FireSpark
2007-09-08, 10:01 AM
My second PrC made, and second to be posted. This one however was made almost a year and a half ago, and at a time when I was still new to homebrewing. It's been transcribed word for word, as I made it all that time ago, and thus could probably use a little critique or two to whip into shape.
The UNERRING SNIPER v2.0
An evil warlord steps out of his tent before a great battle, and before he goes two paces, he falls to the ground with an arrow in his chest. A spy peaks over a castle wall, to see that the way is clear to sneak in, but never sees the archer that ends his life with a single bolt. A single, small shaft of wood fired from bow or crossbow. These are the calling cards of the unerring sniper.
Stealthy, silent, and their seemingly unlimited patience make unerring snipers some of the most feared archers in the realms. Dedicating themselves to mastering their ranged weapon of choice, unerring snipers become experts in bringing down their foes without exposing themselves to unnecessary danger or risk. Whether striking from the shadows of an alley, or hiding amongst the foliage of a forest canopy, the sniper will find her target then be gone before anyone knows that she was there.
Snipers are commonly found in the service of kings or lords, working as spies and assassins. Some hire themselves out to the highest bidder as freelance killers. While others find themselves taking up company with adventuring groups, and find themselves welcomed for their ability to eliminate an enemy (or sometimes several enemies) before they ever become a threat.
With their natural skillfulness, and typical dexterity, rogues make excellent snipers. Rangers with their natural preference for bow weapons also find being an unerring sniper is an excellent addition to their tracking abilities.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become an unerring sniper, must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Spot 4 ranks
Feats: Weapon Focus [any bow or crossbow]
Class Skills
The unerring sniper's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis).
Skill Points Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Pin-point accuracy, ranged precision
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Take aim
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Consistent aim 1/day
4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Ranged Disarm
5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Piercing the veil
6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+2|Consistent aim 2/day
7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+2|Deadly precision
8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+2|Ranged Trip
9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+3|Consistent aim 3/day
10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+3|One shot, one kill[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the unerring sniper prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Unerring snipers gain no weapon or armor proficiencies.
Pin-point Accuracy(Ex): Any ammunition fired from a bow or crossbow for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat, is considered to have the keen weapon property for the purposes of determining the weapon’s critical threat range. This ability does not stack with any other ability that affects a weapons critical threat range.
Ranged Precision (Ex): Beginning at 1st level, the Sniper reduces the penalties due to range on her attack rolls by a number equal to her Sniper class level. Thus a 1st level Sniper, firing into her second range increment takes only a –1 penalty due to range. This ability does not reduce the penalty for firing at range to less than 0.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Take Aim (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the Sniper may choose to take a full round action to fire a single shot. When she does, she gains a bonus to her attack roll on that single shot equal to one half her Sniper class level.
This ability is usable only with projectile weapons for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Consistent Aim (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, once per day a Sniper may re-roll a single attack roll that she has just made with a projectile weapon. She must use the second roll even if it is worse than the first roll. The sniper must declare that she is using this ability before the attack roll is resolved as either a hit or a miss. At 6th level the Sniper may use this ability twice per day, and three times per day at 9th level.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Ranged Disarm: Starting at 4th level, as a standard action, the unerring may attempt to disarm an opponent using a ranged attack. The disarm attempt is resolved as a normal, except that performing a ranged disarm does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target, unless you are in a space that your target currently threatens.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Piercing the Veil (Su): Beginning at 5th level, when a Sniper fires at a target with less than total concealment, her miss chance is reduced by 20%. This ability does not lower the miss chance of targets that are incorporeal, invisible, or otherwise benefit from total concealment.
This ability is usable only with projectile weapons for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Deadly Precision (Ex): Beginning at 7th level the critical damage modifier for any projectile weapon with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat increases by 1. Thus a heavy crossbow’s critical modifier would become x3, while a short bow’s critical modifier would become x4.
Ranged Trip: Starting at 8th level, as a standard action the unerring may attempt to trip an opponent using a ranged attack. The unerring sniper uses his Dexterity modifier on this opposed check, and not his Strength modifier. The trip attempt is otherwise resolved as a normal, except that performing a ranged trip does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target unless you are in a space that your target currently threatens, and your target cannot attempt to trip you in return should your trip attempt fail.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
One shot, One kill (Ex): At 10th level, the unerring sniper has learned the ways of felling his foes in a single shot. If the unerring sniper studies and aims at his target for 5 rounds, and then makes a successful attack against that target, the target must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + unerring sniper class level + unerring sniper's Int modifier) or die. If the target succeeds on this saving throw, then the attack is resolved as a normal ranged attack. A target must be flat-footed with regards to the unerring sniper's attack, or otherwise unaware of the unerring sniper's presence for this ability to function.
Once the unerring sniper has completed the 5 rounds of studying and aiming, he must launch his attack within the next 2 rounds. If the target becomes aware of the sniper (or otherwise not flat-footed), or if the target succeeds on its saving throw, or more than 2 rounds pass after the unerring sniper completes his study, the unerring must begin again, and 5 new rounds of study and aiming must be made against the target.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
1.2 EDIT: Dropped Spot requirement from 8 to 4, removed Move Silently requirement, and dropped all feat requirements except Weapon focus
2.0 EDIT: Reworked piercing the veil, dropped true strike, dropped old pin-point accuracy, renamed/reworded keen feature, added ranged disarm and ranged trip
The UNERRING SNIPER v2.0
An evil warlord steps out of his tent before a great battle, and before he goes two paces, he falls to the ground with an arrow in his chest. A spy peaks over a castle wall, to see that the way is clear to sneak in, but never sees the archer that ends his life with a single bolt. A single, small shaft of wood fired from bow or crossbow. These are the calling cards of the unerring sniper.
Stealthy, silent, and their seemingly unlimited patience make unerring snipers some of the most feared archers in the realms. Dedicating themselves to mastering their ranged weapon of choice, unerring snipers become experts in bringing down their foes without exposing themselves to unnecessary danger or risk. Whether striking from the shadows of an alley, or hiding amongst the foliage of a forest canopy, the sniper will find her target then be gone before anyone knows that she was there.
Snipers are commonly found in the service of kings or lords, working as spies and assassins. Some hire themselves out to the highest bidder as freelance killers. While others find themselves taking up company with adventuring groups, and find themselves welcomed for their ability to eliminate an enemy (or sometimes several enemies) before they ever become a threat.
With their natural skillfulness, and typical dexterity, rogues make excellent snipers. Rangers with their natural preference for bow weapons also find being an unerring sniper is an excellent addition to their tracking abilities.
Hit Die: d8
Requirements
To qualify to become an unerring sniper, must fulfill all the following criteria.
Base Attack Bonus: +5
Skills: Hide 4 ranks, Spot 4 ranks
Feats: Weapon Focus [any bow or crossbow]
Class Skills
The unerring sniper's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Hide (Dex), Jump (Str), Listen (Wis), Move Silently (Dex), Search (Int), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis).
Skill Points Each Level: 4 + Int modifier
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special
1st|
+0|
+0|
+2|
+0|Pin-point accuracy, ranged precision
2nd|
+1|
+0|
+3|
+0|Take aim
3rd|
+2|
+1|
+3|
+1|Consistent aim 1/day
4th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Ranged Disarm
5th|
+3|
+1|
+4|
+1|Piercing the veil
6th|
+4|
+2|
+5|
+2|Consistent aim 2/day
7th|
+5|
+2|
+5|
+2|Deadly precision
8th|
+6|
+2|
+6|
+2|Ranged Trip
9th|
+6|
+3|
+6|
+3|Consistent aim 3/day
10th|
+7|
+3|
+7|
+3|One shot, one kill[/table]
Class Features
All of the following are class features of the unerring sniper prestige class.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Unerring snipers gain no weapon or armor proficiencies.
Pin-point Accuracy(Ex): Any ammunition fired from a bow or crossbow for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat, is considered to have the keen weapon property for the purposes of determining the weapon’s critical threat range. This ability does not stack with any other ability that affects a weapons critical threat range.
Ranged Precision (Ex): Beginning at 1st level, the Sniper reduces the penalties due to range on her attack rolls by a number equal to her Sniper class level. Thus a 1st level Sniper, firing into her second range increment takes only a –1 penalty due to range. This ability does not reduce the penalty for firing at range to less than 0.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Take Aim (Ex): Beginning at 2nd level, the Sniper may choose to take a full round action to fire a single shot. When she does, she gains a bonus to her attack roll on that single shot equal to one half her Sniper class level.
This ability is usable only with projectile weapons for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Consistent Aim (Ex): Beginning at 3rd level, once per day a Sniper may re-roll a single attack roll that she has just made with a projectile weapon. She must use the second roll even if it is worse than the first roll. The sniper must declare that she is using this ability before the attack roll is resolved as either a hit or a miss. At 6th level the Sniper may use this ability twice per day, and three times per day at 9th level.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Ranged Disarm: Starting at 4th level, as a standard action, the unerring may attempt to disarm an opponent using a ranged attack. The disarm attempt is resolved as a normal, except that performing a ranged disarm does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target, unless you are in a space that your target currently threatens.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Piercing the Veil (Su): Beginning at 5th level, when a Sniper fires at a target with less than total concealment, her miss chance is reduced by 20%. This ability does not lower the miss chance of targets that are incorporeal, invisible, or otherwise benefit from total concealment.
This ability is usable only with projectile weapons for which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
Deadly Precision (Ex): Beginning at 7th level the critical damage modifier for any projectile weapon with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat increases by 1. Thus a heavy crossbow’s critical modifier would become x3, while a short bow’s critical modifier would become x4.
Ranged Trip: Starting at 8th level, as a standard action the unerring may attempt to trip an opponent using a ranged attack. The unerring sniper uses his Dexterity modifier on this opposed check, and not his Strength modifier. The trip attempt is otherwise resolved as a normal, except that performing a ranged trip does not provoke an attack of opportunity from the target unless you are in a space that your target currently threatens, and your target cannot attempt to trip you in return should your trip attempt fail.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
One shot, One kill (Ex): At 10th level, the unerring sniper has learned the ways of felling his foes in a single shot. If the unerring sniper studies and aims at his target for 5 rounds, and then makes a successful attack against that target, the target must succeed on a Fortitude save (DC 10 + unerring sniper class level + unerring sniper's Int modifier) or die. If the target succeeds on this saving throw, then the attack is resolved as a normal ranged attack. A target must be flat-footed with regards to the unerring sniper's attack, or otherwise unaware of the unerring sniper's presence for this ability to function.
Once the unerring sniper has completed the 5 rounds of studying and aiming, he must launch his attack within the next 2 rounds. If the target becomes aware of the sniper (or otherwise not flat-footed), or if the target succeeds on its saving throw, or more than 2 rounds pass after the unerring sniper completes his study, the unerring must begin again, and 5 new rounds of study and aiming must be made against the target.
This ability is only usable with projectile weapons with which the Sniper possesses the Weapon Focus feat.
1.2 EDIT: Dropped Spot requirement from 8 to 4, removed Move Silently requirement, and dropped all feat requirements except Weapon focus
2.0 EDIT: Reworked piercing the veil, dropped true strike, dropped old pin-point accuracy, renamed/reworded keen feature, added ranged disarm and ranged trip