Help me Generate a Lvl 10 Archer

[Wystan]

I am looking to create a non-traditional archer, there is only one caveat, must be core rules only (my choice) and must have the following stats to start at level 1...

Str: 13
Dex: 16
Con: 16
Int: 15
Wis: 14
Cha: 12

Please tell me if you modify Intelligence, what level you do so, (for skill points)
Also consider all non-class skills purchasable as class skills to 1/2 max level (1 for 1, not 1 for .5) and any class skill learned is always considered a class skill even if the class is changed.

Thank you.

I am not looking for a powerhouse, just a fun way to rejig my current character so I can have fun, as it is he is a Scout 8, deepwood sniper 2, and I am not having fun. I feel relegated to a minor role.

 

[Wystan]

I was looking and I think Rogue with one or two one off classes may work best, maybe a level of wizard and a level of something else....

 

[wmasters]

For a core archer, I'd look at either straight Fighter, straight Ranger, or some mix of the two. You could look at going into Horizon Walker.

Fighter/Wizard into Arcane Archer might not be a bad choice either.

 

[Wystan]

The character as it stands has a bunch of knowledge skills, and I like that...he also has a 'good' ranged attack bonus, but I find myself uninspired by him. He has no personality, he has no reason to be adventuring. I am thinking of just telling the GM he wants to retire and see if I can find a character that I will enjoy playing. (Maybe a monk archer...)

 

[Magesmiley]

One thought for a non-traditional "archer" might be to concentrate on throwing things rather than shooting things. This may not be what you're looking for, but it can be a lot of fun to play.

How about this...
Human
Ranger/6
Fighter/4

Feats:
two-weapon fighting (ranger combat style)
improved two-weapon fighting (improved ranger combat style)
endurance (ranger)
track (ranger)
point blank shot (1)
rapid shot (H)
precise shot (F1)
Weapon Focus (F2)
Quick Draw (3)
Weapon Spec (F4)
Improved Crit (9)

+ 1 more feat (level 6), maybe power attack

I'd probably juggle the stats around a bit to get a higher strength, probably:
Str 16 +2 = 18
Dex 16
Con 15
Int 14
Wis 13
Cha 12

Concentrate one one weapon for throwing which you can also wield in melee - I personally like the club because they are cheap to replace. A dwarf tossing hammers around is another classic version of this archtype. Apply the weapon specific feats to whatever weapon you decide to focus on.

Combining rapid shot, point-blank shot, weapon focus, weapon, spec, the two-weapon fighting feats, and quick draw, you can crank out 5 attacks at +9/+9/+9/+4/+4 when chucking 5 clubs within 30 feet for 1d6 + 7 damage each. Not necessarily spectacular, but it can be impressive, particularly against whatever your favored enemies are (up that damage to 1d6 +9 or 1d6 +11). And you can decrease the number of attacks to improve your accuracy if you need to.

If you're picking out magic items to outfit this type of character, I'd concentrate on stat-boosting items to up the hit and damage rolls more.

If you're open to the various Complete Books (which it kind of sounds like you aren't), the Brutal Throw and Power Throw feats would be well worthwhile, at which point you can shuffle stats some more as Dex is less important.

A character who likes to walk around throwing chunks of wood at things suggests a completely different character mentality as opposed to an archer who snipes. I'm envisioning something like B.A. from the A-Team as a role-model for someone who really likes tossing things around.

Not sure if this kind of concept was what you were looking for or not, but I hope it gives you some food for thought.

 

[Wystan]

Interesting... I was looking at a monk build earlier with Shuriken, throwing is catching my eye right now...

 

[Ilium]

Unfortunately shuriken are so sub-optimal they go beyond good roleplaying flavor and into active masochism. Not only do they do lousy damage, they are assumed to vanish whenever you hit with them (they follow the ammunition rules rather than the thrown weapon rules). I'd go with daggers if it were me. You can still do the monk thing (House of Flying Daggers, anyone?) but you won't constantly be running out of weapons, and 10 or 15 daggers in a bandolier is a lot easier to picture than 10 or 15 hammers, for me.

 

[Wystan]

Good Idea, but do monks get a negative for using daggers?

 

[FalcWP]

Nope, Monks are proficient with daggers. However, they can't use them for Flurry of Blows. If you want to use them for a flurry, switch over to Sai, which are virtually identical to daggers (except they only threaten crits on 20s).

Other good options for throwing weapons include throwing axes (light, but they still do 1d6 damage) and light hammers, which have a decent range on them (20 ft). Clubs were mentioned in a dual-wield build, which isn't a great idea, since a club is a one-handed weapon, and would give you penalties in the off-hand. Plus, if you're proficient with the throwing axe, it does virtually the same thing (just slashing rather than bludgeoning), for 8 gp a pop. Starting at level 10, even if you wanted 10 of them, that's just 80 gp. This should not be an issue.

However, using *one* one-handed weapon could be viable. Choices include the shortspear and the trident. The Spear is a two-handed throwing weapon.

If you follow the feat progession Magesmiley suggested, be sure to pick up Far Shot at level 6. The majority of throwing weapons have a range increment of 10 feet, and only the javelin has anything better than 20 feet (and the javelin can't be used well in melee, so you would need a backup melee weapon, or your fists, if you have levels in monk).

 

[shilsen]

Good Idea, but do monks get a negative for using daggers?

They're proficient with daggers, but can't use flurry of blows with them.

If you're going the shuriken route, I suggest taking the ninja class from Complete Adventurer. Shuriken have minimal base damage and the best way to do high damage with them is to be flurrying for extra attacks and sneak attacking. The ninja works very well with that.