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I've tried looking around at different posts, and it seems that there's a lot of debate going on about charging, and some other points of mounted combat. Would anyone tell me if I'm able to do this as a character design? Or is there too much room for private interpretation?
I'm rolling a Luring Beast Rider (two Cavalier archetypes) with a 3 level dip into Zen Archer (Mostly because I need some form of point blank master, and it was either that or 4 level dip into fighter). I plan to go with the tiger as my mount. Depending on the answers from here, I'll continue to go with that idea and concept.
My questions are as follows:
1. When mounted on a tiger that's charging an enemy, am I required to use a melee weapon? Am I forced into following all of the rules of the charge myself? Or may I use my bow to shoot at various enemies as my awesome tiger runs to eat someone's face?
2. On the way to eat someone's face, my tiger needs to move past a bad guy. Who needs to have the "Charge Through" feat? Same question applies to who needs to have the "Improved Overrun" and "Greater Overrun" feats?
3. If my tiger (or myself while on the tiger) plows someone to the ground via overrun, and I had the "Vicious Stomp" feat, could I take that attack of opportunity? What if my mount did as well, would viciously stomping someone's face stack with trampling them to death?
4. When my tiger does reach someone and begins to eat face, he'll be using grab and rake... Can I stay on my mount if it is grappling a different target, but it itself does not gain the grappled condition?
My thoughts:
1. Logically, I feel that I should be able to act independently of my mount. While it moves, I can shoot. Why wouldn't I be able to if it just so happens to be charging at something?
2. I feel that it could go both ways for this. One might say that the rider who directs the mount with his own epic skills needs to have the necessary feats, and it's based on his CMB. Others might say that the tiger does all of the work, so it's CMB is used.
-Should I look at it like it's just a tiger charging through people and eating face, who just happens to have a human on his back? Or is the glass half empty, and there's a human flying through the midst of his countless foes, knocking them down as he goes... who just happens to be on a tiger?
4. If a horse can grapple like this, then why not? :P
EDIT: Added question #3, forgot I had it written down
If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).
You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally.
1.) When the mount is charging your attack occurs at the end of the charge. It is not specified that it must be a melee attack, as long as the attack occurs at the end of the charge. Which is usually a bad thing for archers (without point blank master).
2.) Tiger needs those feats. i.e. the one doing the overrunning.
3.) Yes and yes. Stomp away. However the prerequisite for vicious stomp is improved unarmed strike which may not be an ideal feat to take for a mount. Greater Overrun would be a better option for the mount.
4.) Yes.
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The rules that you make your attack at the end of your mount's charge only apply to melee attacks. And there aren't any rules that state that, they just dictate what benefits you get if you make your attack at the end of your mount's charge, and stipulate that you only get a single melee attack if your mount moves more than 5 feet. For ranged combat you would instead use the rules for ranged combat while mounted and resolve your ranged attacks from the middle of your mount's movement.
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Actually...
There are no ranged attacks as part of a charge.Attacking on a Charge
After moving, you may make a single melee attack. You get a +2 bonus on the attack roll and take a –2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.
Which is why it is fortunate that your mount is the one charging, not you.
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Which is why it is fortunate that your mount is the one charging, not you.True. But the intention of the rule seems to be that a charge grants a bonus only to melee attacks, and since the mounted charge rule as written doesn't expressly grant the option of a ranged attack, then RAI I'd extend the melee restriction to attacks made by riders. Kind of surprising there's not been an FAQ on this.
You don't get any charge bonus when using a ranged weapon from the back of a mount. If you look at the Mounted Combat rules, the charge bonuses are only given to an attack made at the end of a charge.
Ranged attacks are made from the middle of your mount's movement.You can use ranged weapons while your mount is taking a double move, but at a –4 penalty on the attack roll. You can use ranged weapons while your mount is running (quadruple speed) at a –8 penalty. In either case, you make the attack roll when your mount has completed half its movement. You can make a full attack with a ranged weapon while your mount is moving. Likewise, you can take move actions normally.
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So, if I get this stright...
If my mount is charging someone, I also have to attack the same creature? The wording uses an "if" in it...
If your mount charges, you also take the AC penalty associated with a charge. If you make an attack at the end of the charge, you receive the bonus gained from the charge. When charging on horseback, you deal double damage with a lance (see Charge).
Emphasis mine.
It doesn't say your required to use the "charge" action along with your mount. In fact, it leaves open the possibility that you might not make an attack at the end of said charge. It says "When your mount charges", so there's some distinction between rider and mount right?
So if my mount is charging at person A, can I use my bow to attack person B at the same time? Can I attack person A with my bow, and not receive the charge bonus?
Time to get things sticky... Can I have my mount charge someone, while I cast a melee touch spell, and use the free touch attack granted to attack said the person being charged with the charge bonus, all in one turn?
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Sooo...
You do not have to also charge with your mount. You can take a ranged attack, play a fiddle (though probably with a penalty on your Perform check), whatever.
Your mount is the one charging, you just have the option of reaping that charge's benefits.
Yes, if you wanted to, you could cast and deliver a touch spell from the back of your charging mount, and even gain the charge bonus to your touch attack. Be aware, you'll probably have to make the Concentration check for casting during violent movement though.
I stand by my rulings, since this is a bit of a grey area.
However I would also rule that your AC will drop if your mount is charging, regardless of what you are doing.
So what we REALLY need is some reasonable errata/clarification regarding actions available while mounted, with the bulk focused on mounted charges.