Building an Archer from 1-20 and possibly beyond. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Building an Archer from 1-20 and possibly beyond. [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Venator
11-26-05, 07:34 AM Greetings to all of you CO gods!! I have come seeking advice on how to build an Archer that is powerful, but not ridiculous like some of the stuff you guys can work up!! :D

Please try and stick to the "baseline" books if you can help it. PHB, DMG, CW, and CA type stuff. Nothing to exotic as I am quite new to D&D and this is the first PC I will be playing in a "real" game/setting.

So heres what we are working with (starting from 1st lvl)...

I rolled the following stats using a 4d6 (drop lowest), 7 times (again, dropping lowest score).

Str. 15
Dex. 17
Con. 14
Int. 13
Wis. 13
Cha. 11

I am planning to select Wood Elf as my race, both because the archetype really fits the character I plan to play, and because the racial modifiers are in-line with what im looking for.

As far as I know, going Wood Elf would net me the following stats:

Str. 17
Dex. 19
Con. 12
Int. 11
Wis. 13
Cha. 11

I’m thought a bit about which class i think would best fit the PC, and I decided upon Ranger. This is very much up for debate still, as I'm not really sure leveling up from ranger is the best road to what I’m looking for.

So what am i looking for?

Basically, I want a very powerful Archer, preferably one that shoots a lot of accurate, high damage arrows. I also really really like the idea of getting a nice crit range. I've looked into the available prestige classes and I don’t feel that the Order of the Bow or Arcane archer really fit what I'm looking for as far as RPing goes. Besides, I'm not sure our story-line would allow for either. The class I really like is the 3.0 Deepwood Sniper, but since our game is 3.5, that isn’t an option.

Here is what I came up with my first time around:

1st: Point Blank Shot
2nd: Rapid Shot (Class)
3rd: Precise Shot
3rd: Endurance (Class)
6th:
6th: Manyshot (Class)
9th:
11th: (if i go ranger beyond 10th) Imp Precise Shot (Class)
12th:
15th:
18th:

Due to my need to become fairly powerful fairly early, I'd like to get in all the power feats ASAP instead of pushing them off to 12th, 15th, and 18th lvl. I've discovered that I simply run out of feat slots early on... :( If I go for a few lvls of fighter to try and pick up some extra feats it delays the lvl'ing of the ranger by a bit. It also might hinder my advancement if I do find or decide upon a prestige class that fits my character due to picking up feats/abilities there.

Everything is open to suggestion! I only ask that we stick to the "basic" races, and that there is zero psyonics involved at all.

Thanks very much!
PhoenixInferno
11-26-05, 09:42 AM http://www.wizards.com/leaving.asp?url=http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=183604&origin=
Oakwood
11-26-05, 12:24 PM Those are 3.0 builds. The 3.5 builds don't seem to work very well. The OP doesn't take into account that OotBI now gets ranged precision as a standard action, instead of sneak attack, making it not stack with many shot, rapid shot, or multiple attacks from bab, for example.
PhoenixInferno
11-26-05, 06:03 PM Those are 3.0 builds. The 3.5 builds don't seem to work very well. The OP doesn't take into account that OotBI now gets ranged precision as a standard action, instead of sneak attack, making it not stack with many shot, rapid shot, or multiple attacks from bab, for example.
The point is to learn what you should be thinking about as an archer, not to just hock up builds. The OP knows all of those things you point out. It is still a very relevant guide, with the exception of OotBI.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Venator 11-26-05, 07:34 AM	Greetings to all of you CO gods!! I have come seeking advice on how to build an Archer that is powerful, but not ridiculous like some of the stuff you guys can work up!! :D Please try and stick to the "baseline" books if you can help it. PHB, DMG, CW, and CA type stuff. Nothing to exotic as I am quite new to D&D and this is the first PC I will be playing in a "real" game/setting. So heres what we are working with (starting from 1st lvl)... I rolled the following stats using a 4d6 (drop lowest), 7 times (again, dropping lowest score). Str. 15 Dex. 17 Con. 14 Int. 13 Wis. 13 Cha. 11 I am planning to select Wood Elf as my race, both because the archetype really fits the character I plan to play, and because the racial modifiers are in-line with what im looking for. As far as I know, going Wood Elf would net me the following stats: Str. 17 Dex. 19 Con. 12 Int. 11 Wis. 13 Cha. 11 I’m thought a bit about which class i think would best fit the PC, and I decided upon Ranger. This is very much up for debate still, as I'm not really sure leveling up from ranger is the best road to what I’m looking for. So what am i looking for? Basically, I want a very powerful Archer, preferably one that shoots a lot of accurate, high damage arrows. I also really really like the idea of getting a nice crit range. I've looked into the available prestige classes and I don’t feel that the Order of the Bow or Arcane archer really fit what I'm looking for as far as RPing goes. Besides, I'm not sure our story-line would allow for either. The class I really like is the 3.0 Deepwood Sniper, but since our game is 3.5, that isn’t an option. Here is what I came up with my first time around: 1st: Point Blank Shot 2nd: Rapid Shot (Class) 3rd: Precise Shot 3rd: Endurance (Class) 6th: 6th: Manyshot (Class) 9th: 11th: (if i go ranger beyond 10th) Imp Precise Shot (Class) 12th: 15th: 18th: Due to my need to become fairly powerful fairly early, I'd like to get in all the power feats ASAP instead of pushing them off to 12th, 15th, and 18th lvl. I've discovered that I simply run out of feat slots early on... :( If I go for a few lvls of fighter to try and pick up some extra feats it delays the lvl'ing of the ranger by a bit. It also might hinder my advancement if I do find or decide upon a prestige class that fits my character due to picking up feats/abilities there. Everything is open to suggestion! I only ask that we stick to the "basic" races, and that there is zero psyonics involved at all. Thanks very much!
PhoenixInferno 11-26-05, 09:42 AM	http://www.wizards.com/leaving.asp?url=http://boards1.wizards.com/showthread.php?t=183604&origin=
Oakwood 11-26-05, 12:24 PM	Those are 3.0 builds. The 3.5 builds don't seem to work very well. The OP doesn't take into account that OotBI now gets ranged precision as a standard action, instead of sneak attack, making it not stack with many shot, rapid shot, or multiple attacks from bab, for example.
PhoenixInferno 11-26-05, 06:03 PM	Those are 3.0 builds. The 3.5 builds don't seem to work very well. The OP doesn't take into account that OotBI now gets ranged precision as a standard action, instead of sneak attack, making it not stack with many shot, rapid shot, or multiple attacks from bab, for example. The point is to learn what you should be thinking about as an archer, not to just hock up builds. The OP knows all of those things you point out. It is still a very relevant guide, with the exception of OotBI.