Wand / Sword of counterspell ideas?

[MarkVIIIMarc]

For a bit I've had this bouncing around in my head but I haven't been able to iron out any details.

I want to have a magical weapon for at first a bad guy then a level 8ish plus party which can cast counterspell.

My idea is it is a versitle sword which glows blue and almost drips energy like the wand's in Netflix's Bright. I don't care which martial in the party wants or gets it so that is important to me

I want to give it D4 charges of Counterspell -1 minimum 1 a day maybe?

Maybe or maybe not it just casts it whenever its drawn and magic by a friend or foe is cast?

Level 3 Counterspell gives the most chance for roll excitement.

If a Paladin or Ranger gets it should I make it burn a spell slot?

My best backstory on the weapon is tobout a gem in the hilt somehow tied to Karsus's Folly https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Karsus%27s_Folly . It will make the party worried the thing will blow up or something when I say "its getting warm..." and if its O/P I can blow the thing up.

[darknite]

How about something like the Ebony Blade, as used by Marvel's Black Knight? As a reaction, roll a melee attack roll and if that beats 10+Spell Level or the casters Spell Attack Roll (for aimed spells), a spell with the wielder as it's only target is countered. Can do this a number of times per day = Int bonus (min 1).

As an even more OP option, have it charged by a successful Counterspelling such that it gains the same properties as a Defender sword until the end of the wielder's next turn, with the bonus = to +x where x is the Countered spell level / 3 (round up). The weapon is magical but has no other bonuses, is Legendary & requires Attunement.

[MilkmanDanimal]

The sword has "X" charges, and the players don't know what "X" is. It's resistant to Identify and other divination BECAUSE ARTIFACT, and it just keeps working, except as it works it progressively drips more magic and gets hotter and hotter. If you think them keeping it is a good idea, there's a subquest to take it to its creator or forge or whatever to get it under control, at which point it becomes "once a day" or something. If it's annoying you, the sword explodes and it's no longer there to bother you.

[Vogie]

Make it a finesse sword, and use the verbiage of Defensive Duelist, but with the Counterspell effect.

Something like:

When another creature targets you with a spell attack, you can use your reaction to attempt to interrupt the process of casting that spell. If the creature is casting a spell of a level equal to your proficiency bonus or lower, its spell fails and has no effect. If it is casting a spell of a higher level, make an ability check using your spellcasting ability. The DC equals 10 + the spell’s level. On a success, the creature’s spell fails and has no effect. You regain the use of this feature after a short or long rest.

[Zanthy1]

I think of this more like Asta's swords from Black Clover. Essentially, use a reaction to make an attack roll against an incoming spell, and if you bet the DC (or rolled spell attack) of said spell you counter it, by slashing the magic apart.

[PhantomSoul]

I think of this more like Asta's swords from Black Clover. Essentially, use a reaction to make an attack roll against an incoming spell, and if you bet the DC (or rolled spell attack) of said spell you counter it, by slashing the magic apart.

That's what I was picturing, especially for spells against you with Attack Rolls (it's also limited enough that you could have additional effects, if you want something more like a Zelda-style "slash-the-magic-back" effect, perhaps on a Crit).

Alternatively, I'd see it as a weapon that can dispel magic on a Crit instead of sounterspelling it.

Otherwise, though, the charges idea should work pretty well, though I'd probably err on the side of once per long rest or once per short/long rest. (How many charges should probably be partly based on how common spellcasters are as opponents.)

[Man_Over_Game]

I like the idea of a Spellbreaker:

This longsword naturally absorbs magical energy, and appears to be literally dripping with it. You attune to it by drizzling a few drops of blood on the blade and burying it in the dirt while you sleep overnight. Once attuned, it grants you two features. You can only use one of these features per each Short or Long Rest.


When you make an attack with the Attack action with this weapon, you may remove a single magical effect from the target you struck. Make a check using a seperate attack roll, with the DC being 10 + the spell's level. If you succeed, the effect is removed. You may choose to not deal damage from the triggering attack, choosing only to affect the magical effect.
When a spell is cast, and either the target or the caster is visible and within 10 feet of you, you may use your Reaction to counter the spell when wielding this weapon. Make a check using the same value as an attack roll with this weapon, with the DC being 10 + the spell's level. If you succeed, the spell is countered.

If you fail on these checks, you do not have to wait until a Rest to reuse these features again.




Synergizes well with any martial character. By making sure it doesn't actually cast spells, this opens it up to things like Barbarians. You can also opt to make it a +1 short sword, to make it eligible for Monks, if you so like.

[Wildarm]

For an counterspell sword, I'd go for a something which lets the user use their reaction to attempt to slash apart a spell targeting them. Attack roll vs Spell DC.

Consequence of this, is while the sword is held(and thus usable as a reaction), it suppresses all friendly magical effects on you including other magic items.

[darknite]

I think most of us here have a similar idea to a sword 'cutting a spell out of the air' with a reaction. Be careful about making it too powerful, though, by requiring a reaction and putting some sort of numerical limit on how many times it can be used per day or rest. I personally would make the overall number of uses relatively low to keep its' use a valuable resource the player can only do every so often.

[MarkVIIIMarc]

You all have given me soo many good ideas I might need to put one in each campaign I DM for the next decade!

I'm gonna process the information and I'll report back.