Would the real Peerless Archer please stand up?

[Lord Ben]

Imbue Arrow is a spell-like ability, so arcane spell failure doesn't apply to the act of imbuing. It would apply to the actual casting of the spell, though.

But it's a standard action to imbue and fire the bow with the arrow loaded with a burning hands or whatnot. So you don't really ever cast it.

 

[drnuncheon]

Magic properties of Arcane Archer, et. al. notwithstanding, the best archer just might be a fighter, if non-core feats are allowed.

Think about it. 17 feats at 20th level, if human. Pretty damn impressive if everyone of those was archery-related.

There's the Archer core class from Sovereign Stone, as well. Middle-level BAB and d8 hit points, but gets class abilities (bonus to hit, extra attacks) that make him slightly better than a fighter at ranged combat. (At 20th level he gets 4 attacks at +21/+21/+16/+9 - without Weapon Focus or Rapid Shot.)

As for fighters and bow feats, I bet you could find 17 of them just in WOTC material alone. There's the 5 core ranged feats from the PHB, and you'll need Dodge and Mobility to use Shot on the Run, so that's 7. Weapon Focus, Weapon Spec, and Improved Critical for your bow make 10.

Sword & Fist gives us Sharpshooting (+2 if your opponent has cover) and Zen Archery - which most archers probably wouldn't take as they already have a high dex, so I won't count it - for 11. (Sadly, Power Critical from MotW is not available for ranged weapons - I wonder why?)

Nothing in OA...ahh, Dragon #274, with its articles on Robin Hood, gives us Ranged Disarm, Deflect Ranged Attack, Ranged Pin, and Ranged Sunder. I'd make them a bit tougher to get, but that's 15. So close!

Going back to the PHB, you could add Mounted Combat and Mounted Archery, just to make sure you have all your bases covered. There's your 17, and only 3 of them are not directly archery related: Dodge, Mobility, and Mounted Combat.

There are some other non-archery feats that are darn useful, though. Improved Initiative (especially if you use the fighter/rogue idea described below) is very worthwhile, and if you're wearing light armor it might be worth it to drop a feat on Expertise, especially since it lets you get Chink in the Armor from Song & Silence. That feat's not so good in melee combat but at range you should be able to afford a standard action to study your opponent.

You can also make a very impressive archer with a fighter/rogue - in fact, this opens up some of the sneak attack feats from Song & Silence that are rather nice. Nothing says loving like a wound that won't stop bleeding (Arterial Strike) - or several, for that matter. If it also subtracts strength, so much the better! And the ability to hamstring at a distance of 30' is kind of rude. Especially if they're chasing you. The rogue levels also let you buy up useful skills like Tumble and Spot (and might even give you a chance to use a wand of true strike...)

J

 

[Chun-tzu]

But it's a standard action to imbue and fire the bow with the arrow loaded with a burning hands or whatnot. So you don't really ever cast it.

Hmm, I could see how you could interpret it that way, but the text says: "It takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow." Nor have I seen any errata or clarifications on it in the DMG Errata or the FAQ. I'd say you have to actually cast the spell, and arcane spell failure applies.

Other rulings?

 

[Jondor_Battlehammer]

If you go Epic with the Arcane Archer, you get the +1 to your arrows every two levels. Considering the DR of some of these creatures, and the sheer bonuses to hit, it makes them a strong contender for first.

 

[Chun-tzu]

There's your 17, and only 3 of them are not directly archery related: Dodge, Mobility, and Mounted Combat.

The Snatch Arrows chain (Improved Unarmed Strike, Deflect Arrows, Snatch Arrows) is pretty cool for an archer. Grab the arrow shot at you, and shoot it right back: does that scream "epic" to you, or what? And of course, there's the psychic version, Return Shot (not to mention Psionic Shot and Fell Shot).

All that said, I'd sooner go with one of the PrCs than stick with fighter. Bow Initiate, Deepwood Sniper, and the others are chock full of munchy goodness.

Edit - Improved Rapid Shot is also from an issue of Dragon, a "must." And did you include Improved Critical: Longbow?

 

[Caliban]

Hmm, I could see how you could interpret it that way, but the text says: "It takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow." Nor have I seen any errata or clarifications on it in the DMG Errata or the FAQ. I'd say you have to actually cast the spell, and arcane spell failure applies.

Other rulings?

That makes sense.

Of course, nothing in the "Imbue Arrows" description limits it to arcane spells. You could do a fairly nasty version of the Arcane Archer with 1 level of wizard and 10 or 12 levels of cleric.

 

[Shallown]

I play a rogue/fighter/deepwoods sniper/ Order of the bow 4/4/2/3 Character and she rocks. She is an elf with Order of the bow being a guiding attitude for her. She is very zen like.

Right now she is +30/+30/+25/+20 with rapid shot and does 1d8+16 +1d6 and on a crit does (1d8+16) X 4 plus 1d6 plus 3d10. An extremely nasty, tuned for archery and being the scout/thief person. More the scout than the thief though, all rogue skills are non actual thieving type.

She has rolled up on a demon gotten initiative scored a crit and killed them all in two shots. Over the telepathic bond it was "Demon... " thwip.. thwip.." All clear" Think A zen soldier type of personality.

 

[da chicken]

If you want to be a good archer, you don't waste time on a PrC at all. A straight Cleric 20 makes the best archer.

Elven (preferably Wild or Wood) Cleric of Solonor Thelandira (FRCS)

We'll give him 19 Wis and 10 everything else (to make life easy).

Domains:
War: Free weapon focus (longbow)
Elf: Free point blank shot. Notable spells: true strike - 1st, cat's grace - 2nd.

Feats: Extend Spell, Persistent Spell, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot, Far Shot, plus any two others (I prefer item creation or empower spell).

Get up in the morning and cast the following:
Persistent divine favor (5th level): +6 luck to attack & damage for 24 hours
Persistent divine power (8th level): 18 Str, 20 temporary hp, BAB -> +20/+15/+10/+5 for 24 hours
Cat's grace (2nd level domain): 1d4+1 Dex for 20 hours
Greater magic weapon on bow (4th level): +5 enhancment to attack and damage for 20 hours
Greater magic weapon on 50 arrows (4th level): +5 enhancment to attack and damage for 20 hours

For equipment, I'll just take what I want: the bow.
+1 mighty [Str +4] composite longbow of speed: 50,800 gp.

Thus:

[color=gold]
[b]Attack[/b]
BAB                     +20/+15/+10/+5 (divine power)
Bow                     +25/+25/+20/+15/+10
Arrows                  +30/+30/+25/+20/+15
Dex +2                  +31/+31/+26/+21/+16
Weapon Focus            +32/+32/+27/+22/+17
Rapid Shot              +30/+30/+30/+25/+20/+15
Divine Favor            +36/+36/+36/+31/+26/+21

[b]Damage[/b]
Arrow                   1d8+5
Bow                     1d8+10
Str (divine power)      1d8+14
Divine Favor            1d8+20
[/color]

Note this is with Dex of 10 base + 2, and only one magic item. Oh, and he's only used 1 8th level slot, 1 5th level slot, 2 4th level slots, and the 2nd level domain slot. The rest are still free.

Like the 10th level DS, I can true strike once per day, except I've been doing it since level 1 instead of level 15. Oh, and I could prepare it in my 2nd or higher domain slot if I wanted to, too. And, hey, true strike negates concealment, even 100% concealment. Of course, both see invisibility and true seeing often do, too.

I don't get the OotBI's Superior Weapon Specialization, but divine favor is better. I don't get melee shot either, but how big of a deal is that exactly?

I don't get AA's enchant arrow, but greater magic weapon is supremely better. I can use it on the bow and the arrows, and I can enhance my party's weapons, too. i don't get Imbue Arrow either. Instead, I just cast the spell directly. And my caster level is maxed.

 

[RogueJK]

Domains:
War: Free weapon focus (longbow)
Elf: Free point blank shot. Notable spells: true strike - 1st, cat's grace - 2nd.

I'd go with the Elf and Time domains instead. (I don't have my FRCS on hand, and I can't recall the elven deity's name.)

Improved Initiative, along with access to Haste, Time Stop, Contingency, Permanency, and the other non-cleric domain spells, is much better than a mere +1 bonus to hit and a few Power Words.

 

[da chicken]

I'd go with the Elf and Time domains instead. (I don't have my FRCS on hand, and I can't recall the elven deity's name.)

Improved Initiative, along with access to Haste, Time Stop, Contingency, Permanency, and the other non-cleric domain spells, is much better than a mere +1 bonus to hit and a few Power Words.

Wow. You're right. Can't believe I missed that. Labelas Enoreth is a CG deity that has Elf and Time. Ouch.