Arcane Archer busted?

[kreynolds]

I am currently gaming with a player who has a fighter/mage/arcane archer/deepwood sniper...

I just have one question. What's a mage?

 

[mkletch]

Personally, I'd rule that "known to the archer" means that you could pick him out of a crowd. Your DM disagrees, though.

Actually, there is not enough data to determine in this case if the DM agrees or disagrees. It was a crowd of one, in a known location but not immediately visible. Concealment and cover negated by the seeker arrow, the target is hit (attack bonus exceeded the target's AC, no natural 1). It is all very simple, at least in this case.

It could be more complicated, but in general it is a case-by-case DM ruling. It's hard to rely on an ability you get 1/day, so a ruling against shouldn't be catastrophic.

-Fletch!

 

[Tom Cashel]

Do PrCs count against the experience total for multiclassed PCs?

 

[mikebr99]

Do PrCs count against the experience total for multiclassed PCs?

nope... only full classes.

 

[AuraSeer]

From the Sage

A while back I sent the Sage a question about this PrC. Here's what he said-- my text in normal font, the Sage's responses in bold.

Good morning, sir!
I am a bit confused about the powers of the Arcane Archer prestige class-- specifically, the Phase Arrow and Seeker Arrow powers.

Since the Seeker Arrow can turn corners, it seems that the archer can fire at a target outside her line of sight. Is this correct?

Correct.

If yes, can she fire at a target whose location she does not know?

With a seeker arrow, yes.

For instance, if she sees an orc run through a door but does not know where he went afterward, can she still fire a Seeker or Phase arrow at him?

With a seeker arrow, yes.

The description of these powers states that the archer fires the arrow "at a target known to her within range." Does that mean she only requires personal knowledge of the target?

Yes. The arcane archer must have seen the target or be able to specify the target in some exact way. Such as "Grodnard the orc" or "the first orc the arrow reaches."

If the archer knows what the king looks like, can she stand outside the castle and fire a Phase Arrow at him, letting the arrow figure out where exactly he is?

A phase arrow travels is a straight line, and the arcane archer must aim the arrow at the correct location. The arcane archer could use a seeker arrow to shoot the unseen king, though.

Thank you very much!

Oh, and I want to point out that I love the title of this thread. It makes me think of an elf being frisked by the DEA.

"No officer, those herbs are an Infusion of Cure Light Wounds. Really!"

 

[Coredump]

Tom and Mike,

um... I am pretty darn sure that PrC's do count towards the character level. (assuming that is what was asked)

OTOH, if the question was about the experience point penalty for having classes 'too far apart'.. then I don't know.

 

[mkletch]

Tom and Mike,

um... I am pretty darn sure that PrC's do count towards the character level. (assuming that is what was asked)

OTOH, if the question was about the experience point penalty for having classes 'too far apart'.. then I don't know.

They do add to character level for purposes of XP awards and such, but PrCs never cause an experience point penalty. They would be impossible to use if they did, though some old-school gamers might prefer such a change...

-Fletch!

 

[Bloodstone]

The deepwood sniper get magic weapon as a spell-like 1/day; fairly similar, except that it gets better with level

the deepwood sniper does get magic weapon 1/day, But it's practically useless...The soonest you can get htis ability is 7th character level...by that time you probably already have a magic bow. To my knowledge, magic weapon does not have the ability to effect 50 arrows at a time, so you either put it on your bow or you put it on 1 arrow...oooh, one +1 arrow per day...if it was greater magic weapon 1/day it might be usefull, buit as it stands it's practically worthless to your typical character.

In any event, the arcane archer is not unbalanced...unless you consider being a slightly weak PrC unbalanced... Enchant Arrow is nice, but it's nothing compared to a few Greater Magic Weapon spells cast by a friendly cleric/wizard/sorcerer/bard...at least, not until epic levels...

 

[mkletch]

A phase arrow travels is a straight line, and the arcane archer must aim the arrow at the correct location. The arcane archer could use a seeker arrow to shoot the unseen king, though.

This is not useful at all. You have to aim the arrow in the approximate direction, not the correct location. You are dealing with an ability that is there to let you shoot things you cannot see. It is not like 'guess the right square' for shooting an invisible opponent.

If you think the target is generally to the north, and fire that direction (and are reasonably correct), the arrow will veer toward the target, then continue in a straight line (so that it cannot swerve around magical barriers) from that point. The point of the ability is clearly to shoot an opponent on the other side of one or more walls or other cover, whose exact location you cannot typically know. Since the two abilities (seeker and phase arrow) use the same "target known to you within range" verbiage, it is clear that they both find their target. Seeker goes around walls, phase goes through them.

My question: is a magically hardened wall a magical barrier? Any of the enchanted wall types from Stronghold Builders' Guidebook? I would think so.

-Fletch!

 

[Magic Rub]

...Each time a 10th level Arcane Archer fires 50 arrows, tally up 50,000 gold. That is HUGE! No other class ability really compares. That is comparable to allowing each other PC in the game to automatically obtain a Cloak of Major Displacement for each quiver of arrows that the Archer fires...

Oh I think you may be wrong

It's also like, a wizard (for Kreynolds) mage (for everyone else who speaks english ) having 66.666666... potions of Fly (750gp per), but why would he/she do that?

or look at it this way...

Every time a Wizard/Mage, or Sorcerer casts an (X) level spell it is like spending (Y) gold.
(Prices come from DMG "scroll prices" & are approximate)
lvl - Cost
1 = 25gp
2 = 150gp
3 = 375gp
4 = 700gp
5 = 1,125gp
6 = 1,650gp
7 = 2,275gp
8 = 3,000gp
9 = 3,825gp

Notes:
- In the examples below the word "average" actually means, "Useless & far below average, the player who created this PC has an IQ of 42.345."
- Costs do not include spell components
- In the examples below, a year is presumed to be 365 days, 7(aprox) days in a week.


An "average" 10 level Wizard/Mage by the spells per day chart, & without bonus spells, uses the equivalent of 6,175gp in scrolls, by using his/her full spell compliment everyday. That's 43,225gp per week, or 2,253,875gp in a year.

An "average" 20 level Wizard/Mage (by the spells per day chart, & without bonus spells) uses the equivalent of 52,500gp in scrolls, by using his/her full spell compliment everyday. That's 367,500gp per week, or 19,162,500gp in a year. x 8.502024292


(Please excuse any minor math errors )


D&D math silly, fun, but silly.