Casting touch-range spells and then touching

[Lasher Dragon]

OK, maybe we have been doing this wrong, but let's say I cast Chill Touch. Now, in that same turn, can I step 5' and touch the enemy? That's how we have been doing it, and the reason I am wondering if it is wrong is because of something that came up last night. I have a spell called Spectral Touch I think from LM; basically I cast it and I get my caster level in touches, each of which gives a negative level. Now, the first time I cast it, I can then step 5' and touch the enemy (I think, at least, that's how we have been playing). OK, next round, what stops me from casting some other spell (obviously not a full-round cast spell), and then 5' step and touch the enemy again?

 

[psyronin]

The first touch attack is rolled into the casting of the spell that grants it. On all other rounds it requires a standard action.

 

[RigaMortus]

Also, you can move more than 5' after casting the spell. You still have a Move Action left, so whatever your normal move is (usually 20 or 30 ft) you can move. Unless the spell takes a Full Round action to cast, then you are correct w/ only allowing the 5' step.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Ahh well that kinda sucks... I mean, the Spectral Touch spell is cool, but not cool enough for my wiz/pale master to sit around for 13 ROUNDS just draining levels over & over. I was hoping once I had the spell imbued I could cast other spells (and still touch), but I guess the rules kinda bend for casting & then touching with a touch range spell in one round. I suppose it would be handy if we were fighting just 1 BBEG, and I had already sapped him of all the strength I could, and I had already exhausted him. That's what my PM excels at, just draining away an opponent's ability to fight.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Note that, if you have more than 1 attack per round, you can make multiple touches per round after the first by using the Full Attack action.

 

[Arkhandus]

Aye, when you use a touch spell that allows multiple touches, each touch is considered a melee touch attack, so if you're a 12th-level wizard for instance with 2 attacks per round, you could make 2 touches with a full-attack action. When you cast a touch spell you can make 1 touch with it as part of the same action, though you could 5-foot-step first (dunno if you can make a move-action between casting and touching though). On rounds following the casting, your hand retains the charge until you use up the alloted number of touches, OR UNTIL YOU CAST ANOTHER SPELL. This is in the Magic chapter of the Player's Handbook and the System Reference Document. Your hand loses the charge of a touch spell once you cast another spell.

Your best bet is to cast Haste on yourself first, so you get an extra attack each round. If your PC is a 13th-level character, you probably have enough BAB for 2 attacks per full-attack action, so with Haste you could get in 3 touches per round as long as you move no more than a 5-foot-step each round; that'll use up your 13 touch attacks within 5 rounds. Round 1, cast Haste and a Quickened Spectral Hand (the spell from the PH that creates a ghostly hand, which flies about and delivers touch attacks for you from a distance, but only touch spells of 4th-level or lower, though at +2 on the attack roll), then on round 2 you cast your touch spell and use Haste/Spectral Hand to deliver one attack, while moving somewhere behind partial cover probably, then on rounds 3 through 6 you direct the Spectral Hand to deliver 3 touches per round. However, I'm not familiar with the Spectral Touch spell or whatever from Libra Mortis/Libris Mortis/bad-Latin-book-o'-undead, so I don't know if it's low-enough level to be used with Spectral Hand from the Player's Handbook. If not, then you just remove Spectral Hand from the equation, start off by casting Haste and then moving close to an enemy, and on round 2 cast Spectral Touch, take a 5-foot-step up to your foe, and attack once with Haste, then move on to full-attacks plus Haste for 3 touches per round in melee.

 

[Lasher Dragon]

Cool I never thought of that. I'll definitely have to try haste. Spectral Hand wouldn't work, Spectral Touch is a 6th level spell I believe. With improved invis & haste, as long as BBEG doesn't have scent/blindfighting/blind-anything, I should be able to terrorize it to no end. Thanks for the tip guys.