Can you cast an Immediate spell before your first initiative?

[Frosty]

Ok, so combat starts, and I roll low. A monster moves to attack me before it gets to my first turn. Can I still cast a spell (such as Greater Mirror Image) if the spell only uses an Immediate action to cast?

[Jack_Simth]

Not generally, no, as you're flat-footed; it's explicitly called out under immediate actions.

Immediate Actions

Much like a swift action, an immediate action consumes a very small amount of time, but represents a larger expenditure of effort and energy than a free action. However, unlike a swift action, an immediate action can be performed at any time — even if it's not your turn. Casting feather fall is an immediate action, since the spell can be cast at any time.

Using an immediate action on your turn is the same as using a swift action, and counts as your swift action for that turn. You cannot use another immediate action or a swift action until after your next turn if you have used an immediate action when it is not currently your turn (effectively, using an immediate action before your turn is equivalent to using your swift action for the coming turn). You also cannot use an immediate action if you are flat-footed.

(Emphasis added)

Link


Edit 2: Whahaha! I am ninja!

[Enzario]

Well, I don't know how you'd cast G. Mirror Image as an immediate action, but in effect, yes. The rules do say, IIRC, that an immediate action need not be during your turn, but it must be somebody's turn. So you have to wait until the oppontents' turn has started, but you could still cast it before they act.

EDIT: Oh, yes, and you can't cast when you're flat-footed. That's one rule you can't get around.

So: Short Answer: NO
Long Answer: No, but in a bit you can.

[Rad]

Not usually. When combat starts everyone is flat-footed and a flat-footed character cannot take immediate actions.
Spells that prevent you from being flat-footed, such as foresight, go around this problem and allows the caster to use immediate actions even before his first turn.

EDIT: ninjaed!

[Jack_Simth]

EDIT: Oh, yes, and you can't cast when you're flat-footed. That's one rule you can't get around.

You can get around that, but it takes a 9th level spell, Foresight.

[cupkeyk]

Or you have levels in divine oracle.

[Kaelik]

There is one spell that specifically allows you to cast it while flat-footed. That spell is Nerveskitter. Gives +5 to Initiative. Other then that, it takes Foresight to get around.

[Chronos]

There's also at least one spell, Nerveskitter, which explicitly allows you to cast it during initiative resolution. But that's a special case, since the effect of the spell is to give you a bonus to your initiative roll.