I began writing a short story during the beta of 5e that has now grown to about 20,000 words. The main character was based around the Arcane Archer idea and used the feat to make the build possible. So, I was a bit distressed that the feat was removed from the game... I had a good amount of writing in! So... When I got my copy of the PHB5e I set myself to rebuilding him using only the presented rules. It took a bit, but this is a quick look at the character's stats (REALLY into the new bard!).
-Cu'Morrigan-
Half-Elf; Bard 10th Level
Background: Folk Hero
Features: Bard College - College of Valor (Combat Inspiration, Extra Attack, Proficiencies), Bardic Inspration (d10), Countercharm, Darkvision, Expertise, Fey Ancestry, Jack of All Trades, Magical Secrets, Song of Rest (d8)
AC 16 (breastplate) or 18 (breastplate and shield); HP 53 (10d8 Hit Dice); Speed 30'
Proficiency Bonus: +4; Alignment: True Neutral; Languages: Common, Dwarvish, Elvish
Strength 9 (-1) or 19 (+4), Dexterity 16 (+3), Constitution 10 (+0), Intelligence 13 (+1), Wisdom 12 (+1), Charisma 16 (+3)
Skills: Animal Handling +5, Arcana +5, Insight +5, Performance +7, Perception +9, Stealth +11, Survival +5
Tools: Carnyx (horn), carpenter's tools, crwth (viol), foot drum and land vehicles.
Melee (Two-Weapon Fighting): short sword (+7 to hit; 1d6+3 piercing) and short sword (+7 to hit; 1d6 piercing)
Ranged: longbow (range 150/600; +7 to hit; 1d8+3 piercing)
Feats: Ritual Caster (Wizard), Sharpshooter
Spells Known:
Cantrips: Friends, Minor Illusion, True Strike, Vicious Mockery
1st Level: Charm Person, Disguise Self, Dissonant Whispers, Sleep, Thunderwave; Rituals: Find Familiar, Unseen Servant
2nd Level: Crown of Madness, Shatter; Rituals: Gentle Repose, Magic Mouth
3rd Level: Bestow Curse, Lightning Arrow*, Plant Growth; Rituals: Phantom Steed
4th Level: Freedom of Movement, Greater Invisibility
5th Level: Awaken, Dream, Geas, Swift Quiver*; Rituals: Contact Other Plane
* Magical Secret
Equipment: Boots of Stridding and Springing, breastplate, crwth, Gauntlets of Ogre Power, longbow, quiver with 20 arrows, shield, traveler's clothes, twin silver short swords, vagabond's wagon, etc.
Trinket: A long, fine, woolen nightcap that brings pleasant dreams when worn.
Creatures: "Si" Manx Cat (familiar), "Epona" Pale Dappled Mare (awakened warhorse)
He is based on an ancient earth style world... Ireland 500 AD (ish). Being part of "the people under the barrows" and part man, I tried to keep his magic a bit more "mythic" then "high fantasy"... But some fun cannot be avoided. The gauntlets were orginally a Belt of Hill Giant Strength (waiting...) that carries a curse. He is intended to be a "fili" (an old irish poet, judge and travelling magician) of Tuatha De lineage, lingering after the invasion of the Romhanach god who watches the world of myth fade. Lightning arrow and Swift Quiver as well as Sharpshooter helped keep the Arcane Archer feel I built the character around and though it does not quite cover it... It filled the bill as penned! At level 12 he will grab War Caster and at 14th he will use Magical Secrets to pick up Conjure Volley and Haste... Anyway 1st official 5e build! Just excited with the new edition (even if it was "missing" some things)... Not intended to be an "optimized" build, just trying to get an idea realized that had been removed from the rules. Thoughts? (sorry for the long post)
Very nicely done. I've been wondering how I am going to create an Arcane Archer myself and this seems to be as close as you can get without having to change and houserule things. I'll have to shamelessly steal some of your ideas here. I've noticed people using Bard for other concepts as well that don't fit into any particular character class. I wouldn't be surprised if Bard became the default class for "everything else" in regards to matching a class to a character concept. Magical Secrets opens the door to so many possibilities (a Bard that can learn wish for instance).
Not to nitpick but it looks like your AC should be 17 (14+3 from breastplate and dexterity)
You only get 2 bonus from dex, if you're wearing medium armor, without the feat ignoring this cap (except if there is something similair for 1àth level bard?), so 16 AC seems correct ;)
About the general build I'm ondering whether a ranger or a archer fighter wouldn't fit, with a multiclass or a Magic Initiate feat to get the magic part of it ... ?
I think ritual caster has a prerequisite of Int 13. So you would need to shift your stats slightly.
The Intelligence score... Funny on my sheet it is 13 and Strength 9... I must have been sleepy copying it 
As for not choosing Ranger... Arcane type magic for one... Level 9 spells for another. At best the Ranger's magic is limited. In my story the character is a"fili" sort of a "proto-bard" from ancient Ireland and concept for this build trumped optimizing. The bards spell lists also helped keep the "vibe" I was looking for, sort of "fey-like". Later (level 18), I pick up Hero's Feast and Mordenkainen's Magnificent Mansion with Magical Secrets to fill out that faerie story feel. The last two Ability Score increases will be Dex 18 at level 16 and Cha 18 at level 19. Also... Being able to hand out those twin d12's at level 20 can really be fun! So is an "awakened" mount!
The Fighting Styles would be nice as a feat to cherry pick, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen with them as level 1 features.
IxidorRS wrote:
TildenThorne wrote:
Corrected the original post and added background (though all game effects were already presented). Though his name translates roughly as "Hound of the Great (or Phantom) Queen", you could VERY loosely translate it as "Dog of War" (Morrigan's sphere of influence). Thank you for the feedback! Now to turn 20,000 words into 50,000