Does BAB Affect The Amount of Offensive Spells and/or Spell-Like Abilities That Can Be Cast That Require a Ranged Touch Attack [duplicate]

Question

As the title describes.

Per the rules:

Your attack bonus with a melee weapon is:

Base attack bonus + Strength modifier + size modifier

Your attack bonus with a ranged weapon is:

Base attack bonus + Dexterity modifier + size modifier + range penalty

Base Attack Bonus

A base attack bonus is an attack roll bonus derived from character class and level or creature type and Hit Dice (or combination’s thereof). Base attack bonuses increase at different rates for different character classes and creature types. A second attack is gained when a base attack bonus reaches +6, a third with a base attack bonus of +11 or higher, and a fourth with a base attack bonus of +16 or higher. Base attack bonuses gained from different sources, such as when a character is a multiclass character, stack.

Standard Action

A standard action allows you to do something, most commonly to make an attack or cast a spell.

Cast a Spell

Most spells require 1 standard action to cast.

Attack Action

An attack action is a type of standard action.

Full-Round Action

A full-round action consumes all your effort during a round. The only movement you can take during a full-round action is a 5-foot step before, during, or after the action.

Part of a Full Round Action includes a "Full Attack", which means your Base Attack Bonus should apply to casting any offensive spell/SLA.

Example:

Psychokinetic has a BAB of +15 (which gives 3 additional attacks in a Full Attack). His normal blast attack is both 1) A SLA, and 2) a Ranged Attack. The Psychokinetic should therefore have 4 possible attacks with a standard fire blast. (so 10d6+x fire x4 attacks).

I have read through and maybe I don't understand completely, however, it doesn't seem to state that (offensive) spells and SLAs are exempt from getting this. I understand that casting multiple spells is obviously overpowered, but for this example (a kineticist), would his/her energy/physical blasts get the BAB attack bonus?

Answer 1

1. In general, no, you cannot cast a spell as part of a full attack.

There are many spells (and spell-like abilities) that involve attack rolls. But they are still spells, and so they require casting time that is usually one standard action.

For example, a ranged spell may include a free attack roll (as part of the spell itself) in order to hit the target(s). For close-range touch spells is somewhat more complex, the action economy is somewhat more complex, because you may cast and then hold the charge until touching the target. The point relevant to your question is that casting the spell requires time.

Having a high BAB means you can attempt multiple iterative attacks as a full-round action. In almost all cases, you cannot perform both a standard and full-round action on the same turn. Therefore, you either cast a spell, or you make multiple attacks with weapons.

There are two exceptions. First, the magus has a special class feature called Spell Combat, which allows them to cast with their off-hand during a full-round attack, similar to two-weapon fighting. The second exception is metamagic to quicken the spell's casting into a swift action.

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2. The kineticist's Kinetic Blast ability also requires a standard action, and thus cannot be used as one of your iterative attacks.

From the Kinetic Blast ability description:

As a standard action, the kineticist can unleash a kinetic blast at a single target up to a range of 30 feet... Kinetic blasts count as a type of weapon for the purpose of feats such as Weapon Focus. The kineticist is never considered to be wielding or gripping the kinetic blast (regardless of effects from form infusions; see Infusion), and she can’t use Vital Strike feats with kinetic blasts...

So the Kinetic Blast is not a regular attack. It a special standard action that cannot be combined with a full-round attack action. When you use the Kinetic Blast, apply your highest BAB (+15 in your example) for a single ranged attack roll.

Attack rolls with a Kinetic Blade can be part of a full-round attack, but you can't perform these Kinetic Blade attacks and then a new Kinetic Blast (as a standard action) on the same turn.

The only way to perform multiple Kinetic Blast attacks on the same turn is via the Flurry of Blasts infusion. It allows you to fire multiple blasts as a standard action. Each one is weaker than your normal blast, but you get to apply your highest BAB (+15) to each attack roll.