[3.5] Monster Abilities, Grappling, and Touch Spells

[Crasical]

This is a rather complicated, multi-part question, and I was going to post it into the Q&A thread before I look and saw how long it had gotten.
The crux of the matter is, how do touch spells, natural weapons, and monster (EX) abilities interact?

Example: An Annis Hag (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hag.htm#annis) with an arbitrarily high caster level casts a quickened Chill Touch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/chillTouch.htm), then attacks a target a hapless gnome adventurer with a claw.

Part 1) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch with this claw attack?

The hag then proceeds to activate her Improved Grab ability to grab the target as a free action, initiating a Melee Touch Attack as step 2 of the grapple.

Part 2) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch with this melee touch attack?

The Hag succeeds in the above touch attack and the opposed grapple check. Per the SRD, she also deals damage "as if with an unarmed strike" when she succeeds this check.


Part 3) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch when she damages the target in step 3 of the grapple resolution?

Next round, the Hag chooses to attack the gnome with her Rakes. Both attacks hit and deal damage.

Part 4) Does attacking with a natural weapon require an opposed grapple check? If so, can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch with the opposed grapple check?

Part 5) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch with either or both of the claw attacks that make up the Rake?

The hag then deals additional damage, as per the Rend(ex) special ability. "This attack automatically deals an extra 2d6+10 points of damage".

Part 6) Can the hag choose to discharge Chill Touch during this Rend?

The hag ends her turn, but the Gnome adventurer attempts to wriggle free by rolling his Escape Artist skill. This provokes an opposed grapple check, but the gnome fails and remains in the grapple.

Part 7) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch during the opposed grapple check, even if she wasn't the one to initiate it?

Next round, the Hag chooses the 'Damage your opponent' action. This provokes another opposed grapple roll, then deals damage equivalent to an unarmed strike.

Part 8) Can the hag choose to discharge Chill Touch while dealing damage during this action?



Part X, Bonus Question) If the Hag had the Constrict (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/specialAbilities.htm#constrict)(ex) ability, when would it be applied during the above combat? Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch when constricting?

[Flickerdart]

]
Example: An Annis Hag (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsters/hag.htm#annis) with an arbitrarily high caster level casts a quickened Chill Touch (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/chillTouch.htm), then attacks a target a hapless gnome adventurer with a claw.

Part 1) Can the Hag choose to discharge Chill Touch with this claw attack?

She can't choose not to - since she touched something, the spell discharges into the gnome. This applies for every instance when the hag touches the gnome.

[Crasical]

She can't choose not to - since she touched something, the spell discharges into the gnome. This applies for every instance when the hag touches the gnome.

Thank you for pointing out that detail. That still doesn't answer what attacks do and don't constitute a 'touch' in the example, unless you're saying that -every- opposed grapple check, natural weapon, unarmed strike-damage, rend, and constrict triggers the spell?

[Chronos]

Improved Grab bypasses the touch attack that's usually used to start a grapple. And you get Constrict damage (if you have it), as well as your usual unarmed damage, whenever you use the "Damage Opponent" grapple option, which requires a grapple check. Alternately, if you also have Improved Grab (which most Constrict creatures do), you can use the "Attack with a natural weapon" option, with the weapon you used to start the grapple, to do that weapon's damage plus the constrict damage. This option does not use a grapple check, but rather an ordinary attack roll. In any event, you do not deal any damage just for starting the grapple; that just gives you the opportunity to deal damage the next time you could attack.

[Crasical]

Improved Grab bypasses the touch attack that's usually used to start a grapple. And you get Constrict damage (if you have it), as well as your usual unarmed damage, whenever you use the "Damage Opponent" grapple option, which requires a grapple check. Alternately, if you also have Improved Grab (which most Constrict creatures do), you can use the "Attack with a natural weapon" option, with the weapon you used to start the grapple, to do that weapon's damage plus the constrict damage. This option does not use a grapple check, but rather an ordinary attack roll. In any event, you do not deal any damage just for starting the grapple; that just gives you the opportunity to deal damage the next time you could attack.

Are you sure about Constrict? The way I was reading it was that it dealt it's damage -every- time the creature succeed on a grapple check.


A creature with this special attack can crush an opponent, dealing bludgeoning damage, after making a successful grapple check. The amount of damage is given in the creature’s entry. If the creature also has the improved grab ability it deals constriction damage in addition to damage dealt by the weapon used to grab.

[Flickerdart]

Thank you for pointing out that detail. That still doesn't answer what attacks do and don't constitute a 'touch' in the example, unless you're saying that -every- opposed grapple check, natural weapon, unarmed strike-damage, rend, and constrict triggers the spell?
The text of the rule is clear - whenever you touch anything while holding the charge, the touch spell discharges. Doesn't matter why you're touching them. Unarmed strike, grapple, firm handshake, gentle caress.

[Crasical]

The text of the rule is clear - whenever you touch anything while holding the charge, the touch spell discharges. Doesn't matter why you're touching them. Unarmed strike, grapple, firm handshake, gentle caress.

A grapple is one long 'touch' though. Does it only trigger once when the grapple begins, then? Once with each step of the grapple? Once a round?

The text may be clear but the best way to implement it is not.