in starfinder if I want to just place my hand on someone or hit someone with a paintball its against their full ac correct? There is not some weird rule hiding that gives me a bonus to hit or some such right?
Touch attacks are against EAC. It's weird, I think touch AC should've still been a thing, but only for spells that literally require nothing more than a mere touch and don't deal damage (since energy damage touch attacks being stopped by EAC does make sense).
IT is odd. gonna take some getting used to.
In case you want a page citation: Page 501, Touch Attacks, in the Legacy Conversions chapter.
^I haven't gotten through studying Starfinder yet -- but what happened to holding the charge in case you miss with a spell?
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The next problem is the spell system, for example the UTTERLY RIDICULOUS requirement that a Technomancer has to make a melee touch attack on a MOB to Inject Nanobots. At 4th level, attacking an ADOLESCENT mtn. eel with a 17 EAC and the Technomancer has a +3 melee attack bonus means that the Technomancer misses almost two-thirds of the time turning three 2cd level spells into one useful spell that the MOB gets to save against. I have created a local rule that a spell melee touch attack has a target number of 10+/- dex bonus. Same for a ranged touch attack.
One thing to keep in mind is that casters in Starfinder all have medium BAB progression and are much more likely to have high physical stats than casters in Pathfinder - they typically have much higher attack roll bonuses than, say, a pathfinder wizard. EAC being higher than touch AC may look like a bigger problem on paper than it actually is in practice. Time will tell.
That having been said, Inject Nanobots does seem like an underwhelming spell since it requires both an attack roll and a save check, but I wonder if they balanced the spell's risk reward mechanic with the effect it does - 4d8 damage and confusion is strong for a second level spell. It's a bit like Phantasmal Killer - it's a high risk that the target will avoid the effect, but if you nail it it's quite powerful for its level. If you would prefer reliable CC I'd take Daze Monster, if you would prefer more accurate damage I'd either take an AoE spell or Jolting Surge (+2 to hit v touch AC). Although frankly if you want to play a Technomancer that focuses on touch spells I'd go with a higher strength than 10. Since there's no armor failure chance anymore and most touch spells specify they don't provoke AoOs you can make surprisingly "tanky" casters now. Start with 14-16 str, grab some heavy armor, and have that technomancer go to town in melee.
^I haven't gotten through studying Starfinder yet -- but what happened to holding the charge in case you miss with a spell?
Afaik nothing's changed, you can still do this.
Some effects, most notably spells, have a range of touch (see Range below) and require an action to activate. In most cases, if you don’t discharge a touch effect on the round you create it, you can postpone the discharge of the effect (also known as holding the charge) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round until the effect is discharged. If you make any other attack, activate another ability, or cast a spell during this time, the touch effect dissipates.
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I'm actually legitimately annoyed you high-jacked my thread to post your SF complaints. "most" of what you said was un-related to the topic make your own thread for all of that.
This one is expressly for touch attacks.
I'm actually legitimately annoyed you high-jacked my thread to post your SF complaints. "most" of what you said was un-related to the topic make your own thread for all of that.
This one is expressly for touch attacks.
This is a fair point, I removed the parts of my earlier post that responded to Larkin's unrelated complaints.
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This is a fair point, I removed the parts of my earlier post that responded to Larkin's unrelated complaints.I'm actually legitimately annoyed you high-jacked my thread to post your SF complaints. "most" of what you said was un-related to the topic make your own thread for all of that.
This one is expressly for touch attacks.
Eh I don't hold it against you. you were just responding.
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Eh I don't hold it against you. you were just responding.This is a fair point, I removed the parts of my earlier post that responded to Larkin's unrelated complaints.I'm actually legitimately annoyed you high-jacked my thread to post your SF complaints. "most" of what you said was un-related to the topic make your own thread for all of that.
This one is expressly for touch attacks.
Sure, but even an irrelevant discussion requires two participants. ;)
Could it be that the materials and energies that are used in energy armor also can interfere with various magical effects? That would be one way to look at it. You're touching them yes, but your spell can't get through their energy resistance. And, there are simply no materials like that in a primitive setting.
...
As for just touching someone or hitting them with a nonharmful object, I'd houserule you can aim for a AC that's just 10+ their Dex modifier.
In general, I'd houserule that even harmful objects hit the target's armor/shield/magical-protection on 10+Dex Mod, but you need to exceed KAC/EAC to get through to harm the person inside.
Of course I can think of exceptions, acid-resistant armor or a good energy shield would probably shed a paintball mark the way a hot teflon pan sheds water.