Order of the Bow Initiate Revision.

[Kizara]

Problems:

-Ranged Precision can only be used at 30ft range until level 10.
-Ranged Precision is a standard action, making the prerequisite Rapid Shot feat largely useless and counter-intuitive to the class abilities. Also, its not very good at mid-high levels.
-the class is generally sub-par but has easy prereqs.
-Really short and limited class skill list, compared even to the fighter.
-Ranged Precision has the same problems with sneak attack in regards to not working on half the enemies in the game.


Solution (from my Tome of House Rules v1.53):

Order of the Bow Initiate

-Prerequisites increased to: BAB 6+, Spot 5 ranks and Called Shot* feat.

-Increase HD to d10.

-Gain Extended Precision at 3rd level (instead of as written).

-Gain Rapid Precision at 5th level: you may use Ranged Precision in conjunction with Rapid Shot as a special attack action. Thus, you take -2 to both your attacks and make two Ranged Precision attacks as a standard action. You may still not use it as part of a full-attack action.

-Gain Piercing Precision at 7th level: Your Ranged Precision damage deals half damage even to targets normally immune to precise damage.

-Gain Archery Mastery at 9th-level: Choose between increasing the critical multiplier or critical threat range on the bow you have Weapon Focus in by 1 step.

-Gain Supreme Precision at 10th level: you may use Ranged Precision as part of a full-attack action.

-Gain Hide, Intimidate, Jump, Listen, Move Silently and Tumble as class skills.


*Called Shot is a homebrewed feat, described below:

Called Shot [General]

Prerequisites: BAB 1+, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot.

Benefit: On your action, before making an attack roll, you may choose to subtract a number from your ranged attack rolls and add that number to your ranged damage rolls. This number may not exceed your base attack bonus. Targets immune to precision damage (such as undead) are likewise immune to this effect.

Your target must be within 30ft to benefit from this effect.

This feat cannot be used in conjunction with Power Attack or Precision Strike.


Anyways, opinons? Is the class now viable in a moderately-optimized archer build?

[Eldariel]

I'd just remove the range limitation; just double the Increments or something. As it stands, it's just a form of Ranged Sneak Attack that happens to limit you to one attack per turn. Ranged Precision at any range could be a great ability for a sniper. Since it's clearly a sniper-class, this could be better. Also, I'd make the damage scale faster and maybe give some multiplier on level 10 to really make it worth it to do a single attack instead of a flurry; normally no class prefers single shots to flurry save those imbuing those single attacks with magic and thus being restricted to a single shot.

So make the single shot count.

[Kizara]

I'd just remove the range limitation; just double the Increments or something. As it stands, it's just a form of Ranged Sneak Attack that happens to limit you to one attack per turn. Ranged Precision at any range could be a great ability for a sniper. Since it's clearly a sniper-class, this could be better. Also, I'd make the damage scale faster and maybe give some multiplier on level 10 to really make it worth it to do a single attack instead of a flurry; normally no class prefers single shots to flurry save those imbuing those single attacks with magic and thus being restricted to a single shot.

So make the single shot count.

Did you read what I did at all?

1) The class gets an ability to double precision damage range to 60, I made it get this ability at level 3 instead of 10.

2) It's not really a sniper class, it's not the deepwood sniper. Indeed, it even gets an ability to allow it to shoot in melee.

3) I don't want to make the damage scale faster, as it is it's signifigantly better then sneak attack with a full bab d10 hd class. 1d8/2 levels is pretty good.

4) Instead I made it so you can use the attack first as part of a rapid shot then as a full attack.

[Eldariel]

I read what you typed, but really, to me the idea of making a single shot (that is, the original focus of the build; you've changed it a bit more to a flurryish direction) really means you take a good aim when it'd make sense that you could do it at a longer range; there're feats to increase Skirmish and Sneak Attack ranges to 60', so it doesn't really make the class unique.

Also, Sneak Attack and Skirmish is practically always applied to ~4-5 arrows making it way more efficient as even though each RP die deals an average of one point of extra damage, an extra attack pretty much multiplies your base. Since RP is not compatible with Greater Manyshot or just moving as a swift action or shooting from a hiding position, it should give comparably more damage to that single shot to match the other forms of precision damage; I feel you need to rack up the damage even if you allow two to be shot.

Also, I maintain that if we're talking about a guy whose very religion is bow, it should be little more than a reach weapon; he should have at least some long range expertise. I feel Close-Combat Shot derives from that very fact that we're talking about bow incarnate; a character who's one with his bow and masters every way of using it.

My point is that I disagree with the road you're taking it to (hence why I didn't comment on it that much); you're making it like all the Prestigeless archers. I feel OoTBI's uniqueness stems from the fact that instead of making a flurry of attacks, it can make a single, extremely precise attack right on the mark and that one attack is lethal. Since they're supposed to be unparalleled Bow-masters (I mean, the description is really telling; if you ask them the meaning of life, they'll pull their bow out), I'd probably versatilize the class a bit though; instead of focusing on just a single aspect of archery, I'd probably give them the ability to do those sniping shots in addition to mighty flurries, and maybe allow them to make full attacks while moving too (maybe only if they've picked up Shot on the Run though).


That said, as the class stands, I probably wouldn't play it over a straight Swift Hunter. On 10th level, it finally catches up to a Swift Hunter, but before that OotBI is going to have trouble simply due to less attacks (and of course, less dice at that point too), and the fact that a Swift Hunter is much more mobile and has the ability to deal full Skirmish to all Crit-immune opponents. Oh yeah, and casts spells.

It's much better than the printed version though, and while I wouldn't play it over the 3.0 version, I'd still probably use it if I was building a Fighter Archer or something (come to think of it, one of those in Gestalt with a Warblade Archer would be devastating in close ranges; being able to make 40 attacks each with the extra damage could be sweet).