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Counterspell:

Casting Time: 1 reaction, which you take when you see a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell

What does "you see" refer to, the creature or the casting of a spell? In other words, can you Counterspell for example, if you hear a creature within 60 feet of you casting a spell, and see the creature?

Example: You are looking at someone with full-face helmet, and they cast a verbal-only spell at someone else next to them. Can you Counterspell?

WakiNadiVellir
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    This isn't a general answer, but for your specific example, it's worth noting that by default, 5e doesn't model facing as a game mechanic (though there are optional rules for it), so generally the direction the caster is facing is not mechanically meaningful. – Ryan C. Thompson Jul 18 '20 at 15:17

1 Answers1

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You must be aware that the creature is casting a spell to Counterspell it.

If you can't see the creature performing the casting of the spell, how can you be sure that you see a creature casting a spell?

Also, seeing a creature casting a spell means that there is a visual line-of-effect to that creature and you can detect that they are casting the spell. Wearing helmets or facing the wrong way is mechanically irrelevant as long as you can draw line-of-effect to them.

In the event where you know a creature is casting a spell, but not which creature, then you do not see a creature casting a spell. You instead see a creature and hear a spell being cast. However, ears are remarkable and you can generally tell where sound is coming from if you have two of them. If you can see the creature that is casting the spell and hear them casting it, then you are aware that they are casting a spell and can Counterspell it.

Axoren
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  • This does not address the example scenario at all. If you believe that the scenario is impossible, please explain why. – Szega Jul 18 '20 at 16:24
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    @Szega To be fair, I edited the default scenario a bit. Now I feel I should edit it a bit more to make sure to not invalidate answer. – WakiNadiVellir Jul 18 '20 at 16:29