Breach spells strip an enemy mage of magical defenses. Lesser spell breach strips two spells, greater spell breach strips four spells, and Mordenkainen's disjunction strips six spells. In addition, a breach will lower spell resistance for ten rounds, excluding resistance from diamond soul. The reduced spell resistance is an extraordinary effect, so it cannot be dispelled (but is subject to other means of removal, such as lesser restoration). A breach will not affect friendly targets, after accounting for the PvP setting.
This stripping operates in a different manner than a dispel. The two could even be considered complementary, particularly in the case of Mordenkainen's disjunction (which both breaches and dispels). When a dispel targets a single creature, it attempts to remove all magical effects (not just defenses) from that creature, but there is a chance of failure for each effect. A breach, on the other hand, removes only a preset number of effects and only those from an established list of spells, but it does so with no chance of failure.
As a guideline, the types of magical defenses stripped by a breach include the ability to avoid detection (e.g. sanctuary), immunities to particular types of effects, immunities to a spell or a group of spells, spell resistance, saving throw bonuses, armor class bonuses, concealment, damage reduction, damage resistance, damage immunity, and damage shields. However, not all defenses that provide these benefits are breachable. Specifically, the spells that can be breached and the order in which they are removed (up to the limit of the particular breach being used) are the following.
- Greater spell mantle
- Premonition
- Spell mantle
- Shadow shield
- Greater stoneskin
- Ethereal visage
- Globe of invulnerability
- Energy buffer
- Greater sanctuary
- Minor globe of invulnerability
- Spell resistance
- Stoneskin
- Lesser spell mantle
- Mestil's acid sheath
- Mind blank
- Elemental shield
- Protection from spells
- Protection from elements
- Resist elements
- Death armor
- Ghostly visage
- Endure elements
- Shadow conjuration (mage armor)
- Negative energy protection
- Sanctuary
- Mage armor
- Stone bones
- Shield
- Shield of faith
- Lesser mind blank
- Ironguts
- Resistance
Notes[]
- The following spells provide defenses similar to those that can be breached, but these spells cannot be breached: aura versus alignment, barkskin, clarity, death ward, displacement, entropic shield, freedom of movement, greater shadow conjuration (ghostly visage and minor globe of invulnerability), improved invisibility, invisibility, invisibility sphere, magic circle against alignment, protection from alignment, shades (stoneskin), undeath's eternal foe, and wounding whispers.
- Some spells on the breach list may be cast multiple times on the same character (whether or not the spell effects stack). When breached, the effects from all instances of such a spell are removed.
