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Spell Failure
If you ever try to cast a spell in conditions where the characteristics of the spell cannot be made to conform, the casting fails and the spell is wasted.
Is there any point at which you can stop casting a 1 round casting time spell and not lose the spell slot, or once you start are you committed to seeing it through to the end?
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Once you begin casting a spell you are committed. If the spell is interrupted for any reason (including the caster voluntarily stopping it) then the spell is lost.
I looked over the Spell section of the rules pretty thoroughly and could not find any written rules to deal with that circumstance. Barring any other ruling, I'd have to agree with CampinCarl9127 and say you are committed to casting the spell, just to be on the safe side.
However, I am not adverse to ruling otherwise. The spell casting process is just a way to gesture, speak and sprinkle components around in a particular way in order to bring an effect into existence. Call it a build up of magic energy that finally takes effect once all its requirements are meant. The spell is NOT CAST (in effect) until the end of the action that is used to cast it.
I would be inclined to rule that a concentration check needs to be made in order to end the casting without losing the spell.
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Casting Spells
Whether a spell is arcane or divine, and whether a character prepares spells in advance or chooses them on the spot, casting a spell works the same way.
Choosing a SpellFirst you must choose which spell to cast. If you're a cleric, druid, experienced paladin, experienced ranger, or wizard, you select from among spells prepared earlier in the day and not yet cast (see Preparing Wizard Spells and Preparing Divine Spells).
If you're a bard or sorcerer, you can select any spell you know, provided you are capable of casting spells of that level or higher.
To cast a spell, you must be able to speak (if the spell has a verbal component), gesture (if it has a somatic component), and manipulate the material components or focus (if any). Additionally, you must concentrate to cast a spell.
If a spell has multiple versions, you choose which version to use when you cast it. You don't have to prepare (or learn, in the case of a bard or sorcerer) a specific version of the spell.
Once you've cast a prepared spell, you can't cast it again until you prepare it again. (If you've prepared multiple copies of a single spell, you can cast each copy once.) If you're a bard or sorcerer, casting a spell counts against your daily limit for spells of that spell level, but you can cast the same spell again if you haven't reached your limit.
Concentration
Table: Concentration Check DCs Situation Concentration Check DC
Cast defensively 15 + double spell level
Injured while casting 10 + damage dealt + spell level
Continuous damage while casting 10 + 1/2 damage dealt + spell level
Affected by a non-damaging spell while casting DC of the spell + spell level
Grappled or pinned while casting 10 + grappler's CMB + spell level
Vigorous motion while casting 10 + spell level
Violent motion while casting 15 + spell level
Extremely violent motion while casting 20 + spell level
Wind with rain or sleet while casting 5 + spell level
Wind with hail and debris while casting 10 + spell level
Weather caused by spell see spell
Entangled while casting 15 + spell levelTo cast a spell, you must concentrate. If something interrupts your concentration while you're casting, you must make a concentration check or lose the spell. When you make a concentration check, you roll d20 and add your caster level and the ability score modifier used to determine bonus spells of the same type. Clerics, druids, and rangers add their Wisdom modifier. Bards, paladins, and sorcerers add their Charisma modifier. Finally, wizards add their Intelligence modifier. The more distracting the interruption and the higher the level of the spell you are trying to cast, the higher the DC (see Table: Concentration Check DCs). If you fail the check, you lose the spell just as if you had cast it to no effect.
Injury: If you take damage while trying to cast a spell, you must make a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + the damage taken + the level of the spell you're casting. If you fail the check, you lose the spell without effect. The interrupting event strikes during spellcasting if it comes between the time you started and the time you complete a spell (for a spell with a casting time of 1 full round or more) or if it comes in response to your casting the spell (such as an attack of opportunity provoked by the spell or a contingent attack, such as a readied action).
If you are taking continuous damage, such as from an acid arrow or by standing in a lake of lava, half the damage is considered to take place while you are casting a spell. You must make a concentration check with a DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the damage that the continuous source last dealt + the level of the spell you're casting. If the last damage dealt was the last damage that the effect could deal, then the damage is over and does not distract you.
Spell: If you are affected by a spell while attempting to cast a spell of your own, you must make a concentration check or lose the spell you are casting. If the spell affecting you deals damage, the DC is 10 + the damage taken + the level of the spell you're casting.
If the spell interferes with you or distracts you in some other way, the DC is the spell's saving throw DC + the level of the spell you're casting. For a spell with no saving throw, it's the DC that the spell's saving throw would have if a save were allowed (10 + spell level + caster's ability score).
Grappling or Pinned: Casting a spell while you have the grappled or pinned condition is difficult and it requires a concentration check (DC 10 + the grappler's CMB + the level of the spell you're casting). Pinned creatures can only cast spells that do not have somatic components.
Vigorous Motion: If you are riding on a moving mount, taking a bouncy ride in a wagon, on a small boat in rough water, belowdecks in a storm-tossed ship, or simply being jostled in a similar fashion, you must make a concentration check (DC 10 + the level of the spell you're casting) or lose the spell.
Violent Motion: If you are on a galloping horse, taking a very rough ride in a wagon, on a small boat in rapids or in a storm, on deck in a storm-tossed ship, or being pitched roughly about in a similar fashion, you must make a concentration check (DC 15 + the level of the spell you're casting) or lose the spell. If the motion is extremely violent, such as that caused by an earthquake, the DC is equal to 20 + the level of the spell you're casting.
Violent Weather: You must make a concentration check if you try to cast a spell in violent weather. If you are in a high wind carrying blinding rain or sleet, the DC is 5 + the level of the spell you're casting. If you are in wind-driven hail, dust, or debris, the DC is 10 + the level of the spell you're casting. In either case, you lose the spell if you fail the concentration check. If the weather is caused by a spell, use the rules as described in the spell's description.
Casting Defensively: If you want to cast a spell without provoking any attacks of opportunity, you must make a concentration check (DC 15 + double the level of the spell you're casting) to succeed. You lose the spell if you fail.
Entangled: If you want to cast a spell while entangled in a net or by a tanglefoot bag or while you're affected by a spell with similar effects, you must make a concentration check to cast the spell (DC 15 + the level of the spell you're casting). You lose the spell if you fail.
If you read the whole piece it clearly say that you will lose the spell if interrupted after you have commenced casting it.
It don't matter why you are interrupting it.
Thanks for the replies.
The reason I asked is because there is a difference (maybe just semantically?) between being interrupted by outside influence and choosing not to complete the spell. Everything I was able to find just talks about being interrupted by something outside your control.
I could find nothing that specifically addressed deliberately not completing the spell as an option. I was wondering if I had missed something.
I presume general principles (being a permissive rule system) state that if there is nothing specifically allowing it then it cannot be done.
If you read the whole piece it clearly say that you will lose the spell if interrupted after you have commenced casting it.
It don't matter why you are interrupting it.
I suppose I can see how the caster voluntarily ending the casting of a spell can be seen as an 'interruption'. I would not rule so at my table without some sort of errata. Spellcasters get limited number of spells per day and I hate to see them lose out on a spell just because the target died too soon.
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I suppose I can see how the caster voluntarily ending the casting of a spell can be seen as an 'interruption'. I would not rule so at my table without some sort of errata. Spellcasters get limited number of spells per day and I hate to see them lose out on a spell just because the target died too soon.If you read the whole piece it clearly say that you will lose the spell if interrupted after you have commenced casting it.
It don't matter why you are interrupting it.
The rules are clear, then at your table you can do whatever you wish.
The limit to the number of spell is the main limit for spellcasters, every time you waken it you make them stronger.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The rules are clear, then at your table you can do whatever you wish.
The limit to the number of spell is the main limit for spellcasters, every time you waken it you make them stronger.
I disagree. To be "clear", the rules would state clearly that ending the casting of a spell loses the spell. It does not. As it is, it make no mention of what happens if a spellcaster opts to stop the act of casting the spell. Interpreting this act as an 'interruption' is not as clear as you state. Any time the word 'interruption' is mentioned in the above 'Spell' text is when something is interfering with your concentration.
As for the whole making the spellcasters 'stronger', I'm sorry. I don't buy into that whole argument that classes need to be equal in power and I won't discuss it further.