Okay, I have been trying to get a clear understanding of this, and many threads on the subject seem to assume a magus who misses with a touch spell via spell strike can continue to channel the charge through their weapon. But I'm not seeing where this is that clear.
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. Instead of the free melee touch attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a magus can make one free melee attack with his weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. If successful, this melee attack deals its normal damage as well as the effects of the spell. If the magus makes this attack in concert with spell combat, this melee attack takes all the penalties accrued by spell combat melee attacks. This attack uses the weapon's critical range (20, 19–20, or 18–20 and modified by the keen weapon property or similar effects), but the spell effect only deals ×2 damage on a successful critical hit, while the weapon damage uses its own critical modifier.
Now, the normal rules on using a charged touch spell allow for later attacks through touches (that are considered armed), unarmed strikes, and natural weapons. There is no provision for manufactured weapons.
If the magus has already missed, they now have a charged touch spell. But both of the first two sentences of the spellstrike ability specifically call out that the melee attack is made as part of the casting. Shouldn't the magus then follow normal rules for discharging a held touch attack?
That is, if a magus misses with spellstrike, shouldn't they now have to discharge it via a touch, UAS, or natural weapon, and NOT via their weapon?
|
It's clarified in the FAQ here
On a related topic, the magus touching his held weapon doesn’t count as “touching anything or anyone” when determining if he discharges the spell. A magus could even use the spellstrike ability, miss with his melee attack to deliver the spell, be disarmed by an opponent (or drop the weapon voluntarily, for whatever reason), and still be holding the charge in his hand, just like a normal spellcaster. Furthermore, the weaponless magus could pick up a weapon (even that same weapon) with that hand without automatically discharging the spell, and then attempt to use the weapon to deliver the spell.
The bolded sentence confirms that as long as you are holding the charge you may deliver it through a weapon (the rest is context).
Ah, cool. Thanks! I saw Grick's Guide, and had already worked out almost everything in it, but couldn't see why he was assuming you could hold the charge in weapons. The FAQ answers that nicely.
The FAQ answers that nicely.
While the FAQ illustrates that you can do it, it doesn't explain why.
For why, you just need to look at the ability.
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."
If you cast the spell, and it had a range of "touch", and it was from the magus spell list, then you can deliver the spell through a weapon.
So if your magus casts shocking grasp, doesn't discharge it, and sits around for a few rounds holding the charge, he still cast the spell, the range was still touch, and it was still on the magus spell list, which means he can deliver the spell through any weapon he is wielding as part of a melee attack.