[Pathfinder] Countering Spell like abilities

[W3bDragon]

So I have a simple question. I'm playing a 20th level Abjurer in a High Op Pathfinder Only game. I've built my character to be a capable counterspeller (among other things) and I'm rather disappointed to learn that the overwhelming majority of high CR creatures' magics are spell-like abilities that cannot be counterspelled. Our party's melee power house (a 20th level barbarian) is also similarly disappointed that spell-like abilities cannot be interrupted. Even though they specifically provoke attacks of opportunity, nowhere could we find mention that being damaged while using a spell-like ability calls for a concentration check. Our divine caster has no solutions either, as spell-like abilities have no components whatsoever, so a Silence spell won't help.

Obviously, we could just use Anti-magic field, but that would shut down half our party in the process. Is there something that we're missing that can allow us to stop spell like abilities from being used? Or are they just as unstoppable as we have experienced?

[Psyren]

CRB 186:


Using a spell-like ability works like casting a spell in that it requires concentration and provokes attacks of opportunity. Spell-like abilities can be disrupted. If your concentration is broken, the attempt to use the ability fails, but the attempt counts as if you had used the ability.

On the counterspell part - there was, back in the day, an error in the CRB that said SLAs could be counterspelled. This has been corrected in subsequent printings and in subsequent books such as Bestiary 2. You cannot counterspell a spell-like ability.

[W3bDragon]

Turns out we did miss something after all. Thanks Psyren!

The natural follow up question in this case would be: If a spell like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material components, could one ready an action to interrupt a spell-like ability with an attack, even though there are no visual or audible cues to warn you that your target is about to use a spell like ability? Or would the first sign of the spell-like ability be its successful casting?

It would stand to reason that since you don't actually have to do anything at all to use a spell-like ability, you would not be giving any signs for people to react to. But at the same time, if that were the case, then there would be no point of a spell-like ability being interruptable at all. I'm fairly certain that I'm overthinking all of this, but our current adventure is a very rare foray for us into high op games, so RAW is somewhat king.

[Psyren]

The natural follow up question in this case would be: If a spell like ability has no verbal, somatic, or material components, could one ready an action to interrupt a spell-like ability with an attack, even though there are no visual or audible cues to warn you that your target is about to use a spell like ability? Or would the first sign of the spell-like ability be its successful casting?

They still provoke attacks of opportunity (presumably the user's eyes glaze over or lose focus in some way?), so in general you do not have to "ready an action to disrupt" as that is the point of AoOs. :smalltongue:

But assuming you meant "ready an action to disrupt" using something that normally does not threaten - such as a ranged attack or another spell - you've got your work cut out for you; as you mentioned, there is generally no visual cue or trigger aside from the provoking itself that a SLA is about to happen, so your readied action would have nothing to go off - just as if you readied an action to strike the first creature to come within melee range of you, and an invisible or ethereal creature slipped past you unnoticed.

Also, they can be cast on the defensive, denying the AoO as well if the caster is successful.

3.5 had some techniques like the Battlemagic Perception spell to deal with this issue, but I'm unaware of anything similar for PF.