Spring attack and charge / flying

[Adjathazar]

My first post, please bear with me :-)

I have a druid with a roc mount, which I was planning to give dodge, mobility and spring attack, so that the roc has the option over flying over the battlefield and attacking from higher ground with no risk of AoO.

Now, I've read several posts which state that since both charge and spring attack are full-round actions, you cannot do both simultaneously in a round.

But, charge comes with an exception:
If you are able to take only a standard action on your turn, you can still charge, but you are only allowed to move up to your speed (instead of up to double your speed) and you cannot draw a weapon unless you possess the Quick Draw feat. You can't use this option unless you are restricted to taking only a standard action on your turn.

Now consider the description of spring attack:
As a full-round action, you can move up to your speed and make a single melee attack without provoking any attacks of opportunity from the target of your attack. You can move both before and after the attack, but you must move at least 10 feet before the attack and the total distance that you move cannot be greater than your speed.

If a player (or his animal companion) starts his turn with spring attack, then isn't he limited to one attack (equivalent to one standard action), and couldn't he then charge as part of his spring attack?

[Nawtyit]

What you're looking for is flyby attack.

[Sniggevert]

No.

Simply because you are not limited to a standard action, per the partial charge, you are actually taking a full round action to do a spring attack. Also, the spring attack allows you to make one attack as part of a full round action, not use one standard action. It makes a difference.

Also, as a flyer, you probably should be looking at Flyby Attack, rather than Spring Attack.

[Adjathazar]

Ok thanks.

A few quick follow-up questions:
1) Can't you do spring attack in the air? Is there an erata or something that states it being limited to land based movement?

2) Fly-by attack provokes AoO, yes? So is there really any point to taking it as a flying combatant, other than after your attack (and the enemy's AoO), you're likely to be gone, i.e. disengaged from combat.

(...3) not really a rules question, but is there another efficient way to utilise a flying combatant vs. ground based opponents?, i.e. particular feats etc?)

[Mojorat]

1) You can spring atack in the air, there is no wording indicating otherwise.

2) Yes Flybye provokes Aoo, However flyby lets you take a standard action it is /far/ more powerful than spring attack because of that.

3) There are not many flying specific feats, it is primarilly a monster thing. Druids in fact do not qualify for fly by attack, but most dms seem to let that slide.

[Adjathazar]

Thanks again, however the my intent my intent was to use it on my character's animal companion (roc), in which case a standard action has a very limited number of uses, other than the melee attack, which spring attack also grants.