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Paizo / Messageboards / Paizo Community / Gaming / D&D 3.5/d20/OGL / What's the touch attack AB?     Recent Posts
What's the touch attack AB?
dsan1,

Illithid avatar

Can anybody tell me how i calculate the touch attack AB of a sorcerer or a wizard using a melee or ranged touch spell?

in the phb i found everything about the rules concerning the target's AC but nothing about the attacker's AB. Is it just the base attack bonus? or may he add the spell level, his INT-bonus or sth. like this?

Darkjoy,

Asmodeus avatar

dsan1 wrote:
Can anybody tell me how i calculate the touch attack AB of a sorcerer or a wizard using a melee or ranged touch spell?

in the phb i found everything about the rules concerning the target's AC but nothing about the attacker's AB. Is it just the base attack bonus? or may he add the spell level, his INT-bonus or sth. like this?


Use the Basic Attack Bonus and add the strength modifier for melee touch attacks. For ranged touch attacks you use the BAB and the dexterity modifier, if any.

Saern (Pathfinder Adventure Path Charter Subscriber),

Moltenwing avatar

I haven't use it, but I once heard a suggestion to throw in spell level on the touch attack bonus as well.

Fraust,

Berwim-the-Vampire avatar

I don't recomend adding in spell level or anything else (it's your game obviously, do what you want). Touch Armor Class is typicaly just dex, possibly some magic items later in the game. The wizard/sorcerer's base attack is crap, but when you don't need to penetrate armor it works out in your favor almost every time. In my experience, by the time your fighting things with the magic goodies to increase their touch AC beyond just dex you will have plenty of magic goodies of your own, increasing your attacks. Give your wizard a good dex and you should be in the clear. With my current wizard character I've probably missed more often with magic missle than any of my ray/orb spells (due to the shield spell and my wierd'o luck on spell resistance), and he only has a 12 dex.

Daron Woodson,

What's wrong with the touch attack formulas in the bestiary? The Lamia has BAB +9 and 18 Str, but a touch attack of +7?

Ghost has BAB +5 and a touch attack of +6?

Did something about touch attacks get changed? There's no entry for 'touch attacks' in the PRPG index, and nothing about touch attacks under spells or touch AC.

TheDrone,

Goblyn avatar

Daron Woodson wrote:
What's wrong with the touch attack formulas in the bestiary? The Lamia has BAB +9 and 18 Str, but a touch attack of +7?

Ghost has BAB +5 and a touch attack of +6?

Did something about touch attacks get changed? There's no entry for 'touch attacks' in the PRPG index, and nothing about touch attacks under spells or touch AC.


I figured out the Ghost, it doesn't have a strength score and has a 12 dex (+1). +5 base att +1 for dex is +6 for a touch attack.

I'll be back for the lamia.

EDIT:

Lamia - Base attack +9, STR +4, Large creature -1, natural attack modifier (no multiattack) -5.

That's a total of 7! Woooo!! lol figured it out.

So if you just decided to use the wisdom drain, you'd get a modifier of +12.

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