Rules of the Game: Sneak Attacks part 3

[Hypersmurf]

A wizard with a dagger in one hand, casting a summon monster III (full round casting time) still threatens with the dagger, despite not attacking any ememies in range (and possibly losing the ongoing spell). The Wizard could CHOOSE to make an AOO and lose the spell, but is not required to do so.

Ooh... deal me in!

I'm see your opinion, and raise you one quote from the SRD.

FULL ROUND ACTIONS
Cast a Spell
A spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed.

A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, you are casting a spell as a full-round action). These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails.

When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the invocations, gestures, and concentration from one round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration after starting the spell and before it is complete, you lose the spell.

You only provoke attacks of opportunity when you begin casting a spell, even though you might continue casting for at least one full round. While casting a spell, you don’t threaten any squares around you.

This action is otherwise identical to the cast a spell action described under Standard Actions.

-Hyp.

 

[jgsugden]

Ooh... deal me in!

I'm see your opinion, and raise you one quote from the SRD.

FULL ROUND ACTIONS
Cast a Spell
While casting a spell, you don’t threaten any squares around you.

-Hyp.

A wizard doesn't threaten while casting, but does he have the option to be threatening at a moment's notice?

Wizard casting a spell.

Enemy provokes an AoO.

Can the wizard abandon casting the spell and *then* take an AoO against the provoker? Do we have rules for abandoning a spell in the middle of casting?

The best thing I can come up with is the rule that says: "If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell." Losing concentration seems to be possible during another creature's turn (as that is how disruption works), so I'm not sure that a creature can not voluntarily abandon conentration, lose the spell and take the AoO.

If abandoning concentration is deemed to be an action, it would probably be a free action. Would it be any more difficult than speaking? Speaking is a free action that may be performed during another creature's turn.

The rules do not specify clearly that you can not abandon concentration, but it seems to follow that if you can be forced to do it, you should be able to do it by choice under the same circumstances.

So, could a wizard abandon his spell right before his rogue ally attacks and in so doing threaten his enemy and allow his ally to sneak attack their foe?

That is an interesting proposition, at least to me ...

Does anyone see any rules governing voluntarily abandoning the casting of a spell? Especially rules dealing with whether it can be done outside of your turn?

 

[Hypersmurf]

A wizard doesn't threaten while casting, but does he have the option to be threatening at a moment's notice?

Wizard casting a spell.

Enemy provokes an AoO.

Can the wizard abandon casting the spell and *then* take an AoO against the provoker?

I'd say absolutely not. I'd be happy to let him abandon casting at any time it was not someone else's turn... similar to how someone who is Delaying can take their turn at any time, but cannot interrupt someone else's turn.

So, could a wizard abandon his spell right before his rogue ally attacks and in so doing threaten his enemy and allow his ally to sneak attack their foe?

I'd allow him to abandon his spell right before his ally's turn, but not right before the attack.

-Hyp.

 

[Nail]

FULL ROUND ACTIONS
Cast a Spell
A spell that takes 1 round to cast is a full-round action. .....You only provoke attacks of opportunity when you begin casting a spell, even though you might continue casting for at least one full round. While casting a spell, you don’t threaten any squares around you.

Grrrrr! Here's one of my biggest beefs with 3 & 3.5e: You have to look in multilpe places to find the answer for just one question.

I looked under "Magic Overview =>Casting a spell" for the question, and did not find "....don't threaten...". Silly me: I should have looked in the combat section under full round actions. Of course. How......obvious.

Darklone: The polearm trick wouldn't work anyway: you'd need to be holding it in two hands -> thus no somatic spell components.