Soft-Hand Ward (Unweaving)

Although generally thought of as a complement to the Strong-Hand Ward, this magic-working is substantially different, to the point where some scholars argue that it isn’t a “spell” at all. Instead, a magician who detects other magic being worked nearby may attempt to unweave it. The act is not undertaken lightly, though, as it increases the danger for both parties.

The base cost in energy is equal to the base cost of the spell being undone, and requires a challenge roll of the un-weaver’s Gnosis skill (plus their skill in the spell, if any) against the weaver’s relevant skills.

* A tie on the challenge roll indicates that the spell is successful, but that the un-weaver is spared its effects.

* Beyond this, each degree of success by the un-weaver increases the difficulty of the spell check by one step and its initial energy cost by one strain. The weaver may choose to end the magic safely after paying only the normal initial cost, but must roll a Psychic save at the modified difficulty or be stunned for the rest of the scene. Alternately, the unweaver may protect additional specific targets (as they are protected in a tie) at the cost of one fatigue per target; in this case, additional degrees of success halve the extra cost.

* If the weaver defeats the challenge by more than one degree of success, they un-weaver is afflicted as if they had failed a check to cast the spell themselves. If the defeat is by more than three degrees of success, then the un-weaver is afflicted as if they had critically failed.