Creating an archer PC
- Thread starter Eben
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Drawmack
First Post
There are three routes that work well for making an archer fighter, rogue and fighter/rogue.
The fighter seems the natural choice because of his innumerable number of feats that can be sank into increasing his ability with the bow. This is a powerful archer and may be a good choice when you will need to pull double duty and run into melee sometimes. If you do a lot of dungeon delving this will be the type of archer you'll want.
The rogues sneak attack makes them an excelent sniper type archer. If you take a human rogue then you can have your proficiency and weapon focus at first level with weapon specialization at third and start on the bow feat chain at sixth. This is the type of archer you'll want if you do a lot of adventuring where the character can hide close to the fight and hit the enemy with arrows getting his sneak attack bonus. This is best for mostly outdoor campaigns. If you take elf then you don't need the wepon proficiency cause you get it with your race.
The ftr/rog gets the best of both worlds but not as fast. Take the first level in fighter, the feats are more important then the skill points. Also taking the fighter first mean not having to burn a feat on a bow proficiency so you can have weapon specialization & weapon focus right away, if you're human you can also start your feat chain at first level. I would recommend alternating between rog and ftr when leveling to keep the sneak attack up there and to get your feats quickly. This character is very well rounded and works well in most situations, especially at high levels.
Just my 2 coppers.
The fighter seems the natural choice because of his innumerable number of feats that can be sank into increasing his ability with the bow. This is a powerful archer and may be a good choice when you will need to pull double duty and run into melee sometimes. If you do a lot of dungeon delving this will be the type of archer you'll want.
The rogues sneak attack makes them an excelent sniper type archer. If you take a human rogue then you can have your proficiency and weapon focus at first level with weapon specialization at third and start on the bow feat chain at sixth. This is the type of archer you'll want if you do a lot of adventuring where the character can hide close to the fight and hit the enemy with arrows getting his sneak attack bonus. This is best for mostly outdoor campaigns. If you take elf then you don't need the wepon proficiency cause you get it with your race.
The ftr/rog gets the best of both worlds but not as fast. Take the first level in fighter, the feats are more important then the skill points. Also taking the fighter first mean not having to burn a feat on a bow proficiency so you can have weapon specialization & weapon focus right away, if you're human you can also start your feat chain at first level. I would recommend alternating between rog and ftr when leveling to keep the sneak attack up there and to get your feats quickly. This character is very well rounded and works well in most situations, especially at high levels.
Just my 2 coppers.
I had a rogue/wizard who was an elven archer, eventually an arcane archer. He was a very fun character to play. His biggest weakness was creatures that were immune to piercing weapons (which we ran into several of). DR was also an issue because, although you can get off a lot of shots in a round, with rapid shot, haste and a high bab, each shot you fire is counted separately against the DR, so it really impairs your damage. You might hit a creature 5 times in a round, but even with a mere DR 5, your total damge is reduced by 25 points. By contrast, a fighter who only hits twice, for the same total damage as your archer, will get a lot more of it through to the creature.
Zad
First Post
Yes, many many people have made archers.
If you search through the boards, you'll find a thread showing up every three weeks wherein someone has concluded that archery is too powerful - more powerful than melee combat. The same debate ensues each time.
The point is that yes, you can be competitive with a swordsman. Some would argue you'll do better.
I personally have a 17th level archer that I've been playing and am very happy with.
If I were to offer advice, I would probably say that you should discuss any prestige classes you are considering very thoroughly with your DM. Some of them are great, and some are a tad whacked.
If you search through the boards, you'll find a thread showing up every three weeks wherein someone has concluded that archery is too powerful - more powerful than melee combat. The same debate ensues each time.
The point is that yes, you can be competitive with a swordsman. Some would argue you'll do better.
I personally have a 17th level archer that I've been playing and am very happy with.
If I were to offer advice, I would probably say that you should discuss any prestige classes you are considering very thoroughly with your DM. Some of them are great, and some are a tad whacked.
From the core and splatbooks, there are three archer prestige classes.
Order of the Bow Initiate has some really good abilities at close range, such as ranged sneak attack and banking shots off walls. Plus they have a cool 'archery-fu' flavor thing going on.
Deepwood Sniper is a long range specialist. They can make their arrows Keen and have incredible range.
Finally Arcane Archer combines magic with archery. All their arrows are magical and they can enchant arrows with spells.
Order of the Bow Initiate has some really good abilities at close range, such as ranged sneak attack and banking shots off walls. Plus they have a cool 'archery-fu' flavor thing going on.
Deepwood Sniper is a long range specialist. They can make their arrows Keen and have incredible range.
Finally Arcane Archer combines magic with archery. All their arrows are magical and they can enchant arrows with spells.
Zad
First Post
In that vein:
Arcane Archer is a nice class, if anything a little underpowered compared to a lot of PrC's. If you have someone willing to cast Greater Magic Weapon for you each day, then the big benefit of this class is moot.
OOBI is more powerful, and can be touchy with sneak attack dice.
Deepwoods Sniper is just over the top, and just about everyone I know thinks it's too much and broken.
Arcane Archer is a nice class, if anything a little underpowered compared to a lot of PrC's. If you have someone willing to cast Greater Magic Weapon for you each day, then the big benefit of this class is moot.
OOBI is more powerful, and can be touchy with sneak attack dice.
Deepwoods Sniper is just over the top, and just about everyone I know thinks it's too much and broken.
hammymchamham
First Post
Zad said:
I don't know, doesn't the Enchant Arrow cut through DR? I think that alone makes the Arcane Archer a nice class. Save a lot of money on arrows.
Apok
First Post
There is also the Peerless Archer PrC from The Silver Marches sourcebook. They get some sneak attack damage at range, the ability to enchant their own arrows (though at a much steeper cost than the AA), cover/concealment reduction and the ability to threaten a 10' area with a ranged weapon. I'm sure they get other things as well, but these stick out in my mind. A very good 'catch-all' archer PrC that isn't limited to Fighters (since OotBI requires Weapon Specialization).
Apok
First Post
hammymchamham said:
Yep. Enchant Arrow basically gives any arrow the AA fires an enhancment bonus (from +1 to +5 depending on their level) which adds to hit, damage, and DR penetration. However, what Zad was trying to say is that if you have someone willing to enchant your arrows with a GMW each day then you've pretty much invalidated the Enchant Arrow ability. The only advantages it has over a GMW is that they can't be dispelled and you don't need to rely on the party Cleric or Wizard for magic arrows.
Other than that, the AA doesn't get many abilites that are terribly useful and they can only be used once per day. I consider this a fluke of early PrC design, since later archer-based PrC's tend to far outstrip the AA in ability.
What kind of archer concept are you going for, by the way? Are you looking to imitate Legolas or are you leaning more in the direction of a stealthy sniper (unseen, one shot one kill)?
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