Magus Spellstrike and Ghost Touch Weapon


Rules Questions

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32

1 person marked this as FAQ candidate.

Incorporeal: Creatures with the incorporeal condition do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all force effects.

Ghost Touch: A ghost touch weapon deals damage normally against incorporeal creatures, regardless of its bonus. An incorporeal creature’s 50% reduction in damage from corporeal sources does not apply to attacks made against it with ghost touch weapons. The weapon can be picked up and moved by an incorporeal creature at any time. A manifesting ghost can wield the weapon against corporeal foes. Essentially, a ghost touch weapon counts as both corporeal or incorporeal.

Scenario: a magus is fighting a incorporeal creature while using a ghost touch weapon. If he cast a spell and channeled it through spellstrike would it do 50% damage or 100% of the damage to the creature?


Drizzt1080 wrote:

Incorporeal: Creatures with the incorporeal condition do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all force effects.

Ghost Touch: A ghost touch weapon deals damage normally against incorporeal creatures, regardless of its bonus. An incorporeal creature’s 50% reduction in damage from corporeal sources does not apply to attacks made against it with ghost touch weapons. The weapon can be picked up and moved by an incorporeal creature at any time. A manifesting ghost can wield the weapon against corporeal foes. Essentially, a ghost touch weapon counts as both corporeal or incorporeal.

Scenario: a magus is fighting a incorporeal creature while using a ghost touch weapon. If he cast a spell and channeled it through spellstrike would it do 50% damage or 100% of the damage to the creature?

Sorry you can't post a question about Magus without saying something about Dervish Dance... LOL this is a good question , I can see it going both ways . My guess is that if a flaming ghost touch weapon does half or full fire damage is the anwser for spellstrike to .


Drizzt1080 wrote:

Incorporeal: Creatures with the incorporeal condition do not have a physical body. Incorporeal creatures are immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects. Incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures and effects, as well as all force effects.

Ghost Touch: A ghost touch weapon deals damage normally against incorporeal creatures, regardless of its bonus. An incorporeal creature’s 50% reduction in damage from corporeal sources does not apply to attacks made against it with ghost touch weapons. The weapon can be picked up and moved by an incorporeal creature at any time. A manifesting ghost can wield the weapon against corporeal foes. Essentially, a ghost touch weapon counts as both corporeal or incorporeal.

Scenario: a magus is fighting a incorporeal creature while using a ghost touch weapon. If he cast a spell and channeled it through spellstrike would it do 50% damage or 100% of the damage to the creature?

This is a good question. I guess I would lean towards allowing it 100% damage.

For one thing ghost touch allows one to sneak attack incorporeal subtype creatures. But I have better support than that.

Certainly other qualities of the weapon (flaming, etc) would do full damage. Since incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures, one would assume that if such a creature cast shocking grasp and delivered it that it would deal full damage.

The ghost touch weapon is essentially an incorporeal for this (which is why it deals full damage) and as such I would see it no different than an incorporeal creature casting a touch spell and then delivering it via a natural attack.

Now that said it's a little grey, but the ruling here should be consistent with one incorporeal casting against another and delivering via natural attacks (which go through normally).

-James

The Exchange RPG Superstar 2014 Top 32

james maissen wrote:

This is a good question. I guess I would lean towards allowing it 100% damage.

For one thing ghost touch allows one to sneak attack incorporeal subtype creatures. But I have better support than that.

Certainly other qualities of the weapon (flaming, etc) would do full damage. Since incorporeal creatures take full damage from other incorporeal creatures, one would assume that if such a creature cast shocking grasp and delivered it that it would deal full damage.

The ghost touch weapon is essentially an incorporeal for this (which is why it deals full damage) and as such I would see it no different than an incorporeal creature casting a touch spell and then delivering it via a natural attack.

Now that said it's a little grey, but the ruling here should be consistent with one incorporeal casting against another and delivering via natural attacks (which go through normally).

-James

I was leaning toward 100% spell damage too, but I just wanted to get some other opinions.


I don't have any rule to cite for this, but I don't see any reason the weapon would impart it's special abilities to a spell being channeled through it. The magus (corporeal) is casting a spell (corporeal) and then (maybe minutes or hours later) delivering the corporeal spell through his weapon (both corporeal and incorporeal). I don't see the sword's property changing the spell into an incorporeal source. (The source is the same whether it's delivered by a sword, claw, or touch) A Merciful weapon wouldn't make the spell deal non-lethal damage.

james maissen wrote:
The ghost touch weapon is essentially an incorporeal for this (which is why it deals full damage) and as such I would see it no different than an incorporeal creature casting a touch spell and then delivering it via a natural attack.

For a Spell-Storing weapon, maybe, I could understand an argument saying the weapon itself is casting the spell, so it's being cast from an incorporeal source.


Grick wrote:

I don't have any rule to cite for this, but I don't see any reason the weapon would impart it's special abilities to a spell being channeled through it. The magus (corporeal) is casting a spell (corporeal) and then (maybe minutes or hours later) delivering the corporeal spell through his weapon (both corporeal and incorporeal). I don't see the sword's property changing the spell into an incorporeal source.

If the corporeal mage had an incorporeal familiar that was used to deliver a touch spell I think it should go through, and I don't see the weapon as different.

Likewise if a ghost magus were doing this I don't see it changing.

-James

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