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I am thinking of making an sorcerer of the arcane bloodline with a bonded familiar. I understand that a familiar may be designated to be the one to deliver the touch of a spell cast by its bond-mate. What I want to know is if this includes ranged touch spells too.
Say for example I have a raven flying around. I meta magic a shocking grasp with reach thus turning it into a thrown thunder bolt like Zeus. Could the Raven be the one throwing this on my behalf?
Thank you in advance for your helpful reply.
No. Only touch spells. That is to say, spells with a range of Touch.
Deliver Touch Spells (Su): If the master is 3rd level or higher, a familiar can deliver touch spells for him. If the master and the familiar are in contact at the time the master casts a touch spell, he can designate his familiar as the "toucher." The familiar can then deliver the touch spell just as the master would. As usual, if the master casts another spell before the touch is delivered, the touch spell dissipates.
Shocking grasp with reach would have a range of close. This is not a touch spell, because its range is not touch.
We've discussed this several times among the players in my group, and our verdict was yes, you can. Reach Spell lets you increase the range that the spell can affect, but reached shocking grasp is still a touch spell, albeit one where your reach extends further than usual. Generally, I think metamagic should not change the spell's definition, just the spell's effect. Especially when other class abilities only work with certain types of spells, like touch spells.
As a touch spell, reached shocking grasp can be given to your familiar to deliver, and with something like reached chill touch you or the familiar can hold the charge between attacks. We treat it like spectral hand were automatically added to the spell, so you also don't lose the charge if you miss. You are still touching the target, not shooting a ray.
eriktd, that is your house rule. By the book, it is a close range spell, no longer a touch spell. You also cannot hold the charge on close range spells. Nor can a familiar deliver a close range spell.