Mystic Swift Hunter build

[Talya]

Note: NOT looking for cheese.

Looking at building a swift hunter/mystic ranger.

3.5, forgotten realms, pretty much -all- sourcebooks available. Starting level 7 or 8. Substitution levels okayed. Sword of the Arcane Order quite possible.

She needs to be an Archery-focused, elven worshipper of Mystra. Notable house rules: Flaws allowed, feats are every odd level.

Additional notes: This is for a PbP campaign where I'm already playing a character. We're down to two active players. Now, admittedly, it's a wizard and a druid (my other character.) Rather than try to convince others to play, the DM is considering letting us run two characters each. While normally I might push for a wildshape ranger, or focus more on spellcasting on a mystic ranger, rather than sacrificing levels for swift hunter, I've already got a wildshaping primary spellcaster, and the other person is playing a wizard, so this is an archery focused character who also can cast well. I'm not interested in adding a tome of battle class into the mix. I like them fine, but i think the wizard is considering a warblade for his second character, I feel like trying something different.

[Flickerdart]

Mystic Ranger doesn't give you as much as it normally would, since you're going to have 4 Scout levels in there, but it's still solid.

Scout 4/Mystic Ranger 4 is a good start - you still get Rapid Shot, are only 1 BAB behind, and can snag Improved Skirmish with the 4th level Scout bonus feat. Stagger the levels so that you can get SotAO at 7th - Scout 3/Ranger 4/Scout 1. After this, just keep taking Ranger levels, unless your DM allows a divine-adapted Unseen Seer or rules that the Wizard spells SotAO lets you cast are Arcane, in which case you should go into that instead for a net gain in damage.

Shadow Sword sub levels (CV) let you replace the useless Endurance with a slightly less useless boost to Move Silently checks, and your improved combat style with bane on your weapon against favoured enemy. All the other ACFs won't be terribly useful for you.

Aside from the obvious (SotAO, Swift Hunter, Improved Skirmish) you will probably want Practiced Spellcaster, and some way to move and attack in the same turn. Travel Devotion is the easiest way, but you don't really have room for Cleric in your build. You could always eschew Mystic Ranger and go something like Scout 4/Fighter 2/Soldier of Light 2/Divine Crusader 1/Prestige Ranger 10/Contemplative 1 (which nets you 9th level spells from two domains plus all Ranger spells, as well as TU to power Travel Devotion), but it takes longer to get to the Ranger part.

[Talya]

Aside from the obvious (SotAO, Swift Hunter, Improved Skirmish) you will probably want Practiced Spellcaster, and some way to move and attack in the same turn. Travel Devotion is the easiest way, but you don't really have room for Cleric in your build.

Hmm. Martial Study might help. I'd need it twice, though.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Greater Manyshot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#greaterManyshot) is the go-to for ranged skirmish. If you were starting high enough level to have an initiator level of 9+ you could use Press the Advantage instead. Otherwise you'll want a Cloistered Cleric dip to get Knowledge Devotion, Travel Devotion, and the Elf domain. Then there's Flyby Attack (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/monsterFeats.htm#flybyAttack), so Feathered Wings graft or Overland Flight or even Dragonborn will let you Greater Manyshot on the run and always end your turn behind total cover/concealment.

Consider the Elf Ranger 1 sub level, which gets d6 HD but 8 base skill points, and you can switch the set favored enemy with Arcane Hunter (CM). The Shooting Star Ranger sub levels in Champions of Valor are also highly recommended, but the 4th sub level of that has questionable interaction with Mystic Ranger as you already won't get an animal companion.

See if you can take Manyshot early, and then pick another feat when you would get it from your Ranger combat style. Even if you can't, it would probably be worth spending an extra feat to start out with Greater Manyshot, unless you're going with a move-and-full-attack skirmish method. I'd stick to a standard build like Scout 4/ Ranger 16, or do Scout 5/ Ranger 15 to get Spell Reflection (CM) and still have Evasion. In any case put Scout 4 late enough to get Swift Hunter as your bonus feat. With feats at every odd level, you can get Sword of the Arcane Order at Scout 3/ Ranger 4.

[Keld Denar]

Check out both the Spell Compendium and Champions of Ruin for tasty archery based spells.

[Talya]

See if you can take Manyshot early, and then pick another feat when you would get it from your Ranger combat style. Even if you can't, it would probably be worth spending an extra feat to start out with Greater Manyshot, unless you're going with a move-and-full-attack skirmish method. I'd stick to a standard build like Scout 4/ Ranger 16, or do Scout 5/ Ranger 15 to get Spell Reflection (CM) and still have Evasion. In any case put Scout 4 late enough to get Swift Hunter as your bonus feat. With feats at every odd level, you can get Sword of the Arcane Order at Scout 3/ Ranger 4.

This is the best idea.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

This is the best idea.

I just realized, both Manyshot and Greater Manyshot have a +6 BAB prerequisite. Luckily you can use flaws, and, "A player may select up to two flaws when creating a character." That means you can put those two flaws at any level you want as long as they're taken during character creation.

I'd probably go Scout 1 Ranger 4 to get Sword of the Arcane Order at 5th, and take Manyshot at 7th and Greater Manyshot via a flaw at 7th, and put your other flaw at 1st. It's easier to explain being born with one flaw and gaining another at a higher level, than to gain two flaws later on at the same level. There are some fun flaws (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=258440#30) in various issues of Dragon magazine. The Quick trait (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/variant/buildingCharacters/characterTraits.htm#quick) would also be useful on a dedicated ranged skirmisher.

[Corolinth]

Good luck getting a DM to approve that.

[Spuddles]

Note that a cloistered cleric dip that trades out knowledge domain for knowledge devotion loses all the knowledge skills (save the one from know devotion) as class skills.

Also, I don't think mystra offers travel as a domain, so you may have a difficult time qualifying for travel devotion and sword of the arcane order, especially if you go the cloistered cleric route.

[ThiagoMartell]

Since this is FR already, a dip in Harper Paragon gives you favored enemy (evil), which combos very well with Swift Hunter and progresses your Mystic Ranger casting.
I think you could probably dip around to remove the number of Scout levels needed (and caster levels lost) but it might be costy-feat wise.
Highland Stalker, Unseen Seer and Hand of the Winged Masters all get you +1d6 skirmish in 1-2 levels, skipping the +1 AC thing.

[Talya]

Since this is FR already, a dip in Harper Paragon gives you favored enemy (evil), which combos very well with Swift Hunter and progresses your Mystic Ranger casting.
I think you could probably dip around to remove the number of Scout levels needed (and caster levels lost) but it might be costy-feat wise.
Highland Stalker, Unseen Seer and Hand of the Winged Masters all get you +1d6 skirmish in 1-2 levels, skipping the +1 AC thing.

Favored Enemy - Evil is outstanding for a Swift Hunter skirmisher. I'm not sure it's worth the qualification requirements in this build, though. (2 sacred vow feats, 8 ranks of cross class diplomacy? Impossible until level 13 anyway, and for that, losing BAB, fort save, and skirmish damage...)

[Darrin]

Favored Enemy - Evil is outstanding for a Swift Hunter skirmisher. I'm not sure it's worth the qualification requirements in this build, though. (2 sacred vow feats, 8 ranks of cross class diplomacy? Impossible until level 13 anyway, and for that, losing BAB, fort save, and skirmish damage...)

Favored Enemy: Arcanist (Complete Mage ACF) is also quite nifty. However, for a Swift Hunter build, and particularly Mystic Ranger because it's favored enemy progression is delayed, it's probably more important to make sure your first two Favored Enemies are Undead and Constructs. Otherwise, those two types of creatures will be immune to your skirmish damage. If you stick with it long enough to get a 3rd favored enemy, take Elementals. This leaves plants and oozes as two remaining creature types immune to your skirmish damage, but:

Plants = extremely flammable, and usually immobile
Oozes = slow enough that, so long as you detect them, you can walk around them

You can progress Skirmish damage faster by taking Dragon Devotee 4/Unseen Seer 4/Highland Stalker 2, up to 10d6 with Improved Skirmish.

Hmmm... not sure I've got the feats right, but how about:

Race: Human, Azurin, Strongheart Halfing
1) M.Ranger 1. Feat: Travel Devotion, Bonus: PB Shot, Bonus: Track
2) M.Ranger 2. Favored Enemy: Undead
3) M.Ranger 3. Feat: Precise Shot. Bonus: Rapid Shot.
4) M.Ranger 4. Bonus: Endurance.
5) Scout 1. Feat: Sword of the Arcane Order. Skirmish 1d6.
6) Scout 2.
7) Scout 3. Feat: Swift Hunter. Skirmish 2d6AC+2.
8) Scout 4. Bonus: Improved Skirmish. Skirmish 2d6AC+2/4d6AC+4
9) M.Ranger 5. Feat: Manyshot. Skirmish 3d6AC+2/5d6AC+2.
10) Dragon Devotee 1.
11) Dragon Devotee 2. Feat: Gr. Manyshot. Skirmish 4d6AC+2/6d6AC+4.
12) Dragon Devotee 3. 1st level Sorcerer casting (get at least 2 divination spells).
13) Dragon Devotee 4. Feat: Imp. Rapid Shot. Skirmish 5d6AC+2/7d6AC+4.
14) Unseen Seer 1. Skirmish 6d6AC+2/8d6AC+4.
15) Unseen Seer 2. Feat: Travel Devotion. Advanced Learning: Hunter's Eye.
16) Unseen Seer 3.
17) Unseen Seer 4. Feat: Travel Devotion. Skirmish 7d6AC+2/9d6+4.
18) Highland Stalker 1.
19) Highland Stalker 2. Feat: Travel Devotion. Skirmish 8d6AC+2/10d6AC+4.
20) Spellsword 1.

This gives you BAB +17, 2nd level Mystic Ranger/Sword of the Arcane Order spells, and 7 levels of Sorcerer casting (3rd level spells).

Hmm. That doesn't make much use of the Mystic Ranger spellcasting. Scout 4/Mystic Ranger 16 would be a bit more straightforward.

Something else to consider... you could do a full BAB Swift Hunter without any Scout levels:

Mystic Ranger 4/Sneak Attack Fighter 1/Highland Stalker 4 (taking Swift Hunter here)/Mystic Ranger +11.

[Talya]

Plants = extremely flammable, and usually immobile
Oozes = slow enough that, so long as you detect them, you can walk around them
Not only that, there's a ranger spell that makes plants vulnerable to precision damage.

[Darrin]

Not only that, there's a ranger spell that makes plants vulnerable to precision damage.

Technically, by RAW vine strike only allows sneak attack on plants. However, if a DM was really insistent about not allowing skirmish damage as well, I might consider revoking his snack/soda privileges in my household.

[Dusk Eclipse]

If you are exalted a level 1 dip into Stalker of Kharash which advances Ranger casting and gives you favoured enemy (evil), it has some relatively easy pre-requisites Alertness (meh), Favoured of the Companions, Track and Neutral Good alignment.
Edit: Upon checking you gain FE: Evil at level 2, still not a bad dip IMO.

[Flickerdart]

Plants = extremely flammable, and usually immobile

Not true. In core, only the Treant is vulnerable to fire. Other plants either are fire-neutral or even resistant to it (in the case of the shambling mound). The majority of the plants in core also move (albeit not that quickly, with a 20ft speed).

[Talya]

Hmm. Does Sword of the Arcane Order allow you to use arcane wizard scrolls and spell completion items for spells on the wizard spell list? Do you technically have the wizard spell list?

[Gavinfoxx]

http://brilliantgameologists.com/boards/index.php?topic=10830

Have you read this? It talks about the various issues with Mystic Ranger, Shooting Star, Sword of the Arcane Order, etc. etc.