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I'm having an issue with the wording on Overrun and Charge
As a standard action, taken during your move or as part of a charge, you can attempt to overrun your target, moving through its square.
Charging is a special full-round action that allows you to move up to twice your speed and attack during the action.
Which in my opinion can be taken two ways:
The first way (and I think this is how it's intended) is that you can overrun as a charge action, gaining the +2 bonus to attack and therefore CMB to overrun.
The other way (which is how I run it because I'm the DM and I can) is that it means that while charging you can initiate an overrun on creatures that are in the way, negating the line in the Charge dialogue that says you can't charge through anything except empty space and unhindered terrain.
This was how I and others ran things until we noticed the Charge Through feat.
I'm curious how others handle this
First interpretation.
You can charge to attack, or charge to overrun/bullrush (I think I forgot one) the target of your charge.
Charge through let you make an overrun in the middle of the charge. Basically, it's interesting because it let you charge someone who's hiding behind his friends, and let you make 2 offensive actions and moving in the same round.
Invest in some feats (Power Attack, Impr. and Greater overrun, charge through and maybe combat reflexes), and you end passing through 2 enemy squares, knocking them prone and attacking them as AoO.
I like this tactic, even if it has number of flaws.
IT just seems a bit excessive to me
Mind to explain please ?
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Well... It feels excessive that you have to take Power Attack, Improved Overrun AND Charge Through just to be able to push someone out of the way while you're running full tilt? Whereas a more nimble character (who granted wont be charging) can just make a skill check to do something similar (including just winding up standing in front of someone hostile if she fails)
Plus the fact that it says "as part of a charge" makes me think otherwise.
Granted we have the rules for charging that contradict what I'm saying here but still...
See that like that: Charge let you make only one attack. Charge through grants you 2x the benefits... Plus the ability to try to charge someone hidden behind someone else.
It's amazing as a feat if you plan to overrun... And honestly, the prerequisites are quite minor: THE feat for quite every melee character, and the feat to make overrun useful.
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It's not really giving you 2x the bennies though. It's just letting you do what a character trained in Acrobatics could do while taking the Charge penalties and benefits (which is why I didn't bring them up cause +2 Atk, -2 AC vs 1/2 Movement without-making-it-easier-to-be-smacked-around cancel each other out in my mind)
Acrobatics to go through another one's square can only be done in light or no armor (edit: and ask a lot of investment in skill points, something a lot of BSF are lacking).
You can't use an "acrobatic charge" to go through anyone else's square too.
So yeah, basically, for charging, I feel this feat pretty awesome.
Here goes charge through doed two things. 1) it provides an exception to one of the major limitations on charge. Ie you can charge while another opponent is between you and your target.
It also lets you hit the person in the middle with the overrun effect and anything triggered by that.
Additionally it is /easy/ to qualify for. Lvl 1 human fighter or any other fighter by lvl 2.
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If it is just getting there, move by and take the attack of opportunity. Perhaps have the Mobility feat.
Overrun lets you charge over the creature, and end on the far side of him, with the potential to knock him down.
Charge through lets you go over the enemy, possibly knock him down, and attack another enemy farther along.
If you are mounted, you can use the trample feat in a similar way.
Acrobatics to move through an opponent's square has several requirements as well: No or light armor, a large skill investment, and usually moving at half speed. Moving at full speed through an opponent's square with acrobatics is making a check against the opponent's CMD + 15! And, you get hit if you fail. If you have obscene levels of the skill, it might be usable that way, but again, a big investment.
Rogues, rangers and inquisitors might do it with acrobatics, but fighters are going to use the feats to do it.
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Personally, I don't consider Acrobatics to be a big investment for lightly armored people, as most of them (in my experience) trying to move around the field like that are going to have a high Acro anyway because theyre the ones that have to leap across chasms to tie a rope for the fighter to shimmy across or reach the lever to disable a trap etc.
But I see your points and will no longer argue them when I'm a player in someone else's game
Charge and Overrun stack, since the wording is "as part of a charge", not "instead of a charge attack" or similar. Therefore, you resolve the combined actions as it would make sense: first resolve the charge attack in an adjacent square, then resolve the overrun maneuver when entering the target's square.
Charge Through only comes into play IF there is a creature between you and your charge target. Having Greater Overrun also nets you a free attack on that interposing creature before continuing on to the charge target.
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One of my monks (also now unplayable-yay!) is am overrun build. When it works it results in two attacks a round against prone targets who have to provoke aoo's to get back in the fight efficiently. Had he not been forced to rebuild (aka retire) by my local VC, he would be 7th level and getting four attacks when the stars (enemies) line up right and I beat their cmds well enough. The feat combination is brutal enough that with the proper build, most enemies will simply refuse to stand back up while adjacent to you.
Also, it is very useful for offensive characters who are attempting to reach key threats (like casters hiding in the back or archers who are shooting everything from relative safety). I like the feat chain and the year you can use to optimize it. As for acrobatics.....that is just an entirely different action with its own host of problems and benefits. They do not both serve the same purpose, though. There really is only marginal overlap.
Owner - D20 Hobbies
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I'm curious how others handle this
I've played a Druid built with all the cool Overrun feats to 10th level.
No more than 4 or 5 tables ran all the rules the same way.
How everything works together (even just Charge and Overrun) isn't anywhere near consistent and there is no official FAQ, Errata, or developer comments on how it is supposed to work together. So ultimately, you will be left up to RAW interpretations and you will see table variance.