How do Indirect Area of effect Spells interact with Counterspelling?

Question

My understanding of Counterspelling is that it adds a pool of dice to your defence. That means if you try to hit someone with an indirect combat spell she makes a defense test with reaction + intuition + counterspelling assuming Spell defence was declared. The mage has a counterspelling pool equal to her counterspelling ranks and can spend as many dice of this pool to defend as she wishes. Furthermore my understanding of counterspelling direct Spells is that, since there is no defense test, they get added to the damage soak test. I'm not sure about this one since I can't find any rules for counterspelling and direct Spells but since the example on page 295 mentions that it is possible I assume that they get added to the soak test.

Now with an indirect area spell I'm not sure. According to page 283 they work like grenades so the caster has to make a Spellcasting + Magic [Force] (3) Test. So there is no defence test since just like grenades you can't dodge them unless with certain interupt actions from Run & Gun. Would counterspelling be rolled against the attack and decrease the amount of net hits and might cause scatter or would it be added to the soak similar to direct spells?

Answer 1

If it's an indirect spell, the player who is counterspelling gets to add their remaining counterspell dice and select which people this covers. These dice cover the defence test only, and not resisting damage. The idea is that you're trying to prevent the spell from hitting someone. If it hits, it hits.

The example on page 295 spells it out clearly:

...she is targeted by a Manabolt spell, so she decides to use 3 Counterspelling dice to help fend it off. As a result, she adds 3 dice to her Defense Test against the spell...

A second opposing mage then decides to pound Chordae’s team with a Fireball. She decides to use all 4 of her remaining dice to defend against this spell, and she designates herself and every member of her team as people protected by her efforts. That means Chordae and each of her teammates receives a +4 dice pool bonus to their Defense Tests.

Aside

The test mentioned in 283 means it is LIKE grenades. Right before that part it mentions:

The spell then is launched with an Opposed Test that pits the magician’s Spellcasting + Magic [Force] versus the target’s Reaction + Intuition, kind of like shooting a gun (in this case with bullets made of acid, or fire, or something equally unpleasant to be hit by).

People still get a chance to react to the spell, you just use the same scatter rules.