Hints For Namers

Namer Cheat Sheet

William wrote this to help me understand how namer works. Please feel free to add more advice to this page.
Thanks Bridget.

Counterspells

• Counter spells for Namers do not have to be prepared like other spells; they are simply cast (taking only one action, not two for a prepare and cast).
• Can be cast on
  • an entity (two of the same college type; General & Special), and the Namer gains a bonus to cast chance based on rank in Name of the entity target.
  • an area of ground (two of the same college type; General & Special) as long as no other counter spell is already in place, with no bonus from Names. The only college that can cast while standing in a counter spell of their type is; Pacifistic Earth Mages. Area effect counter spells do not stop them casting (see Hand & a half sword for assistance)
    

• They add 30 + 3/rank to Magic resistance (to the resistance of that type of magic - for example E & E Special Counter spell would give bonus to resist E & E Special Knowledge spells - half effect against pacifist earth mages).
  
• They have an area of 15 ft diameter (mega-hex), can double or triple the area (25 and 35 ft).
  
• Can't cast inside the counter spell. So for example if you are standing in a E&E Special counter (on the ground) then an E&E mage would not be able to cast a Special Knowledge spell, but would be able to cast a General Knowledge spell. Does not stop pacifist Earth mages. The counter spells do not stop, or change preparing a spell in any way, only the cast - See talk page.
  
• Temporarily deactivate wards while spell duration is in effect.
  
• You can remove one of your own spells with a counterspell.
  
• Some spells can be removed by casting a counterspell at them, one counterspell will dissipate one spell.

Special Namer uses:

• Removing Wards (and clearing Investeds, potions, and traps), using Expel Magic Talent
• Sending summoned beings back; cast Banishment spell on self first
• Removing spell effects quickly, casting Dispel magic on self first
• Removing spell effects slowly, via special use of Ritual Spell Prep

Wards

• Anyone can temporarily suppress that part of a Ward in the area of a counterspell.
  • Wards with large areas may need several casts to make a path through.
  • On the plus side, once the Counter has expired, the owner of the Ward needs to DA or Div to know you were there.
• Namers can 'dissipate' an entire Ward by using their Expel Magic Talent (T-2), and aiming the appropriate Counter at the named spell in the Ward.
  • Just need to see part of the Ward to get rid of all of it.
  • Need to aim at the right spell, using the right Counter, so be careful with the DA questions.
  • Once the Counter is cast, has the 50% +/- diff in rank x3 thing (Talent rk vs stored spell rk).
  • Owner can easily notice that the area doesn't have a magical aura any more.
• Disjunction (S-4) stops any stored magic going off in a area.
  • Great if you don't have the right Counter
  • Decent area and duration (10 + 10 ft, 1 + 1 minute)
  • Stops lots of things working (including, depending on GM, Healing Potions).

Banishing

DA question: Counterspell required to banish?
What can be banished?
Elementals
All greater summonings e.g. spkn -Demons, gkn-devils imps, succubi,
Light/Dark sphere
Efreeti
Salamander
What can't be?
Anything that's native to plane.
Avatars that haven't been summoned (plus sometimes summonables etc that got here via a portal etc) – capture and expel.

Removing Spell Effects

• Any spell effect you can dispel. Cast dispel on yourself, then the counter spell on the spell effect.
  • Need to get the spell name right, so a DA to confirm (preferably by someone else!) can save a bunch of frustration.
  • The target gets to passively resist the Counter (if appropriate - entities who were the target of a defence spell you are trying to remove yes, blobs of Darkness no).
  • Also has 50 +/- difference in spell rank thing - use rk of targeted spell effect and Dispel rk.
    • Note that the spells you are trying to Dispel (often Armours, Weapons) tend to be in the EM 200-300 range (and at Rk11-20), while Dispel is EM 400.
  • Curses need a Remove Curse ritual (see below)
• You can also dissipate by ritually casting the counterspell.
  • Takes one hour (at least). For every hour you do a ritual spell preparation you get +3 to cast.
  • They can resist this too (however often a party member trying to get rid of something), but no additional rank-based roll.

Remove Curse

Namers are extra good at doing these rituals

• Get a higher Base Chance of +2/Rank for Minor curses and +1/Rank for Major curses.
• As its a Namer College Ritual (it's non-Colleged for everyone else), you also get to add your Names bonus - another good reason to rank your ITN.

Namer vs Cantrips

GM's call, varies from can't effect them (as they are non-colleged) to remove with any Counter ('cause they is wimpy).

Special Cases

Binders
Instant golems can be deactivated by dispel magic (binder special counter) DA Qu: Is this an instant golem?
Regular Golems cannot be dispelled or dissipated. (Maybe disjunct)
Bubble of force can dispelled with just a counterspell at equal or greater rank.
If you don't have a good enough counterspell then you dispel + counter.


E&E
Sleep can be dispelled by just the E&E general counter spell.
Evil eye is a curse that can be dispelled or dissipated. See talk page


Illusions
Any spell in the college of illusions with the name "illusion of" or "Illusory".. can be dispelled by just the correct counterspell, although permanent ones must be counterspelled by the caster.
Nightmares are banished by casting special Knowledge illusion on the nightmare. A nightmare cannot enter an area effect special knowledge counter.
Maze is a spell not an illusion.
Multiple Images – counterspelling will remove 1 image if targeted. If the real image is targeted, all images vanish.
True seeing will reveal all illusions, but not allow you to clearly see the truth under the illusion.
Permanency – a permanent illusion is effectively a ritual, and thus can't be dispelled, except by the Adept that cast it.


Mind
Phantasm – A mind special counter spell cast on the area will dispel all phantasms within that area.
A phantasm can enter a mind special area counter spell (and then can't be counterspelled).
Mental Attack – requires dispel. The counterspell goes on the person being attacked.


Namer
A general knowledge area counterspell can be dispelled as normal.
Disjunction and Bain can be dispelled.
A summoned entity on your side can receive a namer general counter spell to receive a bonus to resist banishments.
Resisting the Oppositions Dispel effects: Cast namer general counter on person.


Air
If you are dispelling a large area effect, you only need to hit the spell with the counterspell i.e. you don't have to target the whole area affected.
Summon + Bind Cloud: This can be banished.
There is nothing you can do about bound air - its a ritual.

Celestials
Shadow form/coruscate are good candidates for being dispelled.
Light and dark spheres can be banished.
Meteoric shower: the target hex will have a magical aura that can be dispelled.
Falling Star: the target hex will have a magical aura that can be dispelled.


Earth
Elementals: Can be banished. Since earth elementals are controlled by a spell the control can be dispelled.
Lesser Enchantment (good or bad) can be dispelled/dissipated.
Animals summoned by Earth mages can't be banished.
There is nothing you can do about bound Earth - its a ritual.

Fire
Fire Armour can be dispelled, although try to verify it's there (DA).See talk page
Efreeti, salamanders and elementals can all be dispelled.
There is nothing you can do about bound fire - its a ritual. It is not magical fire, you can't resist it.

Ice
Elementals: Can be banished


Water
Elementals: Can be banished
Can't do anything about flash flood except stand in a counter spell.
Ship strength can be dispelled.
Water breathing can be dispelled.


Greater Summoning
Imps, Succubi, devils and other minions are banished with gnknCS.
Demonic Avatars, if summoned are banished with spknCS.
When summoning, the summoner stands within the pentacle. The summoned entity stands within the triangle.
a counterspell will stop a summoning from occuring for the next welve hours

Necromancy
Animated corpses (zombies and skeletons) can be dispelled.
Greater undead can be made uncontrolled by dispelling the binding.
Wraith Clock is an obvious defence spell.
Spectral warriors can be dispelled by an area special counterspell under then.
They can't enter an area spknCS.
Necromantic spells which have been made permanent can still be dispelled.


Rune
Runes count as a protonic language and can be easily learned by namers (???). You can read the runes and see what spell it is without DAing it.
Runes are spells and can be dispelled as normal.


Witchcraft
Love Philtres, infertility, and fertility potions are minor curses and need remove curse.
Damnum Minatum can be removed with Wicca gnknCS i.e. don't need remove curse.
Skin Change: may be reversed with spknCS (no dispel)