Topic: Handling spells like "Deflection"

[MariusH]

I was wondering how you people handle spells like deflection, blade turn, spell hold etc - that is, instant spells that actually target an attack. Do you cast the spell in the snap phase and concentrate while you wait for an attack of the anticipated type? Can you stand on opportunity saying "if someone makes an attack, I counter with the appropriate spell"? If so, do you have to specify what attack, or can you state that actual sentence? Can you initially state that you are preparing another spell (say, a ball spell), then, when an opponent fires a missile, cancel action and cast "Deflecion" instead?

[Marc R]

This thread:

http://www.ironcrown.com/ICEforums/index.php?topic=10364.0

Was the most recent. . .but a search on Deflection, Bladeturn or Aim Untrue should come up with a number of threads on the same issues.

[MariusH]

Thanks for the link, LordMiller. There were several interresting viewpoints there. I still like to think of these spells as targeting the ATTACK itself, not a person - just like the spell description reads. This is also, I think what is seen in the picture for this spell list (closed eddence).

Of course, one can argue that it's hard to have time to react and cast a spell after seeing a missile beeing fired (or a spell being cast). I still prefer to think of it this way. No way will I end up in the absurdities described in the initial post you linked to. I think, however, that I would allow an action (like the preparation of another spell) to be cancelled and a deflection/bladeturn/etc. cast when the appropriate attack was made.

I really can't believe any GM would allow a deflection or bladeturn to be cast in the morning and affecting the first incoming attack! Just goes to show how differently it is possible to interpret the same rule books  :-)

[Marc R]

trust me, it's come up a number of times before.

The major issue has always been that the spell must be cast before the attack, which seems to imply a need to either cast it in an earlier phase, or to have initiative and cast it before the attack in the same phase.

The errata states the spell must resolve within the round.

IMO the confusion is due to these spells text not being updated since the RM2 versions. . .in which spell phase always came before missiles or melee. . .so the spell resolved within the round, and was always declared and cast before the attacks it affected. . .since the order of actions was fixed in RM2, there was no need to address it as an interrupt.

Also quite obviously the spells were cast as a "I will choose to deflect/turn/untrue one attack this round", since no attack could even be declared until after spell results phase, so there was no way of knowing on spell phase who would be attacking where.

As to the anti spell spells. . .there's no initiative in RM2 spell phase if I recall correctly, so all spells within a round resolved simultaneously. . .also making it easy and clear if you cast on me, and I cast a spell against your spell, your spell has to deal with my counter.

Ideally, the more open round of RMSS would have provoked an updating of those spells to clarify all the potential order of action issues due to it now mattering who went first. . .but insofar as I'm aware, that never happened.