Post/Author/DateTime	Post
ChristopherGroves 09-08-06, 03:51 PM	So there's been alot of talk about the Arcane Archer of late. One of the best builds I'd seen actually abandons the Arcane portion and does something like Cleric 17 / Assassin 1 / Arcane Archer 2 and uses the full cleric casting coupled w/ the 2nd level AA Imbue Arrow ability. As I read the ability some odd things stand out, but that's the subject of a different thread. Anyway, I got to thinking about Cleric 17. That's a good enough build for an archer-cleric who's going to have prof anyway from being an Elf and the two bow feats aren't surprising ... but looking at Assassin I had to wonder if Ur-Priest wasn't a better path. Arcane Archer Requirements Race: Elf or half-elf. Base Attack Bonus: +6. Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow). Spells: Ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells. Ur-Priest Requirements: Base Save: Will +3, Fort +3 Skills: A mess of them, mostly knowledges + bluff and concentration Feats: Iron Will, Spell Focus (evil) These two feats aren't that happy and are kinda wasteful considering as an Ur-Priest you're going to have a huge WIS and good Will saves already, but so be it. What would be the best way to work this combo of classes? You've got 5 levels to kill before Ur-Priest, preferably all in a casting class so your caster level is as high as possible. Arcane Archer *must* come after Ur-Priest simply becase of the BAB requirement ... even if you went with full BAB entry classes (or as many as possible) into Ur-Priest you won't hit +6 BAB until around 7th or 8th level. Given your feat requirements I'm thinking that Fighter may be a requirement as well. Should the spellcasting class be CHA focused? Hexblade? To get more turning attempts for possible DMM? Dunno. Just kicking the idea around. Thoughts?
jstorrie 09-08-06, 05:53 PM	Hexblade only gets 1/2 class level as caster level, but I'd take it anyway, as it solves your arcane caster problem. Duskblade is a very good option as well, though, giving more spells and a higher caster level - but I think Mettle is a very solid ability. This does present you with one problem, though - you can't advance past CL10 in Ur-Priest. You could fill up on classes that offer 1/2 spellcasting advancement, which I think is a very good idea; you can also double up on Practiced Spellcaster (PS: Hexblade + PS: Ur-Priest) if you can afford the feats. However, all things considered, the best option may be to still use Assassin! Use your prefix levels to load up on necessary pre-reqs via Fighter and Ranger 2, dip into Assassin, dip into AA, dip into Ur-Priest, cap with Black Flame Zealot: 1 Ranger Point Blank Shot 2 Ranger Rapid Shot 3 Fighter Precise Shot, Iron Will 4 Fighter Weapon Focus: Longbow 5 Ranger Endurance 6 Assassin Spell Focus: Evil 7 Ur-Priest 8 Ur-Priest 9 Arcane Archer Ability Focus: Death Attack 10 Arcane Archer 11 Ur-Priest 12 Ur-Priest Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Kukri 13 Ur-Priest 14 Ur-Priest 15 Black Flame Zealot Divine Metamagic: Quicken 16 Black Flame Zealot 17 Black Flame Zealot 18 Black Flame Zealot Practiced Spellcaster (assassin, hexblade, or Ur-Priest) 19 Black Flame Zealot 20 Black Flame Zealot This can likely be further optimized, as it's pretty off the top of my head right now.
ChristopherGroves 09-08-06, 07:54 PM	Ur-Priest doesn't care about the other classes caster level ... your Ur-Priest caster level is determined by your Ur-Priest class levels + 1/2 of the levels you have in other spellcasting classes. Hexblade is a spellcasting class, so it would count whether or not you could even cast spells. Part of me wonders if Seeker of the Misty Isle shouldn't appear in there. I mean, the pre-reqs don't have to say you worship CL ... maybe you're seeking the misty isle to challenge him ... hmmm
Endarire 09-08-06, 08:23 PM	What about Gray Elf Fighter2/Wizard3/Ur-Priest2/Mystic TheurgeX/Arcane ArcherX? -EE