(Spoiler) I'll be discussing elements of Autec's build that come into play later in the campaign. Here is the character sheet.
My DM has two relevant "houserules" because mounted combat, as written, is a half non-working, half confusing mess. While searching will get you *many* discussions of the issues, here is a good one: Mounted Charging in Pathfinder
1. When mounted, Pax acts on my initiative and I choose which order things happen during the turn. This is a tricky one, but saves time/confusion and 90% of the time I'd be delaying whichever character rolled better initiative to sync them up anyway.
2. Feats and mythic abilities relating to charging are considered to affect both myself and Pax if mounted. This is primarily relevant for Improved Overrun and the Burst Through path ability addressed below. This is a very gray area of the rules.
Here is the relevant rules text for what I'm looking at - all from the handy, dandy d20pfsrd.
Beast's Fury - Guardian's Call Ability - As a swift action, you can expend one use of mythic power to imbue your animal companion, cohort, eidolon, familiar, or bonded mount with some of your mythic power. As an immediate action, that creature can move up to its speed and make an attack with one of its natural weapons. When making this attack, the creature rolls twice and takes the higher result. Any damage dealt by this attack bypasses all damage reduction. A creature affected by this ability can take these actions in addition to any others that it takes during its turn.
Burst Through - Guardian Path Ability - Whenever you charge, you can move through squares containing allies and opponents almost as if they were not obstructing your charge. You can move through squares containing allies freely, but you must succeed at an overrun combat maneuver check for each opponent that obstructs your path to the target of your charge. If the result of the check exceeds the opponent's CMD, you may move through the opponent's square and continue toward the target without provoking an attack of opportunity from that opponent. If you fail any of these combat maneuver checks, your movement ends in the square before that opponent, but you may resolve the charge attack against the foe that stopped you.
Ride-by Attack - Feat - When you are mounted and use the charge action, you may move and attack as if with a standard charge and then move again (continuing the straight line of the charge). Your total movement for the round can't exceed double your mounted speed. You and your mount do not provoke an attack of opportunity from the opponent that you attack.
Wheeling Charge - Feat - When you are mounted and use the charge action, your mount can make one turn of up to 90 degrees as part of the move, as long as each part of the move is at least 10 feet. You may make an attack during any part of this move. Your total movement for the round can’t exceed double your mounted speed. Allied creatures do not impede your charge, though you cannot attack from or end your move in an ally’s space.
Amazing Initiative - Tier 2 Mythic Ability - At 2nd tier, you gain a bonus on initiative checks equal to your mythic tier. In addition, as a free action on your turn, you can expend one use of mythic power to take an additional standard action during that turn. This additional standard action can't be used to cast a spell. You can't gain an extra action in this way more than once per round.
Call to Action - Level 2 Golden Lion Maneuver (STD action) - With a mighty blow, the disciple aids an ally by providing an opening in combat to move by an opponent. The initiator makes a melee attack, inflicting an additional 2d6 points of damage and granting an adjacent ally an immediate move action.
Improved Overrun - Pax Feat - You do not provoke an attack of opportunity when performing an overrun combat maneuver. In addition, you receive a +2 bonus on checks made to overrun a foe. You also receive a +2 bonus to your Combat Maneuver Defense whenever an opponent tries to overrun you. Targets of your overrun attempt may not chose to avoid you.
Okay, so, that's a lot to digest. Take a second. Then give your buddy a second, then take another second, then maybe give another buddy another second. Zip around the battlefield like a Jack Russell Terrier on speed. Repeat next round. Gross. While MP intensive, these abilities all combine to create an action filled "nova" that is brutally effective, relatively safe, and incredibly confusing.
 |
- Barring very tight quarters or movement reductions, no one is safe from a charge. I can generally maneuver Pax into a position where a charge is viable through Beast's Fury and Wheeling Charge.
- Piggy-backing on the above, I can prone a lot of smaller adversaries by finding a good line to my actual charge targets. Action economy through the roof here - knocking down a mook or three takes up effectively half their turn at no action cost to me. Charging combatants are typically very strong vs. one BBEG (big bad evil guy), but weak if the charge misses/they get attacked by all the dorks standing around afterward. Now this is no longer a problem.
- The "nova" itself. Ideal circumstances I get to start by Beast's Furying Pax into a good position and dropping a quick (double rolled, DR piercing) bite on whatever is closest. Then we get to charge thru that guy and anyone else in the way to our target. Thanks to reach, I get to stab it before Pax finishes her charge/pounce. If the 3x damage lance mounted charge doesn't finish the target Pax gets to launch her four attacks (bite, claw, claw, gore) as well. Then, I burn an MP for Amazing Initiative to take another standard - Call to Action. If that hits, Pax gets another move action to get us the heck out of full-attack range.
Problems and common sense issues? Ugh, yea, a lot of 'em.
What happens if my charge kills the target before Pax connects with her charge? Does she still get an attack? On what? Where? Adjacent? Or potentially on other stuff I Beast's Fury/Call to Action her close enough to during the turn?
What happens if my Burst Through charge fails to overrun a target? Do I get an attack with my lance even though it is a reach weapon? Can I make an attack against an alternative, actually in range target? What if I fail the first overrun on an adjacent target? Do I get no charge/no attack? Does the attack include +2 atk -2 ac for charging even though I never moved?
How in the heck does all this work while flying? For that matter, how does ANYTHING mounted work while flying?
Honestly, I don't have good answers for these things, and my DM just looks at me cross-eyed when considering all these ridiculous corner cases.
Next week I'll take a look at possible answers to some of these questions from a design standpoint and pick up with our meeting Queen Galifray in the ruins of Kenabres.
