Melee Touch Attack

[Dracorat]

ah! This is not spelled out anywhere in the rules, so I wondered this for years. I have always run this as BAB + Dex modifier, because why in Hell would you need Strength for that? As of late I have started to slide it to using the better of either Str or Dex.

Sure it is. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm

Attack Bonus

Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is:

Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier

With a ranged weapon, your attack bonus is:

Base attack bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier + range penalty

Base Attack Bonus

A base attack bonus is an attack roll bonus derived from character class and level or creature type and Hit Dice (or combinations thereof). Base attack bonuses increase at different rates for different character classes and creature types. A second attack is gained when a base attack bonus reaches +6, a third with a base attack bonus of +11 or higher, and a fourth with a base attack bonus of +16 or higher. Base attack bonuses gained from different sources, such as when a character is a multiclass character, stack.

If it were a ranged touch attack, you would use DEX.

 

[Hypersmurf]

You can take a 5' step as part of an action and only provoke the AO from the person who's square you are stepping in to.

Except that the movement in Step 4 is not normal movement.

It's free and doesn't count against movement in the rest of the round. You can take a 5' step, then initiate a grapple, then move into the opponent's square, for example... even though you normally can't take a 5' step in a round in which you move any distance.

Moving into a target's square as part of Step 4 doesn't provoke an AoO from the target. Taking a 5' step into his square would... assuming it were possible. If you're Tiny, Fine, or Diminutive, no problem. Otherwise, you generally can't, unless your opponent is helpless. You can, however, enter his square as part of a grapple or bull rush... which provokes an AoO from anyone threatening (including the target in the case of a bull rush, excluding the target in the case of a grapple).

I don't see a way to treat Step 4 as a 5 foot step.

-Hyp.

 

[Dracorat]

Here is the specific wording of step 4:

Step 4

Maintain Grapple. To maintain the grapple for later rounds, you must move into the target’s space. (This movement is free and doesn’t count as part of your movement in the round.)

Moving, as normal, provokes attacks of opportunity from threatening opponents, but not from your target.

If you can’t move into your target’s space, you can’t maintain the grapple and must immediately let go of the target. To grapple again, you must begin at Step 1.

When I read that, I see no conflict with the rules on 5 foot steps. Even it being called out as 'free movement not counted against normal movement' doesn't call it out as being in conflict. (IMO, since I beleive this is a judgment call)

 

[Artoomis]

Here is the specific wording of step 4:


When I read that, I see no conflict with the rules on 5 foot steps. Even it being called out as 'free movement not counted against normal movement' doesn't call it out as being in conflict. (IMO, since I beleive this is a judgment call)

Note that this move provokes an AoO as normal for movement, and that distinguishes it from a 5-foot step.

 

[Bad Paper]

uh, OK, so it's kinda spelled out in the RAW, by putting two rules together. They never explicitly say "melee touch is BAB plus strength," but OK. Now for the threadjack:

Why does melee touch use the Strength modifier at all? Someone with a BAB of 0, Strength of 40, and Dexterity of 1 will insta-hit most melee touch attacks, but totally brick ranged touch attacks. Somehow it is easier for this creature to touch a housefly than it is to point at the housefly? WtF?

 

[Dracorat]

Note that this move provokes an AoO as normal for movement, and that distinguishes it from a 5-foot step.

Yes, :as normal: which means if under :normal: circumstances one was not provoked (like taking only 5' of movement) then as :normal: no AO was provoked in that case.