Melee touch attacks and... Power attack?
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hammymchamham
First Post
power attack works with melee attacks, touch spells are not melee attacks. Pg 123 PHB describes a melee attack "Melee Attacks: With a normal melee weapon, you can strike any enemy within 5 feet..."
Someone
Adventurer
I disagree. That paragraph describes how far you can strike with a weapon. the glossary describes melee attack as "physical attack suitable for close combat" and touch attacks, in page 119, says that a touch attack follows all the rules for normal attacks, except for some types of armor not being useful.
(I do not intend to be a troll or something, it´s only that this rules oddity strikes me)
(I do not intend to be a troll or something, it´s only that this rules oddity strikes me)
arwink
Clockwork Golem
If you look at most of the things that require touch attacks, they aren't reliant on physical force to cause damage. A cause serious wounds doesn't need to hit you hard, it just needs to brush against you and the negative energy flows out of the caster and into the victim. This applies to most forms of touch attack and ranged touch attacks - they aren't true melee attacks, rather the need to connect with your opponent in order to transfer some kind of energy from you to him.
That being said, it would be possible to cast a spell with a touch attack, hold the charge and use the charge as part of an unarmed strike in the next round that could use power attack.
That being said, it would be possible to cast a spell with a touch attack, hold the charge and use the charge as part of an unarmed strike in the next round that could use power attack.
hammymchamham
First Post
How can you disagree with
"Melee Attacks: With a normal melee weapon"
A spell is not a normal melee weapon and doesn't fall under a melee attack.
Now, if a wizard tried to punch an enemy while holding a charge, that would be a normal mellee weapon attack, and could use power attack
"Melee Attacks: With a normal melee weapon"
A spell is not a normal melee weapon and doesn't fall under a melee attack.
Now, if a wizard tried to punch an enemy while holding a charge, that would be a normal mellee weapon attack, and could use power attack
Spatzimaus
First Post
Here's how I see it:
PHB, p. 84:
"On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls."
Touch spells don't do melee damage. Most of them do some sort of elemental damage. So, I'd say by the core rules, you can't Power Attack a touch spell (PA'd Harm for 5 extra points would be broken)
It's still possible to combine touch attacks and regular ones (example: the psionic power Dissolving Touch combined with monk attacks or the claw powers), and in those cases you should be able to Power Attack the regular attack (which will increase the bludgeoning/slashing damage, not acid)
Note that the psionic Deep Impact/Fell Shot/Unavoidable Strike feats (which let you use weapons as touch attacks for the purposes of AC) are not true touch attacks (and ARE still melee damage), and would still let you use your Power Attack. Good thing, since PA is a prerequisite for Deep Impact.
PHB, p. 84:
"On your action, before making attack rolls for a round, you may choose to subtract a number from all melee attack rolls and add the same number to all melee damage rolls."
Touch spells don't do melee damage. Most of them do some sort of elemental damage. So, I'd say by the core rules, you can't Power Attack a touch spell (PA'd Harm for 5 extra points would be broken)
It's still possible to combine touch attacks and regular ones (example: the psionic power Dissolving Touch combined with monk attacks or the claw powers), and in those cases you should be able to Power Attack the regular attack (which will increase the bludgeoning/slashing damage, not acid)
Note that the psionic Deep Impact/Fell Shot/Unavoidable Strike feats (which let you use weapons as touch attacks for the purposes of AC) are not true touch attacks (and ARE still melee damage), and would still let you use your Power Attack. Good thing, since PA is a prerequisite for Deep Impact.
Someone
Adventurer
hammymchamham said:
A "normal melee weapon" is one that has no special rules regarding reach in that context, so yes I disagree for the reasons I stated before.
And while you all have good points regarding melee touch attacks not being melee attacks (wich I think are wrong) you missed the part I said that I found that rule odd and I would not use it, nor let my players do it. The thread was about pointing how sometimes the rules had no sense, not that I plan to make a smacking shocking grasp wizard or a flaming blade master druid; I gess this thread is somewhat stupid.
Oh, well.
Epametheus
First Post
The only instance I can think of where you could really power-attack with a touch attack would be initiating a grapple. Grabbing someone is a touch attack, and power attack should be applicable to your grapple check and successful grapple damage.
Unless you're grappling, say, an unpolymorphed wizard, doing a power-attack grapple probably wouldn't work too well. But you should still be able to do it.
Otherwise, the typical genuine touch attack is either (a) a spell or (b) something that doesn't deal damage, like a trip. So power attack is fairly meaningless with those.
Unless you're grappling, say, an unpolymorphed wizard, doing a power-attack grapple probably wouldn't work too well. But you should still be able to do it.
Otherwise, the typical genuine touch attack is either (a) a spell or (b) something that doesn't deal damage, like a trip. So power attack is fairly meaningless with those.
