Dread Necromancer: Charnel Touch question - Help!

[RiTz21]

Consider the Charnel Touch ability of the Dread Necromancer:

Charnel Touch (Su): Negative energy flows through a dread necromancer’s body, concentrating in her hands. At will, but no more than once per round, she can make a melee touch attack against a living foe that deals 1d8 points of damage, +1 per four class levels. This touch heals undead creatures, restoring 1 hit point per touch, +1 per four class levels. A dread necromancer can use the spectral hand spell to deliver this attack from a distance.

Can a Dread Necromancer cast an Inflict spell, then, in the same round, attack someone while discharging the Inflict spell AND also adding his Charnel Touch damage?

Is that possible, or would this require 2 rounds to 'do'? I tried to locate rule clarification to no avail...

Thanks!

RiTz21

 

[cheshire_grin]

If you cast the touch spell as a quickened spell I think it would be legal; otherwise you would need one round to cast the touch spell and then the next round you could make the melee touch attack.

My reasoning is that a melee attack is a standard action (I don't know why they phrased the ability as above, specifically stating that you can do it "at will, but no more than once per round" -- why not just say it's a standard action melee touch attack?).

 

[RiTz21]

(I don't know why they phrased the ability as above, specifically stating that you can do it "at will, but no more than once per round" -- why not just say it's a standard action melee touch attack?).

Exactly - why would they do that? Can we infer the intentions of the class creator here?

RiTz21

 

[cheshire_grin]

I think they were trying to say it's an at will power (i.e. not limited number of uses per day), but then they were worried people might assume it was a free action (i.e. use it any number of times per round), thus the "no more than once per round" text.

As for why they didn't just say "this ability is a standard action melee touch attack", who knows. It's possible they meant that it was a free action that could only be used once per round, thus allowing you to cast an inflict spell and piggyback it on Charnel Touch in the same round (or cast any other spell and still CT, or double move and still CT, etc), but my gut feeling is that that's unlikely.

As a DM I would rule it's a standard action, but I could see arguments either way. It's badly written however you rule (as written, it heals undead... but you can't actually use it against undead -- "At will... she can make a melee touch attack against a living foe") which is why I assume it's just badly written and not trying to actually be a free action.

 

[Starbuck_II]

The standard if unstated for supernatural is a standard action. So since unstated= standard action; we know it is a standard action.

But you could hold the charge so next round you can do both.

 

[udalrich]

The way the text is written makes me think that is done as part of an attack, so you could use it as part of a full attack or a charge. I don't think it has it's own type of action.

That also makes the once per round restriction make sense. If the dread necromancer is polymorphed into a giant octopus, a full attack of eight touch attacks would be rather vicious.

Assuming that, I think you could, in a single round, cast Inflict Whatever and then use Charnel Touch on touch attack. It would be similar to a Monk activating Stunning Fist when making an unarmed attack.

 

[irdeggman]

I agree with Starbuck II - you can usually make an attack as part of the casting of such a spell or you can hold it to the next round (unless it says otherwise).

Per the Rules Compendium (pg 8 and 9) Use a supernatural ability is a standard action - "A special ability takes the indicated action to perform unless the ability's description says otherwise."

I don;t see in the snippet of th text where it states otherwise - so it takes a standard action

 

[green slime]

I allow this ability in the same round.

 

[Wraith Form]

A little thread necro, since I might be playing one soon.

It's been a LONG time since I played 3.5, and I was never all that clear to begin with: could I take the feat Improved Unarmed Strike and successfully avoid attacks of opportunity using the Dread Necromancer's above ability?

 

[irdeggman]

A little thread necro, since I might be playing one soon.

It's been a LONG time since I played 3.5, and I was never all that clear to begin with: could I take the feat Improved Unarmed Strike and successfully avoid attacks of opportunity using the Dread Necromancer's above ability?

No, but you don't need to.

(Su) abilities do not generate AoO.

Supernatural Abilities (Su): Supernatural abilities are magical but not spell-like. Supernatural abilities are not subject to spell resistance and do not function in areas where magic is suppressed or negated (such as an antimagic field). A supernatural ability’s effect cannot be dispelled and is not subject to counterspells. See the table below for a summary of the types of special abilities.

Table: Special Ability Types
Extraordinary Spell-Like Supernatural
Dispel No Yes No
Spell resistance No Yes No
Antimagic field No Yes Yes
Attack of opportunity No Yes No
Dispel: Can dispel magic and similar spells dispel the effects of abilities of that type?
Spell Resistance: Does spell resistance protect a creature from these abilities?
Antimagic Field: Does an antimagic field or similar magic suppress the ability?
Attack of Opportunity: Does using the ability provoke attacks of opportunity the way that casting a spell does?

I do recall reading somewhere where you could combine a touch spell and an unarmed strike, but it required a normal attack roll not a touch attack one.