ed
01-05-2007, 01:43 PM
given that the responses (http://forum.criticalfumble.net/showthread.php?t=656) thus far seem to indicate that this would be of some interest, i present my variant arcane archer.
ed
the arcane archer chooses an unusual path to power: the marriage of archery and magic. most often found as elite snipers, the arcane archer uses the power of the bow and the spell in equal measure, creating thereby a unique and powerful (if specialized) combination.
requirements
to qualify to become an arcane archer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
base attack bonus: +4.
skills: craft (bowmaking) +6, knowledge (arcana) +6
feats: point blank shot, precise shot, weapon focus (longbow or shortbow).
spells: ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells.
hit die: d8.
class skills
the arcane archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are craft (int), hide (dex), knowledge (arcana) (int), listen (wis), move silently (dex), ride (dex), spellcraft (int), spot (wis), survival (wis), and use rope (dex).
skill points at each level: 4 + int modifier.
class features
all of the following are class features of the arcane archer prestige class.
weapon and armor proficiency: an arcane archer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields.
spells per day/spells known: from 2nd level and every two levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th and 10th) on, when a new arcane archer level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. she does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. this essentially means that she adds the level of arcane archer to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
if a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became an arcane archer, she must decide to which class she adds each level of arcane archer for the purpose of determining spells per day.
pierce barriers (ex): an arcane archer’s skills with the bow are so formidable that he can ignore some element of damage reduction or hardness. beginning at first level, an arcane archer may ignore an amount of damage reduction or hardness equal to 2 times his or her arcane archer levels.
eldritch bow (su): using his or her craft (bowmaking) skill, an arcane archer may create a masterwork composite short bow or composite long bow suffused with magical power which represents his or her commitment to combining his or her casting ability with archery.
the resulting eldritch bow is a treated as a mighty bow with a maximum strength modifier rating equal to the arcane archer’s class level and possessing an increased hardness equal to 2 points per arcane archer level, irrespective of the class level of the arcane archer at the time the bow was crafted.
further, while the eldritch bow is in the arcane archer’s possession, he or she is treated as possessing the eschew material feat.
lastly, an arcane archer may improve an eldritch bow, granting or increasing its enhancement bonus to hit and damage or by adding weapon enhancements by paying the appropriate cost in gold pieces and experience points without needing the craft magic arms & armor feat.
an arcane archer may not have more than one eldritch bow at a time. efforts to create a second one when the first one still exists will yield a masterwork bow of the appropriate type but will not produce an eldritch bow.
bonus feats (ex): the arcane archer gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two arcane archer levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th and 10th). these bonus feats must be selected from the following list: arcane preparation, combat casting, dodge, empower spell, enlarge spell, extend spell, far shot, greater spell penetration, heighten spell, improved critical, improved initiative, improved precise shot, improved weapon focus, improved weapon specialization, manyshot, maximize spell, mobility, mounted archery, mounted combat, natural spell, practiced spellcaster, quick draw, quicken spell, rapid shot, shot on the run, silent spell, spell penetration, still spell, weapon specialization or widen spell. an arcane archer must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
these bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. an arcane archer is not limited to the list of arcane archer bonus feats when choosing these feats.
enhance arrow (su): at 2nd level, every nonmagical arrow an arcane archer nocks and lets fly becomes magical, gaining a +1 enhancement bonus. unlike magic weapons created by normal means, the archer need not spend experience points or gold pieces to accomplish this task. however, an archer’s magic arrows only function for her. for every two levels the character advances past 2nd level in the prestige class, the magic arrows she creates gain +1 greater potency (+1 at 2nd level, +2 at 4th level, +3 at 6th level, +4 at 8th level, and +5 at 10th level).
dead aim (ex): at 3rd level, an arcane archer may choose to sacrifice one or more iterative attacks to increase the threat range of a single attack. for each iterative attack sacrificed, a successful attack doubles the threat range. this threat range doubling is subject to the standard rules for multiple threat range multipliers and stacks with the bonus from the improved critical feat.
imbue bow (su): at 4th level, an arcane archer gains the ability to place an area spell upon an arrow. when the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. this ability allows the archer to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range. it takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow. the arrow must be fired in the round the spell is cast, or the spell is wasted.
enhance bow (su): the marriage of magic and archery are given greatest expression in this class feature of the arcane archer. a number of times per day equal to the ability modifier of the arcane archer’s casting ability, the arcane archer may spend a standard action to impart to his or her bow any one or more weapon enhancement for magic bows. if the arcane archer has levels in multiple classes with differing casting ability scores, the arcane archer may select which ability. the arcane archer must meet the prerequisites for any enhancement(s) imparted to his bow (e.g., of casting cure light wounds and caster level 5 for the merciful enhancement). enhancements imparted to the bow last for a number of rounds equal to his or her arcane archer levels. an arcane archer gains this ability at 5th level.
precise archery (ex): an arcane archer can utilize his or her superior familiarity with bows to greater effect than other archers. beginning at 5th level, an archer choose to add his or her dexterity modifier to damage rolls, just as a combatant may add his or her strength modifier to damage rolls for a melee attack.
this damage modifier does not stack with the strength modifier an archer may use when firing a mighty bow. in cases where an arcane archer can receive both a strength modifier to damage rolls and a dexterity modifier to damage rolls, he or she must choose which modifier to apply.
dead aim, improved (ex): at 6th level, an arcane archer can choose to sacrifice one or more iterative attacks to increase the damage he or she can inflict with a single attack. for each iterative attack sacrificed, a successful attack deals an additional 2d6 points of damage.
summon eldritch bow (su): at 7th level, an arcane archer may summon his or her bow as a move action. an arcane archer may do this a number of times per day equal to half his or her class levels, but only if the bow is not available or accessible. this is a teleportation effect.
dead aim, greater (su): an arrow fired from an arcane archer’s eldritch bow gains a bonus equal to half the arcane archer’s class levels on all rolls to confirm a critical. this ability is gained at 9th level.
bow’s recall (su): at 8th level, an arcane archer may recall the last spell he or she previously used with the imbue bow class feature, as per a pearl of power. an arcane archer may do this once per day.
arrow storm (su): upon reaching 10th level, an arcane archer may choose to spend a full-round action to launch a single arrow at any targets he or she can identify at his or her highest attack bonus. an arcane archer may do this a number of times per day equal to his or her casting ability score modifier. if the arcane archer can cast spells using more than one ability score, the arcane archer may select which.
ed
the arcane archer chooses an unusual path to power: the marriage of archery and magic. most often found as elite snipers, the arcane archer uses the power of the bow and the spell in equal measure, creating thereby a unique and powerful (if specialized) combination.
requirements
to qualify to become an arcane archer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
base attack bonus: +4.
skills: craft (bowmaking) +6, knowledge (arcana) +6
feats: point blank shot, precise shot, weapon focus (longbow or shortbow).
spells: ability to cast 2nd level arcane spells.
hit die: d8.
class skills
the arcane archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are craft (int), hide (dex), knowledge (arcana) (int), listen (wis), move silently (dex), ride (dex), spellcraft (int), spot (wis), survival (wis), and use rope (dex).
skill points at each level: 4 + int modifier.
class features
all of the following are class features of the arcane archer prestige class.
weapon and armor proficiency: an arcane archer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields.
spells per day/spells known: from 2nd level and every two levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th and 10th) on, when a new arcane archer level is gained, the character gains new spells per day as if she had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. she does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained. this essentially means that she adds the level of arcane archer to the level of whatever other arcane spellcasting class the character has, then determines spells per day and caster level accordingly.
if a character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became an arcane archer, she must decide to which class she adds each level of arcane archer for the purpose of determining spells per day.
pierce barriers (ex): an arcane archer’s skills with the bow are so formidable that he can ignore some element of damage reduction or hardness. beginning at first level, an arcane archer may ignore an amount of damage reduction or hardness equal to 2 times his or her arcane archer levels.
eldritch bow (su): using his or her craft (bowmaking) skill, an arcane archer may create a masterwork composite short bow or composite long bow suffused with magical power which represents his or her commitment to combining his or her casting ability with archery.
the resulting eldritch bow is a treated as a mighty bow with a maximum strength modifier rating equal to the arcane archer’s class level and possessing an increased hardness equal to 2 points per arcane archer level, irrespective of the class level of the arcane archer at the time the bow was crafted.
further, while the eldritch bow is in the arcane archer’s possession, he or she is treated as possessing the eschew material feat.
lastly, an arcane archer may improve an eldritch bow, granting or increasing its enhancement bonus to hit and damage or by adding weapon enhancements by paying the appropriate cost in gold pieces and experience points without needing the craft magic arms & armor feat.
an arcane archer may not have more than one eldritch bow at a time. efforts to create a second one when the first one still exists will yield a masterwork bow of the appropriate type but will not produce an eldritch bow.
bonus feats (ex): the arcane archer gains an additional bonus feat at 2nd level and every two arcane archer levels thereafter (4th, 6th, 8th and 10th). these bonus feats must be selected from the following list: arcane preparation, combat casting, dodge, empower spell, enlarge spell, extend spell, far shot, greater spell penetration, heighten spell, improved critical, improved initiative, improved precise shot, improved weapon focus, improved weapon specialization, manyshot, maximize spell, mobility, mounted archery, mounted combat, natural spell, practiced spellcaster, quick draw, quicken spell, rapid shot, shot on the run, silent spell, spell penetration, still spell, weapon specialization or widen spell. an arcane archer must still meet all prerequisites for a bonus feat, including ability score and base attack bonus minimums.
these bonus feats are in addition to the feat that a character of any class gets from advancing levels. an arcane archer is not limited to the list of arcane archer bonus feats when choosing these feats.
enhance arrow (su): at 2nd level, every nonmagical arrow an arcane archer nocks and lets fly becomes magical, gaining a +1 enhancement bonus. unlike magic weapons created by normal means, the archer need not spend experience points or gold pieces to accomplish this task. however, an archer’s magic arrows only function for her. for every two levels the character advances past 2nd level in the prestige class, the magic arrows she creates gain +1 greater potency (+1 at 2nd level, +2 at 4th level, +3 at 6th level, +4 at 8th level, and +5 at 10th level).
dead aim (ex): at 3rd level, an arcane archer may choose to sacrifice one or more iterative attacks to increase the threat range of a single attack. for each iterative attack sacrificed, a successful attack doubles the threat range. this threat range doubling is subject to the standard rules for multiple threat range multipliers and stacks with the bonus from the improved critical feat.
imbue bow (su): at 4th level, an arcane archer gains the ability to place an area spell upon an arrow. when the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. this ability allows the archer to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range. it takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow. the arrow must be fired in the round the spell is cast, or the spell is wasted.
enhance bow (su): the marriage of magic and archery are given greatest expression in this class feature of the arcane archer. a number of times per day equal to the ability modifier of the arcane archer’s casting ability, the arcane archer may spend a standard action to impart to his or her bow any one or more weapon enhancement for magic bows. if the arcane archer has levels in multiple classes with differing casting ability scores, the arcane archer may select which ability. the arcane archer must meet the prerequisites for any enhancement(s) imparted to his bow (e.g., of casting cure light wounds and caster level 5 for the merciful enhancement). enhancements imparted to the bow last for a number of rounds equal to his or her arcane archer levels. an arcane archer gains this ability at 5th level.
precise archery (ex): an arcane archer can utilize his or her superior familiarity with bows to greater effect than other archers. beginning at 5th level, an archer choose to add his or her dexterity modifier to damage rolls, just as a combatant may add his or her strength modifier to damage rolls for a melee attack.
this damage modifier does not stack with the strength modifier an archer may use when firing a mighty bow. in cases where an arcane archer can receive both a strength modifier to damage rolls and a dexterity modifier to damage rolls, he or she must choose which modifier to apply.
dead aim, improved (ex): at 6th level, an arcane archer can choose to sacrifice one or more iterative attacks to increase the damage he or she can inflict with a single attack. for each iterative attack sacrificed, a successful attack deals an additional 2d6 points of damage.
summon eldritch bow (su): at 7th level, an arcane archer may summon his or her bow as a move action. an arcane archer may do this a number of times per day equal to half his or her class levels, but only if the bow is not available or accessible. this is a teleportation effect.
dead aim, greater (su): an arrow fired from an arcane archer’s eldritch bow gains a bonus equal to half the arcane archer’s class levels on all rolls to confirm a critical. this ability is gained at 9th level.
bow’s recall (su): at 8th level, an arcane archer may recall the last spell he or she previously used with the imbue bow class feature, as per a pearl of power. an arcane archer may do this once per day.
arrow storm (su): upon reaching 10th level, an arcane archer may choose to spend a full-round action to launch a single arrow at any targets he or she can identify at his or her highest attack bonus. an arcane archer may do this a number of times per day equal to his or her casting ability score modifier. if the arcane archer can cast spells using more than one ability score, the arcane archer may select which.