I had a recent rules argument with a couple of fellow players during a spellcasting tournament. I'm a warlock/monk with the concentration spells silence and darkness, as well as the devil's sight invocation. I was standing in my magical darkness completely unseen, and cast silence on a space including both other contenders who were unable to move. They didn't have any counterspells left so it wouldn't have affected the outcome, but one of the players wanted to know if they could have counterspelled the silence, considering that I was in darkness when I began casting. I don't rightly know, so I'm interested to know if someone could have countered my silence.
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3\$\begingroup\$ Is the crux of your question whether the darkness ends in time to let your opponents see you casting silence so they can counter it? Or is it "can opponents use counterspell while I'm hidden in darkness?" \$\endgroup\$– gatherer818Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 1:53
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\$\begingroup\$ rpg.stackexchange.com/questions/72186/… related, duplicate? (Answer: concentration ends as soon as you begin casting the second spell, therefore you are visible and counterspell is possible, sorry) \$\endgroup\$– user73918Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 1:57
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\$\begingroup\$ Tylanderma, I made a number of edits to things I think your question implied, as they are important for generating a correct answer. Please roll back if any were not correct. The most important is that the darkness you were in when you cast silence was a magical effect created by your own spell. \$\endgroup\$– KirtCommented Jul 4, 2022 at 4:48
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Yes, they can
Casting another spell that requires concentration. You lose concentration on a spell if you cast another spell that requires concentration. You can't concentrate on two spells at once.
When you start casting Silence, that breaks your concentration on Darkness. At that point, they can see and Counterspell you.
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14\$\begingroup\$ You may want to one of the more explicit quotes: "As soon as you start casting a spell or using a special ability that requires concentration, your concentration on another effect ends instantly." from Xanathar's. Or "If you’re concentrating on a spell, your concentration on it ends immediately when you start casting another spell that requires concentration." from the SAC. The quote you've chosen doesn't actually indicate that "if you cast" = "if you start casting" \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 3:03
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\$\begingroup\$ @Exempt-Medic I don't want to, but if you do, the edit button is right there. \$\endgroup\$– Dale MCommented Jul 4, 2022 at 11:07
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1\$\begingroup\$ And I personally do not believe that is an edit I can make for you, especially when you've said you don't want that edit. I will point out that my comment has several upvotes, but it's your answer, not mine \$\endgroup\$ Commented Jul 4, 2022 at 13:39
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\$\begingroup\$ @Exempt-Medic no, it’s the Stacks answer. If you can make it better you don’t need and shouldn’t ask for my permission. \$\endgroup\$– Dale MCommented Jul 4, 2022 at 22:57