D&D 3E/3.5 3.5 Archer help.

[Sekhmet]

I ask that because the Winged Creature(Savage Species) gives a far better fly speed that has maneuverability that scales with dexterity on a fast scale. As such you could take a Goliath and would have vastly better stats to work for an archer and a bigger bow. Knowledge Devotion actually is one of the few if not only Devotion feat that doesn't have limited uses as such bonus to attack and damage from a skill check is always welcome. Ask your DM if you can qualify for the Justice of Weald and Woe with a great bow as it gives back some casting and other stealth/archer abilities. I know you said you want to refrain from a gish but let point you to a couple of spells that can really help. The Dark Flame Arrow adds durational burn damage that actually isn't considered fire, no save. The shadow arrow is a touch attack that deals strength damage. These spells are cast as swift actions.

While nice, the Fey'ri can Alter Self into any humanoid form at will, indefinitely, which allows it to have as big of a bow as a Goliath could, or for better Flight, or any of the other varieties of cheese Alter Self allows for.

I was looking at Justice of Weald and Woe as well, and it is a good option.

Thanks for the options, though.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

is it to late to suggest Warlock as an alternative?

When I think Flying archer, I think Warlock.

Not trying to derail your thread.

 

[LiL KiNG]

I agree with you that every character shouldn't be able to counter everything, but they should all be able to do their job without being easily countered by the majority of the opposition. Just about any creature/enemy can charge you and thereby threaten you 'till you die, with you being relatively useless in melee, especially at low levels.

The major issue isn't high level play, when you can countercounter with enough forethought. Early and mid-level play is the real issue with precision damage (and one that isn't relevant to the thread).

My desire to refrain from Skirmish (an ability I don't particularly care for at early/mid levels) and GISH rules sort of pidgeon holes me into volley archery, which sounds fun, but lacks damage against higher level monsters with high DR. I guess I'll have to carry a lot of different arrow types.

Tumble takes care of most of your worries...
If charged, hopefully between armor, dex, +AC from moving with skirmish, and various other defense bonuses you have keep you relatively safe. Then, on your turn make an easy Tumble DC 15 check to move up to half speed without provoking an AoO and with luck that should move you 10+ feet which is enough to reactivate your skirmish again for another Manyshot attack - or if the Travel Devotion feat was used you may be able to use Rapid Shot/Improved Rapid Shot.

Magic bow makes ammo magic so I just carried a quiver of each metal (silver, cold iron, adamantine) plus a normal quiver. Was heavy, but I didn't need much else. Also for the archer PC I played I was almost never directly attacked as there was usually a Fighter type between me and the target.

I'm not saying my way is the right or only way, I just saying for the archer I played this was very effective and dealt significant amounts of damage as I was either using Rapid Shot or Manyshot on every turn with skirmish damage. I don't know how much of the MIC you use, but there is so much in that book an archer can benefit from. Hell, just the +1d6 elemental damage weapon crystals for 3,000gp are great so you can spend your +1 enchantment bonus(es) on something better.

O'yeah, if playing an Elf PC for your archer, look into Elvencraft Bows. You're bow doubles as a staff and you threaten with it/can make alternating ranged or melee attacks with it IIRC.

There is also a 1st level spell, I don't recall the name, but the spell lets you threaten and make AoO's with a ranged weapon - get a wand with that or use the DMG rules to craft a ring with either charges/day or a permanent effect, pricey, but could be worth it.

 

[LiL KiNG]

is it to late to suggest Warlock as an alternative?

When I think Flying archer, I think Warlock.

Not trying to derail your thread.

...lot of good magic items for Warlocks in MIC too.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

While nice, the Fey'ri can Alter Self into any humanoid form at will, indefinitely, which allows it to have as big of a bow as a Goliath could, or for better Flight, or any of the other varieties of cheese Alter Self allows for.

I don't have my books handy, but you might still look at the Winged Template and other races before settling on Fey'ri.

As I recall, that template also gives a silly stat boost to Dex, which will help your accuracy & AC.

Another option- look at Githzerai: +6 Dex bonus, psi-like powers...would make a nifty archer.

 

[Jackinthegreen]

Can you get a level or two of the Targetteer Fighter variant in Dragon 310? It grants two free exotic ranged weapons from the start, and you can trade in fighter feats for some very nice abilities. Those abilities are:
Vital Aim, which allows you to use your Dex for damage instead of strength, but doesn't work on creatures immune to crits (negate this issue with a greater weapon crystal of demotion, etc). This works at any range, unlike the Dead Eye feat.

Arrow Storm, which is an upgraded form of Rapid Shot. Take a -5 on all attacks to make two extra attacks on a full attack routine.

Then there's a sniper ability which trades one of your attacks on a full attack for extra crit range.

It's kind of a shame you're not okay with close range since the Dead Eye feat gets you Dex to damage on top of Vital Aim, which means you could easily get damage into the hundreds. A simple build I built on Brilliantgameologists had a bare minimum of 616 damage if all attacks hit, assuming the opponent wasn't crit immune since that negates Vital Aim.

 

[Sekhmet]

I do love Targeteer, but I was told no Dragon (a shame, really).

 

[emoplato]

This may seem rather weird to suggest but have you thought about smiting? In the Magic of Incarnum there is a feat called Sapphire Smite which not only gives more damage but also extra uses. Psycarnum Infusion allows you to treat any recepticle as fully invested for one round when you expel a psionic focus. A Wild Elf with the winged template maybe something else could almost smite his full attack. Whether you would change to this or not diving charge gives you d6 damage depending on your flight speed.

 

[Nezkrul]

a few things to respond to from naysayers...

Flying Carpet- never requires the ride skill to use, therefore it is not a mount (also, it's a magic item, not a creature)

That being said, if you are flying on the carpet or are already a flying/hovering race, you can be within 30 (or xbow sniper 60) feet of your target and NOT be chargeable. Plus, you should have the highest ac in the party after moving if you took the improved skirmish feat and your highest stat is dexterity. Don't forget your ranger spells... like Arrowmind.

Don't whine about precision based damage, please, cuz a simple 3rd (and in some cases 2nd) level spell totally negates ALL of your arrow damage. (windwall)

Now, that being said, if you buy a custom Quiver of Energy that has 2, 3, or all 4 energy types imbued into it (120k gp for all 4) and you use Raptor Arrows, you will still deal an awful lot of damage even if the target doesn't take your skirmish damage.

Warlocks aren't archers but they play like one.

Insectile template gives +4 dex but its +2 la.

And one more thing about the whole "my target is immune to skirmish damage", if you constantly face this issue in your campaign, you need to talk to your DM and ask him/her why he/she is making your character ineffective so often as opposed to the other players? (BTW, Swift Hunter makes your favored enemies NOT immune to your skirmish damage).

 

[Sekhmet]

[MENTION=6682154]Nezkrul[/MENTION] I'm well aware of the drawbacks to Archery in general, and I wouldn't usually play one (hence why I was seeking additional assistance with it). The DM requested I play a martial ranged class.
I'm trying to get as far away from "situational awesomeness" as I can.