A counter spell prevents other magic users from casting their spell. It can be used by a magic user to block a spell to various degrees of success. This DM didn’t use it with any villains in the campaign, except once, to block a resurrection in the final battle.
He killed a guy’s charector, then basically re-killed him right after.
He didn’t just re-kill him. He plastered over the stone that Jesus was trying to roll away. It’s brutal, and it’s what makes campaigns epic. If the last boss is a cake walk, then what’s the point. I hope the party survived and the barb is welcomed by their god.
The players were trying to bring their fallen comrade back to life (and back into the fight) but the DM opted to use an ability of the dragon to counter the spell, meaning dead dude stays dead.
I don’t know D&D but in Baldurs Gate, it’s a pretty high level spell, so you might only have 1 or 2 uses. And even if you can cast it again, that’s a high level spell slot that could have been used for damage or healing which is now gone.
And by the time your turn comes around again, the enemy will have had their turn and got their reactions back.
So they could just counterspell it again
I’d argue that’s besides the point. The game is supposed to facilitate collaborative fun. An important thing to remember as a GM is to be a fan of the players. Want them to succeed. Make it challenging, yes, but never make it “DM vs players”.
Besides, think of the lost dramatic potential. Perhaps the barbarian is haunted by what they briefly witnessed in the afterlife. Or, maybe, the cleric senses the dragon prepare the spell and as a boon their deity ensures the spell succeeds, but now the deity needs something in return from the barbarian, who didn’t agree to any of this.
Or they could just counterspell it and “beat” their players.
What would the result of this be? Non-D&D player here.
A counter spell prevents other magic users from casting their spell. It can be used by a magic user to block a spell to various degrees of success. This DM didn’t use it with any villains in the campaign, except once, to block a resurrection in the final battle.
He killed a guy’s charector, then basically re-killed him right after.
He didn’t just re-kill him. He plastered over the stone that Jesus was trying to roll away. It’s brutal, and it’s what makes campaigns epic. If the last boss is a cake walk, then what’s the point. I hope the party survived and the barb is welcomed by their god.
Trust issues, lol
The players were trying to bring their fallen comrade back to life (and back into the fight) but the DM opted to use an ability of the dragon to counter the spell, meaning dead dude stays dead.
Can’t they just cast it again?
I don’t know D&D but in Baldurs Gate, it’s a pretty high level spell, so you might only have 1 or 2 uses. And even if you can cast it again, that’s a high level spell slot that could have been used for damage or healing which is now gone.
And by the time your turn comes around again, the enemy will have had their turn and got their reactions back.
So they could just counterspell it again
They’d need the high level spell slots as well, is the only thing.
I’d argue that’s besides the point. The game is supposed to facilitate collaborative fun. An important thing to remember as a GM is to be a fan of the players. Want them to succeed. Make it challenging, yes, but never make it “DM vs players”.
Besides, think of the lost dramatic potential. Perhaps the barbarian is haunted by what they briefly witnessed in the afterlife. Or, maybe, the cleric senses the dragon prepare the spell and as a boon their deity ensures the spell succeeds, but now the deity needs something in return from the barbarian, who didn’t agree to any of this.
Or they could just counterspell it and “beat” their players.
A player rez being countered in the final big bad fight sounds like a dramatic scene to me. I’d hope the DM would ham it up when it happens.
Sounds like fun for the dead PC who gets to sit out the rest of the fight. On the up side, they can finally use the bathroom and get snacks.
As far as I can tell the group was trying to bring the barbarian back to life. But the counterspell prevented it. So barbarian stayed dead