This feat has me a little confused as to what you can actually do with it.
Benefit: You can use the charge rules to make a thrown weapon attack. All the parameters of a charge apply, except that you must only move closer to your opponent, and you must end your movement within 30 feet of that opponent. If you do, you can make a single thrown weapon attack against that opponent, gaining the +2 bonus on the attack roll and taking a –2 penalty to your AC until the start of your next turn.
What has me confused here, is how much of the movement rules are overwritten by this feat?
The Charge rules read:
Movement During a Charge:
You must move before your attack, not after. You must move at least 10 feet (2 squares) and may move up to double your speed directly toward the designated opponent. If you move a distance equal to your speed or less, you can also draw a weapon during a charge attack if your base attack bonus is at least +1.
You must have a clear path toward the opponent, and nothing can hinder your movement (such as difficult terrain or obstacles). You must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent. If this space is occupied or otherwise blocked, you can't charge. If any line from your starting space to the ending space passes through a square that blocks movement, slows movement, or contains a creature (even an ally), you can't charge. Helpless creatures don't stop a charge.
If you don't have line of sight to the opponent at the start of your turn, you can't charge that opponent.
Now, both of the bolded parts, as far as I can tell, could fall under the rule of "Except that you must only move closer to your opponent"
If that is indeed the case, it would seem like this feat lets you "circle around" your enemy while pelting him with thrown weapons, as long as you end your charge closer than when you started it.
Assuming that is correct, what would happen if you started adjacent to an enemy? Could you run away, then circle back into melee as part of a hurling charge? I guess not, since you arent actually closer.
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Anyway, to keep it simple heres the question: What aspects of the charge rules are actually overwritten by the line "Except that you must only move closer to your opponent"?
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EDIT: Bonus question, are there any feats or class abilities that allow you to take a 5 foot step and still move?
'You must only move closer to your opponent' overrides 'you must move to the closest space from which you can attack the opponent'. Everything else, including 'directly', applies.
Yeah, you still have to move towards the opponent (and charge is a full-round action, except when you are limited to a standard only in a turn (such as a surprise round) and then can do a limited distance charge). So no, you can't circle around your opponent and pepper him with javelins that benefit from charge. Why? Because you're not charging if you don't move towards him.
The feat really just eliminates the restriction on where you must end your charge.