Touch spells, Melee range, and Attacks of Opportunity

[KnotKnormal]

Hello again every one, I'm sure this has been answered before, but I can't seem to find a clear answer. Does casting a touch spell in melee range provoke attacks of op? and if they do, is there away of delivering the touch spell with out provoking one? and to both questions, could you site the source of the ruling? it has to be in a physical, published book, or the DM will not allow it. so the SRD is actually off limits, even though much of the wording is still the same.

Thank you all for your help, and may your adventure be filled with joy, and the blood of your enemies.

[Necroticplague]

Hello again every one, I'm sure this has been answered before, but I can't seem to find a clear answer. Does casting a touch spell in melee range provoke attacks of op?
Yes.

and if they do, is there away of delivering the touch spell with out provoking one?
Yes.


and to both questions, could you site the source of the ruling? it has to be in a physical, published book, or the DM will not allow it. so the SRD is actually off limits, even though much of the wording is still the same.K, easy enough.

For the first:
Provoking an Attack of Opportunity:
Two kinds of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square and performing an action within a threatened square.
Moving: Moving out of a threatened square usually provokes an attack of opportunity from the threatening opponent. There are two common methods of avoiding such an attack—the 5-foot-step (see page 144) and the withdraw action (see page 143).
Performing a Distracting Act: Some actions, when performed in a threatened square, provoke attacks of opportunity as you divert your attention from the battle. Casting a spell and attacking with a ranged weapon, for example, are distracting actions. Table 8–2: Actions in Combat notes many of the actions that provoke attacks of opportunity.
There's no special exception for touch spells, so casting them still falls under 'distracting action'. Thus, they provoke.


For the second:
Touch Spells and Holding the Charge:
In most cases, if you don’t discharge a touch spell on the round you cast it, you can hold the charge (postpone the discharge of the spell) indefinitely. You can make touch attacks round after round. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates.
Some touch spells, such as teleport and water walk, allow you to touch multiple targets as part of the spell. You can’t hold the charge of such a spell; you must touch all targets of the spell in the same round that you finish casting the spell.
+


"Armed" Unarmed Attacks

Sometimes a character’s or creature’s unarmed attack counts as an armed attack. A monk, a character with the Improved Unarmed Strike feat, a spellcaster delivering a touch attack spell, and a creature with natural physical weapons all count as being armed.

Note that being armed counts for both offense and defense.
So you can cast outside of a threatened area, hold a charge, then run in to deliver it without provoking.

[Thunder999]

Casting a touch range spell provokes as normal, there's no special exception. This isn't a ruling, for touch spells, it's simply that nothing says they don't provoke, so you use the normal spellcasting rules which say casting spells provokes.
To use a touch spell you have a few choices, you can make a concentration check to cast defensively, which stops it provoking, you can quicken the spell as swift and immediate action spells don't provoke (this may well work with arcane spellsurge come to think of it), you can cast the spell out of melee range as a standard action, walk into melee range as a move action and then make the touch attack as a free action, you can get more reach than your enemy so you can attack them from outside their threatened area (say by being bigger than them), you can be invisible and therefore immune to attacks of opportunity (unless they can see through your invisibility of course), you can use the spell spectral hand to make a ranged touch attack from a safe distance instead, you can have a familiar deliver the touch spell for you, you can use the reach spell metamagic or archmage's reach to turn it into a ranged touch attack, you can use the ocular spell feat to turn it into a ray.

[denthor]

however you can make a concentration roll to negate the attack of opportunity. If you fail it you can make a harder concentration roll to get the spell off. if you fail that spell fizzles.

You can cast the spell 10 feet away take a five foot move attack with no attack of opportunity,provided the opponent does not have reach.

[danielxcutter]

That reminds me, how does Robitar's Gambit interact with those spells?