So in a game my friends and I are running i'm playing a sorc! I have one question and one only. The party walks up to a door and i say "wait guys i wanna load my gun" meaning load a spell to fire (he shoots his spells out of his fingertips like a gun) and currently his spell of choice has been sleep. So i begin casting it... the question is can i hold this spell until i choose to fire it. (we decided that i could last night to keep the game rolling... of course i couldn't cast any other spells and had to make appropriate concentration checks but is this legal???) IS THERE A RULE FOR THIS??? Thanks :)
Whoa there cowboy. Take a deep breath. Ok, now lets answer the question.
Sleep cannot be cast and 'held'. It takes a round to cast and will take effect at the start of your next round after starting to cast it. That's what "Casting Time: 1 round" means.
The only spells that can be 'held' are spells with the range of touch, like shocking grasp. They can be cast and then stay active until you make the touch attack with the hand holding the charge or until you interact with something (turn a door knob, draw a sword, tap someone on the shoulder, etc).
No, you cannot hold the sleep spell. Only touch attack spells with charges can be held. Otherwise the spell goes off at the appropriate time. For sleep that is 1 round after you began casting just before your initiative count.
Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) as a free action. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.
Touch Attacks: Touching an opponent with a touch spell is considered to be an armed attack and therefore does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The act of casting a spell, however, does provoke an attack of opportunity. Touch attacks come in two types: melee touch attacks and ranged touch attacks. You can score critical hits with either type of attack as long as the spell deals damage. Your opponent's AC against a touch attack does not include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. His size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) all apply normally.
Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren't considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.
ok guys thanks a bunch!