Dispel Magic

[Slimcreeper]

Dumb Questions that may be answered elsewhere: How aware of the effect does the adept need to be to Dispel it? And is the range of the talent to the edge of an effect or to the center of origin? Let's say, hypothetically, a Nethermancer cast Darkness and a wizard wanted to dispel it. Does the wizard just need to be within range of the edge of the darkness? Does the wizard need to know what the effect is or where it is in astral space? (asking for a friend)

And what if you Dispel on someone with multiple effects just to see if something happens? Like Iron Hand and Monstrous Mantle. Does a random effect drop?

[ChrisDDickey]

Some very interesting questions.

I recall that in another thread the arrived at answer was that the dispel range needed to extend to any part of the effect, so a Nethermancer who casts Ethereal Darkness needs to be within range of the center of the effect, and a Wizard Dispelling it just needs to be within range of any part of the area.
http://www.fasagames.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=260

I am intrigued by the aspect of your question of dispelling an illusion you have not seen through!
In the thread above, Mataxes has also said that you don't need to know the exact nature of an effect, just suspect that there is AN effect that could be dispelled.
So I would imagine that the following exchange might be appropriate.
Player: I do a Dispel Magic.
GM: You detect two effects. One you recognize as probably being Iron Hand. The other your character don't know what it is. Which do you want to attempt to dispel?
(the character does not know what it is, because it is an illusion that he has not seen through.)
Player: I would like to dispel whichever is making him most fierce.
GM: OK, the tusks and glowing red eyes fade away and you recognize that it had been under a monstrous mantel spell.

[Lursi]

That is like opening a lock you haven’t found yet.

[ChrisDDickey]

Except if you are using ether Astral Sight, or Dispel Magic, you are probably aware that there are effects, and how many different effects there are. It would be normal to not be sure what all the effects are. But my understanding is that Dispel Magic allows you to dispel the effect that most closely matches what you want to dispel.

So here is another brain bender. If you suspect that somebody somewhere nearby is using Stealthy Stride, Nobody Here, or some other hiding effect, but have not seen through it, is it possible to Dispel the hiding effect upon the person you have not located?

[Bonhumm]

It's way too early for questions like these.

For the original question, I did not read the whole thread Chris linked but casting dispel on an effect that 'might' be there sounds a bit like casting a spell where you 'think* someone is (I can't see him but I'm pretty sure he's hiding behind that couch) , which will not work. Sure would like to have Mataxes input on this

Except if you are using ether Astral Sight, or Dispel Magic, you are probably aware that there are effects, and how many different effects there are. It would be normal to not be sure what all the effects are. But my understanding is that Dispel Magic allows you to dispel the effect that most closely matches what you want to dispel.

Illusion magic affect the Astral Imprint too, so the imprint of someone with 'horns' from Monstrous Mantle would also have those horns, you could not deduce that it is an illusion from Astral Sight alone.

So here is another brain bender. If you suspect that somebody somewhere nearby is using Stealthy Stride, Nobody Here, or some other hiding effect, but have not seen through it, is it possible to Dispel the hiding effect upon the person you have not located?

I would say yes since the user 'needs to be within Rank x2 yards of the target effect' so, as long as the target is within this range, Dispel Magic would work.

[ChrisDDickey]

Two quick points.
In Earthdawn "Dispel Magic" is not a spell it is a Talent, so restrictions on Spell targeting don't apply, only restrictions on Talent usage.

As in my example, I was thinking that most mind effecting illusions would show up as "unidentified magic". So yes, I agree that Monstrous mantel would not be showing up as being associated with the horns or the glowing eyes. It would be showing up as "a magic effect you have no idea what it is doing".

But the main point is that you could still dispel it, even if you don't know the exact effect. If you describe what sort of thing you want to dispel, the GM picks the most appropriate effect. If you say "whichever is making him most fierce", it would pick Rampage over Monstrous Mantel, Monstrous Mantel over Iron Hand, and Iron Hand over Displace Image.