Dispel Magic
Remove magic from an area or an item
Dispel Magic tears active magic apart. It can stop a spell before it resolves, end an effect already in place, suppress a magic item, or destroy an enchantment at higher levels.
Dispel Check
The caster and the targeted magic make an opposed caster level check:
1d20 + Dispel Magic CL against 1d20 + target CL.
Dispel Magic succeeds only when its result is higher. The existing magic survives a tie. A permanent duration offers no protection: an effect remains dispellable for as long as it remains magical, unless its own rules say otherwise.
The caster does not need to understand or perceive the magic. They may target an effect they believe to be present or cast into an area blindly. If the guessed effect or location is wrong, the spell is spent without finding anything.
Ending an effect stops its remaining magic but does not reverse consequences that already occurred. Dispel Magic does not heal damage, rebuild destroyed matter, or neutralize a physical poison after removing its magical enhancement.
Countering an Incoming Spell
Level 3 can target a spell that is still being cast or traveling toward its target. Dispel Magic must be declared and completed before that spell resolves. Use the normal Reflex duel when the order of the two castings is uncertain. If Dispel Magic finishes in time and wins its caster level check, the incoming spell ends before taking effect.
Area Dispels
An area dispel is indiscriminate. It attacks allied and hostile magic alike, but does not target Dispel Magic itself. Roll once for Dispel Magic and reduce that result by 10%. Every spell effect or magic item in the area rolls its own defense against that result. One successful defense does not protect anything else.
An effect crossing the area is dispelled as a whole, not merely inside the affected space. An area casting can also destroy an unseen Scrying view when it happens to catch that view.
Caster level determines the largest area the caster may choose.
| Caster Level | Maximum Area |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Medium |
| 6–10 | Large |
| 11–15 | Huge |
| 16–20 | Gargantuan |
| 21+ | Colossal |
Magic Items
Magic items follow the enchantment rules. The item defends with its Item CL. After any area penalty is applied:
- Dispel Magic must exceed the item's result by 25% to disrupt every enchantment on it for 1d3 rounds.
- It must exceed the item's result by 50% to destroy every enchantment on it permanently.
A dispel cannot select one property from an item. Its material, craftsmanship, and ordinary functions remain intact. Dwarven runes have no caster level and cannot be dispelled.
Spell Scaling
Each version can use any mode from a lower level.
| Spell Level | New Capability |
|---|---|
| 3 | Dispel one incoming or active spell effect. |
| 5 | Dispel every spell effect in an area, or disrupt one magic item for 1d3 rounds. |
| 7 | Destroy one item's enchantments permanently, or disrupt every magic item in an area for 1d3 rounds. |
| 9 | Dispel every spell effect and permanently destroy the enchantments on every magic item in an area. |