Shamefully Overdressed, how does it work for targeting

[willuwontu]

Shamefully Overdressed wrote:

Shamefully Overdressed

Source Ultimate Intrigue pg. 225
School: enchantment (compulsion) [mind-affecting]; Level bard 2, inquisitor 2, mesmerist 2, psychic 3, skald 2
Casting:
Casting Time: 1 standard action
Components V, S
Effect:
Range: close (25 ft. + 5 ft./2 levels)
Target: creature touched
Duration: 1 round/level (D)
Saving Throw: Will negates; Spell Resistance: yes
Description:
The target sees its own attire as hopelessly out of fashion, ostentatious, and embarrassing, and is filled with a compulsion to strip off all clothing. Each round, the target must spend a move action to remove a worn item that can be removed with a move action, dropping the item once it is removed. The target doesn’t distinguish between magical and nonmagical items when removing them. Each round it removes an item as determined randomly from the following slots: belt, body, chest, eyes, feet, hands, head, headband, shoulders, or wrists. When determining randomly, don’t include any slots if the character has no item of that sort, and don’t include items that take more than one move action to remove. Though creatures can’t have more than one magic item in any of those slots, they can have multiple mundane items that fit each slot, in which case randomly decide which one they remove. If a target is wearing clothing that doesn’t fit in any of those slots, such as breeches or a quiver, add it to the list of possibilities at the GM’s discretion.

The target regards the discarded items with revulsion, and if forced to touch such an item (such as with a melee or ranged touch attack using the item as an improvised weapon), the target becomes sickened for 1d3 rounds. Other than the move action to remove items, the character can take whatever actions it chooses.

It says it's a close ranged spell, but then says it targets creature touched, so is the spell a touch attack?

[Gallant Armor]

The spell is a touch attack. Best guess is that the range is the radius where the spell will function. If the target moves outside of the spell range the spell's effects would end.

The general rule is for the effect to travel with the target, so without specific text saying so it is difficult to say.

[willuwontu]

I was also thinking it seems like its a touch attack with a range of 25ft +5/2 levels, but I can use a melee or ranged touch attack depending on distance.

That could explain why they don't specify.

[Zarius]

It's a touch attack, but you have to keep the creature within that range or it ends automatically.

[toastedamphibian]

Probably an error.

[gnoams]

The way I interpreted it is the initial target is one creature in close range. Then you can pick up the discarded clothes and make touch attacks with them to sicken. Hence the two different target types listed.

[blahpers]

That's . . . creative.

[DarkPhoenixx]

Finally, a spell to kickstart my Headband of Seduction with.

[Diego Rossi]

One of those "fun" spells that will generate so many practical problems when applied in game that it become only a nuisance.

" When determining randomly, don’t include any slots if the character has no item of that sort, and don’t include items that take more than one move action to remove."

Very well, shields use the shield slot, not on the list, and isn't a clothing item so it can't be added (but a quiver isn't a piece of clothing, but is cited as something you can add ...).

You have a weapon in one hand and a shield that require the use of an hand. Or a two handed weapon. The spell hasn't the power to force you to drop shield or weapon to undress. A lot of clothing can't be removed with a single move action with only one free hand and almost nothing with non free hands.

So essentially it will do nothing against several targets if we consider that, but that will make it useless. On the other hand using it to disarm someone or forcing him to drop non clothing equipment is wrong too.
When someone write this kind of spells he should consider those aspects. It is the classical spell that will generate countless table variations.

[Claxon]

Yep, I agree Diego. This spell seems cool, but the way it's written is highly impractical. Against most targets you might really want to use it against, it will do nothing.

[willuwontu]

wrote:

Each round, the target must spend a move action to remove a worn item that can be removed with a move action, dropping the item once it is removed.

Dropping an item is a free action, if holding an item in hand is keeping them from spending the move action, then they must drop that item as a free action as part of their move action to remove the item. Nothing keeps them from picking it back up with their standard though.

[Claxon]

The spell doesn't (necessarily) have the power to make you drop a weapon or shield, as they are not clothing.

You are making an interpretation of the spell, that while not unreasonable, is not explicitly within the spell. It's bad writing to leave things like this open to interpretation.

[blahpers]

It's an intrigue spell. I don't think it was intended to be excellent for most combat situations. It's great at embarrassing people in front of their peers, though.

[LordKailas]

This seems like it may be a misprint. Where the range is supposed to be touch. I was able to find a handful of spells with a similar range/target mismatch but in every case but one, it was as ambiguous as this spell. These spells may intend to require a ranged touch attack of some sort. But this is not clearly explained in the spell text, what's more spells that clearly intend for a spell to be a ranged touch attack don't have a target of "creature touched", Scorching Ray for example.

the spells I found were equally ambiguous were,
Scribe’s Binding
Earsend
Lesser Nondetection

I found only one spell that explains it's "Range: Close", "Target: creature touched" and that spell was Phase Step.

Unfortunately, while it makes sense within the confines of the spell, it doesn't make sense to apply the same logic to Shamefully Overdressed or the others I've listed.

One of the spells I found is a clear misprint (Lesser Nondetection) which is part of a set of spells (Nondetection and Greater Nondetection) which, despite being higher level spells, have ranges that are shorter than the lower level counterpart.