Useful Counterspelling (3.5e Variant Rule)

== Useful Counterspelling==

Introduction
Counter spelling is pointless. The only real use is in specialized dueling systems which never come up anyway. This variant fixes this and also makes caster level more important.

Rule Mechanics
If a spell is cast within your line of sight and short range you may counterspell it as an immediate action. You may expend any spell of the appropriate school (or abjuration) as long as its level is greater than or equal to the level of the original spell plus the difference between your caster levels halved (round down). If the spell is targeted it must target the caster of the spell you wish to counter or target of that spell, and if the spell covers an area one must be in that area. If you use a greater spell level than required to counterspell there is a 20% chance that your spell operates normally despite the counterspell for each spell level it supersedes the minimum, however your caster level decreases by 1 for that casting,  and the DC decreases by 2. You can use a lower spell level to counterspell but then there's a cumulative 20% chance that it will dissipate and fail to counterspell for each level below.