Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Nessin 01-20-05, 05:14 PM	I'm trying to flesh out a 21st level Archer type character. I've got the 4 complete books and the Core rulebooks to work off of. I've got something I like, but I wanted a second opinion (or many second opinions) on which way to go: Bard 1 Ranger 2 Fighter 4 Arcane Archer 10 Order of the Bow Initiate 4 Or Bard 1 Ranger 2 Fighter 4 Monk 2 Arcane Archer 10 Order of the Bow Initiate 2 ---------------- Gaining the extra two in Monk gives me Stunning Fist, Deflect Arrows, and Evasion (plus a nice little saves boost) at the cost of 1 BAB. It's especially nice for the unarmed attack and stunning fist (example: Somoene charges into melee with you, simply stun them with your off-hand since it's free when not readying an arrow, then take a step back and they are stunned until your next turn). However, sacrificing the two levels of Bow Initiate costs me an extra 1d8 on the precision strike. I'm also open to suggestions if anyone has a better idea (except the full 10 in Arcane Archer is a must, I can't wait to loose a Arrow of Death, despite the fact that at level 21 just about anything can save without even rolling).
Lord Likk 01-20-05, 05:50 PM	it really is an awful class. i played one in gestalt, and it still wasn't that good. for that matter, why rgr4? rgr2/ftr4 would be much better than rgr4/ftr2. how do you (and your dm) feel about dragon magazine material? there's an incredibly good fighter variant that gets three feats it alone can take that vastly improve ranged combat effectiveness on www.crystalkeep.com (copied from dragon). i think it's called something along the lines of 'sniper,' so . . . rgr2/sniper4/exotic weapon master1/peerless archer7 would constitute a very good beginning 13 lvls. at peerless archer 7, your bow threatens an area of 10'. from there, you could continue peerless archer, and/or start deepwood sniper, and/or even take some arcane archer (if you can get 1st lvl arcane spells without losing too much), and/or even take some order of the bow initiate, but that class is almost worse than arcane archer; you have to spend a standard action to get those damage bonuses, and its first level ability isn't very good, considering what you already have.
Nessin 01-20-05, 05:55 PM	it really is an awful class. i played one in gestalt, and it still wasn't that good. for that matter, why rgr4? rgr2/ftr4 would be much better than rgr4/ftr2. how do you (and your dm) feel about dragon magazine material? there's an incredibly good fighter variant that gets three feats it alone can take that vastly improve ranged combat effectiveness on www.crystalkeep.com (copied from dragon). i think it's called something along the lines of 'sniper,' so . . . rgr2/sniper4/exotic weapon master1/peerless archer7 would constitute a very good beginning 13 lvls. at peerless archer 7, your bow threatens an area of 10'. from there, you could continue peerless archer, and/or start deepwood sniper, and/or even take some arcane archer (if you can get 1st lvl arcane spells without losing too much), and/or even take some order of the bow initiate, but that class is almost worse than arcane archer; you have to spend a standard action to get those damage bonuses, and its first level ability isn't very good, considering what you already have. No real reason for the extra 2 in Ranger rather than Fighter, more for my fluff value with the animal companion than anything else. Plus now that I look back, I forgot to throw in a stupid level of Bard for the arcane requirement. Also, you're forgetting, just Core and Complete books.
Lord Likk 01-20-05, 06:26 PM	how about replacing the order of the bow initiate with arcane trickster? here's what i mean: brd1/ftr2/rgr2/ass5/sublime chord1/arcane trickster10 or you could go for b/a instead of sneak attack: brd1/rgr2/ftr1/wiz4/spellsword1/eldritch knight1/sublime chord1/eldritch knight10 either way, through the spell greater magic weapon, these builds will give you most of arcane archer as well as much, much more.