I have a few quick questions about the Spellstrike ability of the Magus. My understanding is that you, basically, get a melee attack to instead of the free touch attack when you cast the spell. However, my question comes from missing an attack or touch spells with multiple charges.
Scenario #1:
If you have a held charge, through a miss last turn or move/cast action, how do you discharge it? Is it the first attack that hits or do you still have to use a standard "touch action" (with the option of using a melee attack)?Scenario #2:
I think this may be answered by the previous scenario, but I'll ask anyway. In the case of touch spells that have multiple charges (e.g., Frostbite), can you discharge multiple per turn?I apologize if this question has been asked/answered elsewhere. I did a quick search and didn't see anything that seemed to answer this (a lot seemed to be during the playtest). Thanks!
So re: Scenario #1, I would have said it would discharge the next time you hit something with your weapon (since it WAS a spell with a range of touch that you'd cast) or that you could use a standard melee touch attack on your next turn. My DM may say that you HAVE to use a melee touch attack and do not have the option to use a melee attack to discharge the spell unless it's an unarmed strike or natural weapon, however, because...
My DM just asked me whether, with Frostbite, I really could use the magus' Spellstrike ability with subsequent charges, or whether I could only use my weapon to deliver the spell with the one free melee attack I'm allowed in place of a melee touch.
Re Scenario #2, he might rule that I don't even HAVE subsequent charges, from comparison with the Close Range arcana's treatment of scorching ray, where any rays beyond the first are wasted. (Crappy since I'm already two feats invested into Frostbite.)
But note also that if you did NOT use spellstrike, you could certainly deliver the charges as part of a full attack with unarmed strikes or natural weapons, therefore, with multiple hits per round.
My understanding is that you, basically, get a melee attack to instead of the free touch attack when you cast the spell.
Spellstrike lets you deliver the touch spell with your weapon.
That includes the free attack you get as part of casting the spell.
Scenario #1:
If you have a held charge, through a miss last turn or move/cast action, how do you discharge it? Is it the first attack that hits or do you still have to use a standard "touch action" (with the option of using a melee attack)?
While holding a charge, the first thing you touch discharges the spell. You can make touch attacks as normal to deliver it. Since Spellstrike is optional, you can also choose to deliver the spell through your weapon.
Scenario #2:
In the case of touch spells that have multiple charges (e.g., Frostbite), can you discharge multiple per turn?
Yep. You have 1/level touches, not 1/round. If you're level 2, and make 2 attacks, and both hit, then both deliver a 'charge' of the spell. (For example, level 2 magus using Spell Combat: Offhand casts Frostbite. Magus makes 'free' attack with sword via Spellstrike, hits, and discharges. Magus makes normal attack with weapon, hits, and discharges.)
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My understanding is that you, basically, get a melee attack to instead of the free touch attack when you cast the spell.Spellstrike lets you deliver the touch spell with your weapon.
That includes the free attack you get as part of casting the spell.
Scenario #1:
If you have a held charge, through a miss last turn or move/cast action, how do you discharge it? Is it the first attack that hits or do you still have to use a standard "touch action" (with the option of using a melee attack)?While holding a charge, the first thing you touch discharges the spell. You can make touch attacks as normal to deliver it. Since Spellstrike is optional, you can also choose to deliver the spell through your weapon.
Scenario #2:
In the case of touch spells that have multiple charges (e.g., Frostbite), can you discharge multiple per turn?Yep. You have 1/level touches, not 1/round. If you're level 2, and make 2 attacks, and both hit, then both deliver a 'charge' of the spell. (For example, level 2 magus using Spell Combat: Offhand casts Frostbite. Magus makes 'free' attack with sword via Spellstrike, hits, and discharges. Magus makes normal attack with weapon, hits, and discharges.)
+1 this is how I've always understood it as well but just wanted to add one other option.
Remember Spellstrike is optional so in scenario #1 if you where still have charges left you could choose to hit with the weapon and NOT use spellstrike to hold onto the charge and just do regular weapon damage and save that charge for as long as you can (barring duration or casting another spell).This is a good option for a debuffing spell that your current target is already affected by but your next target isn't.
Cast once, hit damage and debuff the current target, then hit again with a regular attack killing it then move to the next target and spellstrike hit it to damage and de-buff that one. It helps conserve your limited spells per day while maximizing your de-buff ability.
My understanding is that you, basically, get a melee attack to instead of the free touch attack when you cast the spell.Spellstrike lets you deliver the touch spell with your weapon.
That includes the free attack you get as part of casting the spell.
Scenario #1:
If you have a held charge, through a miss last turn or move/cast action, how do you discharge it? Is it the first attack that hits or do you still have to use a standard "touch action" (with the option of using a melee attack)?While holding a charge, the first thing you touch discharges the spell. You can make touch attacks as normal to deliver it. Since Spellstrike is optional, you can also choose to deliver the spell through your weapon.
Scenario #2:
In the case of touch spells that have multiple charges (e.g., Frostbite), can you discharge multiple per turn?Yep. You have 1/level touches, not 1/round. If you're level 2, and make 2 attacks, and both hit, then both deliver a 'charge' of the spell. (For example, level 2 magus using Spell Combat: Offhand casts Frostbite. Magus makes 'free' attack with sword via Spellstrike, hits, and discharges. Magus makes normal attack with weapon, hits, and discharges.)
I don't see it the way you see it.
Spell Strike is used in conjunction with casting. I'm wondering if you can continue to Spell Strike while Holding the Charge. I'm assuming the weapon holds the charge since you touch the weapon and it acts a conductor for the spell. So we're playing that next weapon hit discharges the spell in the absence of guidance from the developers on how to adjudicate Holding the Charge and touch spells with multiple uses with Spell Strike. You would have thought they would have covered this clearly since touch spells are a major part of the Magus's attacks. But the developers did did not or I'm reading it wrong.
So how we're doing it is that for something like shocking grasp, the next hit discharges the spell. Magus can't cast while the blade holds the spell.
For spells like chill touch, every hit discharges a charge.
This is how we're rolling until we get some eratta.
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FAQ'ed. This seems to have no official answer yet. I do recall another discussion about Produce Flame in which Paizo officials ruled that you can only discharge the spell once per round, as a dedicated standard action (rather than, say, allowing a Monk to discharge several times per round with a flurry using that hand).
It is therefore questionable whether the same might be true for Spellstrike. Given how important this is for the Magus class as a whole:
Pleeze...?
I'm wondering if you can continue to Spell Strike while Holding the Charge.
Maybe a slight rewording will help.
Spellstrike (Su): "At 2nd level, whenever a magus casts a spell with a range of “touch” from the magus spell list, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack."
translates to:
Did the 2nd level magus cast a spell with a range of "touch" from the magus spell list?
If so, he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack.
It's exactly the same as any other caster using a natural weapon. (A sorcerer using claws, for example)
Also, the magus -can- cast while holding a charge, but it the charge dissipates.