How long is a round? Or specifically if immediate actions / reactions start something?

[Rycaut]

Specifically I'm looking at having spell storing armor in PFS (for a high tier character).

Spell storing armor lets me cast a touch spell as an immediate action upon a successful melee attack or melee touch attack on me.

If that spell imposes an effect upon the attacker does that potentially interrupt a full attack?

For example force push might move an attacker away or frigid touch might impose the Staggered condition for "one round".

Hence my question - how long is that "one round"?

Does it impact this current round?

Does it impact the attacker's next round? (Ie are they staggered next turn?)

Does it matter which attack this turn hit? (Ie a standard attack after a move? Before a move? First attack vs an iterative attack?)

Similarly there are other actions that are reactive on other people's turns (attacks of opportunity etc).

[Nefreet]

If it's an immediate action, and it triggers in the middle of a sequence of iterative attacks, I would imagine the rest of said attacks would be negated. I am not familiar with spell storing armor, though. This is more of a Rules Question. You might have better luck posting in that forum.

[Rycaut]

I did and it was suggested that I get a PFS specific ruling (as some folks there were interpreting things very differently than I expected to interpret them)

i.e. a DM there suggested that he would rule the "round" as over on that given attack round if the staggered interrupted that full attack. Personally I wouldn't rule that way but that's why I'm seeking a PFS specific ruling as I'm fairly confident that I will encounter this exact situation with this character in the future (since he is level 10 and usually right in the midst of combat i'm confident that he will get hit by an attacker with multiple attacks, trigger the spell storing feature as an immediate action and stagger his attacker - and then this timing question will arise)

[Caderyn]

An effect with a one round duration, starts the moment it takes effect (ie mid attack chain) and then ends at the beginning of "your" next round with "your" being the person who activated the effect.

Thus technically the staggered for 1 round would apply after the first attack (but before a second), and would end at the beginning of that opponents next round.

[Rycaut]

where do you get that timing? That seems odd as we have something happening in the middle of a round - feels too short if it ends at the beginning of that attacker's next round (so in the case of Staggered there would literally be no effect on them at all if they get staggered by this effect with their last attack (or only attack in a single attack).

But if I had hit them with my own attack they would be staggered until my turn so would indeed miss a round in some manner (which seems right)

as I said this timing issue is complicated

(and perhaps my former serious Magic the Gathering playing is showing as I'm trying to figure out the timing issues here)

[Caderyn]

From the Combat chapter

"Effects that last a certain number of rounds end just before the same initiative count that they began on"

Thus 1 round = ends at the start of the persons turn on which it activated

[Starglim]

Rycaut wrote:

If that spell imposes an effect upon the attacker does that potentially interrupt a full attack?

Potentially, if the effect prevents the opponent attacking and can't be overcome by something he is allowed to do during a full attack (such as a free action or 5' step).