Ranged / melee touch spells (not rays) and feats or crits

[Caliban_]

OK, I know that rays and other "weapon-like" spells can crit, and you can take the appropriate feats for them (weapon focus, point blank shot, precise shot, etc).

But does the same thing apply to ranged touch and melee spells that aren't rays or called out as "weapon-like"?

Specifically, spells like Inflict wounds (melee touch, save for half damage), Shocking Grasp (melee touch, no save), and Snowball (ranged touch, not a ray).

Reason I'm asking is one of the local PFS judges has stated a few times that if it's not a "weapon-like spell" then it can't crit, and feats like point blank shot do not apply.

I'm pretty sure he's wrong about the critical hit part (unless there's been errata to the core rules that I missed), but I'm less sure about the feat aspect, and I don't want to bring it up at the gaming table unless I'm absolutely sure.

[Blakmane]

I'm not sure about the feat aspect. RAW I believe feats like PBS do not apply unless it is a ray or 'weapon-like spell', so no weapon focus etc on snowball. The rules are very poor on this even with the FAQ so it really just comes down to table variation.

Your local PFS judge is completely incorrect about critting. All touch spells that deal damage can crit, unless mentioned otherwise.

From the CRB, page 213:

"Touch

You must touch a creature or object to affect it. A touch spell that deals damage can score a critical hit just as a weapon can. A touch spell threatens a critical hit on a natural roll of 20 and deals double damage on a successful critical hit. Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets. You can touch up to 6 willing targets as part of the casting, but all targets of the spell must be touched in the same round that you finish casting the spell. If the spell allows you to touch targets over multiple rounds, touching 6 creatures is a full-round action."

Honestly, i'm pretty disappointed that a 'judge' is incapable of referencing text very clearly spelled out in the CRB.

If I was you I would admit defeat on the feats (you can't really win that one), but definitely point out his error with crits. That isn't a mistake a judge should be making, especially as it is a core feature of an entire class build (magus spellstrike/keen shocking grasp crit builds).

[Caliban_]

I'm aware of the what the rules say about touch spells and criticals.

I think he believes that the FAQ on Rays and Weapon-spells somehow means that crits no longer work for ranged/melee touch spells that aren't weapon-like.

He sounded confident enough that I wanted to make sure there wasn't an errata or official ruling that I wasn't aware of before bringing it up again.

[Blakmane]

Nope, he's just flat wrong.