A rigid spell must be memorized as such, and requires roughly 10 times the casting time.. a first level spell has a casting time of 10 ticks (in most cases).. or roughly one round. A normal second level spell requires two rounds to cast, and higher level spells take multiple rounds. Given the increased power curve of spells in Sonari, this is not a major problem, as a single high level spell can do enormous amounts of damage.
In return for this extra slow preparation, the spell's flare thresholds are divided by 10, meaning in average circumstance it suffers only a one percent chance of flaring or fizzling (and, because the threshold is much smaller, is much easier to control when it does).
A disruptive counterspell attempts to destroy the magical framework of a spell, thus rendering it useless. A memorized DRC can negate a memorized spell of up to one level higher. An open-slotted DRC counts as one level lower for the purposes of what it can counter. Conversely, an open-slotted spell is one level "easier" to counter. Spells which have been cast using rigid casting techniques are immune to DRCs.
DR counters have a casting time of 1 tick less than their level, with a minimum of 1 tick, but like all counterspells must finish before or simultaniously with the target spell to have effect. They have a range of 10m/spell level, belong to the Abjuration school. (Thea casting time issues of all the counterspells would need to be reworked to deal with third ed or alternate intiative systems).
Contested counterspells are a Divination spell whereby the caster uses his or her force of will to interfere with another casting in progress. When successfully cast, they require both mages to make intelligence checks at a penalty equal to the level of the target spell. If both mages succeed, the target spell is delayed for two ticks, and the process repeats; the DM should decide at what point the spell wraps into the next round. If the counterspelling mage fails the deck, the spell goes off (possibly after some delay due to previously tied checks). If he succeeds and the original spell's caster fails, the spell is destroyed. If either mage loses concentration before the process is concluded, they lose the contest.
Each level of counterspell above the first grants a bonus of +1 to the caster's intelligence check, and open slotting them has no negative effects. Static targets or CTCs both grant the caster a bonus of +3 to the check. CTCs can affect any caster within earshot.
A power sink is a form of counterspell which reduces the effecitve power of the target spell. They fall within the school of conjurations because they use point-portals to channel the energy out of a spell, and can not be cast from an open slot. Once cast, a power sink remains active for a short period, usually 4-5 minutes. It can be released as a normal action to drain a number of levels from a target spell being cast nearby (a 25m range). The exact effect of the lost levels (equal to the one less than the level of the counterspell) is up to the DM, but can usually be obtained by scaling down one or more of the numerical factors in the spell, linearly. Rigid targets require that the PSC be memorized using rigid techniques as well, but otherwise confer no additional requirements.
Spikes are an evoker's method of jolting the target spell with a burst of energy, requiring the caster to sacrifice spell levels to maintain the spell. An Nth level FSC forces the target to make a willpower check at -N, with failure indicating that the target spell is destroyed and has no effect. The affected caster may canibalise from his or her remaining spells, using the mental stamina reserved for those spells to stablise the current endeavour.
| Spell levels sacrificed | Int check modifier |
|---|---|
| 2 | +1 |
| 4 | +2 |
| 8 | +3 |
| 16 | +4 |
There are only 4-6 demon races who use spellcasting extensively, but most don't get "memorized" counterspells. Also, not all of the demon races use counterspells, and only one is known to use an equivalent of rigid spellcasting (The Tan'ari of course)
The characters can be provided access to research notes (or possibly even memorisation scrolls) as they become available. The first iteration of includes only a basic psiblast at second level and a more powerful version at level 5. Both require a 'hitroll' against the target's MAC, and give a bonus to hit equal to the level of the spell (on top of any bonuses the mage gets from mental stats, equal to a psionicist). If they hit, the level two version does 15 PSPs and the level 5 does 40 PSPs damage. Neither has any effect on an open mind, nor will it drive an opponent below 0 PSPs (the "deep mind"). Finally, casting a psiblast spell will destroy any psiscreens present on the caster. They can, however, be cast as rigid spells. (Third Edition campaigns will have to adjust these to whatever system of psionics they use).
Psiscreens are defensive spells in a similar vein. Somewhat more refined, their development was aided by a gift from Demessus earned by the heroes of the war. The level 2 version gives a bonus of 3 MAC and lasts for 1 turn per level of the caster. The level 4 version gives 6 MAC but lasts only one round per level of the caster.
The interesting thing about psi screens is they come in different flavours, much like regular psionic defenses. Each flavour is stronger against one type of attack, weaker against two, and must be learned as a separate spell (with a 0.5 time modifier for all but the first). However, they can be memorized as one single spell and the flavour chosen at casting time (even as a static spell). Finally, they don't stack with spells like bless or recitation for MAC.