What Does the Duration on Shivering Touch Denote?

[Angry Bob]

What does the duration on Shivering Touch denote? I assumed it was a touch attack spell that did 3d6 dexterity damage. The description doesn't spell it out. The apparent meanings are that either the spell gives you such a touch attack for the duration of the spell, or that the damage only lasts for the given duration. What's up with this?

[nargbop]

I've always assumed that you gain the Shivering Touch effect for the stated duration. This means that you can use it multiple times (you probably only need the one).

It's a very powerful spell, especially because immunity or resistance to ability damage is so hard to come by.

Possible house rule : The spell is expended once you've made a successful touch attack.

[Urpriest]

Looking at Lesser Shivering Touch, the fluff text says that the target shivers "For the duration of the spell". I would guess that the intent is that the damage of the spell only lasts the duration, at which point it goes away. But damage doesn't work like that. So the spell was designed by idiots. Big surprise. This does seem an interesting nerf, though. Makes RAI much clearer anyway.

[Curmudgeon]

While it looks like Shivering Touch was intended to impose a penalty, it actually deals damage ─ with a duration. This is pretty inconsistent with other effects in D&D, but there you go: Shivering Touch deals temporary ability damage.

[Incanur]

If you care about your dragons, you should just ban this spell anyway.

[tyckspoon]

If you care about your dragons, you should just ban this spell anyway.

You should probably ban it or at least raise its spell level a couple spots anyway; 3d6 Dex damage is just way out of scale for a 3rd level spell, and it's more than just dragons that have a soft target there.

[Incanur]

The min-1 penalty nerf also has merit. It could still be useful but not nearly as devastating.

[Grelna the Blue]

While it looks like Shivering Touch was intended to impose a penalty, it actually deals damage ─ with a duration. This is pretty inconsistent with other effects in D&D, but there you go: Shivering Touch deals temporary ability damage.

I agree that that was without a doubt the intention, but as written it says it "delivers a bitter chill to the target, causing it to shiver uncontrollably for the duration of the spell." The ability damage is listed in the next sentence and is not explicitly time-limited or linked to the shivering, and ability damage doesn't work like that.

However, I wouldn't let this spell in my game under any reading of its effect. In the Advanced Player's Guide, Pathfinder brought in a 1st level spell, Touch of Gracelessness, that is obviously an updated version of Lesser Shivering Touch and has similar mechanics to Ray of Enfeeblement (ability penalties instead of damage and stat can't be reduced below 1), which in Pathfinder was nerfed and allows a save for 1/2 effect. I'd allow that version into a 3.5 game, but I doubt that it'd be snatched up by players.