Reactive Dispel
A latent abjuration that triggers when the caster cannot react
Reactive Dispel leaves a dormant abjuration watching for hostile magic. While dormant, it appears as a faint shimmer visible only through magical detection. The caster must know Dispel Magic at level 7 to cast it.
Its typical use is to watch and protect one character, but the caster may place it on any creature or over a fixed area. A ward placed on a creature travels with it. A ward placed over an area watches for matching spells cast within it, entering it, or targeting something inside it. The watched area can be no larger than the area allowed by Dispel Magic at the caster's CL.
When Reactive Dispel detects a matching spell, it triggers immediately without an action, even if its caster is asleep or unable to react. Resolve the defense as a level 7 Dispel Magic against the incoming spell, using the caster level of the character who created the ward. Triggering the ward costs no additional spell slot.
Triggers
The caster defines the conditions in advance:
- Incoming power: Weak+, Medium+, or Strong+.
- Spell school: Transmutation, Enchantment, mind control, a chosen subschool, or another specified school.
- Caster identity: named individuals, such as Gérard Alois.
- Time: periods such as night, dawn, or dusk.
Maintenance
Each Reactive Dispel reserves one level 9 spell slot every day. That slot reduces the caster's maximum available level 9 slots and cannot be spent or recovered while the ward is maintained. If the caster stops paying this daily cost, the ward ends.
The Intelligence modifier limits the number of Reactive Dispels the caster can maintain. Advanced Spell Traps count against the same limit.
| INT Modifier | Wards Maintained |
|---|---|
| +10 to +19 | 1 |
| +20 to +29 | 2 |
| +30 or higher | 3 |
A caster with +15 INT can maintain one Reactive Dispel. Doing so reduces their maximum available level 9 spell slots by 1 each day.