3WhiteFox3
2014-07-22, 12:39 AM
As most PF optimizers know, the main advantage of Guns is their ability to hit against touch AC with every shot. Basically not having to ever worrying about missing, no matter how many penalties that they take. Touch AC is often extremely low on monsters, and even the more dextrous NPCs usually only have a touch AC in the low 20's even at high levels.
Meet Deadeye's Arrow, a spell that has the potential to make Gunslingers look like chumps.
You create an arrow made of crackling electricity, which you may use for one of two effects.
Attack: You may throw the arrow up to Medium range or fire it from a bow up to the bow's maximum range. Either use is a ranged touch attack. The arrow deals 1d6 points of electricity damage + 1 point per level (maximum +5).
Beacon: You throw or fire the arrow straight up. When it reaches maximum range or a solid surface (such as the roof of a cave) it explodes in a peal of thunder and forms a forked bolt of electricity resembling a holy symbol, which lingers for 1 round. The thunder and lightning are as loud and bright as natural thunder and lightning, but they do not harm any nearby creatures.
Now that wouldn't be too bad if the duration were only 1 round/level, instead the spell is instantaneous, and thus spammable. Use it whenever you have a long string of downtime, turning your otherwise useless spells into powerful tools for the archer in your group. Unfortunately, that's not all, the worst part is that wands of Deadeye's Arrow are completely rules legal. For 750 gp, any archer can have an entire quiver of Touch AC attacking arrows, that's insanely cheap when you realize that the same number of +1 arrows would be 2000 gp.
Hitting touch AC is a huge advantage, at least guns have some notorious drawbacks; having to be within the first range increment, misfire chances, reload times, etc... So you'd think that PF had realized that such a powerful ability should be very limited and had taken some steps to at least try and balance the mechanic. Deadeye's Arrow is much worse, having almost none of the drawbacks that guns do. The only detriment it has is dealing electricity damage and thus being trumped by energy resistance, that just means that anything without resistances is screwed. Combine this spell with the typical Archery feats (Deadly Aim, Rapid Shot, etc...) and you could have a amazing archer without having to worry much about accuracy.
Meet Deadeye's Arrow, a spell that has the potential to make Gunslingers look like chumps.
You create an arrow made of crackling electricity, which you may use for one of two effects.
Attack: You may throw the arrow up to Medium range or fire it from a bow up to the bow's maximum range. Either use is a ranged touch attack. The arrow deals 1d6 points of electricity damage + 1 point per level (maximum +5).
Beacon: You throw or fire the arrow straight up. When it reaches maximum range or a solid surface (such as the roof of a cave) it explodes in a peal of thunder and forms a forked bolt of electricity resembling a holy symbol, which lingers for 1 round. The thunder and lightning are as loud and bright as natural thunder and lightning, but they do not harm any nearby creatures.
Now that wouldn't be too bad if the duration were only 1 round/level, instead the spell is instantaneous, and thus spammable. Use it whenever you have a long string of downtime, turning your otherwise useless spells into powerful tools for the archer in your group. Unfortunately, that's not all, the worst part is that wands of Deadeye's Arrow are completely rules legal. For 750 gp, any archer can have an entire quiver of Touch AC attacking arrows, that's insanely cheap when you realize that the same number of +1 arrows would be 2000 gp.
Hitting touch AC is a huge advantage, at least guns have some notorious drawbacks; having to be within the first range increment, misfire chances, reload times, etc... So you'd think that PF had realized that such a powerful ability should be very limited and had taken some steps to at least try and balance the mechanic. Deadeye's Arrow is much worse, having almost none of the drawbacks that guns do. The only detriment it has is dealing electricity damage and thus being trumped by energy resistance, that just means that anything without resistances is screwed. Combine this spell with the typical Archery feats (Deadly Aim, Rapid Shot, etc...) and you could have a amazing archer without having to worry much about accuracy.