#antimagic

it's a C for me!

Also shoutout to that one time Seán reblogged a marvin and Anti art with Marvin stepping on him and saying 'this screams dom energy' or something like that.

Have you ever wanted to get rid of those pesky superpowers?

Just use the Humbler

Magic is scary. There are plenty of ways to protect your squishy or poor-save allies from getting ratioed by the local evil wizard, but just like reproduction, prevention is the best defense. A proactive stance vs magic not only reduces the stress of preparing your spells for the day, but reduces the need to fill your head with staple spells like Protection From Energy.

So how does one prevent spellcasting? With Counterspell! Problem is, Counterspell in it default state is a reactionary ability. Not only do you need know what spell is coming at you, have that spell prepared yourself, and you need to ready your action to Counterspell it. That just won't do.

First we look at the feat Improved Counterspell. This alters the requirement of readied spell to be any spell of the same school, provided it can match or beat the spell level. Good, but not perfect. You still need to know the spell is coming.

For Sorcerers, Wizards, Clerics, and classes that use those spell lists, there is the spell Battlemagic Perception. A 3rd level spell, this baby gives you a boost to Spellcraft to identify the spell coming at you, and with 5 ranks in Spellcraft, you instantly sense all spells happening within line of sight/100 feet of you. Also, it gives Counterspell as a free action. Doing so ends the spell which is a bummer, but sometimes one 'lolnope' is enough. Until you're high enough level to be dealing with Quickened Spells, you've effectively stolen the caster's turn.

But it can go further. The feat Divine Defiance allows you to spend one use of Turn Undead or similar ability to immediate action Counterspell. Given the situational value of Turning, a Cleric probably has two to six more Turn attempts than they need in a day.

A character with all of these can fire off two Counterspells in the same round if need be. Very sexy.

But there are more fish in the sea, and lots of them like hitting people with sharp/blunt objects. The inherent martial solution to casters is hitting them, and the threat of hitting them. A caster within a threatened space must make a Concentration check (DC 15+(2xSpell level)) to cast their spells without provoking attacks of opportunity. At low levels this is a gamble, but at higher levels, with higher bonuses, this is an easy check.

The Disruptive feat increases the DC to cast defensively by 4. Improves the odds of failure... but what if you could guarantee failure?

Look no further than Mage Slayer. This feat makes defensive casting impossible.

The feat Supernatural Instinct covers a different, but important base. It causes any supernatural ability (such as spell-like abilities and breath weapons) used by a threatened foe to provoke an attack of opportunity.

Now, a caster can always Tumble (DC 15 to move safely) away or take a five foot step to get out of melee range. The solution here is twofold: either increase your reach, or make moving not an option.

Tactical use of the environment can force this caster up against a wall, a cliff, or just in the reach of another character.

Creating or emulating Difficult Terrain (halves move speed, cannot five foot step) has a myriad of options. There are spells galore, either produced by a friend, a magic item, or yourself if you multiclass.

For feats, Difficult Swings creates Difficult Terrain in your threatened space when you unleash a full attack. Scorpion Style cuts an enemy's speed down to 5 feet (Fort save negates), and Footslasher halves their speed on a successful attack.

Reach is often increased by being bigger (either magic or playing a Large character), but there are also reach weapons and the Extending weapon property to get an extra 5 feet between you and your enemy.

So these are all well and good, but what if you just really hate magic? What if other people casting spells at you is just the worst? Try Antimagic Field. A ten-foot radius bubble of Fuck You, available as a sixth level spell. No spells, no supernatural anything, and no magic items. Nothing works.

Oh yeah, you're a player character. You probably have and like your magic items. Recalculating bonuses is annoying, even with an app or digital sheet. Also, Antimagic Field means you, the caster, can't cast. Sadge.

But what if... haha, just kidding.

Unless? Selective Spell. A metamagic feat. +1 to the spell level, and one designated creature within a spell's area is unaffected by the spell. Select yourself, and enjoy all benefits of antimagic with no downsides.