I'm working on a new prestige class for an archer ranger and wanted to get some other people's take on it. This is meant as a 3.5 prestige class and all of the abilities are taken from existing 3.0 or 3.5 prestige classes. Let me know what you think - too powerful, not powerful enough, or just dumb? This is my first shot at creating a prestige class so any insight whatsoever or even just a "looks good" would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Tantalus
Combat Sniper
In the din of combat, few even notice the arrows falling around them. Such weapons seem paltry compared to the immediacy of swords and axes tearing them apart. But, one archer’s arrows seem to fly truer than the rest, hitting vitals with seemingly every shot. The archer fades in and out of the edges of battle, rarely seen and difficult to catch. When he is finally located, he stands his ground plowing arrows into his foes even after they have closed within striking distance.
A combat sniper strikes with a mix of arcane might and with deadly accuracy. He is a stealthy, long-range terminator who uses magic to augment his skill with the bow.
Because of their alertness, dexterity, patience, and affinity for the bow, elves of almost any character class make excellent combat snipers.
Hit Die: d8
The Combat Sniper
Class level Base
Attack Bonus Fort Ref Will Spellcasting Special
1st +1 +2 +2 +0 +1 level of ranger Keen arrows
2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 +1 level of ranger Woodland Stride
3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 +1 level of ranger Power Shot
4th +4 +4 +4 +1 +1 level of ranger Bonus Feat
5th +5 +4 +4 +1 +1 level of ranger Projectile Improved Critical
6th +6 +5 +5 +2 +1 level of ranger
7th +7 +5 +5 +2 +1 level of ranger Close Combat Shot
8th +8 +6 +6 +2 +1 level of ranger Bonus Feat
9th +9 +6 +6 +3 +1 level of ranger Greater Magic Weapon
10 +10 +7 +7 +3 +1 level of ranger true strike
Requirements
To qualify as a deepwood sniper, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks, Spot 4 ranks.
Feats: Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (any bow or crossbow).
Spells: Ability to cast Arrow Mind spell
Class Skills
The combat sniper’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (bowmaking) (Int), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features
The following are class features of the combat sniper prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Combat sniper’s gain no weapon or armor proficiencies. All weapon-related abilities of this prestige class apply only to projectile ranged weapons with which the character is proficient.
Keen arrows (Ex): At 1st level, all projectiles the combat sniper fires behave as if they were keen weapons in addition to any other properties they may possess. Thus, a normal arrow fired by a combat sniper has a threat range of 19-20 instead of 20. This effect does not stack with any other keen effect.
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a combat sniper may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.
Power Shot (Ex): At 3rd level, a combat archer gains the ability to subtract a number from all ranged attack rolls with a bow and add the same number to all ranged weapon damage rolls. This number may not exceed his base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until his next turn.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level and again at 8th level, a combat sniper gets a bonus archery-oriented feat. The combat sniper can choose from the following feats: Able Sniper, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Improved Rapid Shot, Improved Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Improved Critical (any bow), Weapon Specialization (any bow), Greater Weapon Focus (any bow), Ranged Weapon Mastery (any bow).
Projectile improved critical (Ex): When the combat sniper reaches 5th level, the critical damage multipliers of all his projectile weapons increases by +1. Thus, an arrow that normally deals x3 damage on a critical hit instead deals x4 in his hands.
Close Combat Shot (Ex): At 7th level, a combat sniper can attack with a ranged weapon while in a threatened square and not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Greater Magic Weapon: At 9th level a combat sniper adds Greater Magic Weapon to his spell list.
True Strike (Sp): At 10th level, the combat sniper can produce an effect identical to that of a true strike spell cast by a cleric of his combat sniper level. This ability is usable once per day on projectile weapons only.
Thanks,
Tantalus
Combat Sniper
In the din of combat, few even notice the arrows falling around them. Such weapons seem paltry compared to the immediacy of swords and axes tearing them apart. But, one archer’s arrows seem to fly truer than the rest, hitting vitals with seemingly every shot. The archer fades in and out of the edges of battle, rarely seen and difficult to catch. When he is finally located, he stands his ground plowing arrows into his foes even after they have closed within striking distance.
A combat sniper strikes with a mix of arcane might and with deadly accuracy. He is a stealthy, long-range terminator who uses magic to augment his skill with the bow.
Because of their alertness, dexterity, patience, and affinity for the bow, elves of almost any character class make excellent combat snipers.
Hit Die: d8
The Combat Sniper
Class level Base
Attack Bonus Fort Ref Will Spellcasting Special
1st +1 +2 +2 +0 +1 level of ranger Keen arrows
2nd +2 +3 +3 +0 +1 level of ranger Woodland Stride
3rd +3 +3 +3 +1 +1 level of ranger Power Shot
4th +4 +4 +4 +1 +1 level of ranger Bonus Feat
5th +5 +4 +4 +1 +1 level of ranger Projectile Improved Critical
6th +6 +5 +5 +2 +1 level of ranger
7th +7 +5 +5 +2 +1 level of ranger Close Combat Shot
8th +8 +6 +6 +2 +1 level of ranger Bonus Feat
9th +9 +6 +6 +3 +1 level of ranger Greater Magic Weapon
10 +10 +7 +7 +3 +1 level of ranger true strike
Requirements
To qualify as a deepwood sniper, a character must fulfill the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Move Silently 4 ranks, Spot 4 ranks.
Feats: Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (any bow or crossbow).
Spells: Ability to cast Arrow Mind spell
Class Skills
The combat sniper’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (bowmaking) (Int), Hide (Dex), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis). See Chapter 4 of the Player’s Handbook for skill descriptions.
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
Class Features
The following are class features of the combat sniper prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Combat sniper’s gain no weapon or armor proficiencies. All weapon-related abilities of this prestige class apply only to projectile ranged weapons with which the character is proficient.
Keen arrows (Ex): At 1st level, all projectiles the combat sniper fires behave as if they were keen weapons in addition to any other properties they may possess. Thus, a normal arrow fired by a combat sniper has a threat range of 19-20 instead of 20. This effect does not stack with any other keen effect.
Woodland Stride (Ex): Starting at 2nd level, a combat sniper may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at his normal speed and without taking damage or suffering any other impairment.
However, thorns, briars, and overgrown areas that are enchanted or magically manipulated to impede motion still affect him.
Power Shot (Ex): At 3rd level, a combat archer gains the ability to subtract a number from all ranged attack rolls with a bow and add the same number to all ranged weapon damage rolls. This number may not exceed his base attack bonus. The penalty on attacks and bonus on damage apply until his next turn.
Bonus Feat: At 4th level and again at 8th level, a combat sniper gets a bonus archery-oriented feat. The combat sniper can choose from the following feats: Able Sniper, Rapid Shot, Manyshot, Improved Rapid Shot, Improved Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Improved Critical (any bow), Weapon Specialization (any bow), Greater Weapon Focus (any bow), Ranged Weapon Mastery (any bow).
Projectile improved critical (Ex): When the combat sniper reaches 5th level, the critical damage multipliers of all his projectile weapons increases by +1. Thus, an arrow that normally deals x3 damage on a critical hit instead deals x4 in his hands.
Close Combat Shot (Ex): At 7th level, a combat sniper can attack with a ranged weapon while in a threatened square and not provoke an attack of opportunity.
Greater Magic Weapon: At 9th level a combat sniper adds Greater Magic Weapon to his spell list.
True Strike (Sp): At 10th level, the combat sniper can produce an effect identical to that of a true strike spell cast by a cleric of his combat sniper level. This ability is usable once per day on projectile weapons only.
