Chain Devil (Kyton): Dancing Chains questions

[Durifern]

Reading through the description of Dancing Chains in 3.5 I stumbled over a change from 3.0: now it´s explicitly stated that using that ability is a standard action. Does that mean now a Kyton can either use DC to control up to four chains or use his standard attack with one chain (two chains for a full round attack) but not both together because DC uses up his standard action for the round? Or does it just take a standard action to "posess" the chains and directing them is a free action?

If the first interpretation is true it could just lug around four chains and control them and even make use of the 15ft length. Somehow that seems to be against the writer´s intentions. What do I miss?

 

[John Q. Mayhem]

Looks like one or the other to me, either dancing chains or regular attack. This does seem to mean that the kyton could move up to someone and use dancing chains to get four attacks.

 

[Liquidsabre]

That's correct. A Kyton may either use their Dancing Chains ability -or- make attacks but not both because DC requires the expenditure of a standard action.