Example Powers 10: Dispel ("I cast magic missile!" "Nuh-uh!")

The Dispel power is used to cancel another power. Classic examples include opening a magically sealed door by turning to the nearest magician and asking "Can't you wizard it open?" Or, turning to your Chief Engineer when faced with an enemy ship with powerful shields and asking "Can you re-modulate the frequency of our gigionic torpedoes to penetrate their plasmonic shields?" (The answer is yes because anything with that many made up technical words is bound to work!)

Dispel: This power negates another character's power. The two power users make opposed power activation rolls. If the Dispel user wins against a power with a longer duration (e.g. an Instant Dispel against a Focus or Scene power), the other power is negated for the duration of the Dispel power and may reassert itself. If the Dispel power is used with a longer duration than the targeted power, the user of Dispel may make further opposed rolls against subsequent repeated uses of the targeted power during the duration of the the Dispel. (Note that in some settings with multiple sources of powers, it is possible that one type of power may not be able to counteract the others, or may do so at a penalty, or they may interact normally. It is even possible that some settings with powers may lack the ability to dispel them at all.)

• Among the Necromancers of Taj Neroth, the followers of one god may dispel the powers granted by another god in a “rock-paper-scissors” relationship. Nai Ctagn's worshipers can dispel powers granted by Lopcilthoth whose followers can dispel powers granted by Chuchilbara whose followers can dispel Nai Ctagn's boons. All three can dispel the powers granted through lesser gods of the Taj Neroth pantheon, with the exception of Al'alam the Outcast. Dispel is the only power that Al'alam grants to its followers, but its version of the spell works against the entire Taj Neroth pantheon, including the Triumvirate.
• The Elemental Mages know many variations of this power. “Elemental Disruption” is a Scene power that must be learned separately for each element. A given version of “Elemental Disruption” may be used to counteract spells of an opposing element. For example, “Earth Disruption” may be used to ground Lightning magic or block Air magic while “Water Disruption” may be used to extinguish Fire magic. “Aether Disruption” is an unaligned version of this spell that may be used against any elemental spell (or non-elemental magic such as the spells of the Astrologers of Taun) but the caster's opposed roll suffers a -1D penalty against elemental spells and a -2D penalty against other magic.
• Aetheric Engineers, Hermetic Dynamicists, and Cryobionicists all have devices that can be used to interfere with their own particular power source. Aetheric Engineers have the Aether Dampening Field Generator, a Scene device that allows its user to jam the signals of Aetheric power transmission. As long as the field is active, any device that draws on Aetheric power transmissions may be targeted for disruption: the device's user must first beat the dampening field user with a Knowledge: Aetheric Engineering roll to overcome the jamming signal. Hermetic Dynamicists have a Focus device called the Thermokinetic Nullifier that can be used to counteract other Hermetic Dynamics powers by absorbing or dissipating the energy that is focused into them but it can only be used against powers that would affect the Nullifier's user. Cryobionicists have developed Gremlin Frost, a device that takes the form of dust-sized ice mites that attack, corrode, and otherwise gum up cryobionic devices. Gremlin Frost mites can be deployed by grenades (Instant), sprayer guns (Focus), or factory mines that continuously generate more mites when activated (Scene) and can also be directed to interfere with Hermetic Dynamics (at a -2D penalty) or Aetheric Engineering devices (at a -1D penalty).
• The Dai Zha and Ma Quy templars do not use this power because the Source cannot be disrupted or destroyed, only countered by powers with opposing effects.
• The Tyrian Brotherhood has several specific versions of this power. The Brothers Hospitaler have a prayer called “Flames of Purity” that can be used (at any duration but no range) to counteract powers that cause poisoning, disease, or other cursed afflictions. The Battle Chaplains have a Focus prayer called “The Hammer of Light” that can be used to disrupt “dark constructs” (i.e. items empowered by an evil power source like infernalism or necromancy) and another called “Circle of Protection” which can be used to defend against direct attack spells by those same dark sources. The witch- and ghost-hunting knights called the Brothers Sepulchral know all these powers as well as “Banishment”, a power that can be used to exorcise spirits or return summoned creatures to their place of origin.