When Illusory Creature is cast, which of the following is true:
A) it immediately acts similarly to a summoned creature; or
B) the illusionist required to spend a round sustaining the spell to make the illusory creature act?
If B), can the illusionist sustain the spell on the round it was cast
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Oddly, a RAW reading of the spell suggests (B), even if our expectations would encourage (A).
AFAIK, there is no definitive answer to this question, aside from deciding to respect RAW or reason.
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I disagree with your RAW interpretation. (B) would only make sense if you think that no spell with a Sustained duration should have any effect on the turn it is cast.
Funnily enough, a number of other spells that have Sustain based effects seem to be written with that assumption in mind:
Contrast Illusory Creature with Spiritual Weapon, Flaming Sphere, Aqueous Orb, Lightning Bolt, Mad Monkeys, Malicious Shadow, Storm of Vengeance, Spiritual Guardian and all of the Summon X spells.
The latter all specifically specify that something happens when you Cast them, then additional things happen when you Sustain them.
Illusory Creature (and a couple of other spells like Storm Lord) meanwhile only mention the effects upon Sustain.
Whether or not that's intentional or an omission is another matter, ofc.
The illusionary creature still has two actions on the turn in comes into being.
What is lacking is the explicit rule to say it uses them straight away. But I don't see any other reasonable option. I certainly don't see anything saying that it can't use the two actions it has. You would have to work back from the wording around sustain to say that it couldn't use its actions except when it was sustained. I don't see that as the intention just a possible implication.
I suppose what I'm saying is that it is not explicit enough that I would want to deny it the way the other Summon spells work.
Yes its frustrating, because its hard to know if this was a deliberate choice or not.
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Listen, I'm not saying it's right, or logical; but if you read the spell description, you find this:
In combat, the illusion can use 2 actions per turn, which it uses when you Sustain the Spell.
This is the only mention of the illusory creature having actions, aside from when you choose to speak through it.
So, while I really like the idea of having it act on the turn it's cast, the spell doesn't actually allow that, by the RAW.
I have a problem with how you saw that - by the RAW.
The language is inconclusive at best. You can't just pull out one way of reading of it and expect that is the one true RAW when many readings are possible. It is not in the langauge of formal logic.
The first part of the sentence says the creature has two actions, the second clause give modifier information about when it is used. But nowhere is that said to be the only time time its actions can be used. The creature certainly exists on the first turn it is created. Does it need an extra rule to say it can use its two actions then? It is its first turn. I don't think it does need a special rule. Except for clarity.
The clause puts parameters on when those two actions can be used: when the spell is Sustained. So by default the "creature" has no actions until then (or has 2 actions and can't actually use them, technically).
If the spell's intended to work like a Summon spell (which I suspect it is), then Paizo needs to alter the phrasing. In fact, an enemy creature coming into being and being unable to attack would be a giveaway that it's an Illusory Creature!
And can the caster Sustain immediately on round 1?
There's a general rule somewhere that says something to the effect of casting a spell counts as sustaining it for the first round. I'll see if I can find it.
There's a general rule somewhere that says something to the effect of casting a spell counts as sustaining it for the first round. I'll see if I can find it.
Have you had any luck with finding this?
This is all I know about for the first round.
Sustaining Spells
Source Core Rulebook pg. 304
If the spell’s duration is “sustained,” it lasts until the end of your next turn unless you use a Sustain a Spell action on that turn to extend the duration of that spell.
There's a general rule somewhere that says something to the effect of casting a spell counts as sustaining it for the first round. I'll see if I can find it.Have you had any luck with finding this?
Been looking (this entire time!), but not as yet, no.
It could be I was thinking of this part of the Summoned trait:
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I agree that the rules as written do not allow you to attack with the creature on the turn that it is summoned. As a two action, incredibly flexible summon spell, I can believe that the intention is that the creature summoned only gets to use its actions when you sustain it. I can also believe that the intention was for it to be able to attack immediately.
I don't really believe the primary purpose of the spell is to create a battle ready creature, but rather to create a deception that also has some combat utility. So I don't really see the creature as needing to be able to attack as part of the casting of the spell as being intrinsically necessary to the spell's value. A 2 action summoning spell that attacked and gave you your own action is pretty powerful, especially as the creature gets you defenses and attack bonuses, albeit not great damage, but damage that can be flexible in type.
I remember that it was clarified that you cannot sustain a spell more than once in a turn in some errata possibly, but I do not remember if that same errata said you cannot sustain the spell the turn you cast it. It would make the most logical sense, as a summon spell, for you to have to spend three actions on the turn you cast it to use it to attack.