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Emergency force sphere is a useful spell to stop someone being crushed by rocks.

It is cast as an immediate action - so if a creature charges a character they should be able to cast EFS to stop whatever horrid beast is baring down on them, or at least make them run into a forcewall.

But... what if they were casting already?

The Situation:

New round
Wizard Bob's turn: He starts casting Summon Monster V
Hack'em the hill giant's turn: He charges Wizard Bob with an intent to demonstrate how he got his name.
Wizard Bob declares he wants to use an immediate action to cast Emergency Force Sphere.

Can Wizard Bob save himself?
Does casting Emergency Force Sphere affect his casting of Summon Monster V?

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2 Answers 2

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Yes he can save himself. Yes, he will lose his casting of Summon Monster V.

Summon Monster has a casting time of 1 round, and the spellcaster is required to concentrate on the spell for that duration (emphasis mine):

When you begin a spell that takes 1 round or longer to cast, you must continue the concentration from the current round to just before your turn in the next round (at least). If you lose concentration before the casting is complete, you lose the spell.

Duration states:

You can't cast a spell while concentrating on another one. Some spells last for a short time after you cease concentrating.

There is no exception for immediate action spells in there, nor anywhere else, meaning that you will have to drop concentration to cast another spell. The rules don't state any sort of action for dropping concentration voluntarily, but dropping it involuntarily (by failing a concentration check) is not-an-action, so I suggest doing with that.

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  • \$\begingroup\$ Horah - Bob is saved! \$\endgroup\$
    – Rob
    Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 15:46
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Yes he can save himself. Yes it does effect his casting of Summon Monster V.

Emergency Force Sphere is an immediate action1. Summon Monster V is a full round action to cast2. You can perform an immediate (similar to a swift3) action in the same round as a full round action; but this isn't the case with Summon Monster spells. You must concentrate on the casting until your next turn - since it has a casting time of 1 Round.

Combat Footnotes

1Immediate Action: An immediate action is very similar to a swift action, but can be performed at any time—even if it's not your turn.

2Full-Round Action: A full-round action consumes all your effort during a round. The only movement you can take during a full-round action is a 5-foot step before, during, or after the action. You can also perform free actions and swift actions.

3Swift Action: A swift action consumes a very small amount of time, but represents a larger expenditure of effort and energy than a free action. You can perform only a single swift action per turn.

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  • 1
    \$\begingroup\$ Summon Monster is 1 round, which means that while it does (normally) require a full-round action to use, you need to concentrate on the spell until the beginning of your next turn. \$\endgroup\$
    – MrLemon
    Commented Sep 2, 2015 at 9:34
  • \$\begingroup\$ @MrLemon Yep, you are correct. Edited. \$\endgroup\$
    – Ruut
    Commented Sep 2, 2015 at 9:56
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    \$\begingroup\$ My understanding was that a 1 round action meant that you initiate it on your turn this round and it ends when your turn starts next round whereas the ill-named full-round action is actually a full-turn action, that is, you start it at the beginning of your turn this round and it ends at the end of your turn this round. In short, supposing N players, a 1 round action lasts 1 round whereas a full-round action lasts 1/Nth of a round (only your turn). \$\endgroup\$
    – Matthieu M.
    Commented Sep 2, 2015 at 12:50
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    \$\begingroup\$ @MatthieuM., if a spell takes one round to cast, the spellcaster starts it on their turn using their standard action, and the spell "goes off" at the beginning of their next turn (summon monster and enlarge person are good examples of this). A full-round action (like a full attack) takes your entire turn (you can't do anything else except take a 5 ft. step). Functionally, they're the same thing, it's just that the spell requires you to maintain concentration till your next turn, and if you get socked in the face for going "muahaha I'm gonna cast", you have to roll to not lose the spell. \$\endgroup\$
    – GnoveltyGnome
    Commented Sep 2, 2015 at 14:12
  • \$\begingroup\$ @GnoveltyGnome almost. A 1 round spell also takes a full-round action to cast (or two standard actions for Start/Complete Full-Round Action) \$\endgroup\$
    – MrLemon
    Commented Sep 3, 2015 at 11:04

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