Here's the scenario: A ranger is within 30 feet of a wizard, and goes first in initiative. The ranger goes up and attempts a grapple. Because the ranger doesn't have the Improved Grapple feat, the wizard gets an attack of opportunity. Here are the questions:
1. Can the wizard cast a spell as the attack of opportunity?
2. Since the ranger is attempting a grapple, and within 5 feet of the wizard, does the ranger get an attack of opportunity because the wizard is casting a spell (an AOO due to an AOO? Doesn't sound right, but I'm asking).
3. If the wizard is casting a spell as an AOO, would that mean that the ranger automatically succeeds at his grapple attempt (probably not, but I'm asking).
As a note, I've seen many descriptions of what happens to a wizard who attempts to cast a spell while being grappled, but nothing really on when a grapple is first being attempted. Essentially, I need to know if the wizard's standard action spell takes the same time as a single melee action for an AOO.
Thanks!
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I believe that casting a spell is not possible as an attack. So no attack of opportunity there. However, if the caster is already holding a charge on a touch spell, he could make a melee touch attack as an attack of opportunity. Watch out for that big Shocking Grasp!
Edit:
From the PRD:
Making an Attack of Opportunity: An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack, and most characters can only make one per round. You don't have to make an attack of opportunity if you don't want to. You make your attack of opportunity at your normal attack bonus, even if you've already attacked in the round.
Emphasis mine
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As the others have stated you can't cast spells as an attack of opportunity.
There is however Contingency for that situation for higher level wizards. Liberating Command is a useful tool for getting out of a grapple, but doesn't really prevent it.
I need a clarification -- I was wondering how a *single melee attack* is treated in terms of time. I know a spell is a standard action (generally), but is there a place in the book that defines a single melee attack as somehow less than a standard action?
Or, put another way, is there a place in the book that says a spell cannot be cast as an AOO?
A single melee attack means you get to make a single melee attack. You cannot sub that for any other type of thing even if it would otherwise take less time, not even for a free action. So if you have say quickdraw, you cannot use the AoO to draw a weapon instead. Or even to drop a weapon on the floor.
If we have one rule that says:
"By farting, you can get either an apple or an orange"
and one rule that says:
"When someone burps you in the face, you get an orange"
that does NOT mean you can get an apple for being burped on. It does not require a special line saying you cannot get an apple.
Making an attack is one thing. Casting a spell is a different thing. Casting a spell is normally a standard action unless specifically otherwise, making attacks can be wildly different things. Most common ways to make attacks are standard action (standard attacks), full actions (twf/rapid shot/iteratives), or non-actions (AoO's, the free touch gained when casting a touch attack spell).
is there a place in the book that defines a single melee attack as somehow less than a standard action?
It is stated that you can only take one standard action per round. There are lots of ways to get more than one melee attack per round, but nothing in normal play gives you more than one standard action.
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Remember that it is just a game and not a real life simulator. You zoom in too far on time mechanics and you won't find much there.
Attacks of Opportunity take no time at all effectively, a single melee attack doesn't have some small fractional time component to it. It just happens when the proper conditions are met.
I need a clarification -- I was wondering how a *single melee attack* is treated in terms of time. I know a spell is a standard action (generally), but is there a place in the book that defines a single melee attack as somehow less than a standard action?
Or, put another way, is there a place in the book that says a spell cannot be cast as an AOO?
As Desolate Harmony said "An attack of opportunity is a single melee attack"
it's a melee attack, and nothing else... no substituting.
The only thing imaginable would be the wizard still holding a charge from his previous round and discharging this held charge through that melee attack... nothing more.
Think of it this way:
full round = 6 seconds
standard action = 3.5 sec
move action = 2 sec
swift action = 0.5 sec (you only get 1 per round, no matter what)
you can trade your standard action for a move action (as 3.5 > 2)
an attack of opportunity is more like getting a bonus attack/strike because your enemy was careless and left a hole in his defense to do X
but that does not mean a standard action should be multiple attacks! a standard action (used as a melee attack) is more like a basic attack routine with one blow actually meant to hurt
now on a full attack action a melee specialist (those who have the fast BAB track) learns more complex routines where he can make more then 1 blow actually count. But this has nothing to do with your enemy being foolish and opening a hole in his defense (=provoking an attack of opportunity).
(hoping my rambling was less "abstract rules" -> more "images/description" why the rules are so "weird/abstract")
One thing of note is that the wizard in the above situation was flat footed, and acted before the wizard. I don't believe he would have had a chance to do anything anyway.
Per your question Khanji, if you read the spell descriptions, you will notice the time it takes to cast each particular spell. Some might be an immediate action, some might be swift actions, some might be standard action, some might be a full round, others several rounds and still others take far longer.
But in no event can you cast a spell as an attack of opportunity as it is not a melee attack. As someone previously stated, if you held a charge of something you could deliver that as a touch attack, which is a melee attack, but you couldn't cast it then deliver it.
Thanks for the the clarifications.