Archer Prc [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Archer Prc [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
derpderp
09-09-07, 09:25 AM Can anyone here recommend a good Prc for an archery specialized ranger?
j3st3r
09-09-07, 03:43 PM Order of the Bow Initiate (CWar) is great for any archer. Also Cragtop Archer (RoS) has nice abilities, and you could always alter the template to fit your own campaign if mountains don't appeal (e.g. Treetop Archer).
dman11235
09-09-07, 04:47 PM I do not recommend order of the bow at all. Unless you were doing it for roleplaying reasons. The bonus damage just doesn't add up to much compared to a scout with greater manyshot. Or any archer with rapid shot or greater manyshot. Something to check out would be 3 levels of scout and then take swift hunter, and greater manyshot. If you don't want that, seeker of the misty isle (CDiv) is not bad, but straight ranger is better. If you do take OotBI, a two level dip is fine, as that gets you close combat shot, and full ten might be good, especially if you have scout levels, so you can move your 10 feet, and get +5d8+xd6 on top of normal.
The_Shaman
09-09-07, 06:24 PM - FIRST OF ALL, PLEASE DO NOT ASK THE SAME QUESTION OVER SEVERAL THREADS. Thank you.

Now, presuming that you really want more archery than the standard ranger gives you (which, with a few splatbooks for spells, a good FE selection etc isn't exactly a little), here are some options:
- Ranger/scout multiclass with swift hunter: a good deal of skirmish damage, higher speed, possibly more feats. Whether you go ranger 4/scout 16 or ranger 16/scout 4 (afaik the most common options for scout and ranger lovers, respectively), it's a solid guerilla build
- Ranger variants: the Solitary hunter from Dragon (found at crystalkeep.com) gives up the animal companion for higher attack bonus vs favourite enemies. A great trade imo.
- Nightsong enforcer: snipe better, fight nastier, and help your entire group too. A pure ranger can get into it before lvl 10. 4d6 sneak attack, some rogue HLA, quite decent imo.

PrCs:
- Horizon walker: an archer doesn't want to get into melee. Dimension door means you won't need to.
- Peerless archer: bowslingers'r'us. Ranged sneak attack (+4d6), ranged power attack (which may work with favored power attack), ranged flanking, and then some more. Hard to get into (requires 4 feats) and low on skill points.
- Deepwood sniper: apart from the parts where you can shoot over huge distances (which might mean you need to overdrive your spot check to even see something there), ignore some forms of concealment etc, being able to critical at x5 is always nice. Just get an item that lets you do Hunter's mercy a few times per day :D
- Justice of ..... (CoRuin): yeah, it has medium BAB and only +2d6 SA. OTOH, it has a decent spellcasting progression, access to some pretty badass spells, uses a longbow in melee without a penalty, and eventually gets ranged death attack.
- Assassin (DMG): while by default not a good option, CAdventurer, CoRuin and other sources have some great spells which make a ranged assassin a credible threat. Aside from that good stealth skills, SA dice and poison use make for a decent sniper.
3DJutsu
09-11-07, 03:26 AM If your DM lets you, you might think about using my revised deepwood sniper.

http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=826190
dman11235
09-11-07, 02:00 PM The_Shaman, where is Peerless Archer from?
j3st3r
09-11-07, 04:36 PM The_Shaman, where is Peerless Archer from?

It's from Silver Marches, which is a 3.0 book.
dman11235
09-11-07, 04:42 PM You aren't The_Shaman! but I don't care. Thank you.
The_Shaman
09-11-07, 05:02 PM Sorry, I was ninja'd. By a J3st3r, no less - the humiliation... May Kopyrka forgive my weakness.
dman11235
09-11-07, 05:16 PM Who is Kopyrka? The Salmon?
Nightshade
09-12-07, 12:16 PM I've had the same problem coming up with an archer build. There aren't many prc's that are useful. Order of the Bow Initiate isn't that good because it requires taking one single shot for higher damage. But greater damage lies in doing multiple shots. I don't have the book with Peerless Archer and Deepwood Sniper is 3.0, sooooo...

Here are some multi-class options:
(1) The optimizer's favorite: Swifthunter. Scout 3 or 4 / Ranger 17 or 16. I personally like Hide in plain Sight so I'd go for 3/17. (Swifthunter feat being the key to this build).

(2) Ranger archer: Ranger 17/ Psychic Warrior 2/ Fighter 1 if you're a human or Ranger 18/ PsychicWarrior 2 for Wood Elf.
Take Speed of Thought for speed and Psionic Shot for extra damage. Pick your Psy War powers carefully, though, cause you're stuck with them.
serow_#R
09-12-07, 02:01 PM Peerless Archer
The_Shaman
09-12-07, 03:49 PM Who is Kopyrka? The Salmon?

Yea, Kopyrka is the holiest of all salmon that plow the sea with their fins and whose spawn ever protect us from the darkness. Blessed are those that hear its call! (hands a pamphlet)

On the topic of psionic archers, there aren't many PrCs that are universally good there, but anything with decent abilities and attack bonus can work. If you prefer PW powers over ranger spells, going into PW and then Slayer can be a good decision.
Harmful_Intent
09-12-07, 04:15 PM If all you want is the ability to shoot while in melee distance without provoking an AoO, you could take Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Greatbow and then take a 1 level dip into Exotic Weapon Master to pick up Close Quarters Ranged Combat. A second level can also net you Ranged Disarm.
Ananvilhurtz
10-22-07, 11:32 AM What is a Greatbow, and where is it from?
Jetstream
10-22-07, 12:22 PM What is a Greatbow, and where is it from?

Complete Warrior. Exotic weapon. D10.

It also shares focus feats with the Longbow, which is good because it's too bloody expensive for a starting character to get one.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
derpderp 09-09-07, 09:25 AM	Can anyone here recommend a good Prc for an archery specialized ranger?
j3st3r 09-09-07, 03:43 PM	Order of the Bow Initiate (CWar) is great for any archer. Also Cragtop Archer (RoS) has nice abilities, and you could always alter the template to fit your own campaign if mountains don't appeal (e.g. Treetop Archer).
dman11235 09-09-07, 04:47 PM	I do not recommend order of the bow at all. Unless you were doing it for roleplaying reasons. The bonus damage just doesn't add up to much compared to a scout with greater manyshot. Or any archer with rapid shot or greater manyshot. Something to check out would be 3 levels of scout and then take swift hunter, and greater manyshot. If you don't want that, seeker of the misty isle (CDiv) is not bad, but straight ranger is better. If you do take OotBI, a two level dip is fine, as that gets you close combat shot, and full ten might be good, especially if you have scout levels, so you can move your 10 feet, and get +5d8+xd6 on top of normal.
The_Shaman 09-09-07, 06:24 PM	- FIRST OF ALL, PLEASE DO NOT ASK THE SAME QUESTION OVER SEVERAL THREADS. Thank you. Now, presuming that you really want more archery than the standard ranger gives you (which, with a few splatbooks for spells, a good FE selection etc isn't exactly a little), here are some options: - Ranger/scout multiclass with swift hunter: a good deal of skirmish damage, higher speed, possibly more feats. Whether you go ranger 4/scout 16 or ranger 16/scout 4 (afaik the most common options for scout and ranger lovers, respectively), it's a solid guerilla build - Ranger variants: the Solitary hunter from Dragon (found at crystalkeep.com) gives up the animal companion for higher attack bonus vs favourite enemies. A great trade imo. - Nightsong enforcer: snipe better, fight nastier, and help your entire group too. A pure ranger can get into it before lvl 10. 4d6 sneak attack, some rogue HLA, quite decent imo. PrCs: - Horizon walker: an archer doesn't want to get into melee. Dimension door means you won't need to. - Peerless archer: bowslingers'r'us. Ranged sneak attack (+4d6), ranged power attack (which may work with favored power attack), ranged flanking, and then some more. Hard to get into (requires 4 feats) and low on skill points. - Deepwood sniper: apart from the parts where you can shoot over huge distances (which might mean you need to overdrive your spot check to even see something there), ignore some forms of concealment etc, being able to critical at x5 is always nice. Just get an item that lets you do Hunter's mercy a few times per day :D - Justice of ..... (CoRuin): yeah, it has medium BAB and only +2d6 SA. OTOH, it has a decent spellcasting progression, access to some pretty badass spells, uses a longbow in melee without a penalty, and eventually gets ranged death attack. - Assassin (DMG): while by default not a good option, CAdventurer, CoRuin and other sources have some great spells which make a ranged assassin a credible threat. Aside from that good stealth skills, SA dice and poison use make for a decent sniper.
3DJutsu 09-11-07, 03:26 AM	If your DM lets you, you might think about using my revised deepwood sniper. http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=826190
dman11235 09-11-07, 02:00 PM	The_Shaman, where is Peerless Archer from?
j3st3r 09-11-07, 04:36 PM	The_Shaman, where is Peerless Archer from? It's from Silver Marches, which is a 3.0 book.
dman11235 09-11-07, 04:42 PM	You aren't The_Shaman! but I don't care. Thank you.
The_Shaman 09-11-07, 05:02 PM	Sorry, I was ninja'd. By a J3st3r, no less - the humiliation... May Kopyrka forgive my weakness.
dman11235 09-11-07, 05:16 PM	Who is Kopyrka? The Salmon?
Nightshade 09-12-07, 12:16 PM	I've had the same problem coming up with an archer build. There aren't many prc's that are useful. Order of the Bow Initiate isn't that good because it requires taking one single shot for higher damage. But greater damage lies in doing multiple shots. I don't have the book with Peerless Archer and Deepwood Sniper is 3.0, sooooo... Here are some multi-class options: (1) The optimizer's favorite: Swifthunter. Scout 3 or 4 / Ranger 17 or 16. I personally like Hide in plain Sight so I'd go for 3/17. (Swifthunter feat being the key to this build). (2) Ranger archer: Ranger 17/ Psychic Warrior 2/ Fighter 1 if you're a human or Ranger 18/ PsychicWarrior 2 for Wood Elf. Take Speed of Thought for speed and Psionic Shot for extra damage. Pick your Psy War powers carefully, though, cause you're stuck with them.
serow_#R 09-12-07, 02:01 PM	Peerless Archer
The_Shaman 09-12-07, 03:49 PM	Who is Kopyrka? The Salmon? Yea, Kopyrka is the holiest of all salmon that plow the sea with their fins and whose spawn ever protect us from the darkness. Blessed are those that hear its call! (hands a pamphlet) On the topic of psionic archers, there aren't many PrCs that are universally good there, but anything with decent abilities and attack bonus can work. If you prefer PW powers over ranger spells, going into PW and then Slayer can be a good decision.
Harmful_Intent 09-12-07, 04:15 PM	If all you want is the ability to shoot while in melee distance without provoking an AoO, you could take Exotic Weapon Proficiency: Greatbow and then take a 1 level dip into Exotic Weapon Master to pick up Close Quarters Ranged Combat. A second level can also net you Ranged Disarm.
Ananvilhurtz 10-22-07, 11:32 AM	What is a Greatbow, and where is it from?
Jetstream 10-22-07, 12:22 PM	What is a Greatbow, and where is it from? Complete Warrior. Exotic weapon. D10. It also shares focus feats with the Longbow, which is good because it's too bloody expensive for a starting character to get one.