I've never had this worked out. What is, and isn't, doubled on a spirited charge? Is it like Vital Strike?
It just looks too good.
I've never had this worked out. What is, and isn't, doubled on a spirited charge? Is it like Vital Strike?
It just looks too good.
It is really good. You double everything. Weapon damage, STR damage, magical enchantment damage.
If you have a +2 longsword and a 20 STR, you will do 2d8+14 when you land your spirited charge attack.
If you roll a critical, you would do 3d8+21.
This doesn't seem too much. There are sooooo many obstacles to overcome.
1. It takes three feats to get this. Three feats that could have been used on Power Attack, Cleave, and Great Cleave (for example) so there are opportunity costs - you lose the opportunity to take other useful feats because you took these three feats instead.
2. You cannot always fight mounted. Many mounts won't go indoors. Many mounts won't fit into places you might go. You might have to fight in your inn while your mount is in the stable. Your mount might die. Etc. These three feats do you no good at all in many combat situations.
3. You need lots of room. Often, even mounted, you don't have a clear path unobstructed by rough terrrain or your allies or your target's allies, with clear ground and no other obstacles (trees, rocks, etc.). You also need line of sight to your opponent before you begin the charge.
4. You need room behind your opponent so you can ride past him. If you don't have room behind him, in a straight line, free of obstacls, rough terrain, and more of his allies, then you will only get to charge once, right up to him, then the rest of the fight you pretty much stand there and fight like everyone else, without three feats tht could have been useful now.
5. You take a -2 to your AC for the full round until your next turn, so your opponent and all his buddies can really pound on you.
6. You're toast if they brace any weapons for your charge.
7. You're also toast if your straight path to your target takes you within range of AoOs from a bunch of his allies.
8. Once you have iterative attacks you will only get to attack once each time you charge. Whereas, if you stand still and pound on your target, you will get to make more attacks. If you had taken Power Attack and Cleave, for example, you might get to hit your target twice and also damage two of his allies, in the same round that you are, instead, charging and hitting your target only one time (for double damage).
With all that working against you, I think it is more than fair that you get to do double damage on a spirited charge.
Unless your campaign is all about the PCs being mounted adventurers out on the great plains full of lots of lonely monsters that don't fight in groups, you will likely find that other combat feat chains may have been more useful, or at least, just as useful more often.
But campaigns vary. In the right campaigns, the Spirited Charge feat chain is very powerful and will serve you very well.
How about the damage from Power Attack? Or a cavalier's Supreme Charge? How about sneak attack or flaming or ability damage or bleed or a cavalier's challenge damage bonus? My opinion is yes, on base, no, no, yes, depending on the source, and yes.
