IceBear said:
Ok, I see what happened, I went with Shard and Zhure out of habit (as they are normally right)
Thanks
I think Henrix is right. According to T&B (which was where this was clarified), the spell doesn't come into effect until the beginning of the next initiative count (this is based on Henrix's quote - I haven't looked at it myself). This is still benefical for purposes of avoiding disruption.
Still, if the caster has finished spellcasting in Round 1 it does seem a little weird that the magic doesn't show up until the beginning of Round 2.
IceBear
Ok, let's work it out in detail:
"Casting Time
The character can cast a spell with a casting time of 1 action as a standard action, just like making an attack.
A spell that takes 1 full round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of the character's turn in the round after the character began casting the spell. The character then acts normally after the spell is completed. A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before the character's turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, the character is casting a spell as a full-round action).'
This is in the spells section, cropped from the SRD. It says that a full round spell is a full-round action.
But looking in the Feat section, about metamagic feats...
"Some spellcasters choose spells as they cast them. They can choose when they cast their spells whether to use metamagic feats to improve them. As with other spellcasters, the improved spell uses up a higher-level spell slot. If its normal casting time is 1 action, casting a metamagic spell is a full-round action for a spellcaster that chooses spells as they cast them. For spells with a longer casting time, it takes an extra full-round action to cast the spell.
Spontaneous Casting and Metamagic Feats: Clerics spontaneously casting cure or inflict spells can cast metamagic versions of them. Casting a 1-action metamagic spell spontaneously is a full-round action, and spells with longer casting times take an extra full-round action to cast. "
Checking the glossary:
"
full-round action: One of several time-based action
categories. Full-round actions consume all of a character’s
effort during a round. The only movement pos-sible
in conjunction with a full-round action is a 5-foot
step, which can occur before, after, or during the
action. Some full-round actions (as specified in their
descriptions) do not allow even this much movement.
When using a full-round action to cast a spell whose
casting time is 1 full round, the spell is not completed
until the beginning of the caster’s next turn."
To summarize: a "full round spell" or a "1 round spell" is a spell that is marked as "Casting Time: 1 round" or greater. A casting-on-the-fly, metamagic bard/sorcerer spell takes one full round to cast, but it isn't a "1 round spell" casting time spell. The difference is subtle but important. When a sorcerer uses Empower on Magic Missile, the spells goes off on his initiative on that same round (1 action-> full round action) and he can take a 5-step and is out of everything but free actions.
Hope that clears it up,
Greg
