I note that there are already a couple of threads about this in the archives, but they haven't helped my group understand this.
As I understand the ability, a powerful charge does the damage listed, so for the megaloceros -- we'll be coming back to this example -- the charge damage is 4d6+7. The way we are playing this at the moment is that this damage is discrete, and is not added to the standard charge damage.
We think we have this bit right, at least.
Now, one of the players in my group has a megaloceros as an animal companion. The powerful charge damage for this companion, at 7th level, is 2d6, the same as a standard gore attack and less than the 4HD monster version of it.
Now that seems a bit weird. Not wrong perhaps, but weird, and my group would like to know why a 7th level megaloceros is less powerful in attack than a 4HD megaloceros? Is it an error? Should we be adding the powerful charge damage to the gore attack damage on a charge? If so, should we be doing that in every case -- so a monster megaloceros would get 6d6+12 on a charge -- or just for animal companions?
Powerful Charge (Ex) When a creature with this special attack makes a charge, its attack deals extra damage in addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge. The attack and amount of damage from the attack is given in the creature's description.
Format: powerful charge (gore, 4d8+24); Location: Special Attacks.
Though I don't know if it is true in this instance, the last time I checked, the word "extra" meant in addition to. That leads me to believe that, in the below example, the creature would deal 3d10+35 damage on a powerful charge (though, to be perfectly honest, I've never played it that way).
EDIT: In almost every case I've seen, Powerful Charge does double the base damage (so 1d10 becomes 2d10) and adds x2 Strength modifier (So 30 Str would net +20).
Though I don't know if it is true in this instance, the last time I checked, the word "extra" meant in addition to.
Indeed, but consider the following.
The rhino does 2d6+9 damage with a gore attack. Its powerful charge does 4d6+12. There seem to be two ways to read this:
1) The charge does 2d6+3 extra damage, so the total damage is 4d6+12. This is how we've been playing it.
2) The extra damage is 4d6+12, giving a final total of 6d6+15. This seems overpowered.
So the correct -- or at least less silly -- interpretation would seem to be (1), but when we look at the 7th level megaloceros companion, both its gore and powerful charge do 2d6, plus strength bonus. There's no extra damage there at all, unless they're supposed to be added together, which would be taking us back to interpretation (2).
In comparison, a rhino companion does 2d6+strength gore damage and 2d8+strength on a charge, while a standard rhino does 2d6+9 and 4d6+12 respectively.
I suppose the thing that's confusing us is how and why the companion rules differ from the monster rules.
Or to put it in a simpler fashion, how much damage should a 7th level megaloceros companion do on a powerful charge?
Or to put it in a simpler fashion, how much damage should a 7th level megaloceros companion do on a powerful charge?
looking at it, it should be 2D6(normal gore)+2D6(powerful charge)+ STR + Misc
for a total of 4D6+STR+Misc
And how much damage if strong jaw was cast on the megaloceros?
Would you apply the size increase before you added the powerful charge damage, or after?