Far-Reaching Arrows

[ExemplarofAvg]

Today I devised something evil to put against my PCs who have pissed off a very powerful general. I'm aiming to make a Diviner archer, along the lines of the Yu Yan from Avatar and the Selesnya Sagittars from Magic the Gathering (My favourite card) mainly the ability to do super long ranged attacks
"What's their strike range, you ask? Let's put it this way: sagittars aim their bows using maps."
—Otak, Tin Street shopkeeper I imagine him, her, or them, using some form of divination at the maximum range of their bows (about 1000ft or so) and still hitting nicely. A homebrew TrueBow (Constant True Strike) helps negate a lot of the penalties. However I'm not sure what spells or even what kind of build to use, all I have is that concept. Ideas? Suggestions? Similarities?
I'm 90% sure that this should be an Arcane Archer (this is Pathfinder sorry for not mentioning earlier, but the builds should still apply either way for the most part) For those unawares this is the new Arcane Archer (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/prestige-classes/core-rulebook/arcane-archer)
Also please, no hating on the TrueBow, it's been in our group for over six years now, if anything hate on the Gravity TrueWarBow. With Vital Strike, Deadly Aim and Manyshot we've been pleased with its results.

[whibla]

You do not mention level, so I'll just point out the following epic weapon enchant:

Distant Shot: A distant shot weapon can be used against any target within line of sight at no penalty for range.

Does unfortunately have a +level of 6...

*EDIT* For those who do not know, on an Earth sized world the horizon is about 12 miles away, though, with the spot rules it would be 'hard' to actually see a medium sized creature at this range. :smallwink:

[Lonely Tylenol]

Alternatively, the Distance property (+1 bonus, DMG 224) and the Far Shot feat (PHB 94) on a Composite Greatbow would give you a range increment of 325 feet. With Swiftwing arrows (RotW 165), you would only suffer a -1 penalty per range increment, meaning you could shoot up to 1625 feet with only a -5 penalty (up to 1300 feet at -4, and so on). If you somehow get Ranged Weapon Mastery into this build, your range increment increases to 375 feet, which means you could fire up to 1875 feet!

As for your actual magical sensors, Clairvoyance would allow you to see up to Long range (400 + 40 ft./level) for 1 min/level; the sensor can be placed from 800 feet away (at level 10) and then fired upon from still further away, after moving away. An alternative could include Arcane Eye, which has no distance limit and can travel of its own accord, meaning that you can move it over 1500 feet, observe their exact locations, and then strike true with your bow!

EDIT: Missed the Pathfinder part. Whoops.

Well, Far Shot and Distance bow/arrows still interact for a maximum range of 1,375 feet (though you will now be taking a -10 penalty instead of -5).

[LanSlyde]

I suggest you take a look into the Cragtop Archer from Races of Stone. Buddy of mine built one for pure distance, it could effectively drop you from about a mile out.

[Diarmuid]

While the numbers work out by RAW, my issue with these builds is always being able to actually target your target.

I'm glad you're taking that into account by trying to find ways to divine where your target is. Problem then is going to be that it will likely take a round or two to pinpoint a location, and then you're getting 2 round of shots off and at those ranges, dmg bonuses arent as easy to come by (no precision), and you have to hope they havent moved since you magic'd up their location.

Add on to that that seeing someone in a crystal ball or whatever divination method you choose will get your their immediate surroundings, but if you dont know where those are, you're still SoL.

[Lonely Tylenol]

While the numbers work out by RAW, my issue with these builds is always being able to actually target your target.

I'm glad you're taking that into account by trying to find ways to divine where your target is. Problem then is going to be that it will likely take a round or two to pinpoint a location, and then you're getting 2 round of shots off and at those ranges, dmg bonuses arent as easy to come by (no precision), and you have to hope they havent moved since you magic'd up their location.

Add on to that that seeing someone in a crystal ball or whatever divination method you choose will get your their immediate surroundings, but if you dont know where those are, you're still SoL.

Arcane Eye scouts out at 30 feet/round with a range of unlimited. The sensor is constantly mobile, controlled by thought, and you can switch between your vision and its vision seamlessly, which means it basically acts as your scout as you prepare to fire.

[Diarmuid]

I wouldnt say that switching into/out of the eye is "seamless" as concentrating on the spell requires a standard action, so in the round where you've located your target, you're generally (yes, plenty of ways to concentrate as a move/swift/etc) not going to be firing that round so better hope they dont move. Not to mention it's a 4th level wizard spell so you're either losing out on BAB/Feats/etc or spending decent coin for an item to do it.

I didnt say it was impossible, but most builds/discussion dont seem to take that aspect into account in any way and just assume you can see someone 1/4 mile away easily enough to target them.

[Tokuhara]

If you could, I say enchant an eyepatch to have Arcane Eye or Clairvoyance, so you can simply open both eyes, see the target at distance X with one eye and line up the shot with the other.