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View Full Version : (3.5) Treetop Archer (PEACH)



noparlpf
2011-10-05, 09:01 PM
So I've been looking around recently and haven't found many archery-based prestige classes. Order of the Bow Initiate isn't fabulous and it's not exactly my cup of tea anyhow. Cragtop Archer is nifty (you can hit something 3000 feet away with no penalties to your attack roll) but has limited use; how often have you fought something more than one or two range increments away? So I made this, roughly based on the Cragtop Archer, but designed for a woodlands setting instead.

Requirements
Base Attack Bonus: +6
Skills: Climb 10 ranks, Hide 5 ranks, Spot 5 ranks, Survival 5 ranks
Feats: Precise Shot, Forest Warrior (new feat described below)

This is based on Mountain Warrior, but changed a little for a woodlands setting.
FOREST WARRIOR [GENERAL]
You are adept at fighting in the woodlands and from a precarious perch in the treetops.
Prerequisites: Survival 5 ranks, base attack bonus +3.
Benefit: When you make a melee attack against an opponent who is standing in difficult terrain caused by undergrowth, you gain a +1 bonus on your attack roll.
When you make a ranged attack from higher ground than your target, you gain a +1 bonus on your attack roll.
When an opponent attacks you in melee from difficult terrain caused by undergrowth, you gain a +1 dodge bonus to AC.
You gain a +2 bonus on all Climb checks made to climb trees, and a +2 bonus to all Balance checks made to keep your balance while perched in a tree.
Normal: A character who makes melee attacks from higher ground gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls. Ranged attacks made from higher ground do not receive any bonus.
Special: A fighter may select Mountain Warrior as one of his fighter bonus feats (see page 38 of the Player’s Handbook).

Class Features
Class Skills: The Treetop Archer's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are as follows: Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Knowledge (nature) (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Tumble (Dex).
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Intelligence Modifier
Hit Die: d8.
{table=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|
+1|
+0|
+2|
+0|Adept Climber, Farsight

2nd|
+2|
+0|
+3|
+0|Strike From Above

3rd|
+3|
+1|
+3|
+1|Expert Sniper

4th|
+4|
+1|
+4|
+1|Pierce the Foliage

5th|
+5|
+1|
+4|
+1|Brachiation[/table]

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Treetop archers gain no proficiency with any weapons or armor.
Adept Climber (Ex): A treetop archer does not lose her Dexterity bonus to Armor Class while climbing.
Farsight (Ex): A treetop archer enjoys great visual acuity. She suffers only half the normal penalty on her Spot checks because of distance (–1 per 20 feet of distance, rather than –1 per 10 feet). In addition, a treetop archer takes only half the normal penalty on ranged attacks per range increment (–1 per range increment, rather than –2).
Strike From Above (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, a treetop archer gains a +2 bonus on damage rolls when making a ranged attack from higher ground than her target.
Expert Sniper (Ex): From 3rd level on, a treetop archer takes only a -10 penalty (rather than a -20 penalty) to conceal herself after sniping.
Pierce the Foliage (Ex): A treetop archer of 4th level or higher has had so much practice firing at targets partially concealed by foliage that she can ignore any miss chance caused by concealment due to forested terrain.
Brachiation (Ex): A treetop archer of 5th level has spent so much time in the trees that she can move through them with ease. She gains a climb speed equal to her base land speed (which provides a +8 racial bonus on climb checks) and also gains Brachiation (CAdv) as a bonus feat, except that it even functions in sparse forests.

137beth
2011-10-06, 07:32 AM
I like the flavor, but it seems fairly weak. An effective +1 bonus/ranged increment isn't much. Perhaps make the penalty -1/2 ranged increments.
Also, you really don't have any unique class features. It's just numerical boosts. If I were playing a ranger who was considering giving up spellcasting, my animal companion, and tracking/favored enemies/similar flavor, I'd want to get something in return for taking your class.

noparlpf
2011-10-06, 07:47 AM
I'm not trying to make something super-strong, I just wanted a woodsy version of Cragtop Archer. (Honestly I prefer lower power levels.) And this is probably higher-powered than that.
See, in the flavor text for Cragtop Archer they suggest refluffing it to be an elven archer class. But that doesn't even work well because a. there's a lot of concealment in forests, b. how often can you shoot out to fifteen range increments in a forest when there are trees in the way, and c. Horizon Shot doesn't work in many forests because the canopy is often in the way.
So this allows for forest movement, sniping, and ignoring concealment due to leaves, bushes, and the like.
Think of it more as a variant class for Cragtop Archer than as its own class, I guess. But with something actually useful and neat at 5th level.

Do you have any alternative suggestions?

Treblain
2011-10-06, 10:34 AM
Some ideas:


Dex to damage?
Reduce/remove precision damage range limit?
Take 10 on Climb checks
Camouflage and/or Hide In Plain Sight as Ranger.
A "Take Aim" ability: you can spend a swift, move, or full-round action to increase your accuracy/damage.
Some ability that lets you escape melee combat in an emergency
BOXING GLOVE ARROWS! (just kiddding)

Andion Isurand
2011-10-06, 10:39 AM
Honestly, I think you should keep the 3rd level arcing shot ability just as it is, for those pesky dragons trying to burn down your tree.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/iw/20040815b

noparlpf
2011-10-06, 10:40 AM
Some ideas:


Dex to damage?
Reduce/remove precision damage range limit?
Take 10 on Climb checks
Camouflage and/or Hide In Plain Sight as Ranger.
A "Take Aim" ability: you can spend a swift, move, or full-round action to increase your accuracy/damage.
Some ability that lets you escape melee combat in an emergency
BOXING GLOVE ARROWS! (just kidding)


That's a lot of stuff to fit into a 5-level PrC. And having a climb speed (5th level) does allow you to take 10 on climb checks.
The ability that lets you escape melee combat in an emergency is called "Withdraw". It's a full-round action during which you move at up to double your speed, and moving out of your starting square doesn't provoke. Then you move into the trees and either bail or shoot at them.

Edit:

Honestly, I think you should keep the 3rd level arcing shot ability just as it is, for those pesky dragons trying to burn down your tree.

Arcing Shot doesn't work unless you have at least 40' clearance. Low branches are often well below 40'. In the forest, shooting accurately and sneakily while maintaining mobility is more important than shooting at a range. Trees (the trunk provides cover, not concealment) often get in the way when you try for distance.

Andion Isurand
2011-10-06, 10:48 AM
Yeah, I just like it is all.

noparlpf
2011-10-06, 10:57 AM
It is pretty cool when you hit 4th level Cragtop Archer and can shoot up to 3000' (with a composite greatbow, I think) with no penalty. But the Cragtop Archer is flavored for shooting from a cliff or the like. Honestly, even though it's cool, the higher levels aren't really useful for a PC except in incredibly rare situations.
Have you ever seen a DM draw out a battle map more than 200' on a side? I've only seen anything that big once or twice. Only rarely have I seen even close-range spells fail to reach something after a move action.

Andion Isurand
2011-10-06, 11:46 AM
Well, if you get a large enough dry erase board, you can do a Picture in picture style and keep an area in the corner that represents the rest of the map, but zoomed out, with dots to roughly mark relative positions

or use two large eraseboards... I used to have a couple that were 3' x 4' and that seemed to do alright even for the large battles

of course, at that point, you do away with the grid system until enemies start coming close together, and roughly measuring moves with a ruler and string

noparlpf
2011-10-06, 11:51 AM
Goodness. Is that for large-scale battles? I've never gotten a chance to participate in anything like that.