[3.5/PF] Quick overrun question

[Rixx]

Upon successfully overrunning an opponent, do you get to continue your charge as normal, or do you simply move over them and then stop moving? Like, say, could I overrun some guy, continue my charge, and attack the person I was originally going after?

[Darrin]

Upon successfully overrunning an opponent, do you get to continue your charge as normal, or do you simply move over them and then stop moving? Like, say, could I overrun some guy, continue my charge, and attack the person I was originally going after?

Not quite. You can't intentionally combine a charge with an overrun. To initiate a charge, you have to have a clear path to your intended target. If there are any opponents in your way, you can't charge to begin with. There is a possibility that you run into an invisible opponent along the way that you didn't know was there... RAW gets pretty murky here, so you'll have to ask the DM, but if the invisible opponent lets you go by, there's a good chance you never noticed they were there, and you could probably continue the charge to your intended target. If the invisible opponent doesn't get out of the way, then... I'm not sure what happens, because by initiating a charge, you no longer have a standard action to do the overrun check. If I was feeling generous as DM, I might allow you to charge the invisible opponent, but if you wanted something closer to RAW... I'd probably rule: If you have moved less than your speed, you may convert your charge into a single move action and then either start an overrun, or attack the invisible opponent with a standard action. If you've already moved more than your speed, then your charge becomes a double move, and you stop moving at that point.

If you started a normal move action and tried to move through several opponents, then that would be an overrun. Each opponent would have the option to let you by, in which case you haven't actually initiated an overrun yet. The first opponent that decided not to let you by would mean you have to spend a standard action to make an overrun check. Then you roll opposed strength, and if you win, your opponent is pushed out of your way and you can continue moving. After that point, if you encounter another opponent who doesn't let you by, your movement immediately ends, since you no longer have a standard action to start an overrun attempt.