Casting Multiple spells in the First Round- Options?

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'm trying to list all the options one might have to preserve the action economy by being able to cast multiple spells right away at the start of combat.

Situation: Your PC's have just been attacked! Assuming you didn't know the attack was coming or didn't have the opportunity to Buff up, etc for the battle, what are the ways one could cast more than once spell in the first round of combat to be most prepared for the rest of combat?

Ideas I can think of:
-Quickened spells (4 spell levels higher)
-Factotum's level 8 Cunning Surge
-Contingency spells (Either Craft Contingent Spell feat available level 11, or Contingency level 6 spell)
-War Weaver's Eldritch Tapestry
-Belt of Battle
-Celerity spells

What other options are available?

 

[Nezkrul]

-Swift series of spells only take a swift action to cast
-Action points if your DM allows them
-Duskblade can quickcast some spells
-Have a spellcasting cohort from the leadership feats

 

[parinho7]

time stop
arcane fusion
greater arcane fusion
arcane spellsurge

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

-Swift series of spells only take a swift action to cast
-Action points if your DM allows them
-Duskblade can quickcast some spells
-Have a spellcasting cohort from the leadership feats

time stop
arcane fusion
greater arcane fusion
arcane spellsurge

That's what I'm talking about, keep the ideas coming.

 

[Greenfield]

I think I've mentioned the "Cursed Scroll" approach before. The mechanism if the Cursed scroll was that the spell went off as soon as the caster read the title. It was limited to spells that affected the caster, and was usually used the way the name suggests: as a way to surprise/injure the caster.

But the surprise/injure aspect isn't and never was an actual written requirement.

In 1st ed. the cost was a 15% surcharge on the cost of the scroll. It's less clear in later editions. This is definitely a "check with your DM" option.

If allowed it's a great way to slip in an extra buffing spell.

 

[Trouvere]

A few more possibilities:

Time stop comes rather late, but a Cerebremancer can open with temporal acceleration slightly sooner. Or a Psion can mess with the action economy something fierce of course.

Chain Spell (+3 metamagic, Complete Arcane) - marginally cheaper than Quicken, but more limited in use.

Retributive Spell (+1 metamagic, Complete Mage) - it's all gone wrong anyway, so chances are you're going to be hit. Uses an immediate action to trigger.

Double Wand Wielder (CA) - cast spells from two different wands as a full-round action.

Delay Potion (CM) - swift action to activate a previously drunk potion.

Use a limited wish to cast guards and wards as a standard action. There are probably much better uses for a 7th level slot! But it is effectively casting fog cloud, web, arcane lock, silent image, perhaps 2 stinking clouds, or a gust of wind, or a suggestion, and perhaps several other spells simultaneously, if you're conveniently inside.

Have a familiar add its own actions alongside yours, perhaps one capable of pronouncing command words, or take the Spell-Linked Familiar feat (PHB2).

Previously, have passed off some low level spells to your non-spellcasting companions with imbue with spell ability, so they can buff themselves rather than wait for you.

Cast a summon monster spell to summon more than one monster with their own SLAs to cast (e.g. 1d3 mephits with summon monster V), if you are a rapid summoning conjurer.

Imbued Summoning (PHB2) lets you cast two spells at once, though you're highly constrained as to the target of the extra spell, i.e. on your summoned monster. Combine with Cloudy Conjuration (CM) to get another simultaneous effect.

 

[emoplato]

Glyphs of Warding on cards
Runecaster with permanent touch trigger spells on empty ioun stones. Point your finger and watch the field light up.

 

[Binho]

let your familiar cast some spells for you. You can do this using him to deliver a touch spell that he was holding charge. Also you can give spells to it with the appropriated spell.

Contingency spell. Let's see, you can use it to store a buff spell and cast when you say "Ketchup". There are better uses, but you can cast whenever you want.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

Came across the Abjurant Champion level 2 ability Swift Abjuration, which applies Quicken Spell feat to all Abjuration spells (applicable spells of level 1/2 PrC level, round up) with no level adjustment. That's gotta be useful.

Master Specialist (Conjuration) level 7 can cast Standard Action Conjuration spells as Swift actions. Reduce your summons down to Standard actions and this could be very handy.

 

[Empirate]

White Rave Tactics.

Battle Blessing for Paladin spells.

Sudden Quicken (costly prereqs...).

Metamagic cost reducers to apply quicken cheaply (more of a corollary to Quicken Spell itself), especially the 'for free' things like with Anima Mage.

Apply single-target buffs to multiple recipients through Share Spells, War Weaver's Eldritch Tapestry, or Chain Spell should count.

Twin Spell should also count.

Multiple swift actions by way of Ruby Knight Vindicator allows the casting of multiple swift-action spells.

Channeling (Duskblade, Spellsword, Ordained Champion...) a spell through a Spellstoring weapon.

Get Haste 3.0 houseruled in (good luck...).