Help: Archer Ranger (Damage)

[arishardin]

My eyes are bleeding from reading so much about my wizard and now I feel compelled to basically build my friends Archer Ranger since my wizard is the only party member that will be worth a damn.

My party consists of my wizard, my friend's ranger, his brother's rogue(who knows nothing about playing or building any class), and an NPC healer.

Please help me optimize this archer ranger to do one thing very well... damage the opponent with a barrage of arrows that consistently hit. If he can at least put out some decent damage I feel I can handle the rest.

A simple build will do. Just start it with Ranger and try not to venture off too far into multi-classing if possible. The main things I need are Feats, Equipment, and a little direction on battle rotation. If I can get this from a more experienced ranger player, then it will save me a huge headache before tomorrow's session.

[Snowbluff]

Ari, I think your problem is that I will make your eyes bleed. Archer isn't something that is so easily done. You have to keep track of special arrows, poisons, alchemical items, spells, enhancements...

Can you help me narrow it down? What edition is this?

[Tohsaka Rin]

Rapid shot, bow enchanted with a bane or two, spread out your favored enemy dice around a few other types.

There's an ACF to drop your animal companion for a boost to favored enemy, and a feat to add a to-hit (or damage boost, I forget which) to FE attacks.

That's the general idea for a rookie. Give them basic stuff to work with FIRST. Let them get comfortable with playing someone who does what they do, before giving him any elite tweaks.

Basics first, then mastery.

[Seerow]

I'm a big fan of Mystic Ranger. Rangers get a lot of nice spells on their list (especially for Archers), and Mystic Ranger lets you access those in reasonable quantities at an appropriate level, rather than having to wait until level 15 or so to have more than a handful of spells per day.

Tohsaka: Could you give names and sources for the feats/ACFs you mentioned?

[Tohsaka Rin]

Certainly.

Solitary Hunter (Drop animal companion for boost to hit) Dragon Magazine 347

Improved Favored Enemy (Bonus to favored enemy damage) Complete Warrior page 101

Sorry, took me a minute to leaf through for page numbers. My memory of which feats are in which book kind of wanders. I always reach for Warrior when I should be grabbing Adventurer.

[Snowbluff]

For a bonus to hit, Distracting Attack from PHBII. The party rogue will love it.

[Twurps]

One of the easiest ways (although pricy at +3) to increase your damage is getting the 'splitting' property on your bow. (Champions of ruin?)

Every arrow you fire becomes 2 arrows, with 2 attack rolls (And thus 2x skirmish/sneak/whatever you use to boost damage). There's no conditions to be met, so it helps with the 'head hurting' part of ranged combat as wel.

[arishardin]

This would be 3.5!

[StreamOfTheSky]

Certainly.

Solitary Hunter (Drop animal companion for boost to hit) Dragon Magazine 347

Improved Favored Enemy (Bonus to favored enemy damage) Complete Warrior page 101

Sorry, took me a minute to leaf through for page numbers. My memory of which feats are in which book kind of wanders. I always reach for Warrior when I should be grabbing Adventurer.

Enemy Spirit Pouch in MIC is a cheap item to get an additional favored enemy to then reap these benefits, too.
2nd-ing the splitting property. Casting haste on him would also help. If he's level 6+, Woodland Archer helps to regulate his damage a bit more since any misses that round give +4 to hit to the rest of his shots, buoying up his damage on bad rounds.
A lesser crystal of energy assault is only 3000 gp for +1d6 energy damage every shot; I'd pick acid or electricity.

EDIT: Get a wand chamber (300 gp, Dungeonscape, lets you hold a wand in a weapon or shield and use it while simply holding said weapon/shield) in the bow and put in a wand of Hunter's Mercy. It's a level 1 ranger spell in Spell Compendium. Standard action, first hit on the next round (spell is wasted if you don't hit at all) is a an automatic crit threat regardless of the roll. He can use that on rounds he can't full attack, it's better than a single bow shot. He may also want to put a wand chamber in his buckler (you can use a bow w/o penalty while a buckler is equipped) for Arrow Mind, if he ends up getting melee attacked often.

[geekintheground]

as far as equipment goes, theres always hank's energy bow (if the DM allows it, and you can afford it). cant seem to find the link, but i believe it was a +2 composite longbow that automatically adjusted to your str, fired force missiles that did 2d4, allowed for "power attacking", and... i think there was more, but cant recall. if someone else could brovide the link that would be great :)

[Jowgen]

A straight forward but high-damage 3.5 ranger? Okay, lets crack this up!

Favored Enemy: First things first, you'll want Favored Enemy: Arcanists from Complete Mage. Things that cast spells are nasty and common. 2nd best imo is Undead, not at least because anything you face might be undead due to some thing or another. A very close third are Dragons, as that covers anything with the Dragonblood subtype, from the lowliest Kobold to the mighty Draconic template cleric. After that it really depends on your campaign.

If you have Dragon Mag available, the Solitary Hunting ACF mentioned earlier lets you get Favored Enemy bonuses to hit. As written, it can be taken at level one. You don't gain an animal companion at 4th and the fluff demands that you do not be an person of faith.

Other class features: Rangers have some nice Alternate Urban Class features in Cityscape and its web enhancement. Pick to suit flavour and campaign.

Feats: Depending on playstyle, there are some real gems for Ranger feats. If you go Exhalted, you'd be amis to not pick Nemesis (BOED) to have ultimate 60 ft nigh-unblockable detection for one of your Favored Enemies (Arcanists recommended). If you go Vile, Murderous Intent (EE) lets you auto-confirm critis again ALL favored enemies (other feat benefit is rather lame), although it require +9 BAB to work. Improved Favored Enemy is a staple. If you mutliclass with Scout, Swift Hunter is an absolute must. Precise Shot and Improved Precise Shot are solid choices, with the prior being relevant to your equipment choice. Touchstone (Sandstorm) can get you the planar Oxyrynchus touchstone, potentially adding another attack to your routine depending on circumstance.

Equipment: Enemy Spirit Pouch has already been mentioned. My recommendation: have a collection for as many types of creatures as you might face, switching them out as needed. Better yet, see if your DM will let you stack them onto each other via MIC magic item stacking rules, for less switching. Get yourself a Bootblade (complete scoundrel) or something similar and give it the Hunting (MIC) weapon property to boost Favored Enemy damage. Its so cheap its manditory. On the pricier side of things (16000 gp), there is the Girdle of Hate from Dragon Compendium, which flat out doubles all your bonuses against a chosen favored enemy. If used in proper combination, this can get rid of all your to-hit/damage problems. A custom item of Guided Shot (SC) can most obeviate the need to get Improved Precise shot, if you can get one. Rest of equipment to taste.

Weapon: No matter what bow you get, give it a wandchamber and invest in something like Wands of Arrow Split (champions of ruin) to turn one of your shots per round into 1d4+1 shots. As for Enchantments, there are only 3 choices: Magebane (CA instead of MIC version if you can swing it) for Bane against arcanists, Force (MIC) to ignore all DR, Hardness and Incoroprality; and/or the much-recommended Splitting. If you can't find a good way to ignore concealment, Seeking can be used in a pinch.

Spells: Arrow Swarm and Guided Shot have already been mentioned, but there are a lot more nifty ranger spells to learn or put on wands/scrolls.

Multiclassing: If allowed, a level of the Targeteer fighter from Dragon 310 can get you arrow swarm, adding 2 extra attacks at a -5. And there is Scout obviously.

Prestige-Classing: Stalker of Kharash (BOED) can give Favored Enemy: Evil, which is great for obvious reasons. I also highly recommend Peerless Archer from Silver Marshes, if you can get it updated to 3.5; as 3 levels give you a d6 of Ranged Sneak Attack, the ability to ignore non-full cover and all concealment (if combined with improved precise shot or the Guided Shot feat) and lastly the elusive ability to make Power Shots.


I think that should cover most of it :smallsmile:

[Darrin]

A simple build will do. Just start it with Ranger and try not to venture off too far into multi-classing if possible.

Typical Swift Hunter Archer
Race: Human, Azurin, Strongheart Halfing, or Frostblood Orc/Half-Orc
1) Ranger 1. Feat: Travel Devotion (Complete Champion), Bonus: PB Shot, Bonus: Track
2) Ranger 2. Bonus: Rapid Shot
3) Scout 1. Feat: Precise Shot. Skirmish 1d6.
4) Scout 2.
5) Scout 3. Skirmish 1d6AC+1.
6) Ranger 3. Feat: Swift Hunter (Complete Scoundrel). Bonus: Endurance. Skirmish 2d6AC+1.
7) Ranger 4. Swap Animal Companion -> Distracting Attack. Skirmish 2d6AC+2.
8) Ranger 5.
9) Ranger 6. Bonus: Manyshot. Feat: Greater Manyshot (SRD/XPH). Skirmish 3d6AC+2.
10) Scout 4. Bonus: Improved Skirmish (Complete Scoundrel). Skirmish 3d6AC+2/5d6+4.
11) Highland Stalker 1.
12) Highland Stalker 2. Feat: Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior). Skirmish 4d6AC+2/6d6AC+4.
13) Ranger 7. Skirmish 4d6AC+3/6d6AC+5.
14) Ranger 8.
15) Ranger 9. Feat: Travel Devotion (x2). Skirmish 5d6AC+3/7d6AC+5.
16) Ranger 10.
17) Ranger 11. Bonus: Improved Precise Shot. Skirmish 5d6AC+4/7d6AC+6.
18) Ranger 12. Feat: Travel Devotion (x3)
19) Ranger 13. Camouflage. Skirmish 6d6AC+4/8d6AC+6.
20) Ranger 14. 4th level spells.

This build prioritizes getting Greater Manyshot ASAP, although you'll probably hit more often with Improved Rapid Shot. Swapping in Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild) might help improve accuracy. Highland Stalker 2 isn't all that necessary if you just want to do a Scout 4/Ranger 16 kinda thing, but the two-level dip progresses skirmish damage by +1d6 faster than waiting for four more levels of Scout/Ranger.

Equipment: Get an Elvencraft (+300 GP, Races of the Wild) composite longbow ASAP and put in two Wand Chambers (+100 GP, Dungeonscape). Good wands: instant of power (Forge of War) and guided shot (Spell Compendium). Ask the DM if sniper's shot (Spell Compendium) can apply to skirmish damage as well, and if so, use that instead of guided shot.

Crystal of Energy Assault, Lesser (3000 GP, MIC p. 64). Another great way to add +1d6 energy damage to your ranged attacks without spending a lot of gold. I recommend the Acid Assault, since fire, cold, and sonic damage can be added with spells, and electricity can be added with Bracers of Lightning.

Pitspawned template (+1000 GP, DMGII). +2 untyped bonus to confirm criticals.

Precise Shot (+1 enhancement, MIC p. 40). No need to take Precise Shot as a feat.

Splitting (+3 enhancement, Champions of Ruin p. 42). I can haz moar arrowz.

Bone Bow (250 GP, Frostburn). Mechanically this functions the same as a Composite Greatbow, but ask your DM to take a look at the description and decide if it automatically "resizes" itself to accommodate any "Mighty Strength bonus" without having to pay for each +1. Requires Exotic Weapon Proficiency.

Horizon Goggles (8000 GP, Complete Mage p. 133) or Helm of the Hunter (9000 GP, MIC p. 194). Provides the Far Shot feat.

Some other magic items to consider:

Head: Scout's Headband (3400 GP, MIC)
Face: Third Eye Surge (2100 GP, MIC)
Throat: Enemy Spirit Pouch (2100 GP, MIC) or Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker (500 GP, MIC)
Shoulders: Piercer Cloak (900 GP, MIC)
Arms: Armband of Elusive Action (800 GP, MIC)
Hands: Gloves of the Starry Sky (1100 GP, MIC)
Torso: Tunic of Steady Spellcasting (2500 GP, MIC)
Waist: Healing Belt (750 GP, MIC)
Feet: Skirmisher Boots (3200 GP, MIC) or Anklets of Translocation (1400 GP, MIC)

As more funds become available:

Bracers of Lightning (11000 GP, MIC p. 206). Adds the shock property to all your attacks, including ranged. Although somewhat expensive, in most cases it's probably cheaper to buy these bracers than trying to add another +1 property to an existing magic weapon. The biggest drawback is it takes a swift action to activate, and most ToB builds are going to need their swift actions for something else.

Quiver of Energy (15000 GP, MIC p. 172). Adds 1d6 acid/cold/electricity/fire damage to 20 arrows.

Hank's Energy Bow (22600 GP, Animated Series Handbook or available online). One of the few ways you can get something similar to Power Attack on a ranged weapon (but unfortunately does not offer the same damage multipliers). On top of that, it's an extremely versatile weapon that does not require any ammo, does an impressive 2d6 force damage, can use regular arrows, and can accommodate any Strength bonus.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

If it needs to use mostly Ranger, definitely go with a Swift Hunter build. Include four levels of Scout with the feat Swift Hunter, and either Ancestral Relic or Item Familiar for his bow. To activate skirmish, you can go one of two routes, the preferred method is a single level of Cloistered Cleric and trade two of your domains for Knowledge Devotion and Travel Devotion, the weaker choice is to use Greater Manyshot (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/psionic/psionicFeats.htm#greaterManyshot), in either case you'll be able to move and make multiple skirmish shots.

The bow itself should be an Elvencraft (RotW) Composite Longbow with three Wand Chambers from Dungeonscape. An Elvencraft longbow functions as both a quarterstaff and a longbow, it will need to be made masterwork three times but this also allows it to hold three wand chambers. Wands like Camouflage and Entangle are useful, but with a Cleric dip he can also have wands of Cleric spells as well as domain spells. Before you make that bow magical, apply a dose of Unguent of Timelessness (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#unguentofTimelessness) to it. That never wears off and its effect remains once it's made into a magic item. The item's passage of time will go 365 times slower, so you can hire an NPC spellcaster to put Extended Greater Magic Weapon on it at a caster level of 20th for 800 gp at the standard rates (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/equipment/goodsAndServices.htm#spell) and it will be a +5 weapon for about 20 months. You can do the same with leather, wood, dragonhide, and bone armor and shields with Magic Vestment.

If it's an Ancestral Relic you can swap out is magical properties for different ones each time you upgrade it. The time it takes to upgrade it is based on the cost increase, so if you swap out one magic property for a different one of equal cost, the time it takes to do so is multiplied by zero, i.e. you don't even have to spend a free action to do it. Get an Incense of Consecration (BoED), and put the Bane property on the bow. You can light the incense, swap the Bane property to whatever you're currently expecting to fight, and then extinguish the incense to preserve its remaining duration and it should only take two rounds worth of that duration. If the party would sell junk loot for half value, buy it from the party pool for that price and get back a cut of that when cash is split, then sacrifice the full value of that junk loot into your relic. This allows you to upgrade it for less than half price! It counts as a staff as well as a bow, so you can even put charges of spells on it like a magical staff in addition to magic item properties.

If it's an Item Familiar you can upgrade it yourself, including putting charges of spells on it as though you have Craft Staff. The Invest Skill Ranks ability can give you an absolutely unfair bonus to checks like Spot and Listen or Hide and Move Silently or even Search and Disable Device if necessary (get the Trap Expert ACF for Ranger in this case). It gives you a 10% bonus to all current and future XP, which more than makes up for the XP costs of upgrading it via magic item creation methods. It's an intelligent item which is regarded as a construct, so it cannot be disabled or destroyed by dispelling or disjoining, but get a Crystal of Adamant Weaponry in Dungeonscape to help protect it from Sunder and similar. It can also get intelligent item special abilities, which you can actually add to it via normal item creation methods instead of getting them via its level-based special abilities (A creator can add new magical abilities to a magic item with no restrictions (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/creatingMagicItems.htm#addingNewAbilities)).

If the character can just be called a Ranger without actually using the class, Cleric is actually a much better choice for an archer.

[arishardin]

So I like the build Darrin has posted here and I have been following it. The only downside I see to it is my friend can only activate his Travel Devotion once per day for 1 minute(10 rounds).

Is there anyway I can get more of these Travel Devotion activations per day at lower levels? I've heard of a Cloistered Cleric dip for another Travel Devotion swapped for the domain. And the turn undead attempts would probably give him another activation or two per day on top of taking the feat twice by that level.

Can anyone help me figure this out? Maybe something substituted in Darrin's build since I've already started building it?

Or maybe a build very close to that one?

[Xerlith]

Instead of taking the feat, dip Cloistered Cleric to get it and buy some Nighsticks. Lots of nightsticks. Or take the Extra Turning feat, now that you have a free feat (or two, because, you know, domains).

Also, this link. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?103358-3-X-Ways-to-get-Pounce-or-Free-Movement)

A Warblade dip for Sudden Leap and some other maneuvers seems like a fine idea to me, but then again, warblade always seems like a fine idea to me.
You'd have to pump Jump checks for that, though.

A Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker is an all-time classic, just buy a lot of them.

Well, that's the gist of it.

[Darrin]

Is there anyway I can get more of these Travel Devotion activations per day at lower levels? I've heard of a Cloistered Cleric dip for another Travel Devotion swapped for the domain. And the turn undead attempts would probably give him another activation or two per day on top of taking the feat twice by that level.


Cloistered Cleric dip is probably the way to go, unless your group uses multiclass penalties (pedants and mendicants!). Given the build above, I'd try and wait until at least ECL 10 or 11, as that gets you either Greater Manyshot (which doesn't need Travel Devotion to work) or Improved Rapid Shot (which needs Travel Devotion quite a bit) the quickest.

Since the character is already in play, I presume the race is already set, but what about deity? The best deity for Swift Hunter is usually an elf/half-elf worshipping Sehanine Moonbow, as she has Travel, Knowledge, and Elf domains (Elf Domain = Point Blank Shot, but you probably already have that). Another good one that's not entirely race-specific is the dragon deity Io, who has Travel, Knowledge, and Magic.

Building on the "Yo dawg, I heard you like dragons" theme, you can replace 8 levels of Ranger with Dragon Devotee 4/Unseen Seer 4 (Races of the Dragon/Complete Mage). This slows down your BAB a bit, but you get +4d6 skirmish damage, which is much faster than taking more Scout/Ranger levels. It also gets you five levels of Sorcerer casting (six if you cap it off with a Spellsword dip). If you go that route, you may consider giving up your Ranger spellcasting for the Champion of the Wild ACF (Complete Champion), which lets you grab Manyshot at Ranger 4. Tough call, though, because there are a bunch of really nifty ranger spells (instant of power, swift haste, hunter's eye).

Sample build:

1) Ranger 1. Feat: Travel Devotion (Complete Champion), Bonus: PB Shot, Bonus: Track
2) Ranger 2. Bonus: Rapid Shot
3) Scout 1. Feat: Precise Shot. Skirmish 1d6.
4) Scout 2.
5) Scout 3. Skirmish 1d6AC+1.
6) Ranger 3. Feat: Swift Hunter (Complete Scoundrel). Bonus: Endurance. Skirmish 2d6AC+1.
7) Ranger 4. Swap Animal Companion -> Distracting Attack. Skirmish 2d6AC+2.
8) Ranger 5.
9) Ranger 6. Bonus: Manyshot. Feat: Greater Manyshot (SRD/XPH). Skirmish 3d6AC+2.
10) Scout 4. Bonus: Improved Skirmish (Complete Scoundrel). Skirmish 3d6AC+2/5d6+4.
11) Cloistered Cleric 1. Deity: Io (Travel, Knowledge, Magic).
12) Dragon Devotee 1. Feat: Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior).
13) Dragon Devotee 2. Skirmish 4d6AC+2/6d6AC+4.
14) Dragon Devotee 3. Sorcerer 1 casting (get two divination spells)
15) Dragon Devotee 4. Feat: Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild). Skirmish 5d6AC+2/7d6AC+4.
16) Unseen Seer 1. Skirmish 6d6AC+2/8d6AC+4.
17) Unseen Seer 2. Advanced Learning: get hunter's eye (PHBII).
18) Unseen Seer 3. Feat: Improved Precise Shot.
19) Unseen Seer 4. Skirmish 7d6AC+2/9d6AC+4.
20) Spellsword 1. 3rd level Sorcerer casting.


If you want 8d6/10d6 skirmish damage, then try:

1) Ranger 1. Feat: Travel Devotion (Complete Champion), Bonus: PB Shot, Bonus: Track
2) Ranger 2. Bonus: Rapid Shot
3) Scout 1. Feat: Precise Shot. Skirmish 1d6.
4) Scout 2.
5) Scout 3. Skirmish 1d6AC+1.
6) Ranger 3. Feat: Swift Hunter (Complete Scoundrel). Bonus: Endurance. Skirmish 2d6AC+1.
7) Ranger 4. Bonus: Manyshot (Champion of the Wild ACF). Swap Animal Companion -> Distracting Attack. Skirmish 2d6AC+2.
8) Scout 4. Bonus: Improved Skirmish. Skirmish 2d6AC+2/4d6AC+4.
9) Cloistered Cleric 1. Feat: Greater Manyshot (SRD/XPH). Deity: Io (Travel, Knowledge, Magic).
10) Ranger 5. Skirmish 3d6AC+2/5d6+4.
11) Dragon Devotee 1.
12) Dragon Devotee 2. Feat: Improved Rapid Shot (Complete Warrior). Skirmish 4d6AC+2/6d6AC+4.
13) Dragon Devotee 3. Sorcerer 1 casting (get two divination spells)
14) Dragon Devotee 4. Skirmish 5d6AC+2/7d6AC+4.
15) Unseen Seer 1. Feat: Woodland Archer (Races of the Wild). Skirmish 6d6AC+2/8d6AC+4.
16) Unseen Seer 2. Advanced Learning: get hunter's eye (PHBII).
17) Unseen Seer 3.
18) Unseen Seer 4. Feat: Improved Precise Shot. Skirmish 7d6AC+2/9d6AC+4.
19) Highland Stalker 1.
20) Highland Stalker 2. Skirmish 8d6AC+2/10d6AC+4.


If Sehanine or Io won't work for you, here's a list of deities that offer Travel and Knowledge domains:



Bargrivyek (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, NE): Community, Evil, Knowledge, Protection, Travel
Celestian (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, NG): Destiny, Knowledge, Oracle, Protection, Travel
Grankhul (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, CE): Celerity, Chaos, Evil, Knowledge, Travel, Trickery
Gwaeron Windstrom (Faiths & Pantheons, NG): Animal, Good, Knowledge, Plant, Travel
Heward (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, NG): Good, Haversacks, Knowledge, Travel
Io (Races of the Dragon, N): Dragon, Knowledge, Magic, Strength, Travel, Wealth, Spell
Keoghtom (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, NG): Good, Knowledge, Ointment, Travel
Keptolo (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, CE): Chaos, Domination, Drow, Evil, Knowledge, Travel
Lirr (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, CG): Chaos, Good, Knowledge, Liberation, Magic, Rune, Travel
Lydia (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, NG): Good, Knowledge, Liberation, Sun, Travel
Mak Thuum Ngatha (Lords of Madness, CE): Destruction, Knowledge, Madness, Travel
Mouqol (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, N): Knowledge, Pact, Travel, Trickery
Odin (Deities & Demigods, NG): Air, Knowledge, Magic, Travel, Trickery, War (shortspear)
Oghma (Faiths & Pantheons, N): Charm, Knowledge, Luck, Travel, Trickery
Ptah (Deities & Demigods/Sandstorm, LN): Creation, Knowledge, Law, Travel
Rill Cleverthrush (Races of Stone, LN): Air, Gnome, Knowledge, Magic, Travel
Sehanine Moonbow (Races of the Wild/Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, CG): Chaos, Dream, Elf, Good, Knowledge, Oracle, Repose, Travel, Trickery
Tem-Et-Nu (Sandstorm, LN): Knowledge, Magic, Nobility, Travel, War (kama)
Tiia (Deities & Demigods, Creator Aspect CG/CN/LG/LN/N/NG): Air, Chaos, Earth, Good, Healing, Knowledge, Law, Luck, Magic, Protection, Sun, Travel
Waukeen (Faiths & Pantheons, N): Knowledge, Protection, Trade, Travel
Ye'Cind (Living Greyhawk Deities v2.0, CG): Chaos, Elf, Good, Knowledge, Magic, Travel


In Deities & Demigods, there's also the option to worship an entire pantheon. This lets you select two domains from the entire pantheon, which can be Knowledge and Travel. In Eberron, the Sovereign Host offers a similar option:

Asgardian Pantheon: Odin already covers Knowledge and Travel, but you can also get Knowledge from Forseti and Frigga, and Travel from Hermod and Uller. If you also take the War domain, you can choose from the following favored weapons: composite longbow, dagger, greatclub, greatsword, longsword, quarterstaff, short sword, spear, unarmed strike, or warhammer.

Olympian Pantheon: Knowledge from Apollo or Athena, Travel from Hermes or Tyche. For favored weapons, you can choose from: dagger, greatclub, light mace, longsword, quarterstaff, short sword, spear (any kind), trident, unarmed strike, or warhammer.

Pharaonic Pantheon: Ptah kinda already covers both domains, but Imhotep also has Knowledge. If you don't like Ptah's favored weapon (mace), you can pick a different favored weapon: flail, heavy pick, khopesh, longsword, mace, quarterstaff, short sword, spear, and tiger claws.

Sovereign Host: Aureon covers Knowledge and Kol Korran covers Travel. For favored weapons, you only have one choice: longsword.

[arishardin]

Darrin,

I'm very tempted to use that first build you listed there but, I'm also kinda shying away from it because it looks really complicated. If it were MY character I would, but you see, this is for someone else who isn't the most D&D savvy. Plus, he'd probably have to role-play his way into all these different options because our DM isn't one to just let us build whatever we want with no reason for where the classes are coming from. Now the Cleric and the Deity I can probably manage since he can start roleplaying his way to that now at level 5 and by level 9 or 10 or 11 have enough credit to take the class and the deity.

I'd rather not get too carried away, but your options here look amazing and I'd be glad to try them. I guess what I'm asking is, what would be the major difference in subbing the Cloistered Cleric in for the 11th level Highlander 1 level and then continuing the build from there as designed before?

[Allanimal]

A Chronocharm of the Horizon Walker is an all-time classic, just buy a lot of them.



Buying more than one is a waste of money.



it can be worn simultaneously with any number of other chronocharms, which all function normally. However, you can't wear more than one of the same chronocharm. You must wear a chronocharm for 24 hours before you can access its abilities. If it is taken off, it becomes inactive until worn for an additional 24 hours.


I don't see any loopholes here - you can use it once per day, and only once per day, even if you have a stack of them.

[Darrin]

I guess what I'm asking is, what would be the major difference in subbing the Cloistered Cleric in for the 11th level Highlander 1 level and then continuing the build from there as designed before?

That works just fine. It sounds like you want something like Scout 3/Ranger 6/Cloistered Cleric 1/Scout +1/Highland Stalker 2/Ranger +7. The only difference is he won't get 4th level Ranger spells (but scrolls/wands still work).

Io (Races of the Dragon), Lirr (Living Greyhawk) and Tem-Et-Nu (Sandstorm) all have Knowledge, Travel, and Magic domains. So does Odin (Deities & Demigods), with the added benefit that he can shout out dramatically, "By Odin's Beard!" I like the Magic domain because you can use spell trigger items as a wizard, and there are a few nifty sorcerer/wizard spells that you could pick up as wands.

[arishardin]

Darrin,

Okay, I went and looked up the classes Dragon Devotee and Unseen Seer and noticed they are actually intended for classes like the scout or ranger and see no problem taking them. I'm going to go with your top suggestion here which I am guessing is the first sample build you mentioned.

After that I just need to know what spells he needs to focus on. The wand chamber thing is really cool but I've seen so many suggestions from entangle all the way to sniper's shot(Which is actually a Divination spell! noice). If the spell structure and the wands and that mess can be explained I think I'll be finished here and I can build this character from 1 to 20 and hand it over to my friend.

Thank you all so much.

[DEMON]

Ranger 15 / Fighter 2 / Justice of Weald and Woe 3 in the following order: Ranger 4 / Fighter 2 / JWW 3 / Ranger +11

ACFs:
Fighter: Hit and Run Fighter, Resolute
Ranger: Any you feel like, really. Arcane Hunter, Spiritual Connection, highly recommended, Champion of the Wild very much not recommended. Solitary Hunter if Dragon Mag is available (try to convince your DM to apply the Improved Favored Enemy bonus to attack as well).

Feats: Rapid Shot (B), Manyhost (B), Improved Precise Shot (B), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Ranged Weapon Mastery, Woodland Archer, Improved Rapid Shot, Improved Favored Enemy.

Anything you feel like for your level 18.

Items: +1 Elvencraft Composite Longbow, Force, Splitting, Collision enhancements

More on equipment (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?313990-3-E-Archer-s-equipment)

You will end up with a situational DEX to damage and 1d6 Sneak Attack, but most of your damage output will be range-independent (WF/WS/RWM, FE, basic bow damage, STR damage for composite bows, weapon enhancements...).

Both Ranger and JWW have decent archery related spells, as well as other spells so you don't entirely become a 1 trick pony. Ranger also has a decent enough list of skills and number skill points to go with it, that allow you to focus on some other tasks.

[Blackhawk748]

Ranger 15 / Fighter 2 / Justice of Weald and Woe 3 in the following order: Ranger 4 / Fighter 2 / JWW 3 / Ranger +11

ACFs:
Fighter: Hit and Run Fighter, Resolute
Ranger: Any you feel like, really. Arcane Hunter, Spiritual Connection, highly recommended, Champion of the Wild very much not recommended. Solitary Hunter if Dragon Mag is available (try to convince your DM to apply the Improved Favored Enemy bonus to attack as well).

Feats: Rapid Shot (B), Manyhost (B), Improved Precise Shot (B), Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Ranged Weapon Mastery, Woodland Archer, Improved Rapid Shot, Improved Favored Enemy.

Anything you feel like for your level 18.

Items: +1 Elvencraft Composite Longbow, Force, Splitting, Collision enhancements

More on equipment (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?313990-3-E-Archer-s-equipment)

You will end up with a situational DEX to damage and 1d6 Sneak Attack, but most of your damage output will be range-independent (WF/WS/RWM, FE, basic bow damage, STR damage for composite bows, weapon enhancements...).

Both Ranger and JWW have decent archery related spells, as well as other spells so you don't entirely become a 1 trick pony. Ranger also has a decent enough list of skills and number skill points to go with it, that allow you to focus on some other tasks.

Seconding this as i was going to suggest something similar, for a new player going WF/WS for ranged isn't terrible (its one of the only times we are allowed to say WF/WS isnt terrible :smalltongue:)

[Darrin]

Okay, I went and looked up the classes Dragon Devotee and Unseen Seer and noticed they are actually intended for classes like the scout or ranger and see no problem taking them. I'm going to go with your top suggestion here which I am guessing is the first sample build you mentioned.


Make sure you read up on the Champion of the Wild ACF in Complete Champion. This means you give up Ranger spellcasting for a bonus feat from a very limited selection. Fortunately, Manyshot is on there, and that's the prereq we need for both Greater Manyshot and Improved Rapid Shot. There are some really nifty ranger spells that he'll be missing out on, but he'll get some spellcasting back when he takes Dragon Devotee/Unseen Seer. Once he's got Manyshot squared away, you can take the Cloistered Cleric dip whenever. You'll also want to look at some of the other ranger ACFs. It might be too late for Spiritual Connection, but I prefer that over wild empathy (you get more reliable information out of speak with animals/plants). He won't have enough ranger levels to make animal companion worth it, so at Ranger 4 trade that for the Distracting Attack ACF (PHBII).



After that I just need to know what spells he needs to focus on. The wand chamber thing is really cool but I've seen so many suggestions from entangle all the way to sniper's shot(Which is actually a Divination spell! noice).

Ok, spells for wands... if he keeps ranger spells, then here's what I'd start with:

Instant of Power (Forge of War, Brd/Dru/Rgr 1): Ok, this is the one I'd miss the most if I gave up ranger spellcasting. Immediate action, give any ally a +4 enhancement bonus on their next attack, save, or damage roll. If you can get someone in the party to put some ranks in UMD, see if you can get them a wand of this.

Impeding Stones (Cityscape, Dru/Rgr 1): Another sorely missed Ranger spell, this is a better version of entangle, -2 penalty to attack and anyone in a 40' radius must make a Ref save/Balance check or fall prone, which means this is an even bigger version of grease/ice slick. Unlike entangle, you can use it anywhere there's a dirt/earth/stone floor. With sorcerer casting, he'll have access to grease, which has a much smaller area of effect, but is still considered a classic battlefield control spell.

Sniper's Shot (Spell Compendium, Asn/Rgr/Sor/Wis 1): The problem here is the text only specifies "sneak attack", so by RAW it doesn't work with skirmish. Most DM's will handwave this, however, and allow this to work with all precision damage, including skirmish.

Guided Shot (Spell Compendium, Rgr/Sor/Wiz 1): If your DM says "No" to sniper's shot, then this is probably the best divination spell to grab after true strike. Swift action to ignore all penalties due to range/cover, and ignores any concealment except total.

Blockade (Complete Scoundrel, Dru/Rgr/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, creates 5' block of wood for creating choke points or blocking narrow passages/doors. Also provides an ample supply of "I've got wood" jokes.

The other two Ranger-only spells that are will be sorely missed are 2nd level and thus a little more expensive as wands but oh so juicy: Swift Haste (Spell Compendium) and Hunter's Eye (PHBII). The latter you'll want to grab via Unseen Seer's Advanced Learning.


With sorcerer spellcasting, he has access to blockade, guided shot, and sniper's shot, as well as some other nifty spells:

Blade of Blood (PHBII, Dsk/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, +1d6 damage, or sacrifice 5 HP for +3d6 damage. It doesn't specify melee, so it will work on bows. For an elvencraft bow with two wand chambers, this would be one of my top two picks.

Kaupaer's Quickblast (Kaupaer's Quick Book (http://archive.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/mb/20050112a), Sor/Wiz 1): Free/immediate/swift action (not sure which, 3.0 spell), autohits with either cold, electricity, or fire damage. Great way to quickly light something on fire (webs, incendiary slime, oil, etc.).

Benign Transposition (Spell Compendium, Sor/Wiz 1): Standard action instead of a swift, but way way way too useful to skip. Two willing targets swap positions, which helps keep your meatbags up front and your REMFs in the back.

Instant Diversion (Races of the Dragon, Brd/Sor/Wiz 1): Swift action, lesser version of mirror image, creates only one duplicate but that's still a 50% miss chance in a pinch.

[Coldsturm]

Arrowsplit. The spell. Use that with a splitting bow and the first thing he shoots at will be peppered with 4-10 arrows. Add force enchant to the bow to overcome DR

[Optimator]

The Dead Eye Shot feat is pretty damn good on a Swift Hunter. I don't think any build is going to out-damage a Ranger-heavy Swift Hunter build. Hunter's Mercy is a fun spell. Lots of fun Ranger archery spells, especially in the SpC and CoR. The Collision and Wounding properties on a bow are pretty damn good. No Bard in the pary? Grab an Admiral's Bicorn fro SW and get a small boost to hit and damage. Greater Bracers of Archery are pricey for what they do but with archery you gotta savor every bit of bonus damage.

If your DM is iffy on multiclassing Scout and Ranger then, well, let's just say I pity you. If it's the Cloistered Cleric dip it's a little more understandable but still trivial to justify in-world, especially if it's a setting with, you know, deities and magic. An outdoorsman with the Travel domain? ZOMG! Why would someone who wanders around all the time worship an aspect/deity like that? Rangers already get spells anyway, what's a bit more magic?

Power Shot (Peerless Archer) is a great way to rack up some extra damage but it's hard to use with Greater Manyshot. See if your DM will allow it as a stand-alone feat! Hardly overpowered and archery in 3.5 needs the love, believe me.