Regular spell with touch versus an opponent

Dalin · 02-06-2021, 01:51 PM

I thought I had every permutation of spellcasting in combat down at this point, but I came across a situation that gave me pause in a recent battle.

The spell in question was Dehydrate (Spells, p. 68). Caster had it at level 20, so it could be cast in one second. If it is cast from a distance, it affects the whole victim. That's no problem: apply the usual range penalty and roll for casting and resistance.

Cast by touch, however, it affects only the part touched. In play, the wizard wanted to cast the spell in the arm (or tentacle) of an attacking monster. I wasn't sure how to adjudicate this. The wizard had a staff in one hand and the other hand was free. At first, I thought it would be like a melee spell: cast it first and then try to touch the subject. But it's not a melee spell, so that's not right. Is it possible to use touch against an active opponent when casting a regular spell? Grapple and then cast? (How would this affect the effective skill?) Touch with staff somehow and roll something to try to maintain that contact while also casting the spell? In this case, the tentacle in question was already grappling another PC, so maybe it would be easier in this case than if the tentacle were loose.

How would you run this?

02-06-2021, 01:51 PM	#1
Dalin Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Saint Paul, MN	Regular spell with touch versus an opponent I thought I had every permutation of spellcasting in combat down at this point, but I came across a situation that gave me pause in a recent battle. The spell in question was Dehydrate (*Spells*, p. 68). Caster had it at level 20, so it could be cast in one second. If it is cast from a distance, it affects the whole victim. That's no problem: apply the usual range penalty and roll for casting and resistance. Cast by touch, however, it affects only the part touched. In play, the wizard wanted to cast the spell in the arm (or tentacle) of an attacking monster. I wasn't sure how to adjudicate this. The wizard had a staff in one hand and the other hand was free. At first, I thought it would be like a melee spell: cast it first and then try to touch the subject. But it's not a melee spell, so that's not right. Is it possible to use touch against an active opponent when casting a regular spell? Grapple and then cast? (How would this affect the effective skill?) Touch with staff somehow and roll something to try to maintain that contact while also casting the spell? In this case, the tentacle in question was already grappling another PC, so maybe it would be easier in this case than if the tentacle were loose. How would you run this?