Melee Touch Attack Ability Score?

[1337Noooob]

What Ability Score do Melee Touch Attacks use?

Naturally, you'd think Dexterity, but I haven't found anything about it and regular melee attacks use Strength.

[KingAtomsk]

According to the SRD (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm#touchAttacks):

Touch Attacks
Some attacks disregard armor, including shields and natural armor. In these cases, the attacker makes a touch attack roll (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/combat/combatStatistics.htm#attackRoll)(either ranged or melee). When you are the target of a touch attack, your AC doesn’t include any armor bonus, shield bonus, or natural armor bonus. All other modifiers, such as your size modifier, Dexterity modifier, and deflection bonus (if any) apply normally.

Emphasis mine - the link in the SRD to "attack roll" defines it as such:

Attack Roll
An attack roll represents your attempt to strike your opponent on your turn in a round. When you make an attack roll, you roll a d20 and add your attack bonus. (Other modifiers may also apply to this roll.) If your result equals or beats the target’s Armor Class, you hit and deal damage.

and then defines Attack Bonus as:

Attack Bonus
Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is:
Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier

With a ranged weapon, your attack bonus is:
Base attack bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier + range penalty

So a melee touch attack uses an attack roll of 1d20 plus your base attack bonus, strength modifier, and size modifier.
A ranged touch attack usesan attack roll of 1d20 plus your base attack bonus, dexterity modifier, and size modifier.

[Fax Celestis]

What Atomsk said. However, a touch attack qualifies for Weapon Finesse (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?128241-3-5-touch-attacks-weapon-finesse).

[Zombulian]

What Ability Score do Melee Touch Attacks use?

Naturally, you'd think Dexterity, but I haven't found anything about it and regular melee attacks use Strength.

While your assumption is logical, it doesn't work that way. Apparently to touch someone on the chest you'll have an easier time of it if you lift weights.

[Amaril]

It actually makes sense for largely the same reason it makes sense to base any melee attack on Strength. Part of a high Strength score is explosive strength, the ability to move quickly, as separate from Dexterity measuring the speed of unconscious reflex reaction to incoming danger--one is intentional, the other less so. It's explosive strength that makes it easier to hit a target in melee, not lifting strength; most melee weapons aren't (or shouldn't be) heavy enough for lifting strength to be an issue anyway. If you have greater explosive strength, you'll be able to move your arm to touch a target more quickly, giving them less chance to evade.

[Optimator]

Indeed: Strength is speed, Dexterity is reaction speed.

[Psyren]

It's also easier to touch someone when they can't swat your arm away like it's a feather.

[Zombulian]

It actually makes sense for largely the same reason it makes sense to base any melee attack on Strength. Part of a high Strength score is explosive strength, the ability to move quickly, as separate from Dexterity measuring the speed of unconscious reflex reaction to incoming danger--one is intentional, the other less so. It's explosive strength that makes it easier to hit a target in melee, not lifting strength; most melee weapons aren't (or shouldn't be) heavy enough for lifting strength to be an issue anyway. If you have greater explosive strength, you'll be able to move your arm to touch a target more quickly, giving them less chance to evade.

Yeah as I was writing it I knew there could be easy explanations for Str being the score for it, I just like the idea of some extremely musclebound guy going around poking people.