Clarification about the Shadow Heritage first level power

[Malik Gyan Daumantas]

You HAVE to use a touch attack like with your hands to use it correct?

[voideternal]

Are you talking about the Shadow Bloodline Shadowstrike?
If so, how else would you expect to use this power?

[J4RH34D]

Maybe he wants to do it with a headbutt or something?

[voideternal]

You can shadowstrike with a natural weapon or unarmed strike. It would simply follow the rules for holding the charge, as shadowstrike is a spell-like ability.

Holding the Charge, Combat wrote:

Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren't considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.

[Malik Gyan Daumantas]

voideternal wrote:

You can shadowstrike with a natural weapon or unarmed strike. It would simply follow the rules for holding the charge, as shadowstrike is a spell-like ability.

Holding the Charge, Combat wrote:

Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren't considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.

Meaning it cant be used through a weapon right...

[Obscure citations]

Malik Gyan Daumantas wrote:

voideternal wrote:

You can shadowstrike with a natural weapon or unarmed strike. It would simply follow the rules for holding the charge, as shadowstrike is a spell-like ability.

Holding the Charge, Combat wrote:

Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren't considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.

Meaning it cant be used through a weapon right...

most of the time:

PRD, weapon enhancements wrote:

Conductive: A conductive weapon is able to channel the energy of a spell-like or supernatural ability that relies on a melee or ranged touch attack to hit its target (such as from a cleric's domain granted power, sorcerer's bloodline power, oracle's mystery revelation, or wizard's arcane school power). When the wielder makes a successful attack of the appropriate type, he may choose to expend two uses of his magical ability to channel it through the weapon to the struck opponent, who takes the effects of the weapon attack and the special ability. (If the wielder has unlimited uses of a special ability, he may channel through the weapon every round.) For example, a paladin who strikes an undead opponent with her conductive greatsword can expend two uses of lay on hands ability (a supernatural melee touch attack) to deal greatsword damage and damage from one use of her lay on hands. This weapon property can only be used once per round, and only works with magical abilities of the same type as the weapon (melee or ranged).

[Malik Gyan Daumantas]

Obscure citations wrote:

Malik Gyan Daumantas wrote:

voideternal wrote:

You can shadowstrike with a natural weapon or unarmed strike. It would simply follow the rules for holding the charge, as shadowstrike is a spell-like ability.

Holding the Charge, Combat wrote:

Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. You can touch one friend as a standard action or up to six friends as a full-round action. Alternatively, you may make a normal unarmed attack (or an attack with a natural weapon) while holding a charge. In this case, you aren't considered armed and you provoke attacks of opportunity as normal for the attack. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. If the attack hits, you deal normal damage for your unarmed attack or natural weapon and the spell discharges. If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.

Meaning it cant be used through a weapon right...

** spoiler omitted **

...

Hello conductive scorpion whip.

[Azothath]

you are forgetting that it takes 2 charges per rider attack for conductive(+1) from UltEquip. Can't normally hold two charges and I don't think Paizo has released anything like Spell Flower that allows you to do so. Only works on certain types of abilities (not spells). "A conductive weapon is able to channel the energy of a spelllike or supernatural ability that relies on a melee or ranged touch attack to hit its target (such as from a cleric’s domain granted power, sorcerer’s bloodline power, oracle’s mystery revelation, or wizard’s arcane school power). When the wielder makes a successful attack of the appropriate type, he may choose to expend two uses of his magical ability to channel it through the weapon to the struck opponent,..."

Shadowstrike is only 1d4+[CstrLvl/2]NL (3+ChaMod) per day.

IMO the overall cost of the attack sequence (+1 to weapon and then -2*uses per day or basically 4 uses per day) is too high and the damage output is too low. Compare with a basic weapon enhancement like shocking(+1) or corrosive(+1). Good luck with it though.