Flying characters, and the ground-based prejudice of strength modifier.
I'm playing a Pathfinder game, where I am running a flying character. And I have recently discovered a ground-based assumption of the rules.
First, I am new to the Pathfinder system.
On two separate occasions, my character has attempted to do a death from above maneuver against an opponent. The first time, I just went along with what the game master said I needed to roll, and did not really understand much of the mechanics. By the second time, I had a little more understanding, enough to understand what was being said, and actually started looking up the rule mechanics.
So here's the problem:
1. Charging into an opponent with the intent of using body weight/momentum as a weapon is not covered anywhere in the system.
2. The bullrush maneuver currently represents a ground-based creature using their strength as leverage against the ground to push someone forward. (This is the closest there is, but there are no rules for damage by knocking them into a wall, nor are there any rules for the damage done being based on momentum, which is different from strength).
3. The overrun maneuver currently represents a ground-based creature using their strength as leverage against the ground to move through another creature, possibly knocking the first creature down (although that is not the primary intent).
4. The charge maneuver, even when tied to bullrush/overrun, only gives a +2 to hit; the wording also seems to imply that while the bullrush/overrun is part of the movement, and you can attack afterwards, the GM (as well as another player that knows the system quite well) said that this was not possible, the bullrush or overrun would be the attack. (Something about needing a second standard action to make the second attack).
For a flying creature, neither bullrush nor overrun work as currently written. If you are flying, strength is meaningless in this context; your ability to use muscles to exert force when you have a solid surface (the ground) to work against is not relevant. What would matter is your acceleration ability -- probably a modifier based on your flight skill, or perhaps something else specific to acceleration. Consider two flyers, or two astronauts, crashing into each other; the ability to knock someone out of the way is more based on your flight ability (or thruster strength) then your ability to push a rock on the ground.
Equally, in general in a death from above situation, you are basically trying to use your body as a projectile weapon -- this implies that it should be a DEX modifier inherently, rather than a strength modifier unless you buy the "all combat Maneuvers are based off of Dex instead of strength" feat.
My problem is that the GM wants to use the rules as written. Based on this, he is not willing to permit a flying creature moving at high speed in a charge downward to actually inflict damage when they crash into someone, and wants me to use strength as a modifier (rather than speed, momentum, Dex, or anything reasonable) to determine success in knocking someone prone.
Can you give some sort of ruling on how flying creatures would use these maneuvers against each other in the air, or against a creature below them on the ground?