell at all.

[GameSpawn]

If you are countering with dispel magic you do not need to identify the spell at all.

If you are trying to counter a spell by using dispel magic as in the spell description, then this is true. If your opponent is casting dispel magic and you are attempting to counter it by casting dispel magic the same way you would counter any other spell by casting that same spell as per the counterspell rules in the Magic section, you do need to identify the spell if you want to avoid making the dispel check (of course, if you fail to identify the spell, you can still counter it using dispel magic, but then you would need to succeed on your dispel check).