AU- Possible to make an archer?

[Artos]

Maybe I'm missing something, but is it possible that Arcana Unearthed needs a more generic fighter class?

I adore the Warmain and Unfettered both, but it seems to me that they're both completely melee classes. I was thinking if it's possible to create a really appropriate Archer character barring a Hawk Totem Warrior?

 

[Henry]

Either Warmains or unfettered will still make good archers - they still get plenty of bonus feats. They just might not be as optimized as a D&D fighter would be as an archer, but they would be good archers just the same. Remember that

(A) all characters get two or three feats to start with, not just fighters

(B) AU has some feats, like natural archer, that D&D doesn't have.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Either Warmains or unfettered will still make good archers - they still get plenty of bonus feats. They just might not be as optimized as a D&D fighter would be as an archer, but they would be good archers just the same. Remember that

(A) all characters get two or three feats to start with, not just fighters

(B) AU has some feats, like natural archer, that D&D doesn't have.

Well, the Warmain has bonus feats, none of them are archery related, so you´re "down" to the Unfettered.
The unfettered has no abilities that wouldn`t be useful for a archer. The parry ability protects against melee (and later ranged) attacks, but doesn`t require the character to have a melee weapon.
The class defense bonus of the Unfettered is completely independent of melee or ranged attacks. His bonus feats inculde most of the archery-related feats.
Sneak attack is not so useful for ranged attacks, but on the other hand - in the first round of combat, the archer is the only one who usually has a chance to start with a full attack, and if he is near enough and goes first, he can sneak attack.

Oh, and an alternative might be an Akashic with the Battle Memory abilities. The competence and dodge bonus do work on melee and ranged weapons.

Mustrum Ridcully

 

[TiQuinn]

I think that if you want an archer who isn't a Hawk Totem Warrior, you're going to have to add a class from somewhere else. You can "get by" with some of the others, such as an Unfettered. Actually, I played with one guy whose PC was a Quickling unfettered archer-type, and he was pretty deadly. How viable the concept is at higher levels, I don't really know. You might want to take a look at the Archer Class from Soverign Stone. I was checking it out the other day, and it seems like it'd fit very nicely in AU to fill the archer void. What I wouldn't do is bring in a 3.0 Fighter. The fighter is generic, as you pointed out. Probably too generic. The AU fighter types tend to gravitate more towards specific archetypes. Warmain: Big, heavy armored guy who smashes things. Unfettered: Fast, agile, dodging fighter who hits often for less damage. Instead of a generic fighter, AU is crying out for the third fighter type: A dead-eye archer.

 

[Hodag]

The Hawk Totem was designed to be the Archer type for AU as far as I can tell.

 

[TiQuinn]

The Hawk Totem was designed to be the Archer type for AU as far as I can tell.

It's a good archer, but it comes with a lot of extra abilities that some people don't want for their character.

 

[nharwell]

It's a good archer, but it comes with a lot of extra abilities that some people don't want for their character.

Sort of like the Ranger....

Seriously, one of the best archers I've found so far is a Hawk Totem Warrior/Unfettered mutli-class. I left Totem Warrior after 2nd level, thus avoiding the animal companion and other "baggage" of the class...

 

[Selganor]

One of the meanest archers I did so far (for 5th level, pointbuy 30 without magic items) was this:

Litorian
Hawk Totem Warrior/Litorian/Unfettered Level 2/1/2

STR 16
DEX 20
CON 14
INT 12
WIS 12
CHA 10

Feats: Point Blank Shot (Level 1 Hawk Totem Warrior), Simple and Martial Weapons, Light and Medium Armor

Lvl 1(ceremonial feat) Bonded Item (Composite Longbow)
Lvl 1(talent): Natural Archer
Lvl 3 (Unfettered) Weapon Focus (Composite Longbow)
Lvl 3 Rapid Reload
Lvl 5 (Totem Warrior) Weapon Specialisation (Composite Longbow)

Attack: +5 BAB +5 Dex +1 Weapon Focus +1 Masterwork +1 Bond = +13

Damage: 1W8+6 (Natural Archer +1, Mighty Composite Bow +3, WS: +2)

AC: 19 (+2 Leather, +5 Dex, +1 Hawk Totem, +1 Unfettered), 20 vs. Bows