Do Spells With A Touch Range Cause Assaults Of Opportunity?

Casting a spell provokes an attack of opportunity, which is not an exception for touch range spells. Two types of actions can provoke attacks of opportunity: moving out of a threatened square and performing an action within a threatened square. Each person can only do this once per round, but every round if a mage casts within someone’s threatened range, they provoke from that person who gets the attack.

If you are in a threatened square and cast, you provoke an attack of opportunity. However, you can also choose to cast defensively, which does not provoke. If your unarmed attack or natural weapon attack normally doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity, neither does this attack. Ranged touch attacks provoke an attack of opportunity, even if the spell that causes the attacks was cast defensively. Melee touch attacks do not provoke AOO, but they are not the same as untrained unarmed attacks.

To move closer to do a Full-Round attack, click on the enemy when you are missing only a few feet to make a weapon attack (melee or ranged). Touching an opponent with a touch spell is considered an armed attack and therefore does not provoke attacks of opportunity. The act of casting a spell, including casting a ranged touch spell, gives two opportunities to provoke an AOO.

The DMs “ruling” about touch spells needing to be cast more than 5 feet away from the target to avoid an opportunity attack and then the…