Can one touch attack 15-feet with a whip

[Bordak]

My question is: Can a runecaster enchant a whip with say the spell "harm" and then make a 15-foot range touch attack vs. an opponent?

[GrinningIdiot]

Not familiar with runecasters (RoS?) but here goes. If the description says you can release a touch spell through a weapon then you should be able to. It gets more complicated if you need to do damage with the attack as well, since whips are pants at dealing damamge.

[Cat Face Elixir]

I've never heard of a Runecaster. Are they like... enchanters? If so, then I don't see why they couldn't use a whip as opposed to another weapon to do touch spells.

[trebane]

Yes, you could inscribe a rune of harm onto a whip. But it wouldn't be activated with a touch attack... _normally_. Instead, it would be activated by the 'pass' effect. Basically, when inscribing the rune, you would set it to trigger when the whip successfully strikes a target or creature.

It would be, in essence, the same thing. You would gain the ability to do this at runecaster level 3rd. By that time, you'd most likely have a caster level of 9. Remember, though... this would automatically activate when the set conditions occur. You wouldn't be able to attack with your whip until you were sure you wanted to the rune to activate.

[jj_wolven]

Also remember that a whip attack is a ranged attack, not a melee attack. If the ability does not say ranged touch attack or cannot be used with a bow, then it cannot be used through a whip.

-me

[GrinningIdiot]

Quoting the PHB

"the whip is counted as a melee weapon with 15ft reach, though you don't threaten the area which you can attack"

The other rules say it's pretty much a ranged weapon ie provoking AoO and wotnot. I'd have thought the fact that it is a melee weapon means that you can only make melee touch attacks with it (albeit at 15ft reach) not ranged toucg attacks. Does that make sense?

It is one of those arkward weapons that are stuck in between ranged and melee. I suppose if there is any doubt as the DM to call it.

[jj_wolven]

Hrm, interesting. It is considered melee...

Here is where my mistake came from: it does not threaten an area (as ranged) and it draws an AoO to use (as ranged). It is unwise to use it on adjacent foes because it draws an AoO but it would be a melee touch attack.

-me

[Loozer]

Your mistake probably came from the conversion of 3.0 to 3.5

In 3.0 it was considered a ranged weapon that you held in your hand. in 3.5 they changed it to a melee weapon that doesn't threaten and provokes AoO's.