Can you maintain concentration on multiple spells at once?

[AnonymousPepper]

Say you two spells of duration: concentration. You have a method of reducing the duration of your concentration to a swift action instead of a standard (the feat, the skill trick, whateverZ). Can you maintain one as a swift and one as a standard? Say you also had Sonorous Hum going, which maintains a spell for you at no action cost. Could you maintain three at once?

Furthermore, can you maintain multiple of the same spell?

[Deophaun]

You can’t cast a spell while concentrating on another one.
Unfortunately, it's not the action that matters. Even if you can concentrate on a spell as a free action, that part will get you. you have to shuffle concentration off to something else. Sonorous hum works, as should Familiar Concentration. The Swift Concentration skill trick, however, will not.

This means that, by RAW, the feat Extraordinary Concentration doesn't do what the summary description says it does., because the benefit only reduces the action and says nothing about the number of spells you can maintain.

[AnonymousPepper]

What would you say the sane RAI on it is, then?

[Deophaun]

What would you say the sane RAI on it is, then?
RAI is easy as it's the feat description. The people who wrote it thought that you could cast a spell if concentration was reduced to a move action. They just happened to be wrong and never included the language necessary to make it so.

Beyond the casting limitation, I don't believe there is anything in the rules to prevent you from spending actions to maintain two concentration-dependent spells. As long as you have the actions to spend, you should be ok.

[Necroticplague]

Sadly, the rules explicitely state you can't cast a spell while concentrating on another. This is not questionable. So Swift Concentration doesn't let you have multiple concentration spells up, because you still can't cast the spell while concentrating. If you had something that made you not need to concentration, you could do so, however (like Sonorous Hum), then yes, you could keep both up and running.

And theoretically, if you had something that let you cast spells when concentrating+reduced action cost of concentrating, there really isn't anything to stop you from maintaining concentration on two spells at one. I'm just not sure if anything in the first category exists.

[Khedrac]

Additionally the Spirit Shaman ability for the Spirit Guide to maintain concentration on a spell for the SShaman is pretty much predicted on the assumption that it then allows the SShaman to cast more spells.

[Amphetryon]

Arguably, the Dwarven Chanter PrC (available online through WotC's archives) can be used to make this work in conjunction with the Feat Extraordinary Concentration; that's how it was read in the Iron Chef round that featured Dwarven Chanter, anyway.

[Jormengand]

Solicit Psicrystal is a psychic power that lets your psicrystal concentrate for you; with psionic-magic transparency it works on spells.

[Psyren]

Solicit Psicrystal is a psychic power that lets your psicrystal concentrate for you; with psionic-magic transparency it works on spells.

There's also Schism, which gives you a second mind that can take purely mental standard actions for you. It takes a ML hit, but concentration doesn't care about that.


Sadly, the rules explicitely state you can't cast a spell while concentrating on another. This is not questionable. So Swift Concentration doesn't let you have multiple concentration spells up, because you still can't cast the spell while concentrating. If you had something that made you not need to concentration, you could do so, however (like Sonorous Hum), then yes, you could keep both up and running.

And theoretically, if you had something that let you cast spells when concentrating+reduced action cost of concentrating, there really isn't anything to stop you from maintaining concentration on two spells at one. I'm just not sure if anything in the first category exists.

If you cast them simultaneously (e.g. Twin Spell) then both will come into being before you start concentrating on either one. So you'll be concentrating on two at once (so long as you have the necessary actions to do so - see above) but will not have cast either of them while concentrating on the other and thus you can legally have two out.

If your GM rules against this, then Twin Spell/Twin Power ceases to function entirely.

[Jormengand]

Solicit Psicrystal I mentioned over Schism precisely because you don't have to concentrate on the spell at all; the crystal does that for you so you can cast more spells.

[martixy]

Solicit Psicrystal I mentioned over Schism precisely because you don't have to concentrate on the spell at all; the crystal does that for you so you can cast more spells.

Same deal with Spirit Shaman for that matter.
Heck, even better, as it doesn't have to make Conc checks.

[Necroticplague]

If you cast them simultaneously (e.g. Twin Spell) then both will come into being before you start concentrating on either one. So you'll be concentrating on two at once (so long as you have the necessary actions to do so - see above) but will not have cast either of them while concentrating on the other and thus you can legally have two out.

If your GM rules against this, then Twin Spell/Twin Power ceases to function entirely.

Huh. That's actually a pretty clever workaround.

[martixy]

Huh. That's actually a pretty clever workaround.

It's a trick that works well with other spells/powers with similar clauses.
Another good one is Vigor.
It says it overrides an earlier manifestation, which is moot in the case of a twinned power.
Though it's only feasible past level 12, as only then does the PP expenditure of vigor+twinned provide a better result than fully augmented Vigor.

[Pex]

A psion can concentrate on three powers. One using Solicit Psycrystal, one using Schism, and himself. If the psion is able to manifest Fission as well he can do two more with his double's own Schism. However, that's high level and will cost a lot of power points overall and takes several rounds to set up. It's a prepared nova tactic.

[MisterKaws]

If you cast them simultaneously (e.g. Twin Spell) then both will come into being before you start concentrating on either one. So you'll be concentrating on two at once (so long as you have the necessary actions to do so - see above) but will not have cast either of them while concentrating on the other and thus you can legally have two out.

If your GM rules against this, then Twin Spell/Twin Power ceases to function entirely.

No, that's what would happen with Arcane Fusion. Twin Spell doubles the effects, but it's still one spell, so you're only concentrating on one, and any actions made to maintain or control a Twin Spell can affect either or both at the same time.

[Psyren]

No, that's what would happen with Arcane Fusion. Twin Spell doubles the effects, but it's still one spell, so you're only concentrating on one, and any actions made to maintain or control a Twin Spell can affect either or both at the same time.

Point- and now I'm wondering how all this interacts with Linked Power.

[MisterKaws]

Point- and now I'm wondering how all this interacts with Linked Power.

The linked power kicks off normally, and I think you would be able to concentrate on it if you had those feats, since you didn't cast it yourself; your spell did.