Can a paladin use Smite Evil to gain pluses to attack and damage when the attack is a touch attack against an undead creature for the purpose of damaging the creature using the Lay on Hands ability?
Smite Evil says (in part):
Once per day, a paladin may attempt to smite evil with one normal
melee attack.
Lay on Hands says (in part):
Alternatively, a paladin can use any or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using lay on hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack
So I guess the question comes down to whether a melee touch attack is a "normal" melee attack or not. I'm inclined to think not, but I'm uncertain.
Best Answer
I would argue Yes.
Lay on Hands is a supernatural touch attack, meaning that it follows the rules of “weapon-like spells” found in Complete Arcane (yes, even though it is not a spell). These rules do not cover Smite Evil specifically, but generally clarify that touch-attack effects are effectively weapons in all ways but name – that is, if something enhances “weapon attacks” or “weapon damage” (e.g. Inspire Courage), it won’t work, but otherwise the touch-attack effect works like a weapon. Sneak Attack, for example, is explicitly called out as working. Rules Compendium clarifies further by saying that someone who has such a touch-attack effect is considered armed.
So in general, any touch attack that deals damage should be treated as a weapon in all but name. You make attacks with it, and things that improve attacks affect it. This should include Smite Evil. When you take your standard action to use Lay on Hands, you make an attack, which you may choose, at your option, to modify with Smite Evil by expending one of your daily uses of that ability.
Now, Smite Evil does say “normal attack.” What does that mean? No one knows. It’s not a defined game term and it’s unclear what counts as normal and what does not. Ruut’s argument that it means the Attack Action, which is used as a standard action, definitely seems wrong: not only is “normal attack” not the term they use for that (for that they say Attack Action), it also has pervasive impact on the paladin in general, making Smite Evil completely useless, rather than mostly useless. Jack’s argument that touch attacks are not “normal” attacks is more tenable – the rules, awkwardly enough, don’t have a good way to specify “not-touch attacks,” but ultimately this seems extremely flawed to me as well: does this mean a paladin cannot use Smite Evil in conjunction with a brilliant weapon? I don’t think so.
Ultimately, the paladin is a very weak class, and both Smite Evil and Lay on Hands are very weak abilities. The rules are ambiguous, but it is a very minor advantage to allow it, for a class that desperately needs every advantage it can get.