You can use this melee touch attack up to one time per level.

[CalebTGordan]

The phrase, "You can use this melee touch attack up to one time per level," can be found in both chill touch and frostbite and I am a little unsure what exactly this means.

Does it mean that these spells can only be used for their touch attacks once per caster level? Does it mean you can have a touch attack/level per casting of this spell?

With frostbite the target is only a single foe, so I tend to think the first assumption is correct. Chilltouch has multiple foes listed, so I am tending to think the second assumption is correct.

I am looking for a developers response to this, as I am not sure players would have the insight needed to properly handle this issue.

[spalding]

In that case I suggest you do a search of the forum as this issue has been covered in the past.

[CalebTGordan]

Thank you for that.

For clarification, in case someone else was just as confused, the spells give you one touch attack per level per casting.

The wording of those two spells should be a little clearer. I will be sure to try and clear that up in the spell guide I am working on.

[Grick]

CalebTGordan wrote:

The wording of those two spells should be a little clearer. I will be sure to try and clear that up in the spell guide I am working on.

Maybe you should wait for a developers guide, as I am not sure a player would have the insight needed to properly handle this issue. (I jest)

Anyway, you're not the only one who doesn't know how Chill Touch works:

James Jacobs (Creative Director) wrote:

Chill touch is worded awkwardly. I'm not sure what the intent there is, honestly... worth FAQing.

I suspect the intent is, actually, to let you make multiple attacks over the course of the next several rounds, up to a maximum number of times equal to your level.

And that was two days ago.

Here are three threads that all make good FAQ request candidates.

Chill Touch Uncertainty OP covers a lot of ground, but some argument and incorrect statements made forcefully as fact.

Chill Touch and Multiple Creatures decent thread, most responses mesh with the generally accepted ruling, but not much counter-opinion.

Let's talk about Chill Touch and touch spells in general less specific OP but covers more than one spell, best candidate IMO for FAQ flags.

[submit2me]

I was debating whether or not to take Chill Touch, as a bloodline arcana that I homebrewed just so happens to be perfect for it (as an afterthought). After reading those links, this is what I came up with:

Let's say you're a 10th level spellcaster. As a standard action, you cast Chill Touch, then move into a group of enemies. You can, as a free action, touch up to 10 adjacent enemies one time each. If you can't touch 10 enemies, then too bad for you, but at least you can touch a bunch of enemies all in the same round. But since you can't hold the charge for this kind of spell, you only get that one round to touch any enemies. I would also assume that if you cast this spell, but don't manage to make any touch attacks in the same round, that you just wasted the spell slot.

Frostbite is a little more confusing because it says you can only use it on one creature, but you can also use it one time per level? I would think that this line is a mistake and that it needs to be omitted. I don't see why this spell shouldn't just work like any other normal touch attack spell. Cast it, expend it, or hold the charge until you do expend it. We all know how many errors there are in the Ultimate books.

[Joulskr]

Coming here looking for clarification on this exact issue, and finding multiple "we think this.." responses without any official response, I wanted to throw in my two cents.

Based upon this FAQ entry on the Magus page:

"If I cast a spell that allows multiple touch attacks, can I deliver all of those spell touches through my weapon?

Yes. For example, if you cast chill touch (which allows multiple touch attacks), you could use spellstrike to cast and deliver the spell through your weapon, and in later weapon attacks you could use your weapon to deliver the remaining spell touch attacks (one spell touch attack per weapon attack).

If you have multiple attacks per round with that weapon (such as from having a BAB of +6 or higher), you can use the weapon to deliver multiple spell touch attacks per round, so long as you have uses of that spell touch attack remaining.

For example, if you are an 8th-level magus (BAB +6/+1) and you cast chill touch, you have up to 8 uses of that spell touch attack. If you make two weapon attacks in a round, you can deliver two spell touch attacks per round (one for each successful weapon attack)."

It seems implied that you can in fact hold Chill Touch for multiple turns. It seems most likely that the author was either unaware of, or forgot the rule relating to holding touch spells with multiple charges.

[CraziFuzzy]

There really needs to be some sort of 'wording standardization' project in pathfinder, that actually changes written rules to be clearer, instead of just adding more fodder, FAQ entries, to be waded through.