[RPG] Can a monkey riding a dog stab orcs

mounted-combatpathfinder-1e

… Or, for that matter, any other creature it doesn't like?

Pathfinder's rules for mounted combat seem to ignore creatures of Tiny size (which typically have a reach of 0 ft.) riding creatures of Small size (which typically have a reach of 5 ft.). Like this:

enter image description here

Must a Tiny creature wielding a typical melee weapon dismount and enter a foe's square (usually provoking an attack of opportunity from the foe) to make an attack, or can such a Tiny creature while mounted on a Small creature attack a foe without entering the foe's square? What about the same Tiny creature wielding a reach weapon? (This latter gets ugly because of the way reach weapons work (i.e. they, apparently, don't) for Tiny creatures, this despite, for example, a lance-wielding monkey seeming perfectly reasonable… in this context anyway.)

If it's determined that the rules are as they seem (e.g. a monkey wielding a lance riding a dog must dismount, enter a foe's square, then attack a foe), I'd appreciate either a house rule to fix this lamentable situation or an explanation why no fix should be implemented.

"Why would this ever be a thing?"
Einrich Trogen, a human Fighter 2 (eldritch guardian archetype) / Hunter 8 / Mammoth Rider 3, usually fights mounted on his mastodon companion, Fleetwood, and Trogen possesses several feats that make him an adequate mounted combatant. Trogen's monkey familiar, Nielsen, usually shares Trogen's feats, but lacks a special mount, instead riding a Buddy, a common dog with combat training. Nielsen, because he shares his master's feats, is an excellent rider and mounted combatant, but his 0-ft. reach confuses everyone.

Best Answer

This is one of these questions where James Jacobs overrules RAW with RAI.

RAW: No.

Reach Weapons: [...] Most reach weapons double the wielder's natural reach, meaning that a typical Small or Medium wielder of such a weapon can attack a creature 10 feet away, but not a creature in an adjacent square. [...]

A Tiny monkey's natural reach is 0 ft., double that is 0 ft. as well.

Note: "Most" refers to exceptions in the doubling rule for specific weapons, such as the whip.

As mxyzplk pointed out, this doesn't rule out a dog-riding monkey ankle-stabbing Giants, as long as they are at least of Huge size, that is 3 Size Categories bigger than the dog (Small). In this case, the dog can enter the enemy creatures square:

Any creature can move through a square occupied by a creature three size categories larger than itself. [And vice-versa.]

RAI: Yes.

This issue has come up on the Paizo messageboards, with Paizo's Creative Director James Jacobs stating:

Game speak for "DOUBLE" doesn't really mean "twice as much." A creature that's Tiny and has a reach of 0 feet who uses a reach weapon would basically go up to the next stage of reach: 5 feet. Something smaller than Tiny would, at the most, go up to Tiny's level of reach—weapons smaller than those wielded by Tiny creatures, therefore, never have reach.

Thus a Tiny monkey with a Tiny reach weapon has 5 ft. reach and can happily stab away at the orcses.