How do you determine the "closest square" during a charge, while mounted?


Rules Questions


14 people marked this as FAQ candidate.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

This thread for FAQing purposes.

Charge Rules wrote:
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. Helpless creatures don't stop a charge.

If I am mounted and charging, and my mount and I are both attacking the target, what is the closes square from which we can make our attacks, assuming my mount and I have different reach?

The charge rules clearly state that I must stop in the closest square. Couldn't that mean that one of us would not get to attack?

Shadow Lodge

This is why Axebeaks make such fantastic mounts - they have reach! But otherwise, yes. Very good question I've dealt with a lot.


Bump, because this needs to be FAQed.


I'll FAQ it as well for a 100% by-the-rules answer, but I'd argue that because the mount is performing the movement (and not the rider) that it would use the mount's reach.


It's the closest square where both can make attacks. In most cases, the rider.


darth_borehd wrote:
It's the closest square where both can make attacks. In most cases, the rider.

Except there are Mounts that only have 5 foot reach, so there is no both, which is why this FAQ is being made, because there is a conflict of wording in regards to which creature is supposed to follow the restrictions.

To me, the Rider isn't the one performing the movement, the Mount is. Therefore, it should be where the Mount can make the closest attack, because the Rider is essentially being carried by the Mount, therefore he's simply moving along with the mount. By RAW, a Mount can Double Move, and then the Rider can Quick Dismount (Free Action) and then Double Move again; the Rider's movement isn't being used up, the Mount's is.

Shadow Lodge

The mount is providing the movement, but both are charging.

FAQ wrote:

Mounted Combat: When making a charge while mounted, which creature charges? The rider or the mount?

Both charge in unison, suffer the same penalty to AC, the gaining the same bonus to the attack rolls and following all other rules for the charge. The mounted combat rules are a little unclear on this. Replace the third paragraph under the "Combat while Mounted" section on page 202 with the following text. Note that a "mounted charge" is synonymous with a "charge while mounted," and that when a lance is "when used from the back of a charging mount" it is during a mounted charge not when only the mount charges.

A mounted charge is a charge made by you and your mount. During a mounted charge, you deal double damage with your first melee attack made with a lance or with any weapon if you have Spirited Charge (or a similar effect), or you deal triple damage with a lance and Spirited Charge.

This change will be reflected in future printings of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook


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It is neither the mount charging or the rider charging. Mount and rider charge together. Arguably that means they should charge to the nearest spot they can both attack from.


Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

But if they have different reach, how can they both go to the nearest square from where they can attack from? If it's true for one, then it's not true for the other, unless they have the same reach.


Ravingdork wrote:
But if they have different reach, how can they both go to the nearest square from where they can attack from? If it's true for one, then it's not true for the other, unless they have the same reach.

My interpretation (mind you, not RAW), is that it's an either/or or both, as selected by the rider.

If you and your mount lack reach(Sword with horse), you both get the attack.
If you have reach but your mount does not (lance with horse), you get the attack, your mount does not, unless you forgo your attack to allow the mount to attack instead as you pass your "nearest square".
If you lack reach but your mount has it (sword with axbeak), you do not get an attack unless your mount forgoes its, as they must pass their nearest threatened square to allow you to make yours.

Alternatively, Ride-By-Attack alleviates a large amount of this fuss.

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