SP - Avoiding AoO?

[xJoe3x]

I am playing a cleric for the first time and am taking the domains death and repose, both have abilities that are a SP touch attack. Is there anyway to avoid the AoO on them?

Gentle Rest (Sp): Your touch can fill a creature with lethargy, causing a living creature to become staggered for 1 round as a melee touch attack. If you touch a staggered living creature, that creature falls asleep for 1 round instead. Undead creatures touched are staggered for a number of rounds equal to your Wisdom modifier. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Bleeding Touch (Sp): As a melee touch attack, you can cause a living creature to take 1d6 points of damage per round. This effect persists for a number of rounds equal to 1/2 your cleric level (minimum 1) or until stopped with a DC 15 Heal check or any spell or effect that heals damage. You can use this ability a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Like could I hold the charge was I would with an inflict spell?
Could I cast it defensively? If so what would the check for something like that be?

[Ice Titan]

xJoe3x wrote:

Like could I hold the charge was I would with an inflict spell?
Could I cast it defensively? If so what would the check for something like that be?

Yes. It functions just like a spell. In this case, a level 1 spell. So, DC 17 to cast defensively.

Remember, friends. Spell-like abilities don't have verbal, somatic, material or focus components. They are a purely mental action. That means in D&D, you provoke for thinking about lightning bolts.

[JimmyNids]

Ice Titan wrote:

Remember, friends. Spell-like abilities don't have verbal, somatic, material or focus components. They are a purely mental action. That means in D&D, you provoke for thinking about lightning bolts.

True, but you should think of it not as thinking about lightening bolts, but rather focusing your consciousness and channeling the energy throughout your body to activate it. There is no verbal or somatic components involved, true, but you still must take the time to concentrate to activate it which is why it provokes unless you cast defensively.

[Remco Sommeling]

Ice Titan wrote:

xJoe3x wrote:

Like could I hold the charge was I would with an inflict spell?
Could I cast it defensively? If so what would the check for something like that be?

Yes. It functions just like a spell. In this case, a level 1 spell. So, DC 17 to cast defensively.

Remember, friends. Spell-like abilities don't have verbal, somatic, material or focus components. They are a purely mental action. That means in D&D, you provoke for thinking about lightning bolts.

I don't see an equivalent spell level mentioned, but assuming it is a level 1 spell-like ability you should be able to take the quicken spell-like ability feat from the bestiary. You will need a casterlevel of 10 for that, so you could possibly take it at level 11.

Quickened spells / spell-like abilities do not provoke attacks of oppurtunity and will be cast as a swift action to boot (3/day).
The only problem might be wether it is ok to touch someone as part of that swift action.

[Magicdealer]

I remember in previous editions, quicken SLA could only be used with racial sla's, not SLA's gained from class levels.

Has the issue even come up in pathfinder yet?

[DigitalMage]

Pathfinder corerulebook page 185 (emphasis mine):
Touch Spells in Combat: Many spells have a range of touch. To use these spells, you cast the spell and then touch the subject. In the same round that you cast the spell, you may also touch (or attempt to touch) as a free action. You may take your move before casting the spell, after touching the target, or between casting the spell and touching the target. You can automatically touch one friend or use the spell on yourself, but to touch an opponent, you must succeed on an attack roll.

So, assuming Spell Like Abilities do indeed act just like spells, and that you do not begin your action adjacent to the foe, you could cast the spell (out of range of any AoOs) then move in and make the Touch Attack as a Free Action.

[Talon Stormwarden]

How do you tell the equivalent spell level for a spelllike ability for monsters? This came up recently in my game with an Erinyes who was trying to teleport out of melee range of the Paladin who was beating the crap outta her. Sadly she failed 3 concentration checks in a row and they had her pinned into an enclosed space. Poor poor Erinyes, she never hurt anyone. :(

[Lathiira]

If a spell-like ability exactly matches the name of a spell, use the spell. I believe (could be wrong here) that if the spell in question is on multiple spell lists, you use the wizard level first, after that cleric if it's not a wizard spell, then druid, then bard, then paladin or ranger. Greater teleport is a 7th-level wizard spell, so the erinyes needed to make a concentration check at DC 29 to get it to go off.

If the ability doesn't match a known spell it's usually given an equivalent level in the description. The erinyes can summon bearded devils, it's listed as a level 3 ability.

[Gray Eminence]

I'm not sure when are you afraid of AoO: when you activate it, or when you make the attack with it. To activate it, make a 5' step or cast it before closing for combat and hold the charge. You are considered armed while holding the charge, so no AoO for the touch attack.

[xJoe3x]

Gray Eminence wrote:

I'm not sure when are you afraid of AoO: when you activate it, or when you make the attack with it. To activate it, make a 5' step or cast it before closing for combat and hold the charge. You are considered armed while holding the charge, so no AoO for the touch attack.

It was when I activate it. Holding the charge seems to work well as does casting defensively at 17.

[Yerv Kinkash]

Craft a glove of Spectral Hand.

[Gray Eminence]

xJoe3x wrote:

Gray Eminence wrote:

I'm not sure when are you afraid of AoO: when you activate it, or when you make the attack with it. To activate it, make a 5' step or cast it before closing for combat and hold the charge. You are considered armed while holding the charge, so no AoO for the touch attack.

It was when I activate it. Holding the charge seems to work well as does casting defensively at 17.

Do not forget that casting deffensively changed significantly in Pathfinder, it is no longer a Concentration check but a caster level check, which is much more difficult to make.