Mounted Combat and Flying (I'm seriously confused), and a couple other questions.

[Othniel]

In a Pathfinder campaign, I'm playing a Paladin (Shining Knight Archetype) with a flying Griffon*(1) mount, and I'd love an answer to a few questions on mounted combat while flying. I did a search on charging while flying, but I'm still confused. I *think* you can charge while flying, so long as you are fulfilling the requirements of a charge*(2).

My questions are (it's involved):

- If I'm on my flying mount, can I A) Make a downward (say at a 45-degree angle) charge attack while flying and B) Hit with my equipped lance (which has reach) that I have in my character's hand AND C) Can my mount also attack since it has Pounce and Rake (and does it get to use Rake here [see the note on the monstrous mount link for the Griffon special abilities])? AND (D) Does my mount also get to move after using Pounce and/or Rake if it has Fly-by Attack*(3)

- If I'm flying in a straight line (let's say parallel to the ground), do I stop on the ground right in front of my target, or can I, if I have the feat Wheeling Charge feat*(4) make my 45-degree downward charge, attack (and have my mount pounce and rake), and the continue on away from my target (assuming I have movement speed remaining)?

- Similarly, if I'm hovering, can I charge and use Ride-by Attack*(5) while flying (in a straight line)?

- In short, how do all these feats and abilities work together to allow fighting and charging while on a flying mount? It's very confusing.

The above all assumes the right flying speed and all that, of course. And I know you can charge while flying, based on the existence of the Death From Above feat*(6)

*(1) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/general-feats/monstrous-mount (Has the stats for the Griffon mount)
*(2) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/combat#TOC-Charge (Charge rules)
*(3) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/monster-feats/flyby-attack (Fly-by Attack text)
*(4) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/wheeling-charge-combat-local (Wheeling Charge text)
*(5) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/ride-by-attack-combat---final (Ride-By Attack text)
*(6) http://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/combat-feats/death-from-above-combat (Death From Above text)

The other questions I have are:

1) For a Paladin to cast a spell, many of them have a Verbal, Somatic, and Divine Focus requirement. The verbal is obvious, and I have a divine focus tattoo to take care of the third. If I wield a longsword in one hand, and a mithral heavy shield in the other, can I use a free action to move my sword to my shield hand, cast the spell, and move the sword back to my sword hand with another free action?

2) Does the Racer animal companion archetype's speed bonus apply to the animal's flight speed (if they have one), or just to land speed? (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/druid/animal-companions/animal-companion-archetypes/racer-companion-archetype)

[JDL]

While I don't play Pathfinder often, I'll do my best to answer your questions.

1. You can make a 45 degree angle charge.
2. You can make a single attack during a charge. This can be used to attack with your lance.
3. Flyby Attack cannot be used during a charge.
-A charge is a special full round action that performs a single attack with various bonuses and penalties applied at the end of up to double movement.
-Flyby Attack allows a creature to take a standard action at any point during a move action.
-You can either charge for your bonus to hit and double lance damage, ending up adjacent to the creature, or you can use Flyby Attack to make a single move action and attack at any point during that movement.
4. Your mount can attack during a charge under certain conditions.
-First, it must be within reach of the target. If you're attacking with a lance that has reach, the attack will end 5 feet away from your enemy. As you count as sharing all squares your mount occupies, you can argue that you can attack with a lance even if your mount is adjacent to your target, however your DM may rule differently.
-Second, you must successfully pass a DC 10 Ride check to fight with a combat-trained mount. If you fail this check you cannot make your attack (although your mount still gets its attacks).
5. In order to carry a rider, you must be 7th level or higher when taking the Monstrous Mount feat. This reduces the Griffon's fly speed to half, or 40 ft.
6. A Griffon mount has the Pounce and Rake attacks. When charging while mounted, if you successfully pass the check to fight with a combat-trained mount your Griffon would get a full attack including a Rake attack.
7. Ride-by Attack allows you to continue moving after a successful charge. Wheeling Charge allows the same with a change in movement. Using these feats would allow you to charge and attack, then move afterwards so long as you meet the other prerequisites for movement during a charge (such as a minimum of 10 feet movement).
8. Death from Above would add the relevant bonus to your charge. Unless your mount was the one with the feat, it is unlikely that it would benefit from the bonus.
9. The rules are clear on what constitutes a free action. Cease concentration, drop an item, drop to the floor, prepare spell components, or speak. Manipulating an object is a move action, even when moving it from one hand to another. Unless you convince your DM otherwise, you'll have to sheathe or drop your weapon before casting somatic spells, or fight without a shield.
10. While unclear from the exact wording of the ability, the Fast Movement (Ex) of the Racer archetype closely resembles other class features such as the Barbarian or Monk Fast Movement (Ex) abilities. However these abilities also differ from each other in respect to their execution (such as armor penalty for Monk vs. Barbarian, enhancement bonus vs. untyped for Monk vs. Barbarian). This would be at the discretion of your DM, though common sense would imply it only affects land speed unless specifically mentioning other movement methods (fly, burrow, swim etc.).

[Hobosub]

1) For a Paladin to cast a spell, many of them have a Verbal, Somatic, and Divine Focus requirement. The verbal is obvious, and I have a divine focus tattoo to take care of the third. If I wield a longsword in one hand, and a mithral heavy shield in the other, can I use a free action to move my sword to my shield hand, cast the spell, and move the sword back to my sword hand with another free action?



I think you're suffering here from a slightly different issue here.


When using a heavy shield, you cannot use your shield hand for anything.

The description of the Mithral Heavy Shield says nothing about changing this limitation.
If you want to swap your weapon to the other (shield) hand, you have to use a light shield or buckler.
As to the action required to do this, I would rule it a free action similar to the holding of two-handed weapons (http://paizo.com/paizo/faq/v5748nruor1fm#v5748eaic9qda).