Some in depth questions about the working of chill touch

Question

Ive been reading the spell chill touch and I have some questions about it.

So it grants me as many attacks as I have caster levels (or character levels?) for the spell.

Targets creature or creatures touched (up to one/level)

The spell doesnt seem like it is able to be dismissed and there is no time duration, so you should be dangerous until you use up all the attacks, correct?

Are you only able to use a specific hand to make the attack with, or does either hand work? Does it act the same way as a held touch spell in that it goes off automatically if you touch someone?

A touch from your hand, which glows with blue energy,

What happens if you cast the spell twice? I assume that it behaves the same way as other spells, both are active but the effect is not more powerful (so it still only deals 1d6) nor does the duration (in this case number of touches) increase. You simply have two copies of the spell active

Since its not a held touch spell, I take it that you are able to cast other spells while this is active, without it ending?

Answer 1

As I read it, you're half right: the spell allows you to make multiple touch attacks (as an exception to the basic rule of "one touch attack per casting"), which means that you're effectively holding the charge until you are either out of targets or do something else which would dissipate the charge.

I say "half right", because casting a spell immediately dissipates the currently-held spell. So, if you cast Chill Touch again, the first casting would dissipate.

As I read it, then, the round in which you cast Chill Touch, you'd get one free melee touch attack with which to touch your first target. In the following rounds, you could make further touch attacks as standard actions, until you've succeeded on as many such attacks as your granted by your Caster level or until you cast another spell (noting that touching something that isn't strictly a target would use an attack; eg, using a two-handed weapon would hit the weapon with a charge from the spell).

The basic rule: Touch Spells in Combat

Holding the Charge: If you don't discharge the spell in the round when you cast the spell, you can hold the charge indefinitely. You can continue to make touch attacks round after round. If you touch anything or anyone while holding a charge, even unintentionally, the spell discharges. If you cast another spell, the touch spell dissipates. <snip> If the attack misses, you are still holding the charge.

Answer 2

This question and it's answers address this question as well as broader questions about touch spells in general.

If you accept that specific trumps general, then you can make spells like Chill Touch or Produce Flame work.

That concept is supported by inference

If the spell allows you to touch targets over multiple rounds...

even though the previous statement says

...all targets of the spell must be touched in the same round

Produce Flame's description doesn't even make sense without that concept.

Whether or not Holding the Charge applies depends on your DM's interpretation. The spell is definitely an exception, but the exception doesn't specifically except it from other Holding the Charge limitations. Perhaps you aren't Holding the Charge (which would allow you to cast it twice), but then any miss would also expend an "attack".