a basic archer class

[lilhowie624]

Sniper
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+1|
+2|
+2|
+0|Lining up the Shot

2nd|
+2|
+3|
+3|
+0|Basic Sniper

3rd|
+3|
+3|
+3|
+1| +10ft to range / Precision +1d6

4th|
+4|
+4|
+4|
+1| Ranged Specialsit

5th|
+5|
+4|
+4|
+1|Aim Leg

6th|
+6/+1|
+5|
+5|
+2|Rapid Reload

7th|
+7/+2|
+5|
+5|
+2| +20ft range / Precision +2d6

8th|
+8/+3|
+6|
+6|
+2| Advanced Sniper

9th|
+9/+4|
+6|
+6|
+3|Quicken Lining up the Shot

10th|
+10/+5|
+7|
+7|
+3| +30ft range / Precision +3d6

11th|
+11/+6/+1|
+7|
+7|
+3| Aim Arm

12th|
+12/+7/+2|
+8|
+8|
+4| Lightning Reload

13th|
+13/+8/+3|
+8|
+8|
+4|

14th|
+14/+9/+4|
+9|
+9|
+4| Expert Sniper / +40ft range / Precision +4d6

15th|
+15/+10/+5|
+9|
+9|
+5|

16th|
+16/+11/+6/+1|
+10|
+10|
+5|Increased Crossbow/bow Multiplier X1

17th|
+17/+12/+7/+2|
+10|
+10|
+5| Aim Throat

18th|
+18/+13/+8/+3|
+11|
+11|
+6| Immediate Reload / +50ft range / Precise +5d6

19th|
+19/+14/+9/+4|
+11|
+11|
+6|Immediate Lining up the Shot

20th|
+20/+15/+10/+5|
+12|
+12|
+6|Master Sniper[/table]

HD: 1d6
skills: 4+int
balance, climb, concentration, hide, jump, k.(dungeoneering), k.(geography), listen, ride, spot, move silently

armor - light
weapon - simple, hand crossbow, Great crossbow, great long and shortbows both regular and composite

Lining up the Shot - As a standard action you can make a spot check against the targets AC.
If sucessful you gain a +1 bonus to your next attack hit and damage rolls.
this improves by an additional +1 at lvl 4 and for every 4 lvls there after.
While Lining up the Shot you may not move or take any action other than simple and immediate.
If at anytime you are holding Lining up the Shot and cannot maintain 25% visablity on the target or you make a move action before you attack you lose the benefits gained by this ability.

Basic Sniper - If you succeed on Lining up the Shot you may hold that shot until the start of your next round.
If you do so you must succeed on a DC15 concentration check. if you succeed ont he check you can add your int modifier as extra dmg
In additon you may now make a move action at 1/4 of you movement while holding Lining up the Shot and if you use the snipe monuver you only suffer
a -15 penalty to your hide check instead of the normal 20.

+X range - increase the range of your bow and crossbow and the range at which precision based damage can be applied by X amount.
this abilities stacks with other abilities that increase both range and precision range.

Precision - works like sneak attack except as noted here. This bonus dmg can only be applied to ranged weapons(ex crossbow or bow).
this dmg stacks with sneack attack and its many varents.

Ranged Specialist - Half the range penalties, in addtion you can qualify for fighter feats as if you were a fighter of 2lvls lower these feats can only be applied to ranged weapons.

Aim Leg - As a standard action you can take a -4 on your attack roll to aim at a targets leg. If you hit the target recieves a -2 penalty to dex and a -10 movement this lasts 1d4+int rounds.
this can stack on a target a number of times for each leg they have.(humonoids = 2, centaurs = 4)

Rapid Reload - You can reload a hand crossbow as a free action, you can reload a light crossbow as an immeadiate action, and you
can reload a heavy crossbow and great crossbows as a move action.
this doesnt stack with the feat rapid reload

Advanced Sniper - If you are successful at Lining up the Shot and holding the action for 1 round you can opt to hold it for an addional round.
If you hold the shot for a second round you must succeed on a DC20 concentration check. If you succeed you ignore an amount of ac (lvl+int) on
the target. This is in addtion to the benefit granted by Basic Sniper.
In additon you may now move at 1/2 of your movement while holding Lining up the Shot and if you use the snipe monuver you only suffer
a -10 penalty to your hide check instead of the normal 20.

Quicken Lining up the Shot - You can now use Lining up the Shot as a move action.
If successful you can use Basic Sniper as an immediate action.

Aim Arm - As a standard action you can take a -4 on your attack roll to aim at the targets arm. If you hit the target recieves a -2 penalty to str and rendering the arm useless for 1d4+int rounds if it was holding something the item is dropped.
this can stack on a target a number of times for each arm they have.

Lightning Reload - you can reload a light crossbow as a free action and a heavy crossbow and great crossbow as a immediate action.

Expert Sniper - If you are Successful at Lining up the Shot and holding the action for 2 rounds you can opt to hold it for a third round.
If you do so you must succeed on a DC25 concentration check. If you succeed you can add your precision dmg to that attack, you may also use aim arm, leg, or throat on this attack. This is in addition to the benefit granted by Advanced Sniper and Basic Sniper.
In additon you may now move at 3/4 of your movement while holding Lining up the Shot and if you use the snipe monuver you only suffer
a -5 penalty to your hide check instead of the normal 20.

Increased Crossbow/bow Multiplier X1 - Increase the multiplier damage on a critical hit by 1.

Aim Throat - As a standard action you can take a -4 on your attack roll to aim at the targets throat. If you hit the target they recieve a 25% spell fail for spells requiring the verbal component and are treated as sufficationg for 1d4+int rounds. this can only be used on living creatures and creatures

that have a distinguishable throat.

Immediate Reload - you can now reload heavy crossbows and great crossbows as a free action.

Immediate Lining up the Shot - you can now use Lining up the Shot an Immediate action.
If successful can use Basic Sniperas a simple action and Advanced Sniperas a move action.

Master Sniper - If you are successful at Lining up the Shot and holding the action for 3 rounds you can opt to hold it for a fourth round.
If you do so you must succeed on a DC30 concentration check. If you succeed your next ranged attack is a ranged touch attack and if it hits is considered an automatic threat.
this is in addition to the benefit granted by Expert Sniper,Advanced Sniper and Basic Sniper
In addition you may now move at your full movement while holding Lining up the Shot and if you use the snipe maneuver you suffer no penalty.


this is my attempt to make a sniper like archer class. ive always wanted to make one but every time i do its always fighter/rouge or ranger/scout. and neither use the crossbow.

[Mr. Mud]

Looks rather interesting... I might make an editing version and use it in one of my sessions if you don't mind? (Edit, as in, add/remove/balance some stuff for the campaign.)

Nice :smallsmile:.

[lilhowie624]

is it not the reason for posting up ideas like this. other than to get help balincing the class a little.

[Al-Ashrad]

Armour and Weapon Proficiencies?

Also, I would consider making Fort the bad save, and making the Ref and Will Saves the good ones.

[lilhowie624]

i was thinking the same but i wasnt sure if that would make the class a little to rock solid.

[lilhowie624]

hmm was hoping for more than 2 responses

[Fitz10019]

Sniper
Lining up the Shot - As a standard action you can make a spot check against the target's AC. If successful, you gain a +1 bonus to your next attack's hit and damage rolls. This bonus improves by an additional +1 for at lvl 4 and for every 4 lvls thereafter. While Lining up the Shot you may not move or take any other action than immediate.

Bolding for emphasis to make my point.
Red for corrections to spelling, etc.

Either it's a standard action, and you can move, or it's a full round action, and you can't. It suits the flavor better to say, "if you move between lining up the shot and making your attack, the bonus is lost." This way, a character can take a move action, then a standard to line up. Next round, attack with the bonus without or before moving.

I wonder if it should also be explicitly stated that the target's movement does not spoil the Line.

[Pyrusticia]

armor - light
weapon - simple, hand crossbow, heavy crossbow

A Heavy Crossbow is a simple weapon, so you don't need to mention that one. You might consider giving them the Great Crossbow from Races of Stone, though.

Also, you might want to consider renaming this class to Crossbowman. When I opened this thread I was expecting to find someone centered around straight bows (long, short, and great), and this guy can't even use them...

[Vagnarok]

Overall, this is a very interesting take on a cool class. Nice work. However, I do have some comments:

The class is strong when looking at it's BAB and saves, but the special abilities need some work. The sniper ability seems a tad gimmicky, imo. The charge up bonuses aren't the greatest when you're forced to wait up to 4 rounds at 20th lvl just to get the best effect. Some 20th lvl characters can destroy the world in 4 rounds, I'd consider reworking these abilities.
Also, aim arm from FF Tactics advance has a much different effect than a -2 to str, but maybe that's not what you were going for. idk. Aim leg should also apply some movement penalties.

The weapon proficiencies don't really make that much sense to me. Why shouldn't they get to use bows? Due to their non mechanical nature, they're much quieter than crossbows. I'd think that would make them preferred for assassinations where concealment isn't an issue.

Also, I think that reloading a heavy crossbow as a free action might be a little difficult, but hey, that's why it's a high lvl ability right?

[lilhowie624]

thanks for the input. it really helps. ive been trying to balance the class for a mid to high level game that im joining. the DM thinks this will bring some flavor to the table.

to vagnarok - if you read some of the later abilities of Lining up the Shot. it says you can use basic and advanced sniper as simple and move actions. to cut the time down by 3 rounds. making you wait only 2. i do suppose i could buff the expert and master sniper to add a little more of a buff tho.

master sniper - this attack is made as a ranged touch

expert sniper - in addition you can use aim arm leg or throat.

as for the aim arm and legs no i wasnt goin for the ffta game version. i wanted a way to do at least a minor form of ability dmg.

aim arm - the targeted arm is usless for 1d4+int rounds. if the arm is holding a weapon or shield it is dropped.

aim leg - apply a cumulitive(per leg) -10movement penalty this lasts for 1d4+int rounds.

as for the bows yes i see now that i made a simple mistake and ill be adding them as well as the great xbow and great bow. both are 1 dice up from the normals.

as for the free action loading - that was the point i wanted something to make crossbows just as acceptable as bows.


to fitz - sry my spelling is the terrible and so is my grammer skills. the point i was going for until the sniper training takes place, is to make you stand still or hide. and its supposed to be a standard action. until the higher lvls when you can do it as a move then immediate.


Line up the Shot - standard action. if at anytime before your next attack you cannot maintain 25% visiablity on the target due to his or your movement the bonuses granted by this ability are lost.

to both do you think if i add the line

master sniper - in addition you may use the bonuses granted from sniper training and line up the shot on either you next full round action or your next standard action.

that it would be a little op since as it is the abilities are a little under powered.

[sigurd]

I would add something about arrows, fletching and bows to the mix.


1st level - Company Arrows - Archers are careful with the choice and care of their arrows. Archers are adept at finding and repairing their ammunition they have a 75% chance of recovering arrows that miss their targets (normally 50%).

Normally arrows that hit are lost, according to the PHB. You might give them a chance to recover even these but that's actually quite an ability when you consider the magic arrows out there.


3rd level - Bowyer - Given materials archers, may craft arrows (DC12) or bolts (DC10) with the Craft (Bowyer) skill. Beginning 3rd level they may add their archer class level to this skill to determine success.


I guess you could make them both 1st level abilities but Its nice to have something on multiple levels.


You might also allow them proficiency with arrows as a hand to hand weapon but I think its cheezy. The PHB says that arrows used hand to hand are a light improvised weapon doing the same damage as a dagger of the same size range (-4). Historically medieval archers carried weighted arrows (darts) on their belt to throw if they were rushed.

I'm not sure the rules give you a really elegant solution.


BTW. Would you put some sort of license on this class ie... OGC? I'd like to see other people use it.


Sigurd

I like the class.