Like if you are casting a one-round spell, could you still take an AoO?
The text under Full-Round Actions (Cast a Spell) would seem to indicate that you must concentrate on casting. "When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the invocations, gestures, and concentration from 1 round to just before your turn in the next round (at least)."
Does this mean you can't take a free swipe at someone if you have a weapon in your hand? I would think if you did, this would interfere with any Somatic components required. So my gut reaction is to say you can't threaten while casting a Somatic spell because the gestures make it so that you are only holding a weapon and not threatening with it. If the spell has no Somatic component, then you are free to attack, but you might require a Concentration check to maintain the casting. Off the top of my head, I'd further link it to Casting Defensively. If you have to concentrate to avoid an AoO, maybe you need to provide the same level of concentration to make one. Just a guess though.
Maybe someone else has a better answer than this.
Cast a Spell
A spell that takes one round to cast is a full-round action. It comes into effect just before the beginning of your turn in the round after you began casting the spell. You then act normally after the spell is completed.A spell that takes 1 minute to cast comes into effect just before your turn 1 minute later (and for each of those 10 rounds, you are casting a spell as a full-round action). These actions must be consecutive and uninterrupted, or the spell automatically fails.
When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the invocations, gestures, and concentration from 1 round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration after starting the spell and before it is complete, you lose the spell.
You only provoke attacks of opportunity when you begin casting a spell, even though you might continue casting for at least 1 full round. While casting a spell, you don't threaten any squares around you.
This action is otherwise identical to the cast a spell action described under Standard Actions.
Ah, see? A better answer. Ask and you shall receive. In my hustling and bustling here I read right over that part when I glanced through my book.
I know the original post was asking about threatening while concentrating on casting a spell, but since the thread title was more vague and asked "do you still threaten while concentrating" there needs to be a little more to the answer.
As has been posted, you do not threaten while casting a spell even if it is a full round casting time.
You do, however, threaten while concentrating on an ongoing spell that has already been cast such as Silent Image, etc.
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I doubt it Hendelbolaf.
Concentration: The spell lasts as long as you concentrate on it. Concentrating to maintain a spell is a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Anything that could break your concentration when casting a spell can also break your concentration while you're maintaining one, causing the spell to end. See concentration.
As you can't take an AoO while casting I think you can't take one wile concentrating on maintaining a spell.
As a minimum attacking count as:Extremely violent motion while casting concentration DC 20 + spell level
and failing the check will break your concentration.
I was really saying that you may still threaten even if you do not take the attacks of opportunity. The fact that you have a dagger in your hand and are standing opposite foe with an ally would still allow the ally a possible flanking circumstance.
Or is it the contention that while concentrating you do not threaten at all? I could easily get behind that, but I just wanted to separate "threatening" and taking an attack of opportunity. I see them as being two related but different things.
