Summon monster/natures ally

[FuryOfMetal]

I was looking through the summons entry in the PHB and that it takes a full round to cast the spell. When the creature arrives it acts immediately on your turn. Does this mean it acts as soon as it's summoned (essentially after you in iniative) or that it acts simultaneously with you starting from your next turn?

[Greenish]

Summons have one round casting time, not full round. You start summoning on your initiative at the first round, and on the second round when your initiative comes up, the summon pops out and then you both act simultaneously.

[KillianHawkeye]

Greenish is correct. Casting time of 1 round means you spend your entire action casting the spell and you don't finish until just before the start of your next turn (giving opponents ample chances to disrupt you).

[Jack Zander]

The correct RAW on summoning really nerfs it, but its a nerf that is needed. We played with a shaman who wasn't even optimized on summoning and every battle he could summon a 3-6 monsters who just tore up the battlefield and did all our work for us. If our DM had made him take 1 round of casting with the spell he would have been disrupted much more often by pesky archers and the like.

[Starbuck_II]

Add in Rapid Metamagic (+1) and now it is a standard action.
Or the Wizard Conjurer variant that takes away Familiar for free Rapid Metamagic (no slot increase) for summoning.

[Esser-Z]

The one round casting time is something I've found everyone tends to forget, treating it instead as a full action. Not sure why this is, heh.

[Kaww]

Add in Rapid Metamagic (+1) and now it is a standard action.
Or the Wizard Conjurer variant that takes away Familiar for free Rapid Metamagic (no slot increase) for summoning.

From which book is this? It is very, very nice... My NPCs will love you. Players not so much...

[bokodasu]

I think it's the line about the summonee acting on the turn it's summoned; that's certainly what misled me. (Because by the time you get to that line, you go, "hey, cool!" and have entirely forgotten the casting time line.) Or maybe it's just that it's not something you even think about, since so many spells are standard actions.

At least I don't think it wouldn't have changed the outcome of any battles in the campaign I'm in; my DM doesn't usually think to have the bad guys try to interrupt the casters, except as an attack of opportunity. (Although maybe he will be now, since I pointed this out to him.)

[Starbuck_II]

From which book is this? It is very, very nice... My NPCs will love you. Players not so much...

Rapid Metamagic is CD (Complete Divine)
the Alternate Wizard Conjurer is UA:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/cl...rapidSummoning

[Thurbane]

I think you're possibly confusing Rapid Metamagic (CM - allows spontaneous casters to use metamagic without increasing casting times, no level adj on spells) with Rapid Spell (CD - reducse casting time of some spells, +1 level adj on spells).