T.G. Oskar
2012-10-13, 02:06 PM
WWitches and WWizards, Hogwwarts students of all ages!! Spirits of the Fade and Arcane Horrors are wwelcome too!!
POP REFERENCE x3 COMBO!!!!
So...it's been a while, no?
I've been VERY distracted, in multiple projects at once, and seemingly I've neglected my 'brewing release schedule.
Since releasing a class is usually a big release, and the few classes I haven't released are pretty big, how about we do something simple for a change, no? Thus, a prestige class is fine too!
Except...how do I cover essentially two months worth of non-releases? How about releasing TWO prestige classes at once? Shouldn't be hard, no?
But of course, the title says "Arcane Double Whammy", right? That's, of course, because both classes have to deal with arcane spellcasting! Not only that, they have "Arcane" on their title as well! And, just for extra coincidences, both are PrCs from the Dungeon Master's Guide!!
Of course, you know which PrCs I'm talking about...but wait; I mentioned that both classes had the word "Arcane" in their title, no? Yes, yes I did! You see, I had to do a change to one of the PrC's names, in order to fit better (not to mention that the name the original class has would suggest something different; you can blame that change on Complete Mage).
So, without further ado, allow me to present the first of the Arcane Double Whammy extravaganza:
ARCANE ARCHER
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/Untitled.jpg
Original image from Dragon Magazine #374
"An enchanted bow? Parlor tricks. Aiming a ball of flames beyond cover? A bit more interesting. Arcing a lightning bolt so that it aims all creatures beyond walls? Slightly more impressive. Now, turning a prisoner into a hydra while disguised as the enemy from dozens of steps away? I'd love to see a feeble mage do that..." - Quarrath Faeresril, drow surfacer, explaining the arts of the arcane archer to a dead mage.
Requirements
To qualify to become an arcane archer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (shortbow or longbow)
Skills: Spot 5 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st level arcane spells, including magic missile and magic weapon
Special: An elf may enter this class and ignore the Weapon Focus (shortbow or longbow) requirements, so as long as it complies with the rest.
As you may have noticed, the requirements are now open to anyone. Why elves should be the ones holding all the fun?
On the other hand, they're a bit more stringent. For starters, it requires 8 ranks in Spot, so unless you multiclass, you'll rarely have a chance of entering by means of being a Fighter. Now, Ranger? Excellent choice! There's also Guerrilla Scout if you insist on entering as a Fighter, in any case. Since you no longer need a BAB of 6 to enter, you can enter a bit earlier.
Elves, being the developers of the arts of the arcane archer, have it just a tad easier. They only need two feats instead of three, so they enter a bit faster and require less feats. This involves any elf subtype, hence drow are also allowed, even though they're not exactly longbow wielders.
Class Skills
The arcane archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex). Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis) and Tumble (Dex)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Skill-wise, they get a larger skill list to justify that large amount of skill points. The skill list resembles a ranger's skill list quite a bit, aside from the Knowledge skills. This means they get a good bit of athletic and acrobatic skills, plus Intimidate. The latter is a rare choice, but an interesting one, considering they get absolutely no interaction skills. Bluff is unnecessary because they don't fight up close and personal, and Diplomacy on an archer is kinda lost, but Intimidate can be used to demoralize from a distance, particularly if you get ways to do it faster.
{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells per day
1st|+1|
+0|
+2|
+2|Conjure arrows, enhanced arrows (greater magic weapon), mental acuity|--
2nd|+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|Arcane precision +1/+1d6, close combat shot|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|+3|
+1|
+3|
+3|Bonus feat, enhanced arrows (resilient)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|+4|
+1|
+4|
+4|Arcane precision +2/+1d6, seeker arrows|--
5th|+5|
+1|
+4|
+4|Enhanced arrows (elemental), slayer's arrows (bane)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|+6|
+2|
+5|
+5|Arcane precision +2/+2d6, bonus feat, phasing arrows|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|+7|
+2|
+5|
+5|Enhanced arrows (force sheen), storm of arrows|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|+8|
+2|
+6|
+6|Arcane precision +3/+2d6, imbue arrows|--
9th|+9|
+3|
+6|
+6|Bonus feat, elemental arrows (elemental burst)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|+10|
+3|
+7|
+7|Arcane precision +3/+3d6, slayer's arrows (death)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/TABLE]
So, the biggest change you might see is that arcane archers lack a good Fort save, but instead have an awesome Will save. It has full BAB, and it has even MORE spell levels than the PF version (because anything below 6/10ths in terms of PrCs sucks).
Now, what does this means for the Arcane Archer? Well, for starters, it means you have one of the second rarest setups of saving throw arrays (Ref/Will, accessible mostly by the Bard), but with full BAB (great for a martial character), with a whopping 7/10ths spellcasting (a golden opportunity for any kind of spellcaster, but superb for Duskblades), specializing in archery. It is very specific, but the methods of entry and how they benefit each method are spectacular.
Class Features
All of the following are features of the arcane archer prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The arcane archer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as light and medium armor if she wasn’t proficient already. She is also proficient with any kind of exotic bow or crossbow; if she had the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for any exotic bow or crossbow (as a feat chosen by character levels or Hit Dice), she gains a bonus feat of her choice with which she meets the prerequisites for each such feat.
In case you enter by means of pure Wizard, Sorcerer or arcanist levels, you get proficiency with a wide variety of weapons and armor. The ability to gain proficiency with all kinds of exotic bows or crossbows (including greatbows, repeating crossbows of all kinds, amongst others) means you're the undisputed master of archery. Since that means any Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat you choose becomes worthless. Thus, you can replace any feat of your choice with a more advanced feat; a sound tactic to get better feats from your limited feat slots.
Though, you get a few more feat slots, so...
Spells per Day: At all levels except 1st, 4th, and 8th, whenever an arcane archer gains a new level, she gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained .
If the character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became an arcane archer, the player must decide which class to assign each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
The reason I went for 7/10ths spellcasting is because half-spellcasting for PrCs is essentially worthless, but full spellcasting is a bit too much for a very loaded class. Thus, the compromise was to have a reduction on spellcasting progression, but a reasonable one. All points where you don't advance your spellcasting have their reasons: 1st level to prevent dips and because you get a free spell, 8th level because you get the signature ability of the arcane archers, and 4th level because you get homing projectiles. 4th level may seem a tad weak, but you essentially get the ability to have any arrow hit without an attack roll, so it's a fair exchange.
Conjure Arrows (Sp): The first technique an arcane archer learns is to always have arrows available, at any moment. Usually, the arcane archer will always have an arrow available, but when she runs out of arrows, she does the most plausible thing; summon arrows from thin air. These arrows are usually coated with a magical sheen that identifies them as weapons suited for the arcane archer, and rarely work for other creatures.
At 1st level, an arcane archer may expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to conjure a stack of arrows as a swift action. The arcane archer summons 2d6 sets of arrows per level of spell expended (treat 0-level spells as ½ level for purposes of this ability, and thus you may only summon 1d6 arrows by these means), and these arrows last for a number of rounds equal to her caster level. These conjured arrows work only for the arcane archer, and return to her quiver if fired by a character that’s not the arcane archer. Once fired by the arcane archer and causing damage, the conjured arrows dissipate into nothingness. Unlike other kinds of arrows, conjured arrows are always imbued with uncanny precision and thus gain the benefits of arcane precision.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may conjure bolts if she so desires, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
More than a signature ability, this ability is quite interesting. It means you never run out of arrows, having an average of 7 arrows per spell level for a short while. Essentially, it's a last-ditch resort in case you lack arrows to fire, so that you never lack arrows. It's also a decent way to expend 1st level spell slots you might not use.
Enhanced Arrows (Su): A natural result of using magic to enhance her archery, the arcane archer naturally suffuses her arrows with magical power. Arrows fired by the arcane archer are more precise, more dangerous, resilient, and even capable of incredible force.
At 1st level, any arrow that the arcane archer fires is treated as magical and gains an enhancement bonus as if it was enchanted with the greater magic weapon spell cast by a spellcaster of the arcane archer’s caster level, unless the enchantment bonus of the bow or arrow is higher. To use this ability, the arcane archer must have prepared the spell (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the spell’s level available); for those purposes, the arcane archer learns the greater magic weapon spell for free, and she adds it to her spellbook or her list of spells known at the moment she learns to cast spells of the level requires for greater magic weapon (immediately if she can cast spells of that level); if she already knows the spell, she gains no further benefit. In the case that she does not have greater magic weapon prepared (or she has exhausted spells from the same level or higher than greater magic weapon) but she still has prepared magic weapon (or has spell slots of the same level or higher as that of magic weapon remaining), she still may imbue any of her weapons with a +1 enhancement bonus. In the case she doesn’t have any of the spells prepared (or no spell slots of the same level or higher), she may not apply this benefit nor any of the other benefits that follow.
At 3rd level, any arrow that the arcane archer fires (except for conjured arrows) have a 50% chance of not destroying themselves after hitting the enemy, and are never destroyed if she misses her target.
At 5th level, an arcane archer may imbue any arrow she fires with an element of her choice. She must have prepared a conjuration or evocation spell of at least 1st level that has the same element descriptor as the element she intends to imbue her arrow with (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the same level or higher); acid spells for the corrosive property (see Magic Item Compendium page 31), fire spells for the flaming property, ice spells for the frost property, sonic spells for the screaming property (see Magic Item Compendium page 42), and electricity spells for the shock property. She may change the element of the spell she wishes to enhance her arrows with as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
At 7th level, an arcane archer may imbue her arrows with a screen of magical force. Any arrow she fires is treated as if having the force property (see Magic Item Compendium page 35), and thus it ignores damage reduction and affects incorporeal targets. In order to imbue her arrows with a force sheen, the arcane archer must have prepared the magic missile spell (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the spell’s level or higher). Spells like force missile and chain missile are considered as if they were magic missile for purposes of this ability.
At 9th level, an arcane archer may imbue any arrow she fires with a powerful manifestation of an element of her choice. She must have prepared a conjuration or evocation spell of at least 4th level that has the same element descriptor as the element she intends to imbue her arrow with (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the same level or higher); acid spells for the acidic burst property (see Magic Item Compendium page 28), fire spells for the flaming burst property, ice spells for the icy burst property, sonic spells for the screaming burst property (see Magic Item Compendium page 42), and electricity spells for the shocking burst property. She may change the element of the spell she wishes to enhance her arrows with as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
An arcane archer may, if it desires, activate or deactivate these properties as a free action. She may deactivate (or activate) one or more of the properties, as applies.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may enhance her bolts if she so desires, but she must make the choice when using the ability.
Clever, huh?
While most of these abilities exist on the PF version of Arcane Archer, it's quite obvious that enchanting arrows towards their conservation, the ability to hit incorporeal creatures and ignore Wind Walls goes above and beyond what the original arcane archer did.
Now, why insist on the requirements? The idea is that arcane archers use the same kind of resource as users of reserve feats, drawing only a bit of their prepared spells (or spell slots) to enchant their arrows with magic. That way, if you don't have the spell prepared, you're hurting a bit, but not that much. The idea is that you should exploit archery more than your spellcasting, in any case.
Now, since it says any arrow, this means conjured arrows also gain the benefit (except for one, which is explicitly mentioned above). That means you can conjure arrows that gain up to +5 to attack and damage rolls, deal 1d6 elemental damage (including acid and sonic damage!) with a chance of 1d10/2d10 extra damage with critical hits, which just happen to hit incorporeal creatures and ignore wind walls. That alone is VERY powerful.
Mental Archery (Ex): Although she may have some training when attacking with a ranged weapon and above-average Dexterity and possibly Strength scores, it is inevitable that an arcane archer will have a much stronger intellectual bent and mental potential. Part of the techniques of the arcane archer involve using her logic, or even her inner power, to aim the arrow and deal the largest amount of damage possible. When using any bow or crossbow, the arcane archer adds her Intelligence (if she casts prepared spells) or her Charisma (if she casts spontaneous spells) modifier for all attack rolls and damage rolls with these weapons.
Yup, now you get EVEN MORE bonuses to attack and damage rolls, by applying your bonuses from your main spellcasting ability score to your ranged attacks. Since you'll probably seek to advance your spellcasting score rather than gain a middling bonus by advancing Dexterity, this is a good way to keep your main attack method worthwhile.
Arcane Precision (Sp): Although it may seem like a pointless move, an arcane archer has the opportunity to imbue her arrows with greater magical power and thus she is capable of causing greater damage with her arrows. Some may say that she is wasting her time expending her spell potential when she should be casting spells; that line of thought goes against the path of the arcane archer, who is willing to expend her spell energy to grant greater power to her arrows. However, this doesn’t mean she does not use her spells carefully.
At 2nd level, an arcane archer may expend a prepared spell (or a spell slot) as a swift action and gain a bonus on her attack rolls and damage rolls for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended. Thus, if she expends a 1st level spell, she gains a +1 bonus to her attack rolls and deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks she makes for 1 round. Since the precision and damage is magically powered, she may use this ability even on creatures that are normally immune to sneak attacks, deal the damage at any range, and at any moment she has the ability active. This benefit applies only to projectile weapons (bows or crossbows only), or weaponlike spells (rays and other ranged touch attack spells), and deals hit point of the same type damage the projectile (or spell) would have dealt. Arcane precision only applies to the first hit of a spell with an extended duration (thus, an acid arrow improved with this ability deals 2d6 points of acid damage on the first round and 1d6 points of acid damage on subsequent rounds), and only once per target; thus, a 10th level sorcerer/2nd level arcane archer casting scorching ray and dividing her three rays between two opponents may deal 9d6 points of damage on one opponent and 5d6 points of damage on the other, but if she concentrates all three spells on the same target, she deals only 13d6 points of damage; alternatively, an arcane archer using Multishot or attacking two creatures deals damage equal to the amount of successful shots plus 1d6.
If the arcane archer conjures arrows, each of these arrows automatically gains the benefit of arcane precision even if she has not expended a spell to activate this ability.
At 4th level and every 4 levels afterwards, the bonus on attack rolls increases by 1. At 6th level, and every 4 levels afterwards, the extra damage granted by this ability increases by 1d6.
Alright, you can bash at me if you think this is excessive, but this ability is awesome. Basically, you sacrifice a spell slot to provide a small, but reasonable, amount of damage with EVERY attack. While it starts with 1d6 per shot, an arcane archer can eventually deal 3d6 with every hit, for what's essentially 5 sure hits (what with the obscene bonus to attack rolls), by sacrificing one spell slot. That's more damage than what you can do with a spell alone.
However, it's not limited to bows and arrows exclusively. Certainly, it's limited to ranged attacks, but you can use it with weaponlike spells (so you can use it with Scorching Ray all the way to Polar Ray), and it lasts for a good while because the level of the spell only defines for how many rounds the effect lasts.
Now, this may seem a bit too abusive for those who decide to conjure arrows, because they have to expend two spell slots to gain the same effect. As you may have noticed, all conjured arrows are automatically (or should I say, automagically?) empowered to deal the extra damage, so there's yet another reason why you should conjure arrows every now and then.
Close Combat Shot (Ex): An arcane archer knows that the worst nightmare of her style is someone drawing far too close; thus, she learns how to deal damage at the closest range possible. A 2nd level arcane archer may attack with her bow (or crossbow) at melee range and make ranged attacks with her bow without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Since you're going to focus on ranged attacks almost exclusively, the last thing you want is to have your main attack method completely nullified. Hence, you can now use bows and crossbows in melee range. It takes a while, but it's still acquired at a pretty early level.
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every three levels afterwards, an arcane archer gains a bonus feat. This bonus feat must be chosen from the list of fighter bonus feats. An arcane archer’s effective fighter level for purposes of qualifying for bonus feats is equal to her class level, plus any levels in fighter or effective fighter levels she may already have.
No martial class can be complete without bonus feats, so here they are! You get three bonus feats, which should help A LOT with the feat-intensive archery tree, making the already formidable arcane archer even better! With some luck, you may even qualify for Weapon Supremacy for a single weapon, which is reasonable enough.
Seeker Arrows (Sp): One of the nastier tricks of arcane archers is their knowledge, as many fledging arcanists, of the simple yet effective magic missile spell. A spell that defines simplicity in that deals very effective damage, but specifically that it never requires the arcanist to actually aim the spell, and that it bypasses most of the defenses of typical warriors so it is very literally a spell to cast and forget. The biggest trouble of this spell, simple as it may be, is that the spell rarely, if ever, progresses; too much is sacrificed for its versatility. The arcane archer, thus, combines something as natural as projectile weaponry with one of the most useful traits of the spell; the ability to bypass cover and to land squarely upon the opponent, even though the arcane archer must still practice its aim. Worse, when the arcane archer imbues her arrows with the full power of the spell, even the most difficult shot is done with ease.
When the arcane archer has the magic missile spell prepared (or knows the spell and has a spell slot of the spell’s level or higher), any arrow the arcane archer shoots ignores cover and concealment, unless the concealment is of ethereal nature (such as the blink spell). The arcane archer must still have line of sight to the target (but not line of effect) to shoot the arrow.
As a swift action, if the arcane archer expends a prepared magic missile spell (or a spell slot of the same level as magic missile), arrows that the arcane archer shoots automatically hits the target without the need for a roll. This allows the target to hit automatically, but since there is no need for a roll, the arrow does not provoke a critical hit. This ability affects one arrow, plus one other arrow for every four caster levels above 1st (to a total of 5 arrows at caster level 17th), but the effect only lasts for one turn.
If the arcane archer knows and decides to a prepared spell slot containing chain missile (or a spell slot of the same level as chain missile), the arcane archer can combine her resilient arrows with the magic of this spell. Any arrow that is not destroyed by means of the resilient enhancement instantly flies off and strikes secondary targets of your choice that are within 30 ft. of the primary target, striking automatically and dealing the same damage as it dealt the primary target. Any secondary target can only be struck by 1 arrow at a time; you may choose fewer secondary targets than the amount of remaining arrows so as to not affect allies.
In both cases, infusing arrows with the power of magic missile or chain missile also has its drawbacks. If a creature somehow has immunity to any of these spells (such as by having a shield spell or a brooch of shielding), the arrows do not hit the target (and are treated as a miss, which means the arrows remain whole by means of the resilient enhancement). However, unless the arcane archer uses the force sheen enhancement mentioned above, arrows are not treated as force projectiles, meaning they cannot affect incorporeal creatures and are vulnerable to damage reduction (they do not gain the vulnerabilities of force weapons, however).
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may apply this benefit to any bolt she shoots, although unless she gains a swifter way to reload bolts, she may not take the full benefit of this ability.
Let's face it: seeker arrows aren't really that hot. Sure, cover and concealment can be a problem, but when you're casting spells, that really doesn't matter.
So, how about homing arrows?
Indeed: by sacrificing Magic Missile spells, you can make any shot you fire from a bow or crossbow hit automatically. With some preparation, that means that you can sacrifice a Magic Missile spell to make a full attack hit automatically, no need for a d20 roll.
Let that sink in. That means you deal 1d8/1d10 points of damage, plus your Int or Cha, plus the enhancement bonus, plus 1d6 points of elemental damage, plus arcane precision (if you activated it), plus any other benefit you want to add in, and without making a single attack roll. As part of a full attack. And all it takes is one or two spell slots, so you're in less risk of going fully nova on your enemies.
...Well, it still doesn't compare to what a full spellcaster with full spellcasting ability can do, but it's pretty darn impressive for what's essentially the most troubling attack method in the game.
Slayer’s Arrows (Sp): An arcane archer learns to imbue her arrows or bolts with magical power that is anathema to a creature that she faces. This is a callback to the first elven arcane archers, who often combined their magical prowess with their enmity towards orcs in order to slay as many as they could. However, even the bizarre orc arcane archer (who somehow gains wind of the talents of an arcane archer) may use this ability, effectively twisting the weapons of their former enemies against them. In fact, the technique of creating slayer’s arrows is devoid of tradition or ceremonial purpose; to an arcane archer, using the right weapon against her enemy is what really matters.
At 5th level, as a swift action, the arcane archer may expend any prepared spell (or spell slot) of at least 2nd level to imbue any arrow she shoots with the bane property. The creature must choose which creature type (and subtype) when using this ability, and the enhancement lasts for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -1. If the arcane archer expends a spell of at least 3rd level, she may imbue her arrows with the fiercebane property (see Magic Item Compendium page 35) for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -1. If she instead expends a spell of 4th level or higher, she may choose her weapons to become greater bane, gaining an effective +4 enhancement bonus and dealing 4d6 points of damage for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -2. An arcane archer does not need to apply higher-tier bane properties to her arrows if using spells of higher level, but if she does, she also gains the other properties so as long as they are not replaced (hence, an arcane archer that expends a 4th level spell slot may add the fiercebane and greater bane properties for 2 rounds to any arrow she shoots, but not the bane property as this one is replaced by greater bane; for these purposes, greater bane is treated as the bane property for the fiercebane requirement). If the arcane archer uses both this ability and arcane precision on subsequent turns, the effect of both feats stack; thus, a 6th level arcane archer with an arcane caster level of 7th that expends a 3rd level spell slot for arcane precision on one round and a 4th level spell to imbue her arrows with the fiercebane and greater bane properties adds a +8 to her attack roll (+2 from the arrow’s enhancement bonus unless higher, +2 from arcane precision, and +4 from the greater bane property) and deals 6d6+6 points of damage (+2 from the arrow’s enhancement bonus unless higher, +4 from the greater bane property, +2d6 from the arcane precision extra damage and +4d6 from the greater bane property) when attacking a creature of the type chosen for her greater bane arrows.
At 10th level, she may imbue a single arrow of her choice with the ability to instantly slay a creature of her choice. By expending a spell slot of 5th level or higher as a swift action, the arcane archer makes a single arrow of her choice carry this property. The decision must be made before the arrow is shot, and the effect is lost if the arrow misses. If the attack is successful, the creature must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw equal to 20 + the arcane archer’s Intelligence (for prepared spellcasters) or Charisma (for spontaneous spellcasters) modifier. If she prepares her spells and decides to expend a prepared necromancy spell of 5th level or higher, the arrow is unusually stronger; the DC increases by an amount equal to the level of the spell -4. Unlike other abilities, this attack is treated as if it were a necromancy spell for purposes of feats that increase its DC (such as Spell Focus [necromancy]).
If the arcane archer has the favored enemy as a class ability, the benefits of this ability improve. The duration of arrows enchanted with the bane, fiercebane or greater bane property increase by 1 for every 2 points of her favored enemy bonus, and the saving throw DC for her slaying arrow increases by 1 for every 2 points of her favored enemy bonus; both apply when the arcane archer chooses the bane property for the creature type (and subtype) of her favored enemy (and if the creature upon which she uses the ability is one of her favored enemies) in a case-by-case basis; thus, an arcane archer with orcs and goblinoids as her favored enemies (the former with a +4 bonus, the latter with a +2 bonus) adds two rounds when creating orc bane arrows, orc fiercebane arrows or greater orc bane arrows and the saving throw DC for the death attack increases by 2 against orcs, but the duration of bane arrows and saving throw DC of the death attack is only 1 when dealing with goblinoids.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with either of the two properties, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
Just when you thought that the damage potential of the arcane arrow wasn't enough, here's Bane!!
...By now you must think I'm going mad, but bear with me! This is perfectly reasonable. You need to expend about two or three spells to deal exorbitant amounts of damage for a few rounds, but if you choose to do so, even a single arrow should be enough to one-shot any opponent. This is a far more focused effect than Arcane Precision or your normal bonuses, and lasts for much less, but allows you to have the right weapon for the task.
However, the effect is better for Rangers, whom should gain an even LARGER benefit from it, because it applies their favored enemy bonuses in a way it saves on their consumption of spell slots. Combine this with Arcane Hunter (for favored enemy: arcanists), and you can make the Arcane Archer a seriously powerful mage-killer.
Speaking of mage-killer: slayer's arrows are essentially a way to make Arrow of Death a worthwhile ability. DC 20 is strong at first, but since it doesn't scale, it slowly becomes weak. DC 20 + Cha modifier helps it somewhat, but that means AAs that enter by means of the Wizard class get shafted. 20 + Int or Cha modifier is a lot more reasonable. However, since we want Arrow of Death to matter, I decided that necromancy spells get a special benefit. Now, you can shoot an arrow that hits harder than the Finger of Death spell you can cast, and if you have ways to improve necromancy spell save DCs, it becomes even stronger. THIS is an Arrow of Death, if I may say so.
Phasing Arrows (Su): An arcane archer gains the ability to imbue her arrows with the ability to phase between dimensions, thus allowing her to strike creatures that hide beneath barriers and at different dimensions than her own (or that at least are coterminous to her own plane).
At 6th level, by expending a spell slot of 3rd level or higher as a swift action, any arrow that she shoots shifts between the Material Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow. The arcane archer needs only to have line of sight to strike the enemy, and the arrow travels in a straight line, bypassing any barriers in her path (magical or non-magical) and striking any creatures that exist in the Material Plane, Ethereal Plane, or Plane of Shadows (the latter two if the arcane archer is aware of creatures in any of the planes, thus gaining line of sight to them). This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended -2. This ability foils even dimensional lock and antimagic field, since the projectile effectively exists in all three planes at the same time (given that the effect is instantaneous), but the arrow still cannot be fired if within one of the aforementioned (or similar) areas; thus, while an arcane archer cannot imbue her arrows inside a dimensional lock or antimagic field (or a dead magic zone), she may shoot into a creature that is inside one.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with this property, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
Phasing Arrows were a tad weak. If you could see through walls, then there's the big chance that you could shoot through them, but any kind of magical barrier (or anything that neglects supernatural abilities) screws it. Not anymore. Now, you can shoot through any barrier, because you can shoot arrows to any creature that hides on the Plane of Shadow (through Shadow Walk, for example) or the Ethereal Plane (Ethereal Jaunt, Etherealness, Blink), even if they're protected by Antimagic Fields and other such wards. Sure, it takes one more spell slot, but you should be rolling on several spell slots, given that by 6th level you should have at least two more spell levels worth of spells.
Storm of Arrows (Ex): An arcane archer learns to imbue her arrows with several forms of magical power, but her training within the arts of archery is never neglected. When she is surrounded with enemies and devoid of magical power, she still has an ace behind her proverbial sleeve.
At 7th level, as a full-round action, an arcane archer may fire an arrow at each and every target within range in lieu of her regular attacks, to a maximum of one target for every arcane archer level she has earned. Each attack uses the archer’s primary attack bonus, and each enemy may only be targeted by a single arrow. If the arrow is imbued with any enhancement or special ability, this also applies; thus, she may apply all of the enhancements to arrows, arcane precision, seeker arrows, slayer’s arrows and precise arrows (but not imbue arrows, see below). In the case of seeker arrows, the arcane archer ignores the restriction on arrows when using this ability; thus, an 8th level arcane archer using the seeker arrows main property ignores cover and concealment, and if expending a magic missile spell, she does not need to roll in order to hit (and if using chain missiles, any arrow that is not destroyed may hit a secondary target).
Unlike other arcane archer abilities, this ability cannot be used with crossbows (unless the arcane archer is capable of loading crossbow bolts as a free action, but not when using repeating crossbows).
A legacy ability makes its return, and one level earlier to boot. It's one of the few Extraordinary abilities the Arcane Archer has, after all.
Now, it's important to notice that, when using storm of arrows, you can exceed the number of attacks you can normally do with a full attack action, but only if you have an equal number of opponents. The other point that should matter, which is how to make each attack count, depends on the rest of the AA's benefits, meaning you can reliably nova on a wide amount of opponents, even though it's not gonna be a Fireball or a Web or a Maw of Chaos.
Imbue Arrows (Sp): At 8th level, an arcane archer learns to imbue whole spells into her arrows. Although she may only imbue a single arrow with a single spell, the effect is usually devastating to see. All of her training focuses into this one moment; the moment in which she can use the range of her arrows to deliver spells, including if the spell was never intended to be delivered or if the spell is actually beneficial. Some arcane archers learn to imbue their arrows with beneficial spells, usually though a non-lethal method.
As a swift action, an arcane archer may imbue an arrow she shoots with a spell. The spell may not last more than a standard action (thus, the spell is effectively quickened even if the arcane archer does not know the Quicken Spell metamagic feat). When the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster (but not if the spell is personal in range). This ability allows the archer to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range (thus, it benefits touch spells or close-range spells more than medium or long-range spells), or to shoot an arrow using the spell’s range instead of the bow’s range (thus, effectively extending the range of the arrow). When using a beneficial spell (a spell that has “harmless” in the spell reduction section), the archer may elect to deal non-lethal damage instead of lethal damage and imbue a target with the spell without taking a penalty on the attack roll (thus, although the ally will still take non-lethal damage, the arrow may imbue the ally with a beneficial spell; in the case of cure light wounds or stronger spells in the case of arcane archers that are also bards, the effect of the spell cancels the effect of non-lethal damage to an extent); as well, the arcane archer may voluntarily null any of the above-mentioned properties when using an arrow to deliver a beneficial spell (thus, an arcane archer that has chosen to imbue her arrows with a higher enhancement bonus, a specific element, the seeker and phasing arrows properties, and the arcane precision may negate all of these properties when shooting an arrow to deliver a beneficial touch spell, or all except seeker arrows).
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with spells, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
And here we are: the iconic ability of the Arcane Archer...seven levels late. You may be arguing why this had to happen.
Well, it's obvious. Imbue Arrows is a powerful ability that essentially made the original Arcane Archer useful until 2nd level. Delaying it doesn't reduce its power at all, but reaffirms the power of all the other class abilities.
The second? It makes any touch attack gain increased range, and it works with beneficial spells. What's best, you can pepper an ally with beneficial spells and deal no more than non-lethal damage (and without the rest of the damage boosters), so you can use imbue arrows for something more than just touch attack spells. It also works with spells centered on the caster, so you can have emanations working away from the caster. It opens quite a bit of tactical opportunities.
POP REFERENCE x3 COMBO!!!!
So...it's been a while, no?
I've been VERY distracted, in multiple projects at once, and seemingly I've neglected my 'brewing release schedule.
Since releasing a class is usually a big release, and the few classes I haven't released are pretty big, how about we do something simple for a change, no? Thus, a prestige class is fine too!
Except...how do I cover essentially two months worth of non-releases? How about releasing TWO prestige classes at once? Shouldn't be hard, no?
But of course, the title says "Arcane Double Whammy", right? That's, of course, because both classes have to deal with arcane spellcasting! Not only that, they have "Arcane" on their title as well! And, just for extra coincidences, both are PrCs from the Dungeon Master's Guide!!
Of course, you know which PrCs I'm talking about...but wait; I mentioned that both classes had the word "Arcane" in their title, no? Yes, yes I did! You see, I had to do a change to one of the PrC's names, in order to fit better (not to mention that the name the original class has would suggest something different; you can blame that change on Complete Mage).
So, without further ado, allow me to present the first of the Arcane Double Whammy extravaganza:
ARCANE ARCHER
http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff312/Osky-kun/Untitled.jpg
Original image from Dragon Magazine #374
"An enchanted bow? Parlor tricks. Aiming a ball of flames beyond cover? A bit more interesting. Arcing a lightning bolt so that it aims all creatures beyond walls? Slightly more impressive. Now, turning a prisoner into a hydra while disguised as the enemy from dozens of steps away? I'd love to see a feeble mage do that..." - Quarrath Faeresril, drow surfacer, explaining the arts of the arcane archer to a dead mage.
Requirements
To qualify to become an arcane archer, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (shortbow or longbow)
Skills: Spot 5 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Spellcraft 5 ranks
Spells: Able to cast 1st level arcane spells, including magic missile and magic weapon
Special: An elf may enter this class and ignore the Weapon Focus (shortbow or longbow) requirements, so as long as it complies with the rest.
As you may have noticed, the requirements are now open to anyone. Why elves should be the ones holding all the fun?
On the other hand, they're a bit more stringent. For starters, it requires 8 ranks in Spot, so unless you multiclass, you'll rarely have a chance of entering by means of being a Fighter. Now, Ranger? Excellent choice! There's also Guerrilla Scout if you insist on entering as a Fighter, in any case. Since you no longer need a BAB of 6 to enter, you can enter a bit earlier.
Elves, being the developers of the arts of the arcane archer, have it just a tad easier. They only need two feats instead of three, so they enter a bit faster and require less feats. This involves any elf subtype, hence drow are also allowed, even though they're not exactly longbow wielders.
Class Skills
The arcane archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex). Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge (arcana) (Int), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Spellcraft (Int), Survival (Wis) and Tumble (Dex)
Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.
Skill-wise, they get a larger skill list to justify that large amount of skill points. The skill list resembles a ranger's skill list quite a bit, aside from the Knowledge skills. This means they get a good bit of athletic and acrobatic skills, plus Intimidate. The latter is a rare choice, but an interesting one, considering they get absolutely no interaction skills. Bluff is unnecessary because they don't fight up close and personal, and Diplomacy on an archer is kinda lost, but Intimidate can be used to demoralize from a distance, particularly if you get ways to do it faster.
{TABLE=head]Level|Base Attack Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special|Spells per day
1st|+1|
+0|
+2|
+2|Conjure arrows, enhanced arrows (greater magic weapon), mental acuity|--
2nd|+2|
+0|
+3|
+3|Arcane precision +1/+1d6, close combat shot|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
3rd|+3|
+1|
+3|
+3|Bonus feat, enhanced arrows (resilient)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
4th|+4|
+1|
+4|
+4|Arcane precision +2/+1d6, seeker arrows|--
5th|+5|
+1|
+4|
+4|Enhanced arrows (elemental), slayer's arrows (bane)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
6th|+6|
+2|
+5|
+5|Arcane precision +2/+2d6, bonus feat, phasing arrows|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
7th|+7|
+2|
+5|
+5|Enhanced arrows (force sheen), storm of arrows|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
8th|+8|
+2|
+6|
+6|Arcane precision +3/+2d6, imbue arrows|--
9th|+9|
+3|
+6|
+6|Bonus feat, elemental arrows (elemental burst)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class
10th|+10|
+3|
+7|
+7|Arcane precision +3/+3d6, slayer's arrows (death)|+1 level of existing arcane spellcasting class[/TABLE]
So, the biggest change you might see is that arcane archers lack a good Fort save, but instead have an awesome Will save. It has full BAB, and it has even MORE spell levels than the PF version (because anything below 6/10ths in terms of PrCs sucks).
Now, what does this means for the Arcane Archer? Well, for starters, it means you have one of the second rarest setups of saving throw arrays (Ref/Will, accessible mostly by the Bard), but with full BAB (great for a martial character), with a whopping 7/10ths spellcasting (a golden opportunity for any kind of spellcaster, but superb for Duskblades), specializing in archery. It is very specific, but the methods of entry and how they benefit each method are spectacular.
Class Features
All of the following are features of the arcane archer prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: The arcane archer is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, as well as light and medium armor if she wasn’t proficient already. She is also proficient with any kind of exotic bow or crossbow; if she had the Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat for any exotic bow or crossbow (as a feat chosen by character levels or Hit Dice), she gains a bonus feat of her choice with which she meets the prerequisites for each such feat.
In case you enter by means of pure Wizard, Sorcerer or arcanist levels, you get proficiency with a wide variety of weapons and armor. The ability to gain proficiency with all kinds of exotic bows or crossbows (including greatbows, repeating crossbows of all kinds, amongst others) means you're the undisputed master of archery. Since that means any Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat you choose becomes worthless. Thus, you can replace any feat of your choice with a more advanced feat; a sound tactic to get better feats from your limited feat slots.
Though, you get a few more feat slots, so...
Spells per Day: At all levels except 1st, 4th, and 8th, whenever an arcane archer gains a new level, she gains new spells per day (and spells known, if applicable) as if she had also gained a level in whatever arcane spellcasting class she belonged to before she added the prestige class. She does not, however, gain any other benefit a character of that class would have gained .
If the character had more than one arcane spellcasting class before she became an arcane archer, the player must decide which class to assign each level for the purpose of determining spells per day and spells known.
The reason I went for 7/10ths spellcasting is because half-spellcasting for PrCs is essentially worthless, but full spellcasting is a bit too much for a very loaded class. Thus, the compromise was to have a reduction on spellcasting progression, but a reasonable one. All points where you don't advance your spellcasting have their reasons: 1st level to prevent dips and because you get a free spell, 8th level because you get the signature ability of the arcane archers, and 4th level because you get homing projectiles. 4th level may seem a tad weak, but you essentially get the ability to have any arrow hit without an attack roll, so it's a fair exchange.
Conjure Arrows (Sp): The first technique an arcane archer learns is to always have arrows available, at any moment. Usually, the arcane archer will always have an arrow available, but when she runs out of arrows, she does the most plausible thing; summon arrows from thin air. These arrows are usually coated with a magical sheen that identifies them as weapons suited for the arcane archer, and rarely work for other creatures.
At 1st level, an arcane archer may expend a spell slot of 1st level or higher to conjure a stack of arrows as a swift action. The arcane archer summons 2d6 sets of arrows per level of spell expended (treat 0-level spells as ½ level for purposes of this ability, and thus you may only summon 1d6 arrows by these means), and these arrows last for a number of rounds equal to her caster level. These conjured arrows work only for the arcane archer, and return to her quiver if fired by a character that’s not the arcane archer. Once fired by the arcane archer and causing damage, the conjured arrows dissipate into nothingness. Unlike other kinds of arrows, conjured arrows are always imbued with uncanny precision and thus gain the benefits of arcane precision.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may conjure bolts if she so desires, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
More than a signature ability, this ability is quite interesting. It means you never run out of arrows, having an average of 7 arrows per spell level for a short while. Essentially, it's a last-ditch resort in case you lack arrows to fire, so that you never lack arrows. It's also a decent way to expend 1st level spell slots you might not use.
Enhanced Arrows (Su): A natural result of using magic to enhance her archery, the arcane archer naturally suffuses her arrows with magical power. Arrows fired by the arcane archer are more precise, more dangerous, resilient, and even capable of incredible force.
At 1st level, any arrow that the arcane archer fires is treated as magical and gains an enhancement bonus as if it was enchanted with the greater magic weapon spell cast by a spellcaster of the arcane archer’s caster level, unless the enchantment bonus of the bow or arrow is higher. To use this ability, the arcane archer must have prepared the spell (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the spell’s level available); for those purposes, the arcane archer learns the greater magic weapon spell for free, and she adds it to her spellbook or her list of spells known at the moment she learns to cast spells of the level requires for greater magic weapon (immediately if she can cast spells of that level); if she already knows the spell, she gains no further benefit. In the case that she does not have greater magic weapon prepared (or she has exhausted spells from the same level or higher than greater magic weapon) but she still has prepared magic weapon (or has spell slots of the same level or higher as that of magic weapon remaining), she still may imbue any of her weapons with a +1 enhancement bonus. In the case she doesn’t have any of the spells prepared (or no spell slots of the same level or higher), she may not apply this benefit nor any of the other benefits that follow.
At 3rd level, any arrow that the arcane archer fires (except for conjured arrows) have a 50% chance of not destroying themselves after hitting the enemy, and are never destroyed if she misses her target.
At 5th level, an arcane archer may imbue any arrow she fires with an element of her choice. She must have prepared a conjuration or evocation spell of at least 1st level that has the same element descriptor as the element she intends to imbue her arrow with (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the same level or higher); acid spells for the corrosive property (see Magic Item Compendium page 31), fire spells for the flaming property, ice spells for the frost property, sonic spells for the screaming property (see Magic Item Compendium page 42), and electricity spells for the shock property. She may change the element of the spell she wishes to enhance her arrows with as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
At 7th level, an arcane archer may imbue her arrows with a screen of magical force. Any arrow she fires is treated as if having the force property (see Magic Item Compendium page 35), and thus it ignores damage reduction and affects incorporeal targets. In order to imbue her arrows with a force sheen, the arcane archer must have prepared the magic missile spell (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the spell’s level or higher). Spells like force missile and chain missile are considered as if they were magic missile for purposes of this ability.
At 9th level, an arcane archer may imbue any arrow she fires with a powerful manifestation of an element of her choice. She must have prepared a conjuration or evocation spell of at least 4th level that has the same element descriptor as the element she intends to imbue her arrow with (or know the spell and have a spell slot of the same level or higher); acid spells for the acidic burst property (see Magic Item Compendium page 28), fire spells for the flaming burst property, ice spells for the icy burst property, sonic spells for the screaming burst property (see Magic Item Compendium page 42), and electricity spells for the shocking burst property. She may change the element of the spell she wishes to enhance her arrows with as a standard action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity.
An arcane archer may, if it desires, activate or deactivate these properties as a free action. She may deactivate (or activate) one or more of the properties, as applies.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may enhance her bolts if she so desires, but she must make the choice when using the ability.
Clever, huh?
While most of these abilities exist on the PF version of Arcane Archer, it's quite obvious that enchanting arrows towards their conservation, the ability to hit incorporeal creatures and ignore Wind Walls goes above and beyond what the original arcane archer did.
Now, why insist on the requirements? The idea is that arcane archers use the same kind of resource as users of reserve feats, drawing only a bit of their prepared spells (or spell slots) to enchant their arrows with magic. That way, if you don't have the spell prepared, you're hurting a bit, but not that much. The idea is that you should exploit archery more than your spellcasting, in any case.
Now, since it says any arrow, this means conjured arrows also gain the benefit (except for one, which is explicitly mentioned above). That means you can conjure arrows that gain up to +5 to attack and damage rolls, deal 1d6 elemental damage (including acid and sonic damage!) with a chance of 1d10/2d10 extra damage with critical hits, which just happen to hit incorporeal creatures and ignore wind walls. That alone is VERY powerful.
Mental Archery (Ex): Although she may have some training when attacking with a ranged weapon and above-average Dexterity and possibly Strength scores, it is inevitable that an arcane archer will have a much stronger intellectual bent and mental potential. Part of the techniques of the arcane archer involve using her logic, or even her inner power, to aim the arrow and deal the largest amount of damage possible. When using any bow or crossbow, the arcane archer adds her Intelligence (if she casts prepared spells) or her Charisma (if she casts spontaneous spells) modifier for all attack rolls and damage rolls with these weapons.
Yup, now you get EVEN MORE bonuses to attack and damage rolls, by applying your bonuses from your main spellcasting ability score to your ranged attacks. Since you'll probably seek to advance your spellcasting score rather than gain a middling bonus by advancing Dexterity, this is a good way to keep your main attack method worthwhile.
Arcane Precision (Sp): Although it may seem like a pointless move, an arcane archer has the opportunity to imbue her arrows with greater magical power and thus she is capable of causing greater damage with her arrows. Some may say that she is wasting her time expending her spell potential when she should be casting spells; that line of thought goes against the path of the arcane archer, who is willing to expend her spell energy to grant greater power to her arrows. However, this doesn’t mean she does not use her spells carefully.
At 2nd level, an arcane archer may expend a prepared spell (or a spell slot) as a swift action and gain a bonus on her attack rolls and damage rolls for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended. Thus, if she expends a 1st level spell, she gains a +1 bonus to her attack rolls and deals an extra 1d6 points of damage on all attacks she makes for 1 round. Since the precision and damage is magically powered, she may use this ability even on creatures that are normally immune to sneak attacks, deal the damage at any range, and at any moment she has the ability active. This benefit applies only to projectile weapons (bows or crossbows only), or weaponlike spells (rays and other ranged touch attack spells), and deals hit point of the same type damage the projectile (or spell) would have dealt. Arcane precision only applies to the first hit of a spell with an extended duration (thus, an acid arrow improved with this ability deals 2d6 points of acid damage on the first round and 1d6 points of acid damage on subsequent rounds), and only once per target; thus, a 10th level sorcerer/2nd level arcane archer casting scorching ray and dividing her three rays between two opponents may deal 9d6 points of damage on one opponent and 5d6 points of damage on the other, but if she concentrates all three spells on the same target, she deals only 13d6 points of damage; alternatively, an arcane archer using Multishot or attacking two creatures deals damage equal to the amount of successful shots plus 1d6.
If the arcane archer conjures arrows, each of these arrows automatically gains the benefit of arcane precision even if she has not expended a spell to activate this ability.
At 4th level and every 4 levels afterwards, the bonus on attack rolls increases by 1. At 6th level, and every 4 levels afterwards, the extra damage granted by this ability increases by 1d6.
Alright, you can bash at me if you think this is excessive, but this ability is awesome. Basically, you sacrifice a spell slot to provide a small, but reasonable, amount of damage with EVERY attack. While it starts with 1d6 per shot, an arcane archer can eventually deal 3d6 with every hit, for what's essentially 5 sure hits (what with the obscene bonus to attack rolls), by sacrificing one spell slot. That's more damage than what you can do with a spell alone.
However, it's not limited to bows and arrows exclusively. Certainly, it's limited to ranged attacks, but you can use it with weaponlike spells (so you can use it with Scorching Ray all the way to Polar Ray), and it lasts for a good while because the level of the spell only defines for how many rounds the effect lasts.
Now, this may seem a bit too abusive for those who decide to conjure arrows, because they have to expend two spell slots to gain the same effect. As you may have noticed, all conjured arrows are automatically (or should I say, automagically?) empowered to deal the extra damage, so there's yet another reason why you should conjure arrows every now and then.
Close Combat Shot (Ex): An arcane archer knows that the worst nightmare of her style is someone drawing far too close; thus, she learns how to deal damage at the closest range possible. A 2nd level arcane archer may attack with her bow (or crossbow) at melee range and make ranged attacks with her bow without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Since you're going to focus on ranged attacks almost exclusively, the last thing you want is to have your main attack method completely nullified. Hence, you can now use bows and crossbows in melee range. It takes a while, but it's still acquired at a pretty early level.
Bonus Feat: At 3rd level, and every three levels afterwards, an arcane archer gains a bonus feat. This bonus feat must be chosen from the list of fighter bonus feats. An arcane archer’s effective fighter level for purposes of qualifying for bonus feats is equal to her class level, plus any levels in fighter or effective fighter levels she may already have.
No martial class can be complete without bonus feats, so here they are! You get three bonus feats, which should help A LOT with the feat-intensive archery tree, making the already formidable arcane archer even better! With some luck, you may even qualify for Weapon Supremacy for a single weapon, which is reasonable enough.
Seeker Arrows (Sp): One of the nastier tricks of arcane archers is their knowledge, as many fledging arcanists, of the simple yet effective magic missile spell. A spell that defines simplicity in that deals very effective damage, but specifically that it never requires the arcanist to actually aim the spell, and that it bypasses most of the defenses of typical warriors so it is very literally a spell to cast and forget. The biggest trouble of this spell, simple as it may be, is that the spell rarely, if ever, progresses; too much is sacrificed for its versatility. The arcane archer, thus, combines something as natural as projectile weaponry with one of the most useful traits of the spell; the ability to bypass cover and to land squarely upon the opponent, even though the arcane archer must still practice its aim. Worse, when the arcane archer imbues her arrows with the full power of the spell, even the most difficult shot is done with ease.
When the arcane archer has the magic missile spell prepared (or knows the spell and has a spell slot of the spell’s level or higher), any arrow the arcane archer shoots ignores cover and concealment, unless the concealment is of ethereal nature (such as the blink spell). The arcane archer must still have line of sight to the target (but not line of effect) to shoot the arrow.
As a swift action, if the arcane archer expends a prepared magic missile spell (or a spell slot of the same level as magic missile), arrows that the arcane archer shoots automatically hits the target without the need for a roll. This allows the target to hit automatically, but since there is no need for a roll, the arrow does not provoke a critical hit. This ability affects one arrow, plus one other arrow for every four caster levels above 1st (to a total of 5 arrows at caster level 17th), but the effect only lasts for one turn.
If the arcane archer knows and decides to a prepared spell slot containing chain missile (or a spell slot of the same level as chain missile), the arcane archer can combine her resilient arrows with the magic of this spell. Any arrow that is not destroyed by means of the resilient enhancement instantly flies off and strikes secondary targets of your choice that are within 30 ft. of the primary target, striking automatically and dealing the same damage as it dealt the primary target. Any secondary target can only be struck by 1 arrow at a time; you may choose fewer secondary targets than the amount of remaining arrows so as to not affect allies.
In both cases, infusing arrows with the power of magic missile or chain missile also has its drawbacks. If a creature somehow has immunity to any of these spells (such as by having a shield spell or a brooch of shielding), the arrows do not hit the target (and are treated as a miss, which means the arrows remain whole by means of the resilient enhancement). However, unless the arcane archer uses the force sheen enhancement mentioned above, arrows are not treated as force projectiles, meaning they cannot affect incorporeal creatures and are vulnerable to damage reduction (they do not gain the vulnerabilities of force weapons, however).
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may apply this benefit to any bolt she shoots, although unless she gains a swifter way to reload bolts, she may not take the full benefit of this ability.
Let's face it: seeker arrows aren't really that hot. Sure, cover and concealment can be a problem, but when you're casting spells, that really doesn't matter.
So, how about homing arrows?
Indeed: by sacrificing Magic Missile spells, you can make any shot you fire from a bow or crossbow hit automatically. With some preparation, that means that you can sacrifice a Magic Missile spell to make a full attack hit automatically, no need for a d20 roll.
Let that sink in. That means you deal 1d8/1d10 points of damage, plus your Int or Cha, plus the enhancement bonus, plus 1d6 points of elemental damage, plus arcane precision (if you activated it), plus any other benefit you want to add in, and without making a single attack roll. As part of a full attack. And all it takes is one or two spell slots, so you're in less risk of going fully nova on your enemies.
...Well, it still doesn't compare to what a full spellcaster with full spellcasting ability can do, but it's pretty darn impressive for what's essentially the most troubling attack method in the game.
Slayer’s Arrows (Sp): An arcane archer learns to imbue her arrows or bolts with magical power that is anathema to a creature that she faces. This is a callback to the first elven arcane archers, who often combined their magical prowess with their enmity towards orcs in order to slay as many as they could. However, even the bizarre orc arcane archer (who somehow gains wind of the talents of an arcane archer) may use this ability, effectively twisting the weapons of their former enemies against them. In fact, the technique of creating slayer’s arrows is devoid of tradition or ceremonial purpose; to an arcane archer, using the right weapon against her enemy is what really matters.
At 5th level, as a swift action, the arcane archer may expend any prepared spell (or spell slot) of at least 2nd level to imbue any arrow she shoots with the bane property. The creature must choose which creature type (and subtype) when using this ability, and the enhancement lasts for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -1. If the arcane archer expends a spell of at least 3rd level, she may imbue her arrows with the fiercebane property (see Magic Item Compendium page 35) for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -1. If she instead expends a spell of 4th level or higher, she may choose her weapons to become greater bane, gaining an effective +4 enhancement bonus and dealing 4d6 points of damage for a number of rounds equal to the spell’s level -2. An arcane archer does not need to apply higher-tier bane properties to her arrows if using spells of higher level, but if she does, she also gains the other properties so as long as they are not replaced (hence, an arcane archer that expends a 4th level spell slot may add the fiercebane and greater bane properties for 2 rounds to any arrow she shoots, but not the bane property as this one is replaced by greater bane; for these purposes, greater bane is treated as the bane property for the fiercebane requirement). If the arcane archer uses both this ability and arcane precision on subsequent turns, the effect of both feats stack; thus, a 6th level arcane archer with an arcane caster level of 7th that expends a 3rd level spell slot for arcane precision on one round and a 4th level spell to imbue her arrows with the fiercebane and greater bane properties adds a +8 to her attack roll (+2 from the arrow’s enhancement bonus unless higher, +2 from arcane precision, and +4 from the greater bane property) and deals 6d6+6 points of damage (+2 from the arrow’s enhancement bonus unless higher, +4 from the greater bane property, +2d6 from the arcane precision extra damage and +4d6 from the greater bane property) when attacking a creature of the type chosen for her greater bane arrows.
At 10th level, she may imbue a single arrow of her choice with the ability to instantly slay a creature of her choice. By expending a spell slot of 5th level or higher as a swift action, the arcane archer makes a single arrow of her choice carry this property. The decision must be made before the arrow is shot, and the effect is lost if the arrow misses. If the attack is successful, the creature must succeed on a Fortitude saving throw equal to 20 + the arcane archer’s Intelligence (for prepared spellcasters) or Charisma (for spontaneous spellcasters) modifier. If she prepares her spells and decides to expend a prepared necromancy spell of 5th level or higher, the arrow is unusually stronger; the DC increases by an amount equal to the level of the spell -4. Unlike other abilities, this attack is treated as if it were a necromancy spell for purposes of feats that increase its DC (such as Spell Focus [necromancy]).
If the arcane archer has the favored enemy as a class ability, the benefits of this ability improve. The duration of arrows enchanted with the bane, fiercebane or greater bane property increase by 1 for every 2 points of her favored enemy bonus, and the saving throw DC for her slaying arrow increases by 1 for every 2 points of her favored enemy bonus; both apply when the arcane archer chooses the bane property for the creature type (and subtype) of her favored enemy (and if the creature upon which she uses the ability is one of her favored enemies) in a case-by-case basis; thus, an arcane archer with orcs and goblinoids as her favored enemies (the former with a +4 bonus, the latter with a +2 bonus) adds two rounds when creating orc bane arrows, orc fiercebane arrows or greater orc bane arrows and the saving throw DC for the death attack increases by 2 against orcs, but the duration of bane arrows and saving throw DC of the death attack is only 1 when dealing with goblinoids.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with either of the two properties, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
Just when you thought that the damage potential of the arcane arrow wasn't enough, here's Bane!!
...By now you must think I'm going mad, but bear with me! This is perfectly reasonable. You need to expend about two or three spells to deal exorbitant amounts of damage for a few rounds, but if you choose to do so, even a single arrow should be enough to one-shot any opponent. This is a far more focused effect than Arcane Precision or your normal bonuses, and lasts for much less, but allows you to have the right weapon for the task.
However, the effect is better for Rangers, whom should gain an even LARGER benefit from it, because it applies their favored enemy bonuses in a way it saves on their consumption of spell slots. Combine this with Arcane Hunter (for favored enemy: arcanists), and you can make the Arcane Archer a seriously powerful mage-killer.
Speaking of mage-killer: slayer's arrows are essentially a way to make Arrow of Death a worthwhile ability. DC 20 is strong at first, but since it doesn't scale, it slowly becomes weak. DC 20 + Cha modifier helps it somewhat, but that means AAs that enter by means of the Wizard class get shafted. 20 + Int or Cha modifier is a lot more reasonable. However, since we want Arrow of Death to matter, I decided that necromancy spells get a special benefit. Now, you can shoot an arrow that hits harder than the Finger of Death spell you can cast, and if you have ways to improve necromancy spell save DCs, it becomes even stronger. THIS is an Arrow of Death, if I may say so.
Phasing Arrows (Su): An arcane archer gains the ability to imbue her arrows with the ability to phase between dimensions, thus allowing her to strike creatures that hide beneath barriers and at different dimensions than her own (or that at least are coterminous to her own plane).
At 6th level, by expending a spell slot of 3rd level or higher as a swift action, any arrow that she shoots shifts between the Material Plane, the Ethereal Plane, and the Plane of Shadow. The arcane archer needs only to have line of sight to strike the enemy, and the arrow travels in a straight line, bypassing any barriers in her path (magical or non-magical) and striking any creatures that exist in the Material Plane, Ethereal Plane, or Plane of Shadows (the latter two if the arcane archer is aware of creatures in any of the planes, thus gaining line of sight to them). This ability lasts for a number of rounds equal to the level of the spell expended -2. This ability foils even dimensional lock and antimagic field, since the projectile effectively exists in all three planes at the same time (given that the effect is instantaneous), but the arrow still cannot be fired if within one of the aforementioned (or similar) areas; thus, while an arcane archer cannot imbue her arrows inside a dimensional lock or antimagic field (or a dead magic zone), she may shoot into a creature that is inside one.
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with this property, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
Phasing Arrows were a tad weak. If you could see through walls, then there's the big chance that you could shoot through them, but any kind of magical barrier (or anything that neglects supernatural abilities) screws it. Not anymore. Now, you can shoot through any barrier, because you can shoot arrows to any creature that hides on the Plane of Shadow (through Shadow Walk, for example) or the Ethereal Plane (Ethereal Jaunt, Etherealness, Blink), even if they're protected by Antimagic Fields and other such wards. Sure, it takes one more spell slot, but you should be rolling on several spell slots, given that by 6th level you should have at least two more spell levels worth of spells.
Storm of Arrows (Ex): An arcane archer learns to imbue her arrows with several forms of magical power, but her training within the arts of archery is never neglected. When she is surrounded with enemies and devoid of magical power, she still has an ace behind her proverbial sleeve.
At 7th level, as a full-round action, an arcane archer may fire an arrow at each and every target within range in lieu of her regular attacks, to a maximum of one target for every arcane archer level she has earned. Each attack uses the archer’s primary attack bonus, and each enemy may only be targeted by a single arrow. If the arrow is imbued with any enhancement or special ability, this also applies; thus, she may apply all of the enhancements to arrows, arcane precision, seeker arrows, slayer’s arrows and precise arrows (but not imbue arrows, see below). In the case of seeker arrows, the arcane archer ignores the restriction on arrows when using this ability; thus, an 8th level arcane archer using the seeker arrows main property ignores cover and concealment, and if expending a magic missile spell, she does not need to roll in order to hit (and if using chain missiles, any arrow that is not destroyed may hit a secondary target).
Unlike other arcane archer abilities, this ability cannot be used with crossbows (unless the arcane archer is capable of loading crossbow bolts as a free action, but not when using repeating crossbows).
A legacy ability makes its return, and one level earlier to boot. It's one of the few Extraordinary abilities the Arcane Archer has, after all.
Now, it's important to notice that, when using storm of arrows, you can exceed the number of attacks you can normally do with a full attack action, but only if you have an equal number of opponents. The other point that should matter, which is how to make each attack count, depends on the rest of the AA's benefits, meaning you can reliably nova on a wide amount of opponents, even though it's not gonna be a Fireball or a Web or a Maw of Chaos.
Imbue Arrows (Sp): At 8th level, an arcane archer learns to imbue whole spells into her arrows. Although she may only imbue a single arrow with a single spell, the effect is usually devastating to see. All of her training focuses into this one moment; the moment in which she can use the range of her arrows to deliver spells, including if the spell was never intended to be delivered or if the spell is actually beneficial. Some arcane archers learn to imbue their arrows with beneficial spells, usually though a non-lethal method.
As a swift action, an arcane archer may imbue an arrow she shoots with a spell. The spell may not last more than a standard action (thus, the spell is effectively quickened even if the arcane archer does not know the Quicken Spell metamagic feat). When the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster (but not if the spell is personal in range). This ability allows the archer to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range (thus, it benefits touch spells or close-range spells more than medium or long-range spells), or to shoot an arrow using the spell’s range instead of the bow’s range (thus, effectively extending the range of the arrow). When using a beneficial spell (a spell that has “harmless” in the spell reduction section), the archer may elect to deal non-lethal damage instead of lethal damage and imbue a target with the spell without taking a penalty on the attack roll (thus, although the ally will still take non-lethal damage, the arrow may imbue the ally with a beneficial spell; in the case of cure light wounds or stronger spells in the case of arcane archers that are also bards, the effect of the spell cancels the effect of non-lethal damage to an extent); as well, the arcane archer may voluntarily null any of the above-mentioned properties when using an arrow to deliver a beneficial spell (thus, an arcane archer that has chosen to imbue her arrows with a higher enhancement bonus, a specific element, the seeker and phasing arrows properties, and the arcane precision may negate all of these properties when shooting an arrow to deliver a beneficial touch spell, or all except seeker arrows).
An arcane archer that uses crossbows may imbue her bolts with spells, but she must make the choice when using this ability.
And here we are: the iconic ability of the Arcane Archer...seven levels late. You may be arguing why this had to happen.
Well, it's obvious. Imbue Arrows is a powerful ability that essentially made the original Arcane Archer useful until 2nd level. Delaying it doesn't reduce its power at all, but reaffirms the power of all the other class abilities.
The second? It makes any touch attack gain increased range, and it works with beneficial spells. What's best, you can pepper an ally with beneficial spells and deal no more than non-lethal damage (and without the rest of the damage boosters), so you can use imbue arrows for something more than just touch attack spells. It also works with spells centered on the caster, so you can have emanations working away from the caster. It opens quite a bit of tactical opportunities.