Plain and simple as the title says. If a spell is a ranged/melee touch attack, what do you add to the d20 roll? I can't seem to find the answer anywhere in the rules.
You won't find anything because listing the things you add is redundant.
Touch attacks are still attacks, anything you would add to any other weapon, you add to them.
For melee, BaB, Strength, and any miscellaneous modifiers you might have (Weapon Focus: Ray, Inspire Courage, etc.).
For ranged, likewise, but with BaB+Dex, and misc. modifiers.
It is either a melee attack or a ranged attack. You use ALL the normal rules for figuring out those kinds of attacks. Melee = BAB + STR Mod + any other misc modifiers. Ranged = BAB + DEX Mod + any other misc modifiers. Misc modifiers include things like Bless spell or Weapon Focus feat or whatever. If you have them, you should know what they are and add them accordingly.
That's all you need.
The "touch" part doesn't affect your attack roll - it's the same for a "touch" or "normal" attack. The real difference is the target's AC - he doesn't get to apply Armor, Shield, or Natural Armor to figure his Touch AC.
What they said
The default is that they are typical attacks and resolved as normal.
I do know a few groups who house-ruled Melee touch attacks as being Dex based instead of strength.
What they said
The default is that they are typical attacks and resolved as normal.I do know a few groups who house-ruled Melee touch attacks as being Dex based instead of strength.
I had that house rule. It really makes sense. You don't need to power through the dragon's armor, just a quick flick of your wrist to slap him on the tip of a wing, hardly even a tickle, and you can discharge your touch-spell. Worked for me.
I found it helped wizards (etc.) who might want to use touch attacks but almost always have some DEX (for a little AC and Initiative and Save bonus) but almost never have a positive STR modifier.
Then I applied it to the monsters, too, and it got dangerous. Some monsters with touch attacks have crummy STR and high DEX and it can make them more deadly than their CR might seem. But those were corner cases and the PCs just had to deal with it - the price they paid for their wizard Chill Touching everything...
