My wizard casts Fetid Caress on a charging melee fighter and then moves well out of melee range to cast another spell or two before Fetid Caress wears off.

 

When Fetid Caress wears off, the melee fighter swings his weapon (at the wizard that was there before he was paralyzed) and kills my wizard who is now standing 25 ft. away. That should not happen.

Had the fighter already started attacking you when the Fetid Caress hit? It might be that his attack was already initiated, and was completed once the Fetid Caress wore off. I've had something similar with Shadowing Beyond, where my rogue got killed by an ogre whilst already invisible and a couple of steps away, presumably because the attack had already started when still visible.

 

So my impression is that once started, attacks don't abort because of these status effect changes (on self or target). I agree that it definitely shouldn't happen though, but this seems like a plausible explanation for what you described.

Had the fighter already started attacking you when the Fetid Caress hit? It might be that his attack was already initiated, and was completed once the Fetid Caress wore off. I've had something similar with Shadowing Beyond, where my rogue got killed by an ogre whilst already invisible and a couple of steps away, presumably because the attack had already started when still visible.

 

So my impression is that once started, attacks don't abort because of these status effect changes (on self or target). I agree that it definitely shouldn't happen though, but this seems like a plausible explanation for what you described.

Yes, I agree that this is the explanation and I also agree that it should not work that way. The melee attacker should just swing, miss, and yell "get back here you squishy magic user"!

I just went back to try again and it happened 3 straight times. There is no way my wizard should die from a melee attack from 20 feet away!

 

Do the developers read these posts?