Charging into Difficult Terrain...

[Infiniti2000]

Wotc effectively eliminating rideby attack when they disallowed overun on a charge and made horses 10' fat.

The plus side of the 10ft fat change is that they can actually charge not aligned with the coordinate axes. You can't have 5x10 diagonally, so a horse cannot charge not on the horizontal/vertical axis in 3.0.

So there.

 

[frankthedm]

You can't have 5x10 diagonally, so a horse cannot charge not on the horizontal/vertical axis in 3.0.

So there.

You got anything in the 3.0 rules that backs that up? I recall in the abusing flanking section in the Song and Silence book, they even had examples of the long creatures on diagonals. It was wonky.

I prefer measuring to grids anyhow.

 

[Hypersmurf]

Not removed, you just mean not included, right? I mean, if it were removed, then it would have to exist in the first place.

Anyway, no matter what option a DM chooses for charging, always temper that choice with the rules on rideby attack. If you do not allow option 1 in Hyp's example, then you are effectively eliminating rideby attack.

Interestingly, there's more to it than just option 1.

Since option 1 is a line directly towards the opponent, the next square it passes through beyond the attacking space is the opponent's square.

Ride-by Attack allows you to continue the straight line of the charge; the straight line of the charge passes through the opponent's square.

To continue past the opponent would require travelling along a different straight line... that happened to share the same initial six squares leading up to the divergence point.

Is it reasonable to say "These six squares represent a straight line directly towards the opponent - so I'm complying with the Charge requirements; but they also represent a straight line travelling past the opponent, so I can carry on past the opponent and still be continuing the straight line of the Charge"?

Perhaps

-Hyp.