Weapon Focus: Ranged Touch Attack

[Kalyth]

Would Weapon Focus: RTA include Rays?

Would I have to take Weapon Focus Ranged Touch Attach and Weapon Focus Rays so that my Schorching Ray and my Acid Arrow both get the bonus?

Or if I'm using Vampiric Touch with the Reach Spell Feat?

[Gilfalas]

Kalyth wrote:

Would Weapon Focus: RTA include Rays?

Would I have to take Weapon Focus Ranged Touch Attach and Weapon Focus Rays so that my Schorching Ray and my Acid Arrow both get the bonus?

Or if I'm using Vampiric Touch with the Reach Spell Feat?

I don't beleive that Pathfinder rules have covered this explicitly yet. Probably will in Ultimate Magic.

In the mean time, read the 'Weapon Like Spells' section of 'Complete Arcane' which coveres exactly what your asking about.

[Cartigan]

Rays are ranged touch attacks. They, themselves, are not a "weapon;" they are the delivery of a "ranged touch attack."

[Silent_Xrytizah]

A ranged touch attack isn't a weapon. Hence, can't take it for weapon focus or improved crit. I've always allowed players to take weapon focus and improved crit 'Ray' however.

[Grick]

Silent_Xrytizah wrote:

A ranged touch attack isn't a weapon. Hence, can't take it for weapon focus or improved crit.

Weapon Focus (Combat): Choose one type of weapon. You can also choose unarmed strike or grapple (or ray, if you are a spellcaster) as your weapon for the purposes of this feat.

[0gre]

Sean more or less covers this appropriately enough in the (hard to find) FAQ.

Quote:

Can you take Weapon Specialization (ray) or Improved Critical (ray) as feats? How about Weapon Specialization (bomb) or Improved Critical (bomb)?

All four of those are valid choices.

Note that Weapon Specialization (ray) only adds to hit point damage caused by a ray attack that would normally deal hit point damage; it doesn't increase ability score damage (such as from ray of enfeeblement) or drain, negative levels (such as from enervation), or other damage or penalties from rays.

Weapon focus isn't on that list specifically but you'd have to be pretty pedantic to argue it doesn't apply since it's not specifically on there.

Edit: My reading challenge isn't dyslexia, it is skimming a topic and assuming what the topic without really reading it... thus my above answer doesn't really directly apply to the topic at hand :D

[Grick]

0gre wrote:

Weapon focus isn't on that list specifically but you'd have to be pretty pedantic to argue it doesn't apply since it's not specifically on there.

Weapon Focus: Ray is written in the book. It's fine. The OP was asking if he could take Weapon Focus: Ranged Touch Attack and have it apply to all RTAs including rays.

*edit* However, the FAQ link there is still useful when considering the topic, so technically we're still contributing!

[0gre]

As for the original post I would certainly allow weapon focus (RTA) with rays, orbs, and arrows all lumped together but most of the references I've seen refer to Rays specifically which would imply otherwise... ask your GM, he'll probably let it slide.

[Dragonchess Player]

Since 3.0, the rule of thumb was to break ranged touch attack spells into two "weapon types" for purposes of feats: missiles and rays. acid splash, acid arrow, or the 3.x orb spells are missiles, with just about every other ranged touch attack spell (or spells modified by Reach Spell metamagic) being rays or using other rules (such as splash weapons for fire seeds (acorn)). Acid Dart, Binding Darkness (APG), Fire Bolt, Hand of the Acolyte/Apprentice, Icicle, Lightning Arc, and Telekinetic Fist domain/school abilities should probably be considered missiles, while other ranged touch domain/bloodline/school abilities are explicitly rays. 3.x and earlier versions had more missile spell choices than Pathfinder, so the difference was less glaring.

The only sticking point for using "ranged touch attacks" as a weapon type (as long as splash weapons are treated as their own type), IMO, is the spell spectral hand. It is neither a missile nor a ray, but delivers ranged touch attacks and already gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls. As long as spectral hand and splash weapons are not included, I don't think it would be unbalancing to combine the missile and ray types in Pathfinder.

[0gre]

If the game system broke ranged spells into clearly distinct categories it might be more reasonable but as it is currently it's pretty weird and I'm not comfortable using legacy rules, mostly because I don't have sources to reference.

[Aspasia de Malagant]

Thread Necro...

Dragonchess Player wrote:

The only sticking point for using "ranged touch attacks" as a weapon type (as long as splash weapons are treated as their own type), IMO, is the spell spectral hand. It is neither a missile nor a ray, but delivers ranged touch attacks and already gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls. As long as spectral hand and splash weapons are not included, I don't think it would be unbalancing to combine the missile and ray types in Pathfinder.

Actually, Spectral Hand delivers touch spells. Those spells delivered are not ranged touch attacks.

I personally think weapon focus should apply to all ranged touch attacks since there are so few on the aggregate to warrant making a spellcasting class waste 2 feats to be slightly better with ranged touch attack spells.

As per the concern for lumping splash weapons or grenades/bombs, there should already be a category for them, weapon focus: thrown.