Vampiric Touch

[JacktheRabbit]

I was looking at this spell and had a question. The spell says:

Vampiric Touch
Necromancy
Level: Sor/Wiz 3
Components: V, S
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Touch
Target: Living creature touched
Duration: Instantaneous/1 hour (see text)
Saving Throw: None
Spell Resistance: Yes
The character must succeed at a melee touch attack. The character's touch deals 1d6 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d6). The character gains temporary hit points equal to the damage the character inflicts. However, the character can’t gain more than the subject’s current hit points +10, which is enough to kill the subject. The temporary hit points disappear 1 hour later.

Now for one is says the character gains temporary hitpoints so that suggests that the spell stacks on itself. If you cast it twice then you get both spells worth of hitpoints stacked onto your own.

Is there a maximum you can gain in temporary hitpoints? Its says you cannnot drain more than a targets hitpoints plus 10 but that doesnt tell you how much the caster can gain in total. Could a 20th level caster throw out this spell 5 times and gain 50D6 hitpoints potentially which could be between 50 and 300 additional hitpoints?

Of course all of those hitpoints would only last one hour.

 

[JacktheRabbit]

A second question.

What would you as a DM do if a character cast this spell and touched an undead? Not all undead are obvious so the mistake could be made.

Would you just have the spell fail? Would you automatically subject the character to any touch attack the undead may have? Or would you have the character take damage for however many hitpoints he would have drained away?

 

[Targos]

vamp touch

Regarding the undead, they are immune to necromantic effects. People sometimes ask what that means and I suppose this would be an example. Vampiric touch does nothing to undead, and because it didnt drain any HP you don't gain any. Vampiric touch isn't channelling negative energy so it wouldnt give them any HP. Could two vampiric touchs give you the temporary HP each time? I don't see why not. If you're looking for a limit to the temporary HP I don't have any reference, but twice that of your normal HP seems like a fair house rule.

 

[Thimble the Squit]

Targos:

To your first question, I am afraid the spell does not stack with itself. I refer you to PH p153:

Same effect More than Once in Different Strengths: In cases where two or more spells are operating in the same area, but at different strengths, only the best one applies.

By these rules, you could cast two vampiric touch spells in order to deal damage twice and to ensure a better bonus to your hit points; this would be especially useful if a foe has already removed some of those temporary HP.

To your second question: what DocMoriarty said.

 

[Targos]

Targos:

To your first question, I am afraid the spell does not stack with itself. I refer you to PH p153:

By these rules, you could cast two vampiric touch spells in order to deal damage twice and to ensure a better bonus to your hit points; this would be especially useful if a foe has already removed some of those temporary HP.

To your second question: what DocMoriarty said.

I guess that answers two questions then. If you can only get the HP once (which ever is greatest) thats your limit of temporary hp.

 

[Oni]

Re: vamp touch

Regarding the undead, they are immune to necromantic effects. People sometimes ask what that means and I suppose this would be an example. Vampiric touch does nothing to undead, and because it didnt drain any HP you don't gain any.

This isn't an example of that ill-defined immunity. Vampiric Touched does not affect them, not because of their supposed necromantic immunity, but rather because the spell only affects living creatures.

 

[Al'Kelhar]

This question's probably been answered before, but who gets the bonus hitpoints if a wizard casts vampiric touch through his familiar - the wizard or the familiar? If the former, I assume the latter does not gain half the bonus hit points because they are temporary?

Cheers, AK

 

[Mad Gulag]

What happens when a Lich uses Vampiric Touch?
Can he heal himself, or does the spell damage him?

 

[Brekki]

When the wizard casts it through his familiar, he gets the hitpoints. Temporary hitpoints do not extend to the familiar I think.

The vampire gets temporary hitpoints, the spell description says nothing about healing or positive energy.

 

[Kevod]

Plant Life and Vampiric Touch

Folks

Does vampiric touch work on monsters that are plants?

Thanks

Kevin