Touch two squares at a time?


Rules Questions


I came across this line in Glossary/Invisibility in a moment of serendipity:

A creature can grope about to find an invisible creature. A character can make a touch attack with his hands or a weapon into two adjacent 5-foot squares using a standard action. If an invisible target is in the designated area, there is a 50% miss chance on the touch attack. If successful, the groping character deals no damage but has successfully pinpointed the invisible creature's current location. If the invisible creature moves, its location, obviously, is once again unknown.

If, as a standard action, you can "sweep" your hand (or a weapon) through two adjacent squares in order to find an invisible creature, what exactly is stopping you from doing this at any other time? Shouldn't it be possible to hold a Shocking Grasp charge and attempt to touch two enemies in one "swing"? Of course, only the first one to actually get struck suffers the spell effect, but it's a nice backup in case you miss; you have a chance to touch a second enemy for no additional action economy. Even better if you have a multi-touch spell like Frostbite or Chill Touch.


No, because this is a special exception. Again, this a case where realism and the rules don't come together or meet logical expectations. It happens.

Also it's not really a sweeping, the adjacent square part doesn't mean the squares you touch are adjacent, but rather that you put out both hands and reach into two squares, that are adjacent to you the creature. Though the squares could be adjacent to one another, the needn't be. So I guess you could "sweep" from an RP standpoint, but it does nothing mechanically.


Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

The incidental contact necessary to locate an invisible creature is less than that needed to discharge a touch spell. Your "held charge" is in an unspecified but particular part of your limb and you must grasp your target (resolved as a touch attack). When sweeping your arm or your weapon about to locate an invisible creature, you may have touched it with your elbow or the weapon hilt or your forearm may have brushed over the top of his head as he ducked your sweep. It's unspecified but different that your standard action touch attack.

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