Is a Minotaur's Powerful Charge ability a virtual feat?

Question

References:

The Minotaur, from Monster Manual I, has the ability called:

Powerful Charge (Ex)

A minotaur typically begins a battle by charging at an opponent, lowering its head to bring its mighty horns into play. In addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge, this allows the beast to make a single gore attack with a +9 attack bonus that deals 4d6+6 points of damage.

According to SRD:

Powerful Charge

When a creature with this special attack makes a charge, its attack deals extra damage in addition to the normal benefits and hazards of a charge. The amount of damage from the attack is given in the creature’s description.

The Miniatures Handbook has a feat called Powerful Charge. It states:

When you charge, if your melee attack hits, it deals an extra 1d8 points of damage (if you're Medium). For Large creatures, the extra damage is 2d6; for Huge, 3d6; for Gargantuan, 4d6; and for Colossal, 6d6. This feat works only when you make a charge. It does not work when you're mounted, if you have the ability to make multiple attacks on a charge, you may apply this extra damage to only one of those attacks in a round.

In the same book there is an additional feat called Greater Powerful Charge. It states:

As Powerful Charge, but treat yourself as one size category larger than you are. For Colossal creatures, the extra 6d6 points of damage bonus becomes 8d6.

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Questions:

1. Does anything prevent the minotaur from taking the the Powerful Charge feat?
2. Does the Minotaur's Powerful Charge ability count as having the Powerful Charge feat; allowing him to take the Greater Powerful Charge feat?
3. Would using his Powerful Charge ability stack with using the Powerful Charge feats?

Answer 1

Answering out of order, because #1 depends on #2.

2. Does the Minotaur's Powerful Charge ability count as having the Powerful Charge feat; allowing him to take the Greater Powerful Charge feat?

Strictly speaking, no. The minotaur’s Powerful Charge is marked as an extraordinary ability, and not mentioned as a feat. Feats are extraordinary (unless they’re not), but bonus feats are not marked (Ex). Therefore, a minotaur cannot take Greater Powerful Charge without taking Powerful Charge.

It not being the same as the feat is dumb, in my opinion; I generally recommend houseruling it. Though, do note that the minotaur is only seeing a +1d6 bonus when, as a Large creature, the feat would give +2d6. It’s unclear to me if Greater Powerful Charge should add +2d6 (as normal) or +3d6 (i.e. +2d6 above what Powerful Charge normally adds). That’s up to the DM, but it seems weird to me that a minotaur would have less benefit from these feats than other creatures.

1. Does anything prevent the minotaur from taking the the Powerful Charge feat?

No, the minotaur (strictly speaking) doesn’t have the it, so it can take the feat.

3. Would using his Powerful Charge ability stack with using the Powerful Charge feats?

If it is separate, per RAW, yes. And since Powerful Charge (Ex) and the Powerful Charge feat are different sources, the untyped damage bonuses from each stack.

Again, this is dumb. But, then again, it does mean that a minotaur can take Powerful Charge and Greater Powerful Charge, gaining +4d6 damage on top of its native +1d6 damage, for +5d6 damage – more than other creatures get. That becomes a pretty strong case for treating the minotaur’s natural Powerful Charge as separate.

Conclusion

The fact that Powerful Charge (Ex) and the Powerful Charge feat are different is dumb, but it actually works out, allowing minotaurs to take the feats and end up a bit better at powerfully charging than other creatures, which makes sense for a creature naturally inclined to charge.