2 simple questions about summoning

Wolfix

First Post
1. Summoning a monster/Creating an Astral Construct requires a full round action. Does this mean I lose my dex bonus to ac during that round or am otherwise less able to defend myself? I mean, I am supposed to be concentrating the whole time...
I ran into this while running a small mock combat for fun and discovered I would like to take a 5ft step back & create an astral construct. Of course the vile gnolls attacking me would take a 5ft step forward and try to hit me, and it struck me as kinda odd that I would still have my normal defense up for that round.

2. My 3.0 phb tells me (p148) "You must make all pertinent decisions about a spell (range, target, area, effect, version, etc.) when you begin casting."
The srd (3.5, right?), under both the magic & psionics section, tells me "You make all pertinent decisions about a spell/power (range, target, area, effect, version, and so forth) when the spell/power comes into effect."
So am I right in assuming that I can place my Astral Construct just before the beginning of my next turn instead of choosing where when I start manifesting?
 

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1. You retain your Dex to AC when casting or manifesting. Yes, you do have to concentrate while doing it, but to me it's a minor thing which spellcasters and manifesters have trained their minds for, so they only need to devote relatively minor concentration to it (though you and I would find it hard to concentrate on). Though, it still is easy to get distracted from a wandering blow. It's better not to be concerned too much about "realism" when it comes to stuff like this though, IMO.

2. Yup.
 

Casting a spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action, but you only trigger an Op-attack at the beginning of the casting. So if you start casting, and someone runs up to you before you finish, they could attack and possibly break your concentration with damage, but they can't get an op-attack on you.

Regarding your second question, this is why such silly tactics as "when he begins casting, I run away" doesn't work. You, run, THEN the caster casts, and then picks his targets.
 

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