Repel is broken.

[Renojustin]

But here we have multiple spells that could otherwise be used to harry and harm thugs, SCs, and assassins, become complete wastes instead, and actually a detriment to cast. It's very disappointing, because it SHOULD work... but the mechanic for Repel is broken. So people counting on these spells to work properly could recieve a very nasty surprise, and that's just not cool.

So maybe it's more accurate to say that the spells are broken. Either way, it's disappointing to say the least.