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A sorcerer (Draconic) extends his claws (free action) and wants to make a claw attack along with make his shocking grasp touch attack.
Can this be done via a normal attack roll and apply both damages?
If so - can he make a normal claw attack (non touch attack) in the same round he casts the spell? (Normally, casting a spell that requires a touch attack allows the touch attack to be done in the round the spell was cast; so does switching the attack to a standard attack mean that the spell must be cast and "held" until the following round?)
Robert
Yes, if you make a successful normal attack roll you can do normal claw damage plus discharge shocking grasp.
It takes a standard action to cast shocking grasp. You can cast the spell and then make one free touch attack with it that round as part of the act of casting the spell. But you've still used your standard action for the round. You would have to hold the charge to make a melee attack with your claws (which requires a standard action) after casting the spell to do the combo. Unless your opponent provokes an AoO, in which case if your claws and spell are ready that works too.
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Yes, if you make a successful normal attack roll you can do normal claw damage plus discharge shocking grasp.
It takes a standard action to cast shocking grasp. You can cast the spell and then make one free touch attack with it that round as part of the act of casting the spell. But you've still used your standard action for the round. You would have to hold the charge to make a melee attack with your claws (which requires a standard action) after casting the spell to do the combo. Unless your opponent provokes an AoO, in which case if your claws and spell are ready that works too.
That is exactly how I thought it worked. Thank you very much for confirming that for me.
Robert
Apologies for the thread necromancy, but I have a related question.
What if the natural attack is good enough to hit touch AC, but not normal AC? That would suggest that I touched the target (thus the spell discharges), but wasn't able to get through its armor (so no claw damage). Is this correct?
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Generally, you don't get partial effects for hitting a lower AC than needed for your intended attack. When attacking with a natural attack or unarmed strike with a held touch spell, you would need to hit the regular AC, at which point you would do damage from the attack and discharge the spell. If you missed the AC, the spell would still be held to try again.
The same idea would apply if making a natural attack or unarmed strike vs. a creature that had barbs, acid, etc. that damage the attacker on a successful hit...a near miss (would hit touch but not regular AC) would not damage the attacker.
I'm pretty certain that there is an entry in the 3.5 FAQ on this for those who value that to work out how things work.