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I just compared it to another spell that takes a 1 round casting time -- summon monster. We all know that the monster comes into being right before the casters turn and takes it's action, and then the caster also gets his full turn.
So, we can theorize that this spell works the same way. In effect, you get 2 lightning bolts in 1 round, but you did give up your last turn to cast the spell. You can also choose not to summon a bolt immediately, if you so choose, as per the second paragraph of the spell.
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Your first option is correct (essentially 2 bolts in one round).
The spell is designed to require the possibility of interruption during the casting and giving up a chunk of actions to call the effect. Other creatures should get the opportunity to disrupt/react to the casting with their turns before the druid goes again.
All three of these interpretations was brought up and discussed during my latest gaming session...
Strictly by the rules, #3 is correct. And here's why:
...so according to the rules the spell completes just before the beginning of my next round, and...
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...because the first one hit before my round started, but...
There's no such thing as "your" round. There is only your turn.
round: A 6-second unit of game time used to manage combat. Every combatant may make at least one action every round.
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turn: The point in the round at which you take your action(s). On your turn, you may perform one or more actions, as dictated by your current circumstances.
The round belongs to everybody. Your turn is your own.
You begin casting call lightning in Round One. You finish casting it in Round Two, immediately before your turn that round. Since you already called down one bolt in Round Two (upon completing the casting), and you only get one per round thereafter, you cannot actually call another bolt on your turn in Round Two. You have to wait until your turn in Round Three.
Was that actually the writer's intent? I don't know. IMO, it's certainly not broken to allow the caster to call two bolts in Round Two. (I've played a druid and used call lightning. It's an okay spell, but nothing I'd worry about.)
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Actually, I believe Vegypygmy is correct.
It depends on how you read it as being that "the first round" is it the first round in which the spell takes effect (namely the round after beginning to cast, or Round 2 in the example)?
In retrospect, I am more inclined to follow Vegypygmy's ruling, as it negates the odd 2/round dilemna, and makes sense from a mechanics perspective, in that the first round of a spell is the round it takes effect, not when it is cast. Similar to how the round spent casting a spell does not count against its duration.
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Yes, but there's still the part I noticed in that there is no mention of one bolt per round in the spell description. The only restriction is that you must concentrate for a standard action to call down a bolt, and in general(maybe always)you get one standard action per round anyways.~Corvas
It depends on what you consider to be the first round of the spell, as it says every round after the first you can call down a bolt. If the first round is when you cast it, then you get 2 the next round. If it is the first round after the spell takes effect, you only get one.
My thought would be this . . . the intent seems to be that a charge has to build up in order for the lightning to fire off. It doesn't make much sense that the first round you could build up a "double" charge and fire off two, but it does seem important in the description of the spell that you get a "free" bolt at the end of the casting.
My interpretation would be that, yes, you only get on bolt per round, but you get one free lightning bolt at the end of the casting, i.e. just before your next turn starts.
You get to direct that lightning bolt as part of the end of the casting, then you take your turn. You can't call another lightning bolt, because its the same round and the "charge" hasn't built up yet, but the last bolt was "free," so you still have a move action and a standard action to use this round, meaning that you could move, attack, cast a spell that was a full round action or a standard action, etc.
But you can't spend a standard action to shoot off a lightning bolt until its another round, which would be on your next turn.
Does that make any sense?
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That does make sense, KnightErrantJR, and that seems to be interpreting the intent of the spell to mean one bolt per round. Which in fact was what one of the arguments was the other night.
~Corvas
Ironically, it would be much clearer if they had used swift and immediate actions in the 3.5 original rules. They could say that after casting the spell you can call a bolt as an immediate action, and on subsequent rounds it is a standard action.
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There are a few magic items in the Magic Item Compendium that give actions, one has charges per day and you spend a certain amount of charges to gain the various types of actions, including Standard Action. I am unsure if you could use that to get an extra bolt in a round but there it is...
Off the top of my head, doesn't the Knight class (or some other splat class) have the ability to grant actions to other creatures?
Off the top of my head, doesn't the Knight class (or some other splat class) have the ability to grant actions to other creatures?
Marshalls could grant move actions to other party members as they gained levels.
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Marshalls could grant move actions to other party members as they gained levels.Off the top of my head, doesn't the Knight class (or some other splat class) have the ability to grant actions to other creatures?
Ah yes, that is it. I was unsure because I don't own MH. I did design a warrior class that had that ability as a capstone.
Why? As I read the spell description it says each round after the first I may spend a standard action and call down a bolt. As I read it, the first round would be the round that I spent my full turn,
Nope. Let's look at the spell description: "Immediately upon completion of the spell, and once per round thereafter, you may call down a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot-long, vertical bolt of lightning..."
When did you spend your full-round action? Round One. When do you complete the spell? Round Two.
So what is "thereafter" referring to? Round Two, when you completed the spell.
Also, there is no wording in the spell description that says I only get one bolt per round...
Look again.
"...and once per round thereafter..."
That's a hard limit, my friend. It doesn't matter how many standard actions you are able to take, you can still only call a bolt once per round.
I personally don't know of anyway to get more than one standard action in a round...
Shapechange into a choker will do it. (But that's a 9th-level spell.)
Let's look at the spell description: "Immediately upon completion of the spell, and once per round thereafter, you may call down a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot-long, vertical bolt of lightning..."
When did you spend your full-round action? Round One. When do you complete the spell? Round Two.
So what is "thereafter" referring to? Round Two, when you completed the spell.That's a hard limit, my friend. It doesn't matter how many standard actions you are able to take, you can still only call a bolt once per round.
Obviously the spell description could be cleaned up in the PRPG rules.
But it's equally obvious the idea of the spell is supposed to call down one bolt after casting the spell, in addition to each subsequent round of action after casting the spell.What would happen if the spell description just DROPPED completely the "Immediately upon completion of the spell, and" part? By your interpretation THERE WOULD BE NO DIFFERENCE IN EFFECT besides the first bolt happening one initiative 'tick' ahead of the casters turn, right? I would suggest there there IS a reason the spell was worded that way: The writer wanted to allow an initial bolt from the original action casting the spell, but also wanted the spell to be a full-round action. Spell descriptions shouldn't nullify their own effects.
Don't you think it strange to say that 'Immediately X happens, and then Y happens every so often' has the exact same meaning/INTENT as simply 'Y happens every so often'? Although badly written, it would seem the author meant for the 'Immediately X' effect to be INDEPENDENT of the 'and Y happens every so often', they just assumed that the "and" was adequate to indicate that independence, which it really isn't.
If I rewrote the spell, I would clarify it by adding that ALL the bolts actually manifest just before the caster's next turn, which keeps the bolts all spaced 1 round apart, and is more in line with the idea of a Druid "calling" upon Nature rather than just an Evoker shooting out Energy Bolts independent of the actual surroundings.
<BETA.....>
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Immediately upon completion of the spell, and once per round
thereafter...
The first bolt seems to not have any effect on the bolts per round, as it is stated. The once per round effect does not start until after that bolt has hit, thereby having no effect on the per round limit (logic brought to you by the strictness of wording within web code)
At least that's my reasoning.
I still disagree. As Vegypygmy pointed out, even though it isn't your turn yet, its still within the same round that you take your turn, and it specifically says, "and every round thereafter." When you take your turn its not a new round yet.
What would happen if the spell description just DROPPED completely the "Immediately upon completion of the spell, and" part? By your interpretation THERE WOULD BE NO DIFFERENCE IN EFFECT besides the first bolt happening one initiative 'tick' ahead of the casters turn, right?
If the spell description stated merely: "Once per round, you may call down a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot-long, vertical bolt of lightning..." I think it would not be clear that the first bolt of lightning is meant to appear immediately before the caster's turn on Round Two.
Thus, I would look to the later statement: "However, each round after the first you may use a standard action (concentrating on the spell) to call a bolt," and conclude that the caster gets no bolt as part of the full-round action taken in Round One, and must use a standard action on his turn in Round Two to call the first bolt. Every round after that, he'd be able to call another bolt as a standard action.
So there would be a slight difference in effect, in that the caster would have to use one full-round action plus one standard action to get his first bolt into play, as opposed to just one full-round action.
If I rewrote the spell, I would clarify it by adding that ALL the bolts actually manifest just before the caster's next turn, which keeps the bolts all spaced 1 round apart, and is more in line with the idea of a Druid "calling" upon Nature...
I think that's an excellent idea, and captures the flavor of the spell nicely.
(Some people don't want to fiddle with the rules, though. That's why my first response in this thread begins: "Strictly by the rules..." I don't mean to suggest that following the printed rules strictly is the best way to play the game.)
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i use this one
Round one:
Druid starts to cast Call Lightning.
End of Druid's turn, Lightning Bolt 1 hits.
Round two:
On Druid's round, Lighting Bolt 2 hits.
this is betas
Immediately upon completion of the spell, and once per round
thereafter, you may call down a 5-foot-wide, 30-foot-long, vertical
bolt of lightning that deals 3d6 points of electricity damage. The bolt
of lightning flashes down in a vertical stroke at whatever target point
you choose within the spell’s range (measured from your position at
the time). Any creature in the target square or in the path of the bolt
is affected.
You need not call a bolt of lightning immediately; other actions, even
spellcasting, can be performed. Each round after the first you may use a
standard action (concentrating on the spell) to call a bolt. You may call a
total number of bolts equal to your caster level (maximum 10 bolts).
If you are outdoors and in a stormy area—a rain shower, clouds and
wind, hot and cloudy conditions, or even a tornado (including a whirlwind
formed by a djinni or an air elemental of at least Large size)—each bolt
deals 3d10 points of electricity damage instead of 3d6.
This spell functions indoors or underground but not underwater.