So... we had a bit of an argument between the GM and a player over this tonight, and I'm hoping you call can share your thoughts on this because it might become a source of ongoing confusion. It has to do with the Shock Arrow spell.
Basically, it boils down to this: In order to attack with this spell by firing it with one's bow, does it take one round or two?
The GM is arguing that it takes one round to cast the spell (a standard action), and another round to actually fire the arrow (another standard attack action). He's saying that the act of casting--the verbal and somatic components--applies the magical affect to the arrow that is the material component, which takes one round. Once the arrow is altered, then it can be fired on the following round. He's saying that unless the rule explicitly states that everything happens in one round, the spellcasting and attack are distinct actions.
The player is arguing that the "instantaneous" duration means that the attack is part of the casting. He's saying that the somatic component of the spell is the normal process of pulling an arrow from one's quiver and nocking it (the rules don't explicitly state what the somatic component is), the material component is the arrow that is converted into electricity, and the verbal component is some version of "abracadabra" that is spoken while nocking the arrow. Point is, it's all one integrated action that is a standard action that all occurs within one round. He's saying that unless the rule explicitly states differently, everything under the spell's description (including the attack described under Shocking Arrow) happens within the standard action of casting.
So you can see our dilemma. Anyone have any info or can cite something to sway this argument one way or the other?
