Mid-Action Changes (3.5)

[SirNibbles]

Let's say I'm capable of taking 10-foot steps and am holding a spear (10 foot reach) when an enemy with a 30 foot move speed charges me. I AoO him with my spear and then take a 10 foot step out of the way of the charge, thanks to the Sidestep feat (Miniatures Handbook, page 28). Can he decide to cancel his charge and move normally so that he could get a hit on me, or is he doomed to run past me?

https://i.imgur.com/6N9wtGI.png

Would he still take the -2 AC penalty? Would he still get +2 to his attack roll? Would he be able to attack at all?

[Nifft]

How are you both acting at the same time?

What is "capable of taking 10-foot steps" supposed to mean? Movement is just movement. I don't think there are special rules for pogo-stick riders.

[Goaty14]

I would have the charger declare that they are making a charge before charging, because charging is a full round action, unlike a move action. Also they're already in the action, so unless they have something like shot on the run, they're borked.

[InvisibleBison]

Let's say I'm capable of taking 10-foot steps and am holding a spear (10 foot reach) when an enemy with a 30 foot move speed charges me. I boop him with my spear and then take a 10 foot step out of the way of the charge, thanks to the Sidestep feat (Miniatures Handbook, page 28). Can he decide to cancel his charge and move normally so that he could get a hit on me, or is he doomed to run past me?

Would he still take the -2 AC penalty? Would he still get +2 to his attack roll? Would he be able to attack at all?

Looking at the rules for charging, it seems that you decide what square you're going to end up in when you start the charge. In the situation you've described, I think the guy charging you would end his movement in the square he was heading towards (the one immediately beneath the one marked with a red box in your diagram). Since he can't reach you, he can't attack you. He would suffer the -2 penalty to AC, since he did charge. If there was another enemy adjacent to that square, I might let him attack that enemy (with a +2 bonus for charging), but I don't know if that's actually allowed RAW.

[Hellpyre]

They both act because the sidestep feat lets him make a 5ft adjustment for 1 AoO per round, and he gets an AoO because his reach gives him threatened squares far enough away for the movement of the charge to trigger it. He probably has 10ft steps in place of 5ft from something like Sparring Dummy of the Master.

As far as the original question, he can't change his movement after delacring that he's making a charge, which he would do before moving. He should still end in the same space he originally intended.