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Let's say I have two claw attacks. I cast shocking grasp and move toward my target, holding the charge. He hits me and I take damage. On my next turn I do a full attack. I miss with the first claw and hit with the second. I have two questions:
First, do I have to specify which hand is holding the charge, or is the charge held in my whole body?
Second, when does the spell discharge?
A. When I get hit because since he touches me, I technically also touch him.
B. When I hit him with my second attack. Getting hit does not count. But it doesn't matter what part of my body I strike him with.
C. Depends on which hand the charge was held in. Only the hand that hits can discharge the spell.
I would think it's either B or C. I would prefer it to be B, as tracking hands is weird. But that brings up more questions.
If B is correct:
Now I cast Chilling Touch. Let's say it's CL 5. Does that mean it discharges twice if I hit with both claws?
If C is correct:
Can I chose to cast a spell on my foot and only have it discharge when I kick someone? Some spells say "your hand glows with energy...". Does that mean I can only cast from my hand?
Your insight would be much appreciated.
Let's say I have two claw attacks. I cast shocking grasp and move toward my target, holding the charge. He hits me and I take damage. On my next turn I do a full attack. I miss with the first claw and hit with the second. I have two questions:
First, do I have to specify which hand is holding the charge, or is the charge held in my whole body?
That is a very good question that has never been explicitly answered. In 3.5, spells were restricted to one hand (IIRC), but no such rules exist in PF, and the workings of the Magus implies full-body charge.
Second, when does the spell discharge?
A. When I get hit because since he touches me, I technically also touch him.
B. When I hit him with my second attack. Getting hit does not count. But it doesn't matter what part of my body I strike him with.
C. Depends on which hand the charge was held in. Only the hand that hits can discharge the spell.I would think it's either B or C. I would prefer it to be B, as tracking hands is weird. But that brings up more questions.
If B is correct:
Now I cast Chilling Touch. Let's say it's CL 5. Does that mean it discharges twice if I hit with both claws?If C is correct:
Can I chose to cast a spell on my foot and only have it discharge when I kick someone? Some spells say "your hand glows with energy...". Does that mean I can only cast from my hand?Your insight would be much appreciated.
Certainly not (A). The rules distinguish between touching and being touched. There are plenty of abilities that trigger on being hit, and they use different language than that for touch spells.
I believe (B) is correct, and you would be able to Chill Touch an opponent multiple times per round.
Due to the fact that actual hands of effort and metaphorical hands are not the same, there is still the implication of it being on a metaphorical hand and so restricted to that "limb".
Unfortunately as the hands of effort weren't spelled out, we can't specifically say what they end up influencing.
Monks and Magus are no way to decide on a working rule, as they carry exceptions to the general rules.
The way I like to think of it is that the charge is held in your body, but the caster mentally directs it to wherever he's delivering it from. For a similar situation, imagine that the touch spell is like a weapon that can be wielded two different ways. You can decide to wield that weapon one way or another, and it doesn't take much effort to switch between them.
So, for the touch spell, you attack with your right hand, and it misses. You mentally shunt the energy to your left hand and continue your attack, but that misses. The charge is now held in your left hand, and only if someone accidentally touches that hand would the spell be discharged.
Now, keeping track of that would be quite tedious, so I would say that you can just keep it nebulous to: "Any time you would be able to deliver the spell through a hand, you deliver the spell". This includes accidental delivery. Incidentally, this is how it actually works by RAW.