Reflex

Special 
This spell is cast on another spell. It converts that spell to function as a Blocking spell for one time only, then disappear. Unlike Delay or Link a Reflexed spell is triggered by the will of the caster, not by an external event. 
This means that while Reverse Missiles may be Reflexed to activate if the caster sees someone shoot at him, it will not be triggered by a shot in the back. It is treated as an active defense, similar to Parry or Block for all practical purposes (except retreating does not add 3 to the roll). Casting a Reflexed spell will interrupt any spell the caster is concentrating on, and is handled like any other Blocking spell.

When Reflex is cast, the linked spell must be cast immediately after Reflex, by the same caster. Each casting of Reflex will only work on one spell – it is not possible to have multiple spells operate as one Blocking spell. The skill roll for Reflex is rolled at the time of casting, but the roll for the linked spell is not made until it is cast as a Blocking spell. The energy cost for Reflex is paid at the time of casting Reflex, but the energy for the Reflexed spell is not paid until it is cast, whether as an active defense or otherwise. The time to cast a Reflexed spell is spent immediately after the Reflex is cast, but the success roll and energy cost are handled later.

A Reflexed spell counts as one spell “on” for spellcasting purposes – see p. 10. A Reflexed spell does not count as “on” when making the roll to cast itself. Thus, if a mage has four Reflexed spells on, any other spell he casts is at -4, but when he casts one of the Reflexed spells, it is only at -3 for the other three Reflexed spells on.

A Reflexed spell may be cast only once. It then disappears, and no  longer counts as a spell on. The effects are immediate, and the duration is instantaneous, not the duration listed for the original spell. This means that it is extravagant or even useless to cast certain spells as Reflexed! A Force Dome, for example, would stop one physical attack, then disappear – a fatiguing, but effective, defense! A Created Animal will appear, then disappear before it can make any action. (It might stop a missile during its brief existence, however. The GM may rule such an animal must be nearly equal in size to the target it is shielding.) Exceptions to this instantaneous result rule are spells with permanent results, such as Major Healing (VH) – their effects are indeed permanent.

Any person may carry any number of Reflexes. However, only one spell may be cast in any one turn. Remember also, that if a Reflexed spell is used as an active defense, no other active defense may be used against that attack, unlessAll-Out Defense is chosen.

A Reflexed spell may be cast as a regular action – it does not have to be cast as a defense. It takes one second to cast, regardless of the time it would normally require to cast.

All normal modifiers for distance and Magic Resistance are used when casting the Reflexed spell, if the subject of the Reflexed spell is distant from the person or object the Reflex itself is cast on.

Note that a mage may cast a Reflex on another person. The caster (not the subject) may activate it at any time, using long-distance modifiers. If the linked spell is cast on a subject other than the subject of the Reflex itself, the regular modifier for the distance to that subject is added to the long-distance modifier for the caster.

Example: Felix gives Beast-Soother as a Reflexed spell to Rudolph. Felix then activates a Wizard Eye to keep tabs on Rudolph as he goes hunting. Rudolph meets a short-tempered wild boar, which Felix observes through the Wizard Eye. Rudolph cannot activate the spell. Fortunately, he does not have to! Felix activates Beast-Soother as Rudolph tries an Animal Handling roll to calm the boar. Rudolph has gone about two miles into the woods, so Felix is at -3 for long distance. The boar is 3 yards away from Rudolph, so Felix is at another -3 for the range to the subject of the Reflexed spell. He is also at -1 for having Wizard Eye on. Thus, Felix casts Beast-Soother at -7, and pays the energy for the spell at that time. Fortunately he has it at level 21, so he casts it for the maximum effect. The boar is indeed calmed, and Rudolph goes on his way while Felix rests. The Reflexed Beast-Soother spell no longer exists. If Rudolph meets another animal, he’s on his own, though Felix may still be observing any action with his Wizard Eye. 
Blocking spells and Missile spells cannot be Reflexed; other spells can be.

Duration: 1 hour. 
Time to cast: 10 seconds. 
Cost: Equal to the cost to cast the subject spell – minimum of 1. Cost to maintain is the same. Note that skill with the Reflex spell does not affect cost to cast it. 
Prerequisites: Delay and Ward.