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TempusCCK
2009-03-03, 12:21 PM
What are the best spells for a cleric to use to maximize archery. Try to stay away from the obvious in the Players Handbook like Divine Power and the like. Any source is available and the only houserule is that we've given the Elven Cleric full BAB when using a bow, but no medium or heavy armor proficiency.

Zaq
2009-03-03, 03:16 PM
I have never played a cleric archer, so I don't have any personal experience, but are you married to the "Cleric" part of it? Whatever good Cleric spells you come up with, an Archivist will have as well, and more importantly, they'll have Ranger spells too, many of which are specifically made for archery (like Hunter's Mercy, or that one from PHB2 that gives you sneak attack with a bow based on your caster level, Hunter's Eye I think it's called?). I know that it's annoying when people say "You want to play X? X sucks! Y is better!" but I'm simply saying this not because Cleric archers suck, but merely because I don't know any specific tricks for them, while I do know that Archivist archers with Cleric and Ranger spells are deadly. (Also, Archivists can apply way more metamagic to Ranger spells than Rangers can.)

I do know that one of the standard tricks is to Polymorph into an Arrow Demon, which I believe is from the Fiend Folio, but you probably knew that already.

Oh, and is Heroics (not Heroism) a Cleric spell? It gives the target a bonus Fighter feat for 10 min/level, which can be really nice to get either some of the more esoteric feats (Improved Precise Shot, Ranged Pin) or just to get feats faster than what your level would allow. I don't have the Spell Compendium open so I don't remember if Clerics get Heroics or if that's only Sorcerers, but check it anyway.

Eldariel
2009-03-03, 04:01 PM
Since you have the Divine Favor/Divine Power/Righteous Might down...

Blessed Aim
Righteous Wrath of the Faithful
Recitation
Holy Transformation-line
Visage of the Deity-line
Swift Haste
Conviction
Divine Agility/Miracled Owl's Insight (if using Zen Archery)
and a bunch of non-Cleric spells through Anyspell, Greater Anyspell & Miracle (notables include Bite of the Werex-line, Aura of Vitality, Giant Size & co.)

Basically, buff your stats and scores skyhigh and burn the infidels. Few more defensive options like Holy Star, Sheltered Vitality, Freedom of Movement, Death Ward, etc. Obviously you're assumed to be Persisting spells for such massive buffing; otherwise, you'll be working with a much more modest buff list most of the time.

Also, the ultimate Archery-buff is Polymorph into Arrow Demon [MMII], but as Polymorph is totally broken (and Core), I'm not mentioning it.

Curmudgeon
2009-03-03, 08:05 PM
True Strike and Cat's Grace are obvious choices; these come if you take the Elf domain, which also grants Point Blank Shot. The Trickery domain gives you Invisibility (good for one shot) and Mislead (good for many). If you're using a crossbow maybe Keen Edge for the bolts; that requires the Metal domain. You might consider the Spontaneous Domain Casting variant (Players Handbook II) if you're going to be making use of lots of domain spells.

Greater Magic Weapon for your bow, naturally.

Myrmex
2009-03-04, 01:35 AM
Make sure you have a bow with command words "One shot, one kill."

Optimator
2009-03-04, 01:53 AM
It's very painful to enter (Animal Domain, Endurance, Track, and Rapid Shot) but the Prestige Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigeRanger) gets all the sweet, succulent, nectar-y archery spells onto your list. It might even be easier to max UMD somehow and find a ranger to make wands of the good spells than to take Endurance and Track and the Animal Domain...

Curmudgeon
2009-03-04, 05:47 AM
It's very painful to enter (Animal Domain, Endurance, Track, and Rapid Shot) but the Prestige Ranger (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/classes/prestigiousCharacterClasses.htm#prestigeRanger) gets all the sweet, succulent, nectar-y archery spells onto your list. How? The Prestige Ranger gets at every other level "+1 level of existing divine spellcasting class", which would be more Cleric spells, but at half the usual rate. It's not Ranger spells.

Telonius
2009-03-04, 08:52 AM
It's a Feat, not a spell, but Zen Archery lets you use your WIS instead of your DEX for ranged attacks.

TempusCCK
2009-03-05, 01:20 AM
Bump/Thanking

Thanks for all your help guys. It appears there's not much in the way of spells for archers other than boosting stats, but I've found some things that may be helpful.

Speaking of which, what are some good full-casting Cleric prestige classes the might fit an archery/buffer role?

monty
2009-03-05, 01:28 AM
If possible, I'd go Archivist with a 1-level dip in Sacred Exorcist for DMM. Pick up Knowledge Devotion for probably another +5 to all your attacks.

TempusCCK
2009-03-05, 02:43 PM
So I've gotten my DM to agree to allow me to choose some Ranger spells that I could prepare as a cleric, as long as he approved them. What would GitP suggest?

Keld Denar
2009-03-05, 03:17 PM
Hunter's Eye is great if you start an encounter at 30' or less. Swift spell, CL/3d6 SA. Its a level 2.

Basically, check out Spell Compendium. Most of the spells on the Ranger spell list from there are good.

lsfreak
2009-03-05, 03:29 PM
I don't know a lot about cleric archers, but here's some stuff I pulled from a few books:
Spell Compendium:
Arrowmind - You don't provoke AoO and you can make AoO with your bow; min/lvl
Arrowstorm - Fire once at all enemies in one range increment
Find the Gap - 1rnd/lvl, first attack each round is touch
Guided Shot - 1 round, ignore range penalties and cover/concealment (except total)
Hunter's Mercy - Next shot is confirmed crit

Near Horizon (CMage) - no range increment penalties for 3 rounds
Hunter's Eye (PHB2) - Gain 1d6 sneak attack per 3 caster levels

AslanCross
2009-03-05, 06:01 PM
The Ordained Champion PrC is the only one that comes to mind for cleric archers. The divine channeling ability it gets allows you to channel spells into your weapon as a move action without needing to actually cast the spell in the manner that duskblades do. Problem is all of the Ordained Champ's abilities are melee-only, but that's probably because it was originally designed for Hextor and Heironeous. With a DM's approval it could be made to work with a deity who favors the longbow (such as Silver Flame from Eberron). It's not a full caster class, though, getting only 3/5. Still better than Warpriest, though.