Charging

[moritheil]

On having to use the ready action to do double damage with a spear against a charging foe.

from the SRD:

Right, but then your ready action is "set a spear," not "ready an attack." The attack presumably comes from the AOO generated (if using a reach weapon), or from your normal attack after the charge (but before the attacker's -2 penalty from charging disappears.)

Or is this not how you run it?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Or is this not how you run it?

Once the attacker has made his single melee attack, he is no longer a charging character.

The -2 penalty to AC that persists reflects the fact that he was a charging character, but I would no longer consider him to gain any benefit or incur any malefaction that applies "while charging" or to "a charging character".

-Hyp.

 

[jaelis]

Right, but then your ready action is "set a spear," not "ready an attack." The attack presumably comes from the AOO generated (if using a reach weapon), or from your normal attack after the charge (but before the attacker's -2 penalty from charging disappears.)

Or is this not how you run it?

I think that "setting a spear" is a form of readying an attack. You make the attack as soon as the attacker moves into a space you threaten, with no need for an AoO, and you score double damage on that one attack.

 

[irdeggman]

Right, but then your ready action is "set a spear," not "ready an attack." The attack presumably comes from the AOO generated (if using a reach weapon), or from your normal attack after the charge (but before the attacker's -2 penalty from charging disappears.)

Or is this not how you run it?

You've lost me on this one.

Hyp explained it pretty much via text book.

 

[Hypersmurf]

You've lost me on this one.

What moritheil is saying is that nowhere is it stated that using the Readied action to set a spear does anything more than put you in a state where a strike vs a charging character deals double damage.

It's not stated that this particular use of the Ready action includes a trigger or an action.

We've assumed that there's an implicit trigger (When someone charges me) and an implicit action (I hit him), but it could be that by using the Ready action, all you've done is to set your spear. If you don't get an attack on a charging character for some other reason, the damage doesn't come into play.

moritheil, of course, has also included an assumption that is not stated - that the double damage also applies to a character who is not charging, but is still suffering the AC penalty from a prior charge.

-Hyp.

 

[MithrasRahl]

Backing this up, I'm going to ask what is probably a very stupid question, because im slightly confused now.

I charge a guy with my longsword, and he has a long sword. Does he get an attack of opportunity on me?

 

[Hypersmurf]

Backing this up, I'm going to ask what is probably a very stupid question, because im slightly confused now.

I charge a guy with my longsword, and he has a long sword. Does he get an attack of opportunity on me?

As a general rule, no. You are not leaving any squares he threatens; by the time you enter his threatened area, you're close enough to hit him.

If he has a longspear instead of a longsword, he'll likely get an AoO, because in order to get close enough to use your sword - 5 feet - you'll have to leave the square he threatens at 10 feet.

-Hyp.

 

[jaelis]

Backing this up, I'm going to ask what is probably a very stupid question, because im slightly confused now.

No, because you never exit a square that he threatens.

 

[werk]

I charge a guy with my longsword, and he has a long sword. Does he get an attack of opportunity on me?

Approach it from a different angle... Why would he get an AoO?

Charge action doesn't provoke, as per the table.
What else would cause an AoO?

 

[irdeggman]

What moritheil is saying is that nowhere is it stated that using the Readied action to set a spear does anything more than put you in a state where a strike vs a charging character deals double damage.

It's not stated that this particular use of the Ready action includes a trigger or an action.

We've assumed that there's an implicit trigger (When someone charges me) and an implicit action (I hit him), but it could be that by using the Ready action, all you've done is to set your spear. If you don't get an attack on a charging character for some other reason, the damage doesn't come into play.

moritheil, of course, has also included an assumption that is not stated - that the double damage also applies to a character who is not charging, but is still suffering the AC penalty from a prior charge.

-Hyp.

And also ignoring the section under ready actions pertaining to this case too.

Readying a Weapon against a Charge: You can ready certain piercing weapons, setting them to receive charges. A readied weapon of this type deals double damage if you score a hit with it against a charging character.

Since the action is to "ready against a charge" and not "set a weapon" and the result is an attack against a charging character and a readied action is resolved prior to resolving the action that triggers it and the extra damage is only done against a charging character and the fact that after your initial attack (at the end of the charge) you are no longer considered "charging".