When casting a touch spell, I can leave the spell on my hand and deliver strategically. What happens when that same touch attack is enhanced with Reach metamagic? Lets say I cast Invisibility on an ally 30 feet away.
Did it leave a 'glamer sparks' along its path? Did it become an energetic projectile with explosions, or does it still behave like the original touch (except for the fact that it is now moving along a vector).
Assume that myself and my ally are concealed and hidden to the public (assume all my verbal and semantic components were executed unnoticed, so they didn't notice a creature lurking in the bushes), but my ray had to pass across a wide open roadway. Did the approaching carvan even have a chance to see anything? Do they get a spot check (to notice dancing lights or something like that)? (in my mind i am comparing to an Orb of Fire, where a bright flash of fire is likely to turn some heads).
The main idea is that I am well hidden in some bushes, and do not want to divulge my location, yet I want to deliver certain buffs to my rogue across the street.
My real confusion is regarding the "sparks and crackles" produced from this ranged-touch spell. Does the Invisibility happen silently, like it normally would as a touch, or is it preceded with a loud zap and bursting streak of light (like most rays do)? Is the caravan alerted to our presence, even if they can't find us; or do they have no clue about the suspicious happenings in the bushes just ahead.
Reach Spell: [...] The spell effectively becomes a ray, [...]
Effectively? I assume they were implying that mechanically it is a ray. But then how come they didn't simply say "spell becomes a ray". If the "Reach-spell" is effectively a ray, what exclusion is preventing it from being specifically a ray.
P.S. If Invisibility is not a good example of a touch spell turned range (for whatever reason), then how about the same scenario with Eyes of the Avoral. Or rather, a spell that wasn't "flashly" in its touch form (it does not give off any normal illumination, even in a completely dark room).