Light Knight
First Post
Can a creature with reach get an attack of opportunity on someone with ride by attack.
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Ride By Attack
- Thread starter Light Knight
- Start date
anest1s
First Post
Looks like yes, if said creature with reach isn't the target of the attack. If it is, then no.
Light Knight
First Post
Understand what the rule says, but I was wondering if there were an changes out there. Because I cant image a 3 level mounted warrior doing a ride by attack on a gargantuan dragon. Whats that 12 to 14 threatened squares it rides by?
xigbar
Explorer
Try imagining any random law of physics applied to D&D. Then read the rules. Then imagine applied law again. Repeat until you realize it makes no sense.
Light Knight
First Post
Im so confused!
anest1s
First Post
A first level rogue could tumble to avoid attacks of opportunity from the dragon too, most of the time.
It doesn't make the dragon less dangerous, trust me.
Sure it can, assuming you have enough room without difficult terrain. Just don't expect your level 3 warrior to be able to land a hit, and don't expect it to live long enough to have a second try.
From the FAQv10192007
Q: With the rules erratum that prohibits overruns as part of a charge, the Ride-By Attack feat is now nearly useless. You must use the charge action to use the Ride-By Attack feat, and that requires you to travel in a straight line toward your target. Using the example in the Player’s Handbook, this would appear to rather specifically mean along a line from your entire square (or squares if riding a horse or other mount with a space of 10 feet or greater), to the target square. Ride-By Attack allows you to continue moving along the straight line of the charge after your attack. This would have to mean that at some point you would enter the square (or squares) of the creature you attacked. (At least I cannot conceive of any other way it could be done). Since you cannot enter your foe’s space unless the creature is already dead, Ride-By Attack is now pretty much useless if you can’t also overrun the foe. Some have suggested that you could charge in a manner that would not bring you through the target creature’s square (or squares). To do so, you would not be charging directly toward the target and likely not moving by the shortest route (also a charge requirement) or attacking it from the first possible square (another charge requirement). In any of these cases, you would be breaking the rules for a charge. Am I wrong about any of this?
A: No, you’ve got it about right.
When using the Ride-By attack feat, you must conduct your charge so that you move in a straight line toward the closest square from which it is possible to attack your chosen foe, so long as it is a square that allows you to attack and then continue on in the straight line of the charge. You still must attack your foe the moment you reach that square. (Although the feat description doesn’t say so, you and your mount also must move at least 5 feet after you make your attack to get the benefit of the feat.) This is a special rule for charging when using the Ride-By Attack feat. Note that the Flyby Attack feat (discussed in the previous question) does not require you to move in a straight line. You merely make a single move and take another standard action at some point during that move.
Q: With the rules erratum that prohibits overruns as part of a charge, the Ride-By Attack feat is now nearly useless. You must use the charge action to use the Ride-By Attack feat, and that requires you to travel in a straight line toward your target. Using the example in the Player’s Handbook, this would appear to rather specifically mean along a line from your entire square (or squares if riding a horse or other mount with a space of 10 feet or greater), to the target square. Ride-By Attack allows you to continue moving along the straight line of the charge after your attack. This would have to mean that at some point you would enter the square (or squares) of the creature you attacked. (At least I cannot conceive of any other way it could be done). Since you cannot enter your foe’s space unless the creature is already dead, Ride-By Attack is now pretty much useless if you can’t also overrun the foe. Some have suggested that you could charge in a manner that would not bring you through the target creature’s square (or squares). To do so, you would not be charging directly toward the target and likely not moving by the shortest route (also a charge requirement) or attacking it from the first possible square (another charge requirement). In any of these cases, you would be breaking the rules for a charge. Am I wrong about any of this?
A: No, you’ve got it about right.
When using the Ride-By attack feat, you must conduct your charge so that you move in a straight line toward the closest square from which it is possible to attack your chosen foe, so long as it is a square that allows you to attack and then continue on in the straight line of the charge. You still must attack your foe the moment you reach that square. (Although the feat description doesn’t say so, you and your mount also must move at least 5 feet after you make your attack to get the benefit of the feat.) This is a special rule for charging when using the Ride-By Attack feat. Note that the Flyby Attack feat (discussed in the previous question) does not require you to move in a straight line. You merely make a single move and take another standard action at some point during that move.
I have a really hard time agreeing with that ruling. With the way the square grid is, you have to be lined up just right to begin with to have the "closest square from which it is possible to attack your chosen foe" allow you to continue on. If you think about a joust or any movie/etc where someone attacks from horseback, they don't charge directly at their opponent. They charge so that they come up next to their opponent, as that's the only way to attack from horseback. If I were DMing, I'd allow the player with ride-by to charge in a line to either side of the opponent as long as they passed within reach of it. By extension, the horse-back paladin with a glaive could pass by 10' away without a problem.
With all that said, we've found Ride-by attack to be useless. Our halfling paladin on a riding dog got the feet early on, then forgot about it. We had enough dungeons to deal with that we rarely had a room big enough for her to be able to ride past the enemy without running immediately into a wall/pillar/other opponent.
If you know all your battles will be outside on a clear plain, then take the feat, it should be fun. Otherwise, just charge at your opponents and stab them to death.
