Ring the Golden Bell

[Dannyalcatraz]

Now, as we all know, you can deliver a touch attack spell with an unarmed strike, thus doing the melee damage + the spell effect.

Paizo's DCv1 has a Feat called Ring the Golden Bell (from Dragon #319) which allows someone with the appropriate prereqs to use their Unarmed Strike as a ranged (5' + 5'/point of Wis bonus) weapon, and:

"can deliver any effect your unarmed strike can normally deliver, such as a stunning attack due to the Stunning Fist feat."

The question is this: would you allow a PC with this feat to deliver a touch attack spell or power at the range specified by the feat?

 

[Barak]

I could see how, by the RAW, one could say no. An unarmed attack, after all, is -not- a touch attack. And a character making a touch attack for a spell's purpose is even considered armed!

Of course, a touch attack is easier to hit than an unarmed attack. And the reason why a touch attack for the purpose of a spell is considered armed is supposed to be beneficial.

And spellcasters don't have unlimited feats, so spending one to have a weaker effect than a low-level spell (Spectral Touch) isn't that big. On the other hand, That's pretty much the effect of the Reach Spell feat, which has the added "cost" or rasing the spell level.

Soooo.. I'd say no.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

We're not talking about unarmed attacks, we're talking about unarmed strikes, which is considered to be an armed attack.

You can use an unarmed attacks, strikes, & natural weapons to deliver a touch spell (PHB p141-2), and also mentioned in Complete Arcane, as I recall.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Without seeing the feat, the combination looks valid to me.

It works for Spectral Hand, after all.

-Hyp.

 

[Infiniti2000]

...we're talking about unarmed strikes, which is considered to be an armed attack.

No, they're not. Not unless you have Improved Unarmed Strike. However, that has nothing to do with your question, to which I agree with Hyp.

 

[ceratitis]

Without seeing the feat, the combination looks valid to me.

It works for Spectral Hand, after all.

-Hyp.

3rd that. if you allow the feat the combo is valid. if you feel this is too powerful, disallow the feat or twick it somehow maybe limit the range to +10 ft/ wisdom bonus?
Z

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

IUS and Stunning Fist are among the prerequisites.

if you feel this is too powerful, disallow the feat or twick it somehow maybe limit the range to +10 ft/ wisdom bonus?
Z

How is that less powerful? The Feat lists the range as 5' + 5'/wis bonus. It sounds like you're dropping the first 5' but doubling the wis bonus.

 

[Lord Pendragon]

The question is this: would you allow a PC with this feat to deliver a touch attack spell or power at the range specified by the feat?

Yes. Note that at range they would have to make a standard melee attack (in order to activate Ring the Golden Bell) and would not be able to forgo melee damage to deliver the attack as a touch attack.

 

[Bad Paper]

Now, as we all know, you can deliver a touch attack spell with an unarmed strike, thus doing the melee damage + the spell effect.

I did not know this, and had assumed otherwise. Do you have a source for this?

 

[Infiniti2000]

I did not know this, and had assumed otherwise. Do you have a source for this?

From the SRD, Holding the Charge:

Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren’t considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. (If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack.) If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.