Mounted Leap Attack

[ocato]

Title says it all, can you leap attack on a mount? I mean, obviously you can get your mount to leap, and the physics makes sense (leap attack does more damage because you are adding the downward momentum to the blow, on the back of a horse this would seem to be even more true) but I can't find anything in the SRD that is specific one way or another. Now, the major qualm I can find is that Leap Attack requires you to make a jump check, but a mounted leap requires either the mount's jump check or your ride check, whichever is lower. I'm not certain on this one, it seems feasible either way.

If not, can you leap off your mount as part of a charging attack? If you do, does that grant damage from spirited charge? You are still technically gaining the momentum of having been mounted. Granted, you'd need a helluva tumble check to avoid breaking your neck during this little maneuver, but is it rules savvy?

This is mostly a mental excercise in making a cavalry that would be infamously effective. I mean, a lance with power attack/leap attack, we're talking a 1:3 power attack ratio and x3 damage, that'd knock a front line out of commission pretty effectively. What we're looking at is two elite groups of "knights" (not the class, the caste) going at it, one defending and the other on the attack, so the ability to crash through a line of planted tower shields and then stand a chance against the B.A.s standing behind them would be very useful.

[Kizara]

My take is as follows:

1) RAW, you can. It still (non-sensically) requires you, personally to have 8 ranks in jump. Even though you will be using Ride to make your mount jump.

2) IMO, get your DM to houserule it to require 8 ranks in Ride for Mounted Leap (same feat, but for horsemen).

It stacks very well with spirited charge: Spirited Charge is basically criticalling, and PA/LA functions off that normally.

Leaping off your mount wouldn't benefit from Spirited Charge, as per RAW or RAI.

[kpenguin]

No.



Leap Attack

You can combine a powerful charge and a mighty leap into one devastating attack.

Prerequisites: Jump 8 ranks, Power Attack.

Benefit: You can combine a jump with a charge against an opponent. If you cover at least 10 feet of horizontal distance with your jump, and you end your jump in a square from which you threaten your target, you can double the extra damage dealt by your use of the Power Attack feat. If you use this tactic with a two-handed weapon, you instead triple the extra damage from Power Attack.

This attack must follow all the normal rules for using the Jump skill and for making a charge, except that you ignore rough terrain in any squares you jump over.

Emphasis mine.

As for the idea of jumping off of your mount... you're not mounted when you attack and you'd need to cover 10 feet for leap attack to apply.

[dyslexicfaser]

Can your mount get the feat and Leap Attack, then? They do get their own attack if you make the ride check...

[Danin]

As per RAW? Probably a no to both of them.

Personally? I'd allow it because it makes a tenuous sense and for cinimatic purposes you just can't say no.

[ocato]

I've pretty much decided that I will allow it, thanks for the opinions!

[tyckspoon]

Can your mount get the feat and Leap Attack, then? They do get their own attack if you make the ride check...

Sure. All it requires is Power Attack and sufficient Jump ranks. The easiest way to do it would be selecting the feats and skill ranks as part of an Animal Companion or Special Mount's bonus HD advancement. You could also try to use Handle Animal to teach other animals to do it, I think; this would probably require convincing your DM to let you retrain the animal's feats, but if he's at all open to the idea that shouldn't be hard. The default feats for anything that wasn't hand-built suck hard, and it should be an easy sell to have your combat mount rebuilt to have some more sensible feats.

[KillianHawkeye]

IMO, get your DM to houserule it to require 8 ranks in Ride for Mounted Leap (same feat, but for horsemen).

I second the idea to make it a new mounted combat feat, since the existing mounted combat feats are mostly clones of non-mounted feats already anyway.

Make it come after Spirited Charge in the chain and require a Ride or Jump check as described by the "leap" usage of the Ride skill.

[Deepblue706]

Doesn't Cavalry Charger [Tactical] from Cwar actually allow you to leap off and attack, or something?

[deadseashoals]

No by RAW as per what kpenguin pointed out. If you're going to allow Leap Attack anyway, however, why not? You're already playing with fire. :smalleek:

[tyckspoon]

Doesn't Cavalry Charger [Tactical] from Cwar actually allow you to leap off and attack, or something?

It lets you make a Ride check to do a little bit of extra damage on a mounted charge. If you fail that check badly enough, you fall off your mount. Not exactly a heroic leap there.

[cupkeyk]

Can you make a standing long jump from your charging mount? A charging mount still triggers the movement required for a charge, the standing long jump will rigger the ten feet of jump required for leap attack. ^_^ It's very cinematic if you ask me. But then you have just successfully dismounted yourself.

[Gerrtt]

I think only if you shout BRUSH YOUR TEETH! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxvABFWLacw) while doing it....