Official Move Approval IV

[Ebonywood Hellscythe]

@Ebony: I asked Omni for a second opinion and he agreed with the point that I mentioned above. You'll need to increase the stamina drain; even if it's fairly light, it can't be effortless. Similarly, the fact that it homes will cut into the strength of the move to some degree. With the strength of homing that you have right now--which essentially lets you completely get around shields--it's not going to much of an effect against a charged attack, even one that takes a couple of seconds. If you want to keep the version you have here, just add in something mentioning that it is a bit draining and clarify the part about charged attacks to not include solely ones that take over 5 seconds.

Thanks for bringing that up for me Mark.

Stamina drain it is, then. I guess I won't be using it a lot, anyway. I generally need homing because I've got low TEC. But considering what you said about strength, I'll nerf it down to a turning circle of 2m radius since that should be enough to compensate for bad aim. And I've slowed the speed to 1.5 times that of an arrow. Although, surely there's something to be said about a 5-second paralysis? Isn't that more punishing than a 5-second charge time? If I'm having that, I'd like to be able to block a 5 second charged attack (or slow and deflect it enough so it does very minimal damage), especially considering someone can literally charge another attack while Ebony is paralysed or go to town on her with anything else. I could add the "nearby ranged attacks home towards her" drawback I used for the multishot of elemental blast if it helps? For now, I'm leaving that out.

Changes in bold.

Counterspell (300) Requires: Ranged, Homing, Ranged Control
[spoiler]
Ebony fires a fist sized bolt of magic from the palm of one of her hands with the intention of countering an opponent's ranged attack. This is fairly tiring for her to cast and will leave her out of breath once the paralysis ends (see later), often causing her to stumble. Despite this, she can cast the spell instantly (although she may take a short time to aim her wrist, this generally isn't necessary due to the nature of this spell). The blast of magic may take the cosmetic appearance of any element, although this is purely cosmetic. The projectile is very fast moving and travels 50% faster than an arrow (~225 mph) for 5 seconds before dissipating (if it hasn't collided with anything already). The split second the spell is fired, Ebony's body locks up in paralysis. This paralysis lasts 5 seconds. While paralysed Ebony cannot physically or mentally do anything to stop people attacking her. She can't use moves or powers or attempt to dodge or speak. Her mind is also a mess, which would make any mental communication impossible for this period of time should an ally try to contact her that way (and also make her vulnerable to mental assaults).

Even though she's paralysed, once the spell is fired Ebony picks a target for it (she can do so instantly, so in some cases, it may look like she fired with the target already in mind). Ebony must be able to see the target at the time she chooses it, but beyond that, the spell acts independently. While the spell has no target it travels in a straight line. Ebony can choose any projectile as a target (such as an arrow, energy blast, or even a laser in some cases if it moves at a slow enough speed for her to see where the end of it is). Once the target is chosen, the spell heads straight towards where the target is heading. Essentially aiming to meet the opponent's spell before it reaches its target (think the cool people in books/movies who shoot other people's arrows with their own), which allows Ebony to potentially use this to protect an ally. Due to the homing nature of this spell, it locks onto the target and will follow the attack even if it curves. Besides the initial instant turn (when the target is chosen) the sharpest turn the spell is capable of making is a semi-circle with a radius of 2 metres.

When the counterspell collides with an opponent's ranged attack, two things can occur:

• If both projectiles are equal in strength (Ebony's ATK against the opponent's ATK, although more fatiguing attacks or those with a charge time longer than about 5 seconds may be stronger even if used by a weaker opponent), or Ebony's spell is stronger, then they both dissipate.
  
• If Ebony's spell was weaker than the opponent's attack, it transfers its momentum to the attack. This may cause it to bend or deflect slightly if it hits at an angle, otherwise, it'll simply slow it down and reduce the damage. Ebony's spell dissipates.
  

This spell does not damage people, only "high energy objects" (projectile attacks).

Homing clarifications: Where is Ebony's counterspell heading?

• Take a snapshot in time and note the velocity and position of the opponent's spell and the speed and position of Ebony's spell.
  
• Ebony's spell heads in a straight line to the closest point where both attacks would meet if they kept their respective speed and velocity. Rocks, trees, and general unmoving terrain are accounted for in this movement path, so Ebony's spell may curve if needed.
  
• When Ebony's spell curves, it has a turning radius of 2 metres.
  
• A controllable or homing attack may curve, Ebony's spell will still aim following the same routine as usual. So will try and cut off the opponents attack in the direction it looks like it's going. 
  

Core limitations: Outside of paralysing her for 5 seconds, there's another major limitation of this move. Ebony is not a skilful or fast fighter. She's human and thus has a reaction time. Therefore, unless she is able to anticipate the firing of a bullet, it's highly unlikely she'll be able to use this to counter a very fast moving object (without stat changes or transformations). 

RP Notes: if agreed, some explosive attacks may simply explode on impact with Ebony's spell regardless of the stats and strengths involved. Furthermore, Ebony does not intend to get paralysed while using this move, and will often not realise it's going to happen until too late. In most (not all) instances it's essentially an "I panicked" spell rather than something more calculated - although the short-term paralysis may make her panic more.
[/spoiler]