Ranged PRC [Archive] - Wizards Community - Pages Merged by Solauren

Ranged PRC [Archive] - Wizards Community

Post/Author/DateTime Post
Gr8tyrant
11-09-07, 04:22 PM I am playing a crossbow using rogue/ranger and would like to find something to move into once I get a little more powerful, but right now all I am finding is the darkwood stalker and the order of the bow.

Are there any decent ranged PRC's other than Order of the Bow?

I am not looking for something totally optimized, just something that makes sense in an urban environment.
Hsien
11-09-07, 05:13 PM Not sure about PrC but Scout may be a good alternative. Some feats...
Swift Hunter and Imprv Skirmish ( Co Scoundrel )
Crossbow Sniper 1/2 dex to damage and Sneak/Skirmish extends to 60'
Sol_Odlanier
11-09-07, 11:55 PM What kind of crossbow is it?
:confused:
zeratulcraft
11-09-07, 11:58 PM You'll want Crossbow Sniper from PHB2, tis a feat that adds half your dex mod to your damage with crossbows.
Sol_Odlanier
11-10-07, 12:32 AM Tempest with two Self Loading Crossbow?
The_Shaman
11-10-07, 12:25 PM I am playing a crossbow using rogue/ranger and would like to find something to move into once I get a little more powerful, but right now all I am finding is the darkwood stalker and the order of the bow.

Are there any decent ranged PRC's other than Order of the Bow?

I am not looking for something totally optimized, just something that makes sense in an urban environment.

Ok, let me see if I remember right...there are some PrCs you might want to look at, ranged damage-wise.

- Deepwood sniper - MotW, 3.0 - a long-range marksman with abilities that deal with shooting past concealment, extending your range increments and dealing better criticals. Not very good in an urban environment unless you find a good vantage point - and boost your spot check enough to see and target enemies far away: then it's scary. The rest of the time... well, you just get improved critical and your bows crit for x5 damage (crossbows for x4), on top of some other nice stuff.

- Peerless archer - Silver Marches, 3.0 regional (adaptable), bow focused: if the Deepwood sniper is the standard for long-range sniping, the PA is the real deal from up close. Let's start with the bad news: it requires 4 feats and only gets 2+ int skill points, which marks it as a fighter PrC. On the other hand, you get +4d6 sneak attack (bows only), ranged power attack (it doesn't say it's with bows, although your DM might disagree), and some other minor goodies. Still, if you want to try it (not a bad idea) a bow might be a better choice

- Nightsong Enforcer - CAdv: okay, it's not specialized for ranged combat - but sneak attack and good hiding skills make you a heck of a sniper, especially with the RotW woodland archer feat. See if your DM allows multishot/greater multishot to work with bows. It shouldn't, see below.

- Justice of Weald and Woe - CoRuin (regional, specific flavor), bow focused: basically a ranger/assassin hybrid imo. It again focuses on bows, but some of its spells and abilities work with crossbows as wells. If you have ranger or assassin spellcasting, check the book - it has some great archery spells. Given the fluff, I'd limit this one to nongood elves.

- Consecrated Harrier - CDiv: ranger spellcasting can be very good with the proper spells (ahem, Champions of Ruin), and you get some decent additions to it. The blessing of scripture ability is like favored enemy bonuses vs enemies your church has specified.

- Cavestalker - DotU - ranger-ish PrC which advances your weapon style or gives you one, and you can choose between TWF and crossbows. It requires darkvision, however (not that it's hard to get that with a dip in shadowdancer, darkhunter, or a lot of other PrCs), and some of its abilities work best underground. Then again, some of its abilities work just fine in a city. Improved crossbow style gives you manyshot with crossbows, which - if you have more than a few rogue levels, i.e. 4 and above, makes greater manyshot very useful.

- anything with bonus feats and/or free weapon specialization: archery is feat-intensive, and WS opens the way for ranged weapon mastery. These alone make Pious Templar, normally a very melee-oriented PrC, an interesting choice for an archer. If your DM allows you to take a feat to make ranged smite attacks, btw, it becomes even better.

This would be it at the moment. TBH, I don't find Order of the Bow decent at all, except for its secondary abilities or when your DM sends tons of creatures with DR X/- . Doing 1 attack with a couple of extra damage dice is practically a waste later on when you can do 5 or 6.
Rymosrac
11-10-07, 05:43 PM If your DM is leting you use custom content, I threw together a 5-level PrC for snipers, but it hasn't been playtested yet. By the numbers, it should be pretty well balanced. Link is in my sig.
The_Shaman
11-11-07, 04:49 AM By the way, gr8tyrant, did you check here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=947687 ?

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Gr8tyrant 11-09-07, 04:22 PM	I am playing a crossbow using rogue/ranger and would like to find something to move into once I get a little more powerful, but right now all I am finding is the darkwood stalker and the order of the bow. Are there any decent ranged PRC's other than Order of the Bow? I am not looking for something totally optimized, just something that makes sense in an urban environment.
Hsien 11-09-07, 05:13 PM	Not sure about PrC but Scout may be a good alternative. Some feats... Swift Hunter and Imprv Skirmish ( Co Scoundrel ) Crossbow Sniper 1/2 dex to damage and Sneak/Skirmish extends to 60'
Sol_Odlanier 11-09-07, 11:55 PM	What kind of crossbow is it? :confused:
zeratulcraft 11-09-07, 11:58 PM	You'll want Crossbow Sniper from PHB2, tis a feat that adds half your dex mod to your damage with crossbows.
Sol_Odlanier 11-10-07, 12:32 AM	Tempest with two Self Loading Crossbow?
The_Shaman 11-10-07, 12:25 PM	I am playing a crossbow using rogue/ranger and would like to find something to move into once I get a little more powerful, but right now all I am finding is the darkwood stalker and the order of the bow. Are there any decent ranged PRC's other than Order of the Bow? I am not looking for something totally optimized, just something that makes sense in an urban environment. Ok, let me see if I remember right...there are some PrCs you might want to look at, ranged damage-wise. - Deepwood sniper - MotW, 3.0 - a long-range marksman with abilities that deal with shooting past concealment, extending your range increments and dealing better criticals. Not very good in an urban environment unless you find a good vantage point - and boost your spot check enough to see and target enemies far away: then it's scary. The rest of the time... well, you just get improved critical and your bows crit for x5 damage (crossbows for x4), on top of some other nice stuff. - Peerless archer - Silver Marches, 3.0 regional (adaptable), bow focused: if the Deepwood sniper is the standard for long-range sniping, the PA is the real deal from up close. Let's start with the bad news: it requires 4 feats and only gets 2+ int skill points, which marks it as a fighter PrC. On the other hand, you get +4d6 sneak attack (bows only), ranged power attack (it doesn't say it's with bows, although your DM might disagree), and some other minor goodies. Still, if you want to try it (not a bad idea) a bow might be a better choice - Nightsong Enforcer - CAdv: okay, it's not specialized for ranged combat - but sneak attack and good hiding skills make you a heck of a sniper, especially with the RotW woodland archer feat. See if your DM allows multishot/greater multishot to work with bows. It shouldn't, see below. - Justice of Weald and Woe - CoRuin (regional, specific flavor), bow focused: basically a ranger/assassin hybrid imo. It again focuses on bows, but some of its spells and abilities work with crossbows as wells. If you have ranger or assassin spellcasting, check the book - it has some great archery spells. Given the fluff, I'd limit this one to nongood elves. - Consecrated Harrier - CDiv: ranger spellcasting can be very good with the proper spells (ahem, Champions of Ruin), and you get some decent additions to it. The blessing of scripture ability is like favored enemy bonuses vs enemies your church has specified. - Cavestalker - DotU - ranger-ish PrC which advances your weapon style or gives you one, and you can choose between TWF and crossbows. It requires darkvision, however (not that it's hard to get that with a dip in shadowdancer, darkhunter, or a lot of other PrCs), and some of its abilities work best underground. Then again, some of its abilities work just fine in a city. Improved crossbow style gives you manyshot with crossbows, which - if you have more than a few rogue levels, i.e. 4 and above, makes greater manyshot very useful. - anything with bonus feats and/or free weapon specialization: archery is feat-intensive, and WS opens the way for ranged weapon mastery. These alone make Pious Templar, normally a very melee-oriented PrC, an interesting choice for an archer. If your DM allows you to take a feat to make ranged smite attacks, btw, it becomes even better. This would be it at the moment. TBH, I don't find Order of the Bow decent at all, except for its secondary abilities or when your DM sends tons of creatures with DR X/- . Doing 1 attack with a couple of extra damage dice is practically a waste later on when you can do 5 or 6.
Rymosrac 11-10-07, 05:43 PM	If your DM is leting you use custom content, I threw together a 5-level PrC for snipers, but it hasn't been playtested yet. By the numbers, it should be pretty well balanced. Link is in my sig.
The_Shaman 11-11-07, 04:49 AM	By the way, gr8tyrant, did you check here: http://forums.gleemax.com/showthread.php?t=947687 ?