Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Dasher2k 05-06-05, 07:07 AM	How do you use this feat exactly? In the Rules of the Game it reads as follows: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20050222a Ride-By Attack: This feat works something like the Spring Attack feat. You can charge a foe, attack, and then keep moving. The total distance you move cannot exceed twice your mount's speed. You and your mount's movements don't provoke attacks of opportunity from the foe you attack. Since you must charge in a straight line and you cannot move through another creature's space when charging, exactly how you use this feat is problematical. According to the D&D FAQ, you charge directly toward your target as normal. After your attack, you can change direction so you can move away in a straight line. In the DnD FAQ it reads: With the rules erratum that prohibits overruns as part of a charge, the Ride-By Attack feat is now nearly useless. You must use the charge action to use the Ride-By Attack feat, and that requires you to travel in a straight line toward your target. Using the example in the Player's Handbook, this would appear to rather specifically mean along a line from your entire square (or squares if riding a horse or other mount with a space of 10 feet or greater), to the target square. Ride-By Attack allows you to continue moving along the straight line of the charge after your attack. This would have to mean that at some point you would enter the square (or squares) of the creature you attacked. (At least I cannot conceive of any other way it could be done). Since you cannot enter your foe’s space unless the creature is already dead, Ride-By Attack is now pretty much useless if you can’t also overrun the foe. Some have suggested that you could charge in a manner that would not bring you through the target creature’s square (or squares). To do so, you would not be charging directly toward the target and likely not moving by the shortest route (also a charge requirement) or attacking it from the first possible square (another charge requirement). In any of these cases, you would be breaking the rules for a charge. Am I wrong about any of this? No, you’ve got it about right. When using the Ride-By attack feat, you must conduct your charge so that you move in a straight line toward the closest square from which it is possible to attack your chosen foe, so long as it is a square that allows you to attack and then continue on in the straight line of the charge. You still must attack your foe the moment you reach that square. (Although the feat description doesn’t say so, you and your mount also must move at least 5 feet after you make your attack to get the benefit of the feat.) This is a special rule for charging when using the Ride-By Attack feat. Note that the Flyby Attack feat (discussed in the previous question) does not require you to move in a straight line. You merely make a single move and take another standard action at some point during that move. Am I blind or does the FAQ not mention changing direction as said in the Rules of the Game Ride-by-Attack mechanic?
King Kashue 05-06-05, 03:04 PM	Some have suggested that you could charge in a manner that would not bring you through the target creature’s square (or squares). To do so, you would not be charging directly toward the target and likely not moving by the shortest route (also a charge requirement) or attacking it from the first possible square (another charge requirement) This is where the answer has issues...It assumes this statement is true in most if not all cases, and it is not... It is only true if you are on the same parallel to the target or if you are at a large diagonal...If you are one or two squares offset from the target, a straight line to him will take you to the nearest square at a point that will allow the ride by... It's a little weird to visualize since we've just got words, but imagine the charger and the enemy on a normal battle mat, where the target is on "row 1" and the charger is on "rows 2 & 3"...The nearest sqaure possible to attack from is actually on "row 2" since, the charger has reach...The charger moves in a straight line to that square (right down rows 2 & 3), attacks, then continues movement down those squares...It primarily works due to reach... However, you are correct that the elimination of overrun on charges seriously hampers the feat... It's ridiculous that the FAQ says you can't overrun on a charge because the PHB explicitly allows it...How the FAQ can overrule (not just clarify) a core rulebook is beyond me...The FAQ also manages to contradict itself at a point or two...generally useful document, needs a better editor (once again, I will volunteer my services) :D ...
scon40 05-06-05, 04:47 PM	"It's ridiculous that the FAQ says you can't overrun on a charge because the PHB explicitly allows it...How the FAQ can overrule (not just clarify) a core rulebook is beyond me" You might want to read the errata for the PHB. The errata corrected those sentences in the PHB that allowed an overrun as part of a charge. So the FAQ is not overruling a core rulebook in this case. It does do so occassionally, but there is nothing wrong with that if that is what WotC intends to do; there is no law requiring changes to appear in errata before the FAQ. As to the initial question, the Rules of the Game series can be helpful, but they are not official for rules purposes in Living Greyhawk. The FAQ explanation of a Ride-By Attack is the one that LG uses (and that one doesn't allow a change in direction).
King Kashue 05-06-05, 04:50 PM	"It's ridiculous that the FAQ says you can't overrun on a charge because the PHB explicitly allows it...How the FAQ can overrule (not just clarify) a core rulebook is beyond me" You might want to read the errata for the PHB. The errata corrected those sentences in the PHB that allowed an overrun as part of a charge. So the FAQ is not overruling a core rulebook in this case. It does do so occassionally, but there is nothing wrong with that if that is what WotC intends to do; there is no law requiring changes to appear in errata before the FAQ. Oops...You're right, that is in the Errata...My mistake... The FAQ still contradicts itself though :D
kjenks 05-09-05, 05:44 PM	The Rules of the Game article was wrong in many respects. This was one of them. In LG, we use the version of RBA described in the FAQ, not the PH.
Gelth 05-31-05, 10:32 AM	I use Rules of the Game to see how one non-official DM runs his game. It contradicts the rules, the erratta and the FAQ in places, and I even found a place where it contradicted itself on the same page. Skip writes Rules of the Game, but Andy Collins is now the Sage, and RotG is merely interesting reading, not binding in any way. By the FAQ, to use Ride-By Attack, you pick the closest line where you'll be able to attack from by still ride past, and follow that line on your charge. Generally, this means you get to pick which side you'll charge on, which helps open up charge lines sometimes. You do indeed have to go straight. Note that this indeed does make the Trample feat pretty useless, as you can't combine it with Spirited Charge. It was already marginal, but this takes it to almost unuseable. --Penn, Ket Triad