[PF] Arcane Archer (Best Spells?)

[Chained Birds]

Made a very nice Arcane Archer in a gestalt game using Sorcerer. Currently go him with only 1 5th level spell known, 2 4th level, etc.

My question about this Prestige is:

What are the best Socerer spells for an Arcane Archer? Best spells for him to always have available, and best spells to use Imbue Arrow with.

-- Current List --

0th/ Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Drench, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation, Read Magic.

1st/ Ear-Piercing Scream, Feather Fall, Magic Missile, Shield, Vanish.

2nd/ Arrow Eruption, Frost Fall, Stone Call, Web.

3rd/ Fireball, Fly, Haste.

4th/ Black Tentacles, Dimension Door.

5th/ Shadow Evocation?

[Suddo]

Anti-Magic Field and Forcecage. Its almost impossible to get out of. The problem of course being Forcecage is 7th level. But still Antimagic field should be a spell you know.

Edit:
Wait if its Gestalt?
Sorc 16 // Paladin 2 / Fighter 4 / Arcane Archer 10 would be cool. Though I still think anything past level 2 is kind of bad.

[Chained Birds]

My build is actually very simplistic.

Monk (Zen Archer/Qinggong) // Sorcerer (Empyreal) 8/ Arcane Archer 3

Anti-Magic is a 6th level spell, and still out of my reach with my build with only 10th level casting... Though a good suggestion if I survive the next 2 levels.

But are there any changes I could make to my current roster of spells in the OP?

[Particle_Man]

Grease, maybe?

[ericgrau]

Ah you're focusing on the casting side rather than the archery damage side. In that case you'll want to stop at arcane archer 4 and continue with either sorcerer or maybe eldritch knight, but EK would mean another lost caster level.

At your level I'd get boots of speed for haste instead of wasting a turn casting it. So should any allies that need it. Instead you might try greater magic weapon (cast repeatedly or use a lesser rod of extend spell to buff an ally 24 hours) or sleet storm. False life is another great all day buff. The feat empower spell would be handy for magic missile, stone call and fireball. It also works well with ray of enfeeblement though PF nerfed it to save for half so it's not always the greatest. Still ok since you probably have precise shot and a good dex. For 5th level I'd say the best spell bar none is wall of force. For 4th level I might get a little more offense such as solid fog, resilient sphere or wall of ice before getting utility like dimension door. OTOH if you're in a 4 person party and do a lot of dungeons then the spell is just enough to get the entire party past dungeon obstacles and I'd get it now. Quicken spell might be handy for true strike or ray of enfeeblement, and after you get higher level spells it'll be awesome for the spells you already have anyway like web and arrow eruption.

The real gems are going to come with imbue arrow at higher levels. Anti magic field and repulsion are a couple of awesome options. Wail of the banshee too. Since you focused on the casting side I'd use your bow only as a backup for now. Against SR foes for example, and then only after a wall of force, solid fog, sleet storm, resilient sphere or web. Or to finish off an almost dead foe so you can arrow eruption next turn. You could use imbue arrow with a damage spell like empowered fireball to finish off foes too; I think arrow eruption implies that this counts. If this becomes a common tactic and you fight a lot of fire immune/resistant foes then you might want lightning bolt as a backup. Besides that you might imbue arrow to snipe short range spells from 1000 feet away in the wilderness, though you'll rarely get that opportunity.

I'd skip shield, ear piercing scream, frost fall and shadow evocation. The first three aren't worth the casting time and the fourth is extremely weak except for mimicking utility spells (which is also weak). You might want 1 or 2 spells to buff for any buffing round you get (never during combat) but not shield. Maybe mirror image, displacement or fire shield.

[Chained Birds]

What do you mean my bow skills are poor?

I can do 2d8+12 (without Deadly Aim) for every shot at +20/+20/+15/+15/+9 (Maybe higher, my character sheet's site is under maintenance at the moment so I can't check). I can shoot a bow just fine thank you very much. :smallannoyed:

I do appreciate the spell suggestions and will work on getting Boots for my character. I guess I can lower my bow from +2 to +1. I guess my AC is good enough without the Shield (I believe around 27-30) and Empower is a great idea. I initially took the metamagic that lowered the SR of an enemy by 5, but I guess that works too.

Do you think I should take the metamagic that allows me to change the energy type of the spells?

Once my character sheet become available, I'll start updating it and give my new spell list.

[ericgrau]

Oh that's right do PF monks get full BAB on a flurry and does that variant let you flurry with a bow? I missed that. I was thinking of a different style of 3.5 monk which is mostly gestalted for passive defensive and speed bonuses rather than offensive bonuses.

In that case you might want to hit yourself with that greater magic weapon instead of an ally. Still it's a tough decision whether or not to take arcane archer 5. You get some good bow enhancements but not until level 7 and you lose a caster level. Up to you. I would use this fighting strategy instead then: buff in the morning, buff if you get a buffing round, open with a battlefield control or area spell or two, and full attack until the end of combat from there. Arrow eruption when you can, and in another level you can quicken arrow eruption + full attack again for :smalleek:ness. I'd add flame arrow to your spell list too; at 10 min/level you can cast it before a typical <1 hour dungeon trek, though it's less useful in the wilderness.

At your level SR is just starting to become common and the metamagic to bypass SR is handy, especially on a sorcerer who can apply it only when needed. Changing energy types is handy too as is selective spells to avoid allies, but it sounds like you're already at your limit for feats. Using spells with alternative energy types and SR: no spells (including all of the battlefield control and buff spells mentioned) is a less feat heavy way to get around those. Or you might look into the different bloodline feats and consider a fighter 2 dip on the monk side so less of your normal feats need to go to combat. I don't remember enough about the bloodlines or the lost 2 monk levels to say if that works well though.

If you're worried about AC buffs what you could do is carry a few 25 gp scrolls of shield. Then most combats you could blow your buffing round on something better like displacement but if you happen to get two buffing rounds you could cast both the better spell and shield. I didn't see mage armor on your list, which would be better because it's hour/level and can be kept up 24 hours without blowing a buff round. Do you have some other kind of armor or ability that gets around arcane spell failure in armor?

[Chained Birds]

I was just going for Bracers of Armor. I Currently got a +4 going, so it's kind of makes Mage Armor a waist for me.
Decided that Mage Armor is better at my current level until I can afford higher Bracers.

-- Spells --

0th/ Arcane Mark, Detect Magic, Drench, Ghost Sound, Light, Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation, Read Magic.

1st/ Ray of Enfeeblement, True Strike, Magic Missile, Mage Armor, Vanish.

2nd/ Arrow Eruption, Mirror Image, Stone Call, Web.

3rd/ Fireball, Fly, Displacement.

4th/ Solid Fog, Dimension Door.

5th/ Wall of Force

-- Items (66000gp Given) --

12000 = Boots of Speed
16000 = Bracers of Armor
8000 = +1 Guided Bow (Guided adds Wisdom to Damage instead of Strength)
16000 = +4 Periapt of Wisdom
3000 = Metamagic Rod of Extend (lesser)

27000 Remainder

[ericgrau]

27k? Try lesser bracers of archery (5k), ring of protection +1 (2k), amulet of natural armor +1 (2k) replace the periapt of wisdom with a headband, belt of mighty constitution +2 (4k), cloak of resistance +2 (4k). That's 17k. You might drop your wisdom item to +2 and get another +1 enchant on the bow, like corrosive for 1d6 acid (APG). You could also get another +1 AC from a dusty rose prism ioune stone (5k). I'd look through the cheap wondrous items and pick your favorite oddball items. A million level 1 and 2 scrolls for every random utility circumstance never hurts either. You can always drop the cloak to +1 or remove anything else to get a little more money. All of the above items are very generic so don't feel obligated to use them. But if you don't notice any awesome items you want then increasing your stats is a good way to go.

On the topic of boosting stats I forget the details of those monk variants and guided. Do you get wis to both attack rolls and damage?

Black tentacles is also really nice, maybe better than solid fog. There's no need to swap it if you like it. But later you might get both. Likewise ray of enfeeblement isn't any better than feather fall after PF's RoE nerf. Up to you. I'd pick between mirror image or displacement unless you think you'll have time to cast both before combat starts; neither is worth it during battle. If you need a replacement, false life or empowered false life can land you a boatload of HP that lasts all day. Or see invisibility (10 min/level). 3rd level has greater magic weapon (hour/level, so also all day), flame arrow (10 min/level), sleet storm, lightning bolt, gaseous form or dispel magic. Come to think of it you're short on all day or all dungeon buffs, or swift/immediate spells. All of the spells are good, even the lower level ones once empowered/quickened, but you can't possibly burn all your 34 spell slots during combat. You might want to pick your favorites and swap others for long duration buffs or swifts/immediates since you won't be able to cast them all. Or being versatile is good too.

[Chained Birds]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I decided to spend 13k of the remaining on a Monks's belt to increase my arrow damage (don't ask). The rest was spend on the items that might be useful considering the campaign setting.

As I hope to level up, I'll see if I can everyone's unused suggestions for future purchases and spells known. Hopefully he doesn't die on me though...