Range: Touch Spells

[SpikeyFreak]

Can I cast cure light wounds and then pull my mace off my belt and shield off my back, and then when I need to heal someone drop my mace and touch them?

--Old School Spikey

 

[Steel_Wind]

Yes

 

[SpikeyFreak]

Yes

So what rule says that a shield and a mace don't count as something when it says that if you touch something the spell discharges? I ask because there are places that say that items on your person are part of you.

--Prying Spikey

 

[Steel_Wind]

So what rule says that a shield and a mace don't count as something when it says that if you touch something the spell discharges? I ask because there are places that say that items on your person are part of you.

--Prying Spikey

I misunderstood your qustion. You are asking if you can keep a "healing charge" and discharge it at will? Very different point. I think the answer to that is no. You would need a spell storing ring or spell sword (spell mace, perhaps) to manage something like that.

 

[milo]

I believe there is also a spell that allows you to hold a touch spell, but I can't recall what the spell is or if it is arcane or divine.

 

[milo]

The spell I was thinking of was spell flower from spell compendium, it lets you hold one spell per limb, 1st level for both cleric and wizard. I am pretty sure you can hold touch spells, pg 185 has the rules for it, very bottom on the right side of the page has holding spells. And no you can't hold something in that hand and hold the spell. You could use girallon's blessing and spell flower and hold a spell on two of your limbs and still hold your gear.

 

[ruemere]

Can I cast cure light wounds and then pull my mace off my belt and shield off my back, and then when I need to heal someone drop my mace and touch them?

--Old School Spikey

In a space of a single round? Yes, without the Shield (you need to have Quick Draw feat or wield mace during move).

From Pathfinder PRD:

Touch Spells and Holding the Charge: In most cases, if you don't discharge a touch spell on the round you cast it, you can hold the charge (postpone the discharge of the spell) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round until the spell is discharged. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.

Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets as part of the spell. You can't hold the charge of such a spell; you must touch all targets of the spell in the same round that you finish casting the spell.

Also, at GM discretion you could avoid dropping mace - you need only a single hand to perform touch attack.
My personal take always was to either strap weapon to my wrist or strap shield to my forearm (done years ago during real time exercises). When you need to make a touch, you release a hold on a weapon or move your off-hand against straps - both weapon and shield are easy to regain hold on.
The risk of injuring hands by opponents is bigger (straps limit a bit), but with some expertise you can readjust your grip on shield and weapon.

Regards,
Ruemere

 

[Steel_Wind]

In a space of a single round? Yes, without the Shield (you need to have Quick Draw feat or wield mace during move).

From Pathfinder PRD:

Touch Spells and Holding the Charge: In most cases, if you don't discharge a touch spell on the round you cast it, you can hold the charge (postpone the discharge of the spell) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round until the spell is discharged. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.

Ruemere

Not sure where you were quoting from, but your quote is missing a vital part of the rule. I checked the errata file for the first printing and this page has not changed from the first printing -- so you should check whatever .txt image of the PRD you are using as it appears to be inaccurate (might be other errors in there too?). The Pathfinder Core Rule Book says at the bottom of page 185/ top of 186:

Holding the Charge: If you don’t discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.

While I agree that the Mace is not an "anyone", it most surely is "anything".

Pathfinder PFSRD entry is here. Paizo's PRD entry is here.

So no, you can't hold the charge in the manner the OP proposes. The rule is written with the specific object of preventing a caster from doing that very thing.