DeltaOneG's page

Hmm. Good question.

If example 2 is valid you could get a Mystic Theurge with much less penalty to your casting eventually having the spells of two classes at only caster level -1 for each.

If you're referring to this:

At 10th level, an arcane trickster can add her sneak attack damage to any spell that deals damage, if the targets are flat-footed. This additional damage only applies to spells that deal hit point damage, and the additional damage is of the same type as the spell. If the spell allows a saving throw to negate or halve the damage, it also negates or halves the sneak attack damage.

then you're missing some of the point.

Rays can be used for regular sneak attack.

Surprise Spells apply not only to rays but any damaging spell such as fireball, lightning bolt, magic missile, disintegrate and a whole host of other iconic spells.

I've always thought of raging as a mental and physical focusing. Getting in the zone to smash and bash with the bonuses and penalties associated.

I think this falls under the "shouldn't piss off real people with rules ambiguity/technicality" rule. I can read the rules going both ways (as evidenced by this thread).

You can read hold person's "cannot take any actions" as "you can't do anything that requires an action" meaning delay is fine or as "your only option is try to save" meaning delay is beyond you (it is a compulsion effect). You can also read delay as no action meaning that it doesn't cut into your action budget but is still an action (active answer to "it's your turn, what do you do?" in combat or you can read no-action as not taking any actions.

Personally I would rule in favor of not being able to delay. You're aware of what is going on but not able to react. Basically, you don't get a turn. You get a saving throw, which, if you succeed, gives you a turn with a full-round action missing from it.

Otherwise you open up a huge can of worms:
"You're panicked."
"I delay until it wears off."
Panicked says you can take no other actions but delay isn't an action. Only difference with Hold Person is that hold person says you do nothing rather than saying you run away (in before "but delay is nothing").

If you're waiting are you doing something?

I vote for C.

Mostly because it says "concentrate on a single item or individual" and not concentrate to maintain the spell. Nor does it say "while detect evil is active a paladin can..."

So, going back to the original post, it would be perfectly legit to have a round thus:
Move action: determine BBEG is evil
Swift action: Smite
Standard Action: Attack
Free Action: profit.

Does the spell desecrate affect the amount of HD that can be raised in a single casting of the power word Undeath (Death) like it does with animate dead?

Are there "official" rules for reducing the action required to activate a magic item (to be combined with consulting the DM of course)? i.e. demote the action from Standard action to a move action