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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Elder-Basilisk" data-source="post: 2303345" data-attributes="member: 3146">As an archer who wants to be able to melee when the situation demands it, you want the most efficient and effective feats. Two Weapon Fighting should be out (unless you really emphasize your favored enemy abilities) since it requires three feats (TWF, Imp TWF, and Gr TWF) to keep up at high levels and also requires a large investment of treasure in order to have decent weapons to use.1. Power Attack.It's the premiere melee feat and enables you to beat through DR and punish low-AC foes. There are a few ways to build on it too:With a few more feats (Brutal Throw, Quickdraw, and Power Throw), you can use it at range as well--something that may occasionally be useful. For a ranger, though, that's probably more feats than you want to spend on a niche strategy.Improved Sunder or Improved Bull Rush would open up Combat Brute or Shock Trooper giving you several more powerful options.Favored Power Attack would enable you to mow through favored enemies in melee as well as at range.2. Quickdraw.This feat is useful for both melee and ranged fighting. With a quiver of Ehlonna, you could have your normal bow and an elemental-bane, construct bane, or merciful bow for various situations. It will also enable you to make a full attack in the first round you find yourself in melee rather than spending a move action to draw your melee weapon. As a side benefit, it will enable you to draw wands as a free action and many DMs will let you draw alchemists' fire, tanglefoot bags, etc as a free action as well. Some DMs will even rule that potions are close enough to alchemist's fire or holy water to be considered "weaponlike" and allow you to draw a potion as a free action as well.Another thing to consider here: using feats to set yourself up for a melee (or at least not ranged) prestige class wouldn't be a bad idea if you decide not to go straight ranger or multiclass out after getting Improved Precise Shot. As long as it gives full BAB, it does nearly as much for your archery as ranger levels. Thus, Holy Liberator, Occult Slayer, and even Exotic Weapon Master could be decent choices for an archer.Not a bad idea, but I don't think I'll try it just yet. The difficulty is that there are at least as many differences in how the PCs might get surprise on bad guys as the three situations you describe here. In general, I try to avoid box text for highly variable encounters altogether and trust the DM to deal with a ranger/shadowdancer sneaking 200 feet in front of the party with a DC 67 hide check. Box text is supposed to be read when appropriate, not just read because the party opened door A-4.</blockquote>

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