Protection from "magical" arrows

[Arkhandus]

The Deflect Arrows feat will stop one ranged weapon attack per round.

The 1st-level cleric spell (and Luck domain spell) Entropic Shield (IIRC?) incurs a 20% miss chance for all ranged attacks against you.

Displacement and Blur incur a concealment miss chance I think, but I'm not gonna bother checking right now to see if that's the case, or if it's just an unnamed miss chance. Concealment is something the archer could probably get around with a feat or spell so it's not as good as a simple miss chance, like from Entropic Shield.

Stoneskin may help since it gives DR of something/adamantine (I forget specifics...and again, don't feel like checking books/SRD right now).

Sleet Storm blocks sight within its area, so dropping that spell on the archer (or at least between him/her and the caster) could work.

Wind Wall automatically deflects arrows and crossbow bolts, by blowing them upward and away.

Greater Invisibility and Mirror Image may help, as well.

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

Protection from Arrows? Also, an Anti-magic field around a non caster would drop alot of his damage.

 

[Felon]

Protection from Arrows? Also, an Anti-magic field around a non caster would drop alot of his damage.

The thread's title goes out of its way to specifically exclude protection from arrows from consideration, as it specifically is only useful against non-magical arrows.

Also, the OP mentioned that this is a high-level scout, so a lot of that damage is coming from skirmish, which is extraordinary and thus not affect by AMF's.

I think there is too much focus on this thread on neutralizing the arrow part and not the skirmish part. Skirmish, like sneak attack, is incredibly easy to neuter. The target can't have concealment, must be susceptable to crits, and has to be within 30 feet. All easily accomplished.

 

[I'm A Banana]

Weather. Seriously.

Get the guy out in a snowstorm, or a thunderstorm, and not only is the battle filled with EPIC FLASHES OF LIGHTNING (kaboom!), but the winds are strong enough and the rain is concealing enough that his arrows of doom are all but useless, no matter how much skirmish he can add up.

If it's a snowstorm, you have the added complication of piles of snow.

A druid could be this guy's worst enemy, and a monk could give him a run for his money. The druid is good at terrain control -- entangle gets him in a grapple so he can't move or shoot, control weather gives you the storms you need, a big animal companion helps bring the hurt up close so that he can't shoot at the druid himself. The monk is good at disabling. He can move fast enough and with enough agility to clear almost any obstacle between the archer and himself, and when he gets close enough, he can sunder, grapple, eagle-claw strike, and generally make the archer totally angry he doesn't have just some big area attack to blast the guy with.

Caltrops come to mind to make skirmish a bad idea.

Monsters, generally, won't be the best bet against him, since a lot of them tend to be "tank" roles, but if you can get some incorporeal undead, some critters with a dex poison or the ability to reduce his speed somehow...they're hard to find, though.

 

[StreamOfTheSky]

What is the best defense against magical arrows? I have a high level scout that is just too deadly with a bow, and that's his schtick, but at the same time he does about 9d6 every time he hits, and he rarely misses, so he makes short work of nearly any BBG. Are there reliable spells or magic items that offer more than a 20%-30% miss chance? Thanks.

I fourth (?) Wind Wall. It neuters archers so bad, I almost think it broken some times.

 

[drothgery]

What is the best defense against magical arrows? I have a high level scout that is just too deadly with a bow, and that's his schtick, but at the same time he does about 9d6 every time he hits, and he rarely misses, so he makes short work of nearly any BBG. Are there reliable spells or magic items that offer more than a 20%-30% miss chance? Thanks.

Just as a general note here... while many of the strategies in this thread will work (and the things designed to prevent the scout from skirmishing are probably the simplest and most effective), I'd suggest a general policy of of using three or four not-quites-as-BBEGs where maybe one or two are difficult/impossible for the scout to use his skirmish arrow whammy against.

Also note that at levels where a scout can be doing that, a blaster caster is throwing around 15d6 or so from spells, and a straightforward two-handed melee type is doing ungodly amounts of damage.

 

[Darklone]

Also note that at levels where a scout can be doing that, a blaster caster is throwing around 15d6 or so from spells, and a straightforward two-handed melee type is doing ungodly amounts of damage.

Also note that a Scout3/Ranger17 with Swift Hunter may shoot 4 arrows with Greater Manyshot at +28d6 in addition to 4 times arrow damage and possibly favored enemy damage.

Best way to exclude the skirmish damage (since the scout may decide to pull out the greataxe and come charging through the windwall) would be to exclude critical hits. Become a lich. But don't forget that Swift Hunter allows to skirmish favored enemies.

 

[Piratecat]

I'll pop this over to rules.

 

[UltimaGabe]

Also note that a Scout3/Ranger17 with Swift Hunter may shoot 4 arrows with Greater Manyshot at +28d6 in addition to 4 times arrow damage and possibly favored enemy damage.

Best way to exclude the skirmish damage (since the scout may decide to pull out the greataxe and come charging through the windwall) would be to exclude critical hits. Become a lich. But don't forget that Swift Hunter allows to skirmish favored enemies.

I'm not familiar with that feat, but is there some part of it that specifically allows Precision-based damage on more than just one of the attacks?

 

[starwed]

I'm not familiar with that feat, but is there some part of it that specifically allows Precision-based damage on more than just one of the attacks?

Amusingly enough:

Your precision-based damage applies to each arrow fired, and, if you score a critical hit with more than one of the arrows, each critical hit deals critical damage.