Hi,
We've always ruled that touch of idiocy can be used only once per casting. However, careful reading seems to suggest otherwise.
The target is 'living creature touched', and the duration is 10 minutes per level. The description says nothing about the spell being discharged upon use.
What keeps my bloodrager from using it several times in succession on the same one living creature, cumulating the effects?
What am I missing, or am I correct? Is there perhaps a general rule about touch spells I am overlooking?
Thanks in advance,
Kroisos.
The ten minute duration is how long it affects the creature touched. So it affect one creature that you touch for ten minutes.
A touch spell is always discharged as soon as you touch someone unless a spell specifically states that it allows multiple touches (although I can't currently find an example of that).
This seems fairly obvious to me. I mean, you wouldn't expect to be able to cast Bestow Curse once and from that moment onwards always curse someone with a touch, right? The duration is not how long you can use it per casting, it's how long the effect (in this case the penalty) lasts. That's how it is with every spell, I don't know why you assumed that touch spells would work differently.
You touch one living creature, singular, and the effect lasts 10 minutes. Unlike other spells, like Chill Touch for instance, this contains no language saying you can make more than one touch attack. I was unable to find any touch spells that specify they are discharged upon use. Rather those with multiple uses specify how many times they can be used. Chill Touch and other spells like it also note in the target line they can be used on multiple creatures and Touch of Idiocy does not.
Touch Spells and Holding the Charge: In most cases, if you don't discharge a touch spell on the round you cast it, you can hold the charge (postpone the discharge of the spell) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round until the spell is discharged. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.
Some touch spells allow you to touch multiple targets as part of the spell. You can't hold the charge of such a spell; you must touch all targets of the spell in the same round that you finish casting the spell.
Discharge: Occasionally a spells lasts for a set duration or until triggered or discharged.
It is discharged once you use it the first time.
Also, Touch of Idiocy doesn't stack with itself, as it doesn't deal ability damage but impose a penalty to ability scores.
So multiple uses on the same creature would only be useful if you rolled higher on the dice and imposed a higher penalty.