Post/Author/DateTime	Post
LoveChildOfLegolas 06-13-07, 09:52 AM	Im about to start a new campaign as a elf ranger and im finding than the arcane mage is pretty cool im beacause were starting at level five. im hoping to become lvl 10 arcane archer pretty quickly to get a hold of that arrow of death. Im hoping to start assasinating once i have that skill. Could anyone maybe give me some help. I only own players handbook, monster manual and dm rulebook. Im also open to tataly new suggestions. Thank you
RealSorceror 06-13-07, 10:35 AM	Arg, if only you had the Players Handbook II. The fastest path into Arcane Archer is Ranger with 1 lvl of Duskblade (I think this allows you to meet the requiremnts by lvl 5 or 6). Otherwise you are going to have to be at least level 7, with 6 lvls of Ranger or Fighter and 1 level in Wizard. Or, you could take 5 levels of Ranger or Fighter and 2 levels of Wizard. Personally, I'd suggest finding a PHII and nabbing that level of Duskblade, with the minimum number of Ranger levels. It makes for the best and fastest build.
windscar18 06-13-07, 12:15 PM	Just so you know, Arrow of Death is pretty terrible because the save is extremely low. That said, your options are pretty shot with only core... I would probably just multiclass fighter and wizard, Arcane Archer my way up to level 9, then take Eldritch Knight the rest of the way.
LoveChildOfLegolas 06-13-07, 12:42 PM	Just so you know, Arrow of Death is pretty terrible because the save is extremely low. That said, your options are pretty shot with only core... I would probably just multiclass fighter and wizard, Arcane Archer my way up to level 9, then take Eldritch Knight the rest of the way. Im not really wanting to start as anything but a ranger but thanks ill bear it in mind
LoveChildOfLegolas 06-13-07, 12:43 PM	Arg, if only you had the Players Handbook II. The fastest path into Arcane Archer is Ranger with 1 lvl of Duskblade (I think this allows you to meet the requiremnts by lvl 5 or 6). Otherwise you are going to have to be at least level 7, with 6 lvls of Ranger or Fighter and 1 level in Wizard. Or, you could take 5 levels of Ranger or Fighter and 2 levels of Wizard. Personally, I'd suggest finding a PHII and nabbing that level of Duskblade, with the minimum number of Ranger levels. It makes for the best and fastest build. Cheers, theres no way you could post me the stats for duskblade then i could note and use them for this campaign
LoveChildOfLegolas 06-13-07, 12:48 PM	Just wondering would my normal + arrow bonus work for my arrow of death to give it a bit more bite if they roll their stupid dc of 20
RealSorceror 06-13-07, 04:55 PM	Cheers, theres no way you could post me the stats for duskblade then i could note and use them for this campaign :doh: I wonder why I didn't think of that..... Anyways, they have d8 hit dice and a Fighter's BAB and skill points. They also have good Fort and Will saves. They cast Arcane spells, which will meet the Arcane Archer's spellcasting requirement. Their spells are Charisma based, and they are sponatneous casters. Since I don't have the book on hand, thats about all I can tell you. Do you need the stats before Friday?
solbergb 06-13-07, 06:59 PM	im hoping to become lvl 10 arcane archer pretty quickly to get a hold of that arrow of death. Im hoping to start assasinating once i have that skill. Thank you I hate to disappoint you but the problem with arrow of death is the DC is way too low for a level 17 character (which is earliest level you can get it). It's what, DC20? Most things at level 17 have saves of +17 and many have saves in the mid 20s. What you probably want is the Assassin PRC, which has a death attack that is usable from level 1, and which scales with assassin level advancement. You'll have to be evil, and work in a rogue level at some point to qualify. Alternately there is a 7th level spell called "arrow of bone" in spell compendium, which does the death arrow thing better. The problem is you need to be a minimum 13th level wizard or 14th level sorcerer to cast the spell. Arcane archer is a decent PRC in a campaign where you can't rely on the wizard or cleric to cast greater magic weapon on your bow every day, but it isn't an "assassin" PRC. It tends to work best using rapid shot, not single "one shot one kill" type actions.
StevenO 06-13-07, 08:06 PM	Although it is an unusual way to enter AA you could go Ranger to Assassin into AA. The earliest you can enter Assassin in lvl6 which would still leave you a couple levels away from AA and I also hate ending classes at level 5. If going the Ranger/Assassin rout I'd eventually like to get something like Ranger 6 (improved combat style)/ Assassin 2+ (uncanny dodge)/ AA.
windscar18 06-13-07, 08:08 PM	Although it is an unusual way to enter AA you could go Ranger to Assassin into AA. The earliest you can enter Assassin in lvl6 which would still leave you a couple levels away from AA and I also hate ending classes at level 5. If going the Ranger/Assassin rout I'd eventually like to get something like Ranger 6 (improved combat style)/ Assassin 2+ (uncanny dodge)/ AA. Yeah, but it actually really helps in no way, shape, or form since Death Attack will then proceed to have even WORSE DC than Arrow of Death.
StevenO 06-13-07, 08:49 PM	It helps by getting you spells using the core (Bard would work here as well) to qualify for AA while giving you skill points and a better hd and 3/4 BAB should you continue to advance. It also gets you Uncanny Dodge which can be helpful for those times you lose initiative. I'll agree that it doesn't do much for the DC of your assassin class death attacks but if I recall those are melee attacks which isn't your forte.