Woodland Archer
"Some are born to the steel, but others are masters of the
bow. Even then, it is those that respect the wood that gave itself
to become the bow that is the true legitimate heir of its power.”
– Vatashta Sengranna, Master Carpenter of Castle Kalawynn
The woodland archer is an elite wilderness warrior unique among those that truly make their home in the uncivilized lands. There are specific orders among the arboreal elves and the saelvhik that span vast tracks of forested land.
Woodland Archers are elite archers and skirmishers, capable of doing tricks with bows that urbane archers only dream about. They are also capable of sniping from greater distances than one would think is possible. Their ability to fight and survive in the timberlands is only matched (or some would say surpassed) by barbarian hordes and tribes.
HP/Level Gained: 6
REQUIREMENTS
To qualify to become an angel ascendant the character must fulfill the following criteria:
Race: Any that is mostly uncomfortable in a town larger than a hamlet (mostly arboreal elves and saelvhik)
Skills: Knowledge (Nature) 8 ranks, Survival 8 ranks
Feats: Far Shot, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Track, Weapon Focus (any bow that isn’t a crossbow)
CLASS SKILLS
The woodland archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (Nature) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str) and Use Rope (Dex).
Skill Points/Level Gained: 4 + Int Modifier
Code:
[b]Class Base Fort Ref Will Extended Spells/Day[/b]
Level Attack Bonus Save Dave Save Special Range 1 2 3
1 +1 +3 +3 +0 1st Favored Enemy, +15 ft. 0 - -
Archery Style
2 +2 +4 +4 +1 Heightened Senses, +30 ft. 1 - -
Trailblazer
3 +3 +4 +4 +1 2nd Favored Enemy +45 ft. 1 0 -
4 +4 +5 +5 +2 Keen Arrows, +60 ft. 1 1 -
Swift Tracker
5 +5 +5 +5 +2 3rd Favored Enemy +75 ft. 2 1 0
6 +6/+1 +6 +6 +3 Bow Strike +90 ft. 2 1 1
7 +7/+2 +6 +6 +3 4th Favored Enemy +105 ft. 2 2 1
8 +8/+3 +7 +7 +4 Anitcipation +120 ft. 3 2 2
9 +9/+4 +7 +7 +4 5th Favored Enemy +135 ft. 3 2 2
10 +10/+5 +8 +8 +5 Arrow Cleave +150 ft. 3 3 3
CLASS FEATURES
All of the following are class features of the woodland archer.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Woodland archers are proficient with all simple weapons, all bows that aren’t crossbows and with light armor. In addition woodland archers are proficient in the use of arrows as a melee weapon, meaning they do not suffer the standard -4 penalty for using an arrow in melee.
Extended Range (Ex): The woodland archer gains the bonus listed in this column to the range increment of all bows and crossbows she uses (added in after all multipliers). Thus a 10th level woodland archer with a composite longbow would have a ((110 feet x 1.5 for Far Shot) + 150 feet) 315 foot range increment.
Favored Enemy (Ex): At 1st level, the woodland archer may select a type of creature as a favored enemy, chosen from among those listed on the Ranger’s Favored Enemy chart. Due to her extensive study of her foes and training in the proper techniques for combating them, the woodland archer gains a +2 bonus on her Bluff, Listen, Sense Motive, Spot, and Survival checks when using these skills against creatures of this type. Likewise, she gets a +2 bonus on weapon damage rolls against such creatures.
At 3rd level and every two levels thereafter (5th, 7th and 9th level), the woodland archer may select an additional favored enemy from those listed on the Ranger’s Favored Enemy chart. In addition, at each such interval, the bonus against any one favored enemy (including the one just selected, if so desired) increases by 2.
If the woodland archer chooses humanoids or outsiders as a favored enemy, she must also choose an associated subtype, as indicated on the table. If a specific creature falls into more than one category of favored enemy, the ranger’s bonuses do not stack; she simply uses whichever bonus is higher.
Archery Style (Ex): At 1st level, the woodland archer receives the Rapid Shot feat, even if she does not have the normal prerequisites for it. At 6th level, the woodland archers’ talent with using bows improves; she receives the benefit of the Manyshot feat even if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites for it. At 10th level the woodland archers reaches the pinnacle of this class ability; she receives the benefit of Improved Precise Shot even if she doesn’t meet the prerequisites for it.
The woodland archer only gains the benefits of these bonus feats when wearing light armor or is unarmored; when wearing medium or heavy armor and/or carrying a heavy load she does not gain any benefits associated with this ability.
Spells: Beginning at first level, the woodland archer gains the ability to cast a small number of divine spells. She may prepare and cast any spell from the ranger spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level. Her base daily spell allotment is shown on her class progression chart. In addition she receives bonus spells per day if she has a high enough Wisdom score. When the woodland archer gets zero spells of a given level, she can only use any bonus spells she may have.
The woodland archer must choose a time of the day during which she spends an hour in quiet contemplation to regain her daily allotment of spells (most woodland archers choose first dawn as this time). This period of contemplation is not the direct worship of a deity, but is rather a meditative state in which the archer connects with nature spirits or the land itself. Time spent resting has no effect on whether the archer can prepare spells. The archer may prepare and cast any spell on the spell list, provided that she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation.
Heightened Senses (Ex): At 2nd level the woodland archer’s perception sharpens and allows her to be more aware of her surroundings. The woodland archer gains a bonus on her listen and search checks as well as generalized perception checks equal to half her archer level.
Trailblazer (Ex): Starting at 2nd level the woodland archer may move through any sort of undergrowth (such as natural thorns, briars, overgrown areas, and similar terrain) at her 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 her.
Keen Arrows (Ex): At 4th level all arrows or bolts that the woodland archer fires are considered keen in addition to any other properties they might have. A keen arrow’s threat range is doubled, so a normal arrow in a woodland archer’s hands would have a threat range of 19-20/x2. If the woodland archer fires an arrow or bolt that already has the keen special ability, these effects do not stack.
Swift Tracker (Ex): At 4th level the woodland archer can move at her normal speed while following tracks without taking the normal –5 penalty. She takes only a –10 penalty (instead of the normal –20) when moving at up to twice normal speed while tracking.
Bow Strike (Ex): At 6th level the woodland archer may use her bow in melee as if it were a quarterstaff in a manner that does not damage the bow.
Anticipation (Ex): At 8th level the woodland archer is adept at noticing enemies’ tiny movements and other visual and auditory clues. This ability allows her to react more quickly in combat, granting her a bonus equal to half her archer level to all initiative checks. In addition she may select one target to observe each round; for the remainder of that round, this target cannot make attacks of opportunity against the woodland archer when she leaves or enters that opponent’s threat area. Finally this opponent cannot flank the woodland archer, although she may still be flanked by other enemies.
Arrow Cleave (Ex): At 10th level, when the woodland archer deals enough damage with an arrow or bolt to drop it(typically by dropping it to 0 hit points, killing it and so forth), she receives a second attack with the same ranged weapon against another creature directly in the path of the arrow. The creature must be in the same range increment as the original target and the second attack is at the same bonus as the original attack that dropped the previous creature.
