I am admittedly working with just the "prd" at the moment, but I don't see any clear answers to these questions:
1) How does Spellstrike interact with touch spells that allow more than one touch? Chill Touch, for example, allows one touch per level (with, bizarrely, an instantaneous duration). If I use Spell Combat to cast Chill Touch, I know Spellstrike will allow me one free "charged" weapon swing, but what about the other touches available? Can I channel all of them through the rest of my iterative attacks?
For example, if I'm level 8 and thus have two attacks per round, and I cast Chill Touch as part of Spell Combat, can I get the 1d6 damage (plus potential strength damage) on my free swing and my two iterative swings? Does the charge last until the next round (I guess this is a general question about Chill touch)? Can I continue to deal the extra 1d6 damage through my weapon, or can I only channel the "free" attack?
2) Can I hold the charge for multiple touch spells at once? Say, Elemental Touch and Chill Touch (if it does last until all the touches are gone?) Or Elemental Touch and a Pool Strike (which can be held for 1 minute)?
3) If I have Elemental Touch active, can I use Spellstrike to deliver the 1d6 damage through my weapon round after round, or just in the first round with the "free touch?"
4) If I can deliver it round after round, can I use Spell Combat to cast another touch spell and get a free attack with that new touch spell, say, Vampiric Touch, without disrupting the previous spell (say, Elemental Touch)?
5) If I can use Spellstrike to deliver extra Elemental Touch damage round after round and cast Vampiric Touch without disrupting it, can I deal the extra 1d6 elemental damage along with the Vampiric Touch?
6) If I can have Elemental Touch working through Spellstrike round after round, can I also have Chill Touch? Can I use both on the same attack?
Edit 7) If I can't deliver all the touches from a multi-touch spell through my weapon (and it's only the first free one that can be through it), can I dual wield my weapon and a touch? Would dual-wielding the touch interfere with Spell Combat which requires a Free Hand? Would it interfere with Dervish Dance?
Edit 8) This is unrelated, but is there anyway to enhance a spell-critical hit other than the spellblight inflicting feats? Maybe a way to raise the crit multilpier or something?
Any help would be appreciated.
1) How does Spellstrike interact with touch spells that allow more than one touch? Chill Touch, for example, allows one touch per level (with, bizarrely, an instantaneous duration).
Spellstrike allows you to deliver a touch spell with a weapon. So any time you would be able to normally deliver a touch spell with a touch, you can use a weapon instead.
Every round you can attack someone and use Spellstrike to deliver a Chill Touch. Whether you can do multiple attack in the same action may be up to DM discretion. (Same as iterative unarmed strikes to deliver touch spells)
Does the charge last until the next round (I guess this is a general question about Chill touch)? Can I continue to deal the extra 1d6 damage through my weapon, or can I only channel the "free" attack?
If the spell is not discharged, you hold the charge. It lasts until discharged, or until you cast another spell.
2) Can I hold the charge for multiple touch spells at once?
No. Holding the Charge: "If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates."
3) If I have Elemental Touch active, can I use Spellstrike to deliver the 1d6 damage through my weapon round after round, or just in the first round with the "free touch?"
No. Elemental Touch does not have a range of Touch, thus it is not eligible for Spellstrike.
4, 5, and 6 are thus not applicable.
Edit 7) If I can't deliver all the touches from a multi-touch spell through my weapon (and it's only the first free one that can be through it), can I dual wield my weapon and a touch?
You have the options of delivering the spell with Spellstrike, you are not required to do so. You can cast a touch spell and use it normally. (If you are fighting something with a high AC, but low touch AC, this may be a better choice)
Would dual-wielding the touch interfere with Spell Combat which requires a Free Hand?
You can use Spell Combat without Spellstrike if you like. Regular touch spell like shocking grasp, free touch attack, then normal iterative weapon attacks.
Would it interfere with Dervish Dance?
Dervish Dance the feat? No, you're not carrying a weapon or shield in your off-hand, even though you are armed while the charge is held.
Edit 8) This is unrelated, but is there anyway to enhance a spell-critical hit other than the spellblight inflicting feats? Maybe a way to raise the crit multilpier or something?
You could try the critical hit deck, if your group uses it. -edit- I assume you know that the spell shares the crit threat range of the weapon used to deliver it via Spellstrike. If your keen scimitar crits on a 15, both the weapon and the spell crit.
Spellstrike allows you to deliver a touch spell with a weapon. So any time you would be able to normally deliver a touch spell with a touch, you can use a weapon instead.
That makes sense and is literally what is written there, duh to me. I think I was worried that line was just "flavor text" or something for what followed, which was the ability to turn that free touch into a weapon attack.
Every round you can attack someone and use Spellstrike to deliver a Chill Touch. Whether you can do multiple attack in the same action may be up to DM discretion. (Same as iterative unarmed strikes to deliver touch spells)
Yeah, this was a big question I had, I guess I'll have to ask the GM, though I'd love guidance/recommendations to bring to him--I've never actually played with him before (or Pathfinder at all, actually), this character would be for a game being run by the owner of a new local gaming store.
If the spell is not discharged, you hold the charge. It lasts until discharged, or until you cast another spell.
No. Holding the Charge: "If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates."
Blah, "Holding the Charge" was in the Combat section, not the spell section, so it threw me off. Thanks for the link. That solves a lot of my questions, actually.
No. Elemental Touch does not have a range of Touch, thus it is not eligible for Spellstrike.
Ha! I didn't even look at that, since it was so plainly called Elemental Touch and it was on the Magus list. I find it amazing that so many non-touch spells are on it--I mean, aren't touch spells their main schtick?
Dervish Dance the feat? No, you're not carrying a weapon or shield in your off-hand, even though you are armed while the charge is held.
Yes, the feat. I thought as much, but felt obligated to ask. Dervish Dance already feels like cheating.
You could try the critical hit deck, if your group uses it. -edit- I assume you know that the spell shares the crit threat range of the weapon used to deliver it via Spellstrike. If your keen scimitar crits on a 15, both the weapon and the spell crit.
I do know for sure about the extended crit range. That's the big draw for me on the Scimitar, which just so happens to work with Dervish Dance. It's quite beautiful, really. But since I was planning on critting so much, I was curious about ways to make the spell half crit harder. Kensai has the option of spending 1 Pool point to raise my Scimitar's crit multiplier by 1, but I don't think that applies to the spell, too, so I was hoping there was something to give it even more bite.
Extra question: Is there a database of Pathfinder spells anywhere that I can search by range (to find all the touch spells), since I can take extra Wizard spells onto my list and/or multi-class with different Arcana? Any good recommendations?
Shocking Touch and Frigid Touch should be everything you need, really.
But...
D20PFSRD's Spells DB. It's not the most granular of things, but it'll help.
Shocking Touch and Frigid Touch should be everything you need, really.
But...
D20PFSRD's Spells DB. It's not the most granular of things, but it'll help.
Thanks, I'll check it out.
Shocking Touch (later Intensified) and Frigid Touch are all I was expecting to need.
However, I've been tempted lately by a long duration Chill Touch modified by Dazing Spell for all-fight-long Crowd Control.
And I have to say, the Close Combat Arcana makes certain rays like Disintegrate fun, though I'm not fond of the save.
That arcana is nice. Use it with acid splash or ray of frost.
I'll take this opportunity to link the Spellstrike FAQ thread in case anyone wishes to add a FAQ tag to it...