(3.5) paladin on a giant owl charging every round

[Zanticor]

He there,

My paladin just received a giant owl for a mount and I'm just going over the fly rules. I have the ride-by attack feat and my dm isn't an ass about having to charge the nearest square. The owl comes with the nifty wing-over feat. Normally you have to follow your momentum while flying, and turns are a nasty if your fly skill is not that good.
But what happens if you can flyby every round with speed 70ft. and use a wing-over. Can you really just flyby every round and reduce your opponents to readying an attack each round while you triple damage charge them each round and end up 65 feat away from them?
Seems to good to be true, so it probably isn't. Hope the playground can make some sense of this for me.

Zanticor

[KillianHawkeye]

Yes, I believe this is legal. However, note that performing a Wingover consumes 10 ft. of your movement speed. You may be required to do Wingover at the very beginning or end of your turn, though, since Ride-By-Attack requires you to continue movement in the direction of your charge.

[ericgrau]

Ride by attack requires you to move in a single straight line your whole turn and wingover requires you to change directions. Either wingover violates ride by attack in round 1 or it violates it in round 2. So you can't charge two rounds in a row. But you could charge every other round.

Also: ranged weapons.

[KillianHawkeye]

@eric: What if he changes direction at the very beginning or end of the round as I suggested? He wouldn't actually be moving in the new direction, since you turn in place with Wingover. I'd personally allow it to work in my games.

[ericgrau]

That would still be part of his movement on one of those two turns and he would thus be changing his direction, not moving in a straight line as required by the charge. Maybe you could argue that his actual square doesn't change (not sure that's even true in 3D) so his path is a straight line, though that's still a bit fishy both rules-wise and conceptually.

[KillianHawkeye]

I agree that it isn't a sure thing. I suggest the OP checks with his DM.

[Fitz10019]

The lance has reach... so maybe this is only an issue if he's hoping for the owl's attack to occur, too. If that isn't an issue, and the DM allows the Owl's wingover to apply for "attacks" where the owl acts as mount but his rider makes the attack, then maybe no turning is needed, except to turn 180 at the far end.

[Mystic Muse]

ditch the giant owl.
http://www.headinjurytheater.com/images/d&d%20owlephant.jpg
get an owlephant instead.:smallbiggrin:

[Zanticor]

no attack from the owl needed. but i guess the owl still needs to charge for the rider to get his spear charge in a ride-by. I find it hard to think of a reason why the owl needs to continue in a strait line after the charge has been made and can't make a u-turn at the end of his 140 feet line, but i guess that is what the rules say. No charging at the same target round after round while flying, without a lenient DM it seems :smallsmile:
Lets go look for one of those.

Zanticor