Touch spells and rules in combat

[Raziel Hethune]

I was looking through the Combat section of the Core Rulebook and I'm curious about something. I understand how spells with a range of "Touch" are usable with Spellstrike as it specifies those are the only ones usable, but the Winter Witch archetype from Inner Sea Magic uses a more ambiguous wording for its Frozen Caress Hex:

Frozen Caress (Su): Whenever the winter witch casts a
touch spell, she can infuse the magic with cold as a swift
action. This grants the spell the cold descriptor, and adds
1d4 points of cold damage to the spell’s effect. If the touch
spell allows a saving throw, a successful save negates this
additional cold damage.

Looking in the Core Rule Book, Touch Spells are spells with a range of Touch that use Touch Attacks and can hold charge, but then it states this:

Ranged Touch Spells in Combat: Some spells allow
you to make a ranged touch attack as part of the casting
of the spell. These attacks are made as part of the spell
and do not require a separate action. Ranged touch
attacks provoke an attack of opportunity, even if the
spell that causes the attacks was cast defensively. Unless
otherwise noted, ranged touch attacks cannot be held
until a later turn.

It refers to them as Ranged Touch Spells? So my question is thus: while its obvious a magus would be unable to use a ranged touch spell for Spellstrike as it specifies spells with a range of Touch as opposed to Touch Spells, would a Witch with the Winter Witch archetype be able to use Frozen Caress on spells like Snowball, which require Ranged Touch Attacks as they are Ranged Touch Spells which are apparently still Touch Spells?

[kestral287]

Touch Spells and Ranged Touch Spells are entirely separate things. An ability that works with one does not work with the other, unless it's specifically labeled to apply to both.

[Raziel Hethune]

Then why are Ranged Touch spells listed under Touch Spells in Combat in the Core Rulebook?

[Raziel Hethune]

The Ranged Spellstrike for the Myrmidarch doesn't refer to them as Ranged Touch Spells either looking at it now. It calls them a "single-target touch attack ranged spell"

[kestral287]

For the same reason "Use Special ability" is listed underneath "Total Defense"? Because they're underneath the same larger heading. that doesn't make "Use Special Ability" and "Total Defense" the same thing.

Touch Attacks wrote:

Touch attacks come in two types: melee touch attacks and ranged touch attacks.

Melee touch attacks and ranged touch attacks are different things, as the quote demonstrates. "Range: Touch" spells, known generally as Touch Spells, are melee touch attacks. Ranged Touch Spells like Snowball are different.

[Raziel Hethune]

The Close Range Magus Arcana doesn't either, though it only applies to rays
Close Range (Ex): The magus can deliver ray spells that
feature a ranged touch attack as melee touch spells. He
can use a ranged touch attack spell that targets more than
one creature (such as scorching ray), but he makes only one
melee touch attack to deliver one of these ranged touch
effects; additional ranged touch attacks
from that spell are wasted and have no
effect. These spells can be used with
the spellstrike class feature.

Weird.

[Raziel Hethune]

They probably should have done with the Winter Witch archetype what they did with the Magus Spellstrike and specified "Spells with a range of Touch" as opposed to "Touch Spells"

[kestral287]

Myrmidarch is high in the running for worst-written archetype. It's top five easily and the worst written Magus one (though the Gambit archetype isn't far behind. Neither writer actually understood how the class works).

Close Range is referring to Ray spells, which are a subset of Ranged Touch spells. Hence the need to clarify there-- that it doesn't work with Acid Splash (Ranged Touch spell) but does work with Ray of Frost (Ray, which is a type of Ranged Touch spell)

[Raziel Hethune]

A feat that does the opposite of the Reach Spell metamagic feat would be pretty nice in that regard, even with the spell level bump. Thanks for the help.