Casting Defensively gone?

[Joachim]

I see that Casting Defensively is no longer an option under Spellcraft, but it is mentioned under Combat Casting. What is the deal with that?

You still have to make a Spellcraft check if you are hit/distracted while casting, but does that mean that you no longer provoke AOO's if you cast in combat?

[David Jackson 60]

good question

[SirUrza]

It wasn't in 1.0 and 1.1 either. Since it's still mentioned in concentration it'll just be something coming in a later version.

Casting defensively is situational anyway.. who doesn't take the 5ft step and then cast anyway.

[Thomas Mack 727]

Pathfinder Alpha 2 P50 wrote:

Combat Casting

You are skilled at casting spells when threatened or
distracted.
Benefit: You get a +4 bonus on Spellcraft checks made to
cast a spell or use a spell-like ability while casting on the
defensive or while grappled.

I assume it is just an oversight inside Spellcraft.

[Guillaume Godbout]

The mechanics of casting on the defensive are no longer explicitly stated. There was a mention in the Concentration description of the SRD which is not reproduced in the Spellcraft description of Pathfinder. Does casting on the defensive DCs refer now to DCs to cast spells while damaged or under a distracting spell? Furthermore, the sentence “Use the same DCs for any Spellcraft checks made due to distraction while concentrating on a spell or effect,” is unclear. To which DCs does it refer to?

[SirUrza]

We'll just have to wait and see once Casting Defensively is implemented in the rules. :)

[Dean Kimes]

SirUrza wrote:

We'll just have to wait and see once Casting Defensively is implemented in the rules. :)

Has anyone else thought Casting Defensively was broken? By the time a caster is mid level the roll becomes moot generally from what I've seen. Especially now that it is covered via Spellcraft. At lvl 5 for example, 5 ranks, +3 class skill, +3 INT bonus, +2 synergy bonus from Know: Arcana, +4 combat casting = +17 so only casting a 3rd level spell would even require a roll to be made and that's without magical aptitude or skill focus... By level 6 you never need to roll again.

This seems to make the idea that "casting spells in melee is dangerous" is ridiculous...

Thoughts?

[Allen Drees]

My concern here is that the skill used for casting defensively is now Int based--which hoses clerics who arguably need the ability to cast on the defensive the most!!

[Maezer]

Dean Kimes wrote:

Has anyone else thought Casting Defensively was broken? By the time a caster is mid level the roll becomes moot generally from what I've seen. Especially now that it is covered via Spellcraft. At lvl 5 for example, 5 ranks, +3 class skill, +3 INT bonus, +2 synergy bonus from Know: Arcana, +4 combat casting = +17 so only casting a 3rd level spell would even require a roll to be made and that's without magical aptitude or skill focus... By level 6 you never need to roll again.

Thoughts?

You are requiring a character to take max ranks, 5 ranks in a second skill, a feat, and have a good intelligence to autocast defensively. You find that to be a trival investment?

Also neither spellcraft nor knowledge arcana mention a synergy bonus. Pathfinder might well be writting synergy bonus out of the picture. I know a lot of people got confused with them and forgot to apply them or use them in appropriate situations so writting them out seems logical. (It made diplomacy a gawd awful nightmare.)

Ultimently I suspect we will see casting defensively written in the same format as acrobatics to avoid AoOs.