Post/Author/DateTime	Post
SirApropos 10-18-06, 04:50 PM	I noticed in the LGCS 597 discussion the mention that Scrolls/Potions/Wands of Swift Spells were thought to take a standard action to activate, and thus were pretty useless because of their short duration most of the time. Potions understandably fall under this rule because it takes a Standard action to drink and you really can't speed that up but Scrolls and Wands already have spells mostly completed and can be activated with words alone. So as long as the Scroll or Wand was ready in hand I don't understand why a swift (or even immediate) spell shouldn't function normally. In Complete Adventurer they even list Scrolls and Wands of Grave, Golem, and Vine Strike (pgs 131-132) while leaving those off of the Potions list. According to the DMG pg 213 under the Using Items section in the second paragraph it even states the following. "Activating a magic item is a standard action unless the item description indicates otherwise. However, the casting time of a spell is the time required to activate the same power in an item whether it's a scroll, a wand, or a pair of boots, unless the item description specifically states otherwise." So to me that seems to indicate that Scrolls and Wands with Swift Spells in them can be used as Swift actions as long as they were already in hand. Am I just missing something or is there some other reason other people think that it takes a standard action to use these items?
kjenks 10-18-06, 05:53 PM	You're missing a brief note on page 4 of the Spell Compendium.
SirApropos 10-18-06, 06:05 PM	Thanks for the clarification. TMK that is the only book that has that note. I agree then that it needs to be included in the next LGCS. At least some of the swift and immediate spells are still useful even when cast as a standard action. (Stand and Blade of Blood from PHB II for instance.)
Iswald 10-19-06, 09:47 AM	Somebody once pointed out that a double wand wielder may find a way to take advantage of some wands with swift spells.
Arvagor 10-19-06, 03:13 PM	Somebody once pointed out that a double wand wielder may find a way to take advantage of some wands with swift spells.The feat is worded vaguely enough that there would still be considerable debate. In the absence of clarification text, the most logical conclusion is that they activate at the same time, and therefore neither is in effect before the other...
Howie23 10-19-06, 04:17 PM	The feat is worded vaguely enough that there would still be considerable debate. In the absence of clarification text, the most logical conclusion is that they activate at the same time, and therefore neither is in effect before the other... The benefit is that you can use a wand in each hand as a full round action. The fluff text says "you can activate two wands at the same time." Two points: "same time" is clarified in the benefit as taking place as a full round action. "Same time" is vague enough that, and the benefit text clear enough, to treat this as "in the same round" rather than "simultaneously." Secondly and by counterexample, applying this level of force to the fluff section would then limit Practiced Spellcaster to casting only w/rt caster level, which universally is not the case. David
Arvagor 10-19-06, 04:30 PM	Well, if you want to get picky and just use the RAW text of the Benefit section, the feat only allows you to wield two wands as a full-round action; it says nothing about allowing you to activate them both in the same round. :schemes: