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Your natural knack for illusion allows you to maintain at least one illusion spell with little effort.Prerequisite: Gnome.
Benefit: You can maintain concentration on one spell of the illusion school as a swift action. This has no effect on spells of other schools or on illusion spells with durations that don’t depend on your active concentration. While you may only maintain one spell as a swift action, you may take your move and standard actions to maintain other spells normally, if you wish.
Normal: Concentrating to maintain a spell is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
Emphasis mine.
What I take from this is that you may cast an illusion spell and maintain it while you're doing standard actions such as casting spells. However,
The spell lasts as long as you concentrate on it. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that could break your concentration when casting a spell can also break your concentration while you're maintaining one, causing the spell to end. See concentration.
You can't cast a spell while concentrating on another one. Some spells last for a short time after you cease concentrating.
Emphasis mine.
So how does one maintain other spells normally while using the feat to maintain as a swift if you can't maintain two at once? Does Effortless Trickery count as an exception to the boldfaced duration rule above? If so, why isn't that part of the "normal" section of the feat?
So how does one maintain other spells normally while using the feat to maintain as a swift if you can't maintain two at once?
That's not in question. Effortless Trickery clearly would let a caster concentrate on maintaining two spells in a round, one as a standard action and one as a swift action.
What some folks are wondering is:
Does Effortless Trickery allow you to concentrate on maintaining a spell while casting another spell?
It seems pretty clear to me that the answer is no.
The confusion arises when people read the feat and wonder, "Well, if this feat doesn't allow you to concentrate on maintaining a spell while casting another spell, how the heck would you ever end up with two spells to concentrate on maintaining at once?" It can happen. For example, you might have a Contingency spell set to cast a Veil spell and have it trigger when you're already concentrating on a spell. I'm sure the lore-wise readers of this forum can come up with other scenarios.
So how does one maintain other spells normally while using the feat to maintain as a swift if you can't maintain two at once?That's not in question. Effortless Trickery clearly would let a caster concentrate on maintaining two spells in a round, one as a standard action and one as a swift action.
What some folks are wondering is:
Does Effortless Trickery allow you to concentrate on maintaining a spell while casting another spell?
It seems pretty clear to me that the answer is no.
To me, it's as clear as mud.
As is your example. I'm not understanding how it makes use of the feat. Moreover, it requires, at minimum, a character with 11HD (or an incredible UMD modifier). This doesn't strike me as a great example of a feat that any gnome may take at first level.
I still say that effortless trickery doesn't actually say that its swift action "maintain concentration" isn't inherently "concentrating". Therefore the concentrating rule you marked in bold need not apply.
To maintain concentration doesn't count as concentrating? I don't know. Seems like splitting hairs.
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I still say that effortless trickery doesn't actually say that its swift action "maintain concentration" isn't inherently "concentrating". Therefore the concentrating rule you marked in bold need not apply.To maintain concentration doesn't count as concentrating? I don't know. Seems like splitting hairs.
It is - but I'm all but certain it follows RAI, and as it was written vaguely, any interpretation is splitting hairs.
Bump for more input.
bump
It seems, at a glance, that "Effortless Trickery" will only apply to illusion spells you wish to maintain as a swift action, or to the rare circumstance that you cast two spells in one turn and wish to maintain them both. Since concentrating to maintain a spell isn't required until your next turn, the two don't seem to conflict.
On the turn following a spell cast, however, standard action spells cannot be cast while using your swift action to concentrate. Likewise, quickened spells can't be cast while you're using your standard action to concentrate.
Is there any evidence to contradict this?
It seems, at a glance, that "Effortless Trickery" will only apply to illusion spells you wish to maintain as a swift action, or to the rare circumstance that you cast two spells in one turn and wish to maintain them both. Since concentrating to maintain a spell isn't required until your next turn, the two don't seem to conflict.
On the turn following a spell cast, however, standard action spells cannot be cast while using your swift action to concentrate. Likewise, quickened spells can't be cast while you're using your standard action to concentrate.
Is there any evidence to contradict this?
Evidence? That's why I'm here. Hit that little FAQ button.
My thinking is that part of the "Special vs. Normally" section should really have included language permitting the casting of spells while maintaining and was left out due to oversight.
You're postulating that the "maintain other spells" and "at least one illusion" bits only works on spells you cast the same round, as quickened actions? Seems like a strange circumstance, and something that might have been elaborated on in the description of the spell.
Also, as I've said before, this spell is available at level one, with only a racial prereq. Seems like strange feat to offer if you're only getting decent use at level ten (and then only to maintain two spells, not cast other spells while you're illusion's maintained).
I'll ask again: who's this feat for?
Attack rolls? Yeah, but remember that this is for gnomes only, so weapon damage is seriously nerfed. Also, illusions with concentration naturally point you toward a bigger DC, meaning a higher mental stat; not ideal for a half-martial character (prehensile hair notwithstanding). And this feat is for gnomes, which steers us away from wizards and toward sorcerers and bards.
Does anyone think this feat is OP if you get to cast spells while maintaining? I sure don't. After all, it costs a feat, and gnomish bards and sorcerers are pretty feat-starved.
It has a use in its ability to maintain an illusion spell as a swift action, rather than a standard. By far the feat isn't worthless. Being able to upkeep an illusion while Withdrawing/running, loading a siege weapon, or some other full-round action, can be handy.
I can help FAQ it with you, but you shouldn't expect the feat to have much more utility than that. I see no reason in not forcing a gnome to take the Quicken Spell metamagic feat to accomplish what you want. All races need Quicken Spell the feat to cast two spells in one round, and this is giving gnomes the ability to maintain two at once as well.
Regardless, as the rules currently are, there doesn't seem to be any ground for expecting more than what's given.
Re-Necro!
Anyone know if this was ever given a firm answer?
FAQ'd.
I have a character with this feat and I thought it was clear. I wasn't aware that there was a question on it.
FAQ'd because inquiring minds like mine want to know!
Yeah I think it's FAQ-worthy since lots of people seem to agree that it's clear, but in opposite ways.