General Discussion

perrinmiller · Jun 13, 2012

I am in need of some rules-fu, please.

(Note, I have read the entries on Mounted Combat, Charging, Ride-by-Attack, Handle Animal Skill, and Ride Skill already.)

1. Mounted Combat.
What are the mechanics for directing a regular mount riding dog or warhorse to charge? (Eidolons and Animal Companions can be controlled with free actions, so not worried about those mounts)

2. Ride-by-Attack

Ride-by-attack said:
While mounted and charging, you can move, strike at a foe, and then continue moving.
Prerequisites: Ride 1 rank, Mounted Combat.
Benefit: When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.

Rules on Charging said:
You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles). You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can’t charge. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can’t charge.

This is what is confusing me on the Ride-by-Attack. According to this, you cannot charge through the target. But, Ride-by-attack (Not ride though attack) doesn't seem to care that you are going through an obstacle. Nor does it specify what AoOs you are getting to ignore. I am not sure you can ignore the AoO for an ogre's reach on the way in, but you get to ignore the AoO from moving past the target. Or is it through the target, since you are charging to the closest square and then continuing in the straight line. Sounds more like you are ignoring the AoO from an Overrun Action. Or are you expected to have your mount's charge attack be a Bull Rush to clear the way like Heavy Cavalry was used for.

After looking at the Ride Skill, maybe you can use that to initiate the charge for free, instead of Handle Animal. Looks to be unclear, since directing a mount is not the same as ordering them to charge in some people's minds.

Rhydius · Jun 13, 2012

dammitbiscuit said:
Does Pathfinder have a good character builder like 3.5's ridicu-awesome Heroforge? I can google up several with "pathfinder character builder", I'm just wondering what the community-loved good one is!

perrinmiller said:
Here's the SRD for Pathfinder, does that help?
Pathfinder_OGC

I use the sCoreForge Pathfinder Character Creator, but it includes some content that isn't approved for the LPF.
So far as I know there isn't an "official" IRC or anything like one at the moment.

On a side note, I'm going to be posting erratically (not like I post regularly anyway

) for the next week or so. I'm in the final stages of buying a house.

Maidhc O Casain · Jun 13, 2012

And for character builders you can't go wrong with HeroLab, although it's NOT free (you can use it free, but you'll only get access to the Core Rules and won't be able to save or print your characters). Still, if you're content to stick with the core classes, races, feats, etc. you could try it out.

It can get pretty expensive if you're buying all the bells and whistles (APG, Ultimate books, Bestiaries, etc) but you can pick those up piecemeal to spread the cost out.

jackslate45 · Jun 13, 2012

PCGen is a free one that includes APG. It's a little more confusing than HeroLab, but once you figure it out it works well.

GlassEye · Jun 13, 2012

perrinmiller said:
According to this, you cannot charge through the target. But, Ride-by-attack (Not ride though attack) doesn't seem to care that you are going through an obstacle.

I don't think that's the case. Don't think of the as Hero as the start point and the Enemy as the end point with Ride-by-Attack giving you extra distance. Think of the Hero as the start point and the end point as your ultimate destination and if you pass an enemy then you can use Ride-by-Attack. So it's not closest in terms of distance from your starting point, but in terms of "this is the first square along my path where I could attack this guy." If you can't ride past then you'd have to use Overrun.

Note: I got this all from this thread on Paizo's forum. It's a bit all over the place so it might not help much more than my summary.

dammitbiscuit · Jun 13, 2012

A house! Mon dieu, congrats!

Trying out those builders now. Having browsed the SRD (thanks!) I'm feeling the urge to just try out the new base classes and once again pass up Theurge. The nifty features added to Sorc and Wiz are tantalizing - surprisingly solid reason to NOT prestige out asap. Oracle and Witch both have a bit of the divine stuff, a bit of the arcane stuff on their list, so they'd be easier than Theurge. Even Magus has some appeal, if just for the opportunity to see Duskblade done better. Duskblade was such a disappointment!

DalkonCledwin · Jun 14, 2012

there is at least one character in the Character Submission Thread awaiting Judge Approval. I just thought I would remind the judges of this fact.

jkason · Jun 14, 2012

DalkonCledwin said:
there is at least one character in the Character Submission Thread awaiting Judge Approval. I just thought I would remind the judges of this fact.

I'll get started on that one. How about taking a crack at Larson Starwater, since his second approval doesn't need to be a judge?

CoreyL · Jun 15, 2012

Thanks guys, can't wait to see where life takes him.

IronWolf · Jun 15, 2012

dammitbiscuit said:
Does Pathfinder have a good character builder like 3.5's ridicu-awesome Heroforge? I can google up several with "pathfinder character builder", I'm just wondering what the community-loved good one is!

As others have mentioned, Hero Lab is awesome. It isn't free and if you buy all the packages at once it can feel pretty expensive, but I have not regretted it at all. I've been using it for a fair amount of time, so my add-ons have been staggered over a fairly long time.

I find it an invaluable tool.