Mounted Combat (In General, not the Feat)
So, my question is in regards to two specific Feats, the RAW rules being very clear, but perhaps somewhat . . . exploitable to my mind. Now, as a GM I'm of the mind that mounted combat is a pretty niche specialization as it stands, with lots of times it's just not possible, applicable, or practical, but as a player, I am absolutely in love with this particular cavalier concept I've been trying to run in a game to completion for ages (so far he's only ever managed a few scenes till the game died on me). Suffice to say, I have a conflict of interests as the two feats are separately or in conjunction very favorable for a cavalier, or anyone else taking advantage of the classic image of a mounted warrior/knight/etc. and I want to put it to you all whether these make sense to you as fair rulings, obviously exploitative, not what Paizo intended, yadda-yadda-yadda.
The Feats in question are Furious Focus (on the Power Attack Tree) and Death From Above (standalone Feat). As for how they interact with mounted combat, well . . .
1) Furious Focus- So Read-As-Written Text for the Feat is as follows: "When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon with two hands, and using the Power Attack feat, you do not suffer Power Attack’s penalty on melee attack rolls on the first attack you make each turn." My question is how this relates to the use of a Lance. Clearly this is a gem of a Feat at lower levels when Power Attack is most valuable and you only have one attack each round anyway, but the benefit to utilizing this particular Feat on a Charge, with a Lance, while Mounted, seems to increase it's value several fold to my mind. The advantage being that the +2 bonus you receive from Power Attack is multiplied just like the rest of your damage with a lance on a charge (I'm fairly certain about that point), and since a Lance is a Two-Handed weapon, the opportunity to use it every time you charge at no penalty to attack seems simply too good to pass up. The text however does seem to suggest that the spirit of this feat is intended specifically for wielding weapons in both hands (whether necessary or not) rather than a couched lance. What say you playgrounders?
2) Death from Above- This one seems mostly for flavor, and seriously niche as it specifically applies to "Whenever you charge an opponent from higher ground, or from above while flying . . ." the latter of which might be more common at higher levels, but for the most part isn't something players are usually in a position to take advantage of (unless they're really making a point of it, using barricades, etc.). Thing is, if you read through the rules for mounted combat (not the Feat, the subsection of the Combat Rules) it states "When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground." Now, I know plenty of players (and GMs) who forget to apply that particular +1 bonus, because it's easy to forget, but assuming you're riding a Large horse, that +1 applies to every Medium creature you could care to face. Furthermore, it's explicitly stated as an application of the bonus from Higher Ground. So, by taking the Death from Above Feat, that would give you a +5 bonus on all charge attacks you make, yes?
Let me know what you guys think, I'd love to start a little discourse about this, as mounted characters so rarely get a spotlight and in my humble opinion could benefit from a little optimization.
Who knows, I might take what can be learned here and write up my own Mounted Combat Guide for Cavaliers and the like.
The Feats in question are Furious Focus (on the Power Attack Tree) and Death From Above (standalone Feat). As for how they interact with mounted combat, well . . .
1) Furious Focus- So Read-As-Written Text for the Feat is as follows: "When you are wielding a two-handed weapon or a one-handed weapon with two hands, and using the Power Attack feat, you do not suffer Power Attack’s penalty on melee attack rolls on the first attack you make each turn." My question is how this relates to the use of a Lance. Clearly this is a gem of a Feat at lower levels when Power Attack is most valuable and you only have one attack each round anyway, but the benefit to utilizing this particular Feat on a Charge, with a Lance, while Mounted, seems to increase it's value several fold to my mind. The advantage being that the +2 bonus you receive from Power Attack is multiplied just like the rest of your damage with a lance on a charge (I'm fairly certain about that point), and since a Lance is a Two-Handed weapon, the opportunity to use it every time you charge at no penalty to attack seems simply too good to pass up. The text however does seem to suggest that the spirit of this feat is intended specifically for wielding weapons in both hands (whether necessary or not) rather than a couched lance. What say you playgrounders?
2) Death from Above- This one seems mostly for flavor, and seriously niche as it specifically applies to "Whenever you charge an opponent from higher ground, or from above while flying . . ." the latter of which might be more common at higher levels, but for the most part isn't something players are usually in a position to take advantage of (unless they're really making a point of it, using barricades, etc.). Thing is, if you read through the rules for mounted combat (not the Feat, the subsection of the Combat Rules) it states "When you attack a creature smaller than your mount that is on foot, you get the +1 bonus on melee attacks for being on higher ground." Now, I know plenty of players (and GMs) who forget to apply that particular +1 bonus, because it's easy to forget, but assuming you're riding a Large horse, that +1 applies to every Medium creature you could care to face. Furthermore, it's explicitly stated as an application of the bonus from Higher Ground. So, by taking the Death from Above Feat, that would give you a +5 bonus on all charge attacks you make, yes?
Let me know what you guys think, I'd love to start a little discourse about this, as mounted characters so rarely get a spotlight and in my humble opinion could benefit from a little optimization.
Who knows, I might take what can be learned here and write up my own Mounted Combat Guide for Cavaliers and the like.