Chill Touch Question

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Spells aren't my area of expertise. I usually play fighter types. And, I'm confused by Chill Touch.

The text of Chill Touch reads: "You can use this melee touch attack up to one time per level." However, the duration is instantaneous.

How does it work?

Can my 4th level wizard only use it once each time he levels up? Or, can he attack with it 4 times each time he casts it (effectiviely being "armed" with it for 4 rounds)?

 

[Dross]

Its the 2nd option.

The instantaneous mentioned in this case refers to the effect going off each time you touch someone, not the whole spell (at least that how my brain works it). You might notice this elsewhere for touch attacks including more than 1 attack.

And yes, they should have worded it better.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Thanks.

So, this is something my wizard could cast at the beginning of the day and it would already be "on" when he encountered something that needed to "chill out"?

Could he cast other spells in the mean time without ruining Chill Touch?

 

[Sekhmet]

He could cast any spell that did not have have Range: Touch.
Any Range: Touch spell would override Chill Touch's remaining uses.

 

[frankthedm]

Could he cast other spells in the mean time without ruining Chill Touch?

No.

Holding the Charge
If you don’t discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the discharge of the spell (hold the charge) indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.

He could cast any spell that did not have have Range: Touch.
Any Range: Touch spell would override Chill Touch's remaining uses.

Any spell cast will cause the caster to lose the rest of the chill touch.

 

[Sekhmet]

I never realized that was a homebrew idea. Sorry about that.

 

[Empirate]

The spell Spellflower (Savage Species, may have been reprinted in SpC) overrides the restrictions of holding the charge on a touch spell. While it's active you can hold the charge on a touch spell and cast another spell - which can even be another touch spell. That way, you can use two-weapon fighting with touch spells, if you want to.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Thanks for the input and answers, everyone!