The Dead-Eye Sniper Prestige Class

[Truwar]

Dead-eye Sniper

Some see the Heavy Crossbow as a nearly worthless weapon, too heavy to carry around and much to slow for effective use in combat. Others see it for what it is a powerful weapon that depends on well placed shots of it’s powerful bolts, instead of a flurry of weaker attacks. Nobody embodies this mentality of accuracy above quantity than the Dead-Eye Sniper.


Hit Dice: d8
Attack Progression: As fighter.

Requirements:

Base Attack Bonus: +6

Skills:
Hide: 3 ranks

Feats:
Rapid Reload, Weapon Focus Heavy Crossbow.

Class Skills:
Climb(Str), Craft(Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Hide (Dex), Jump(Str), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Swim (Str)

Skill Points at each level:
4 + Int modifier

Class Features:

1: Deadly Accurate: for every point of base attack bonus beyond 5, reduce the threat range of the Heavy Crossbow by a point, this stacks with (but is not multiplied by) the bonus given by the improved critical feat. (i.e. a Dead-Sniper with a base AB of 11 would threaten a critical with a Heavy Crossbow on an 8 or better)

Amazing shot (su) 1/day: 1 time a day, after the Dead-Eye Sniper has hit with a shot that would have caused a critical threat against an opponent immune to criticals, she may roll to confirm a critical against the opponent if successful she causes full critical damage to the creature as if it had no immunity if the confirmation fails, she loses her use of Amazing Shot.

2: Walking Reload: The Dead-Eye Sniper can reload her Heavy Crossbow as a free action while taking a move of at least 10 feet.

3: Amazing Shot (su) 2/day.

4: Bull's eye: Increase the critical multiplier the Heavy Crossbow by +1 for every 5 points above base AB of 5.

5: Amazing shot (su) 3/day.


Deadly Accurate and Bull's Eye only apply to the first shot made each round by the Dead-Eye Sniper.

[DEMONhunter]

It's good, but I have one problem with it. If a creature has nothing vulnerable to cause a critical by hitting (eg skeleton), no matter how well you shoot you won't suddenly find one.
Feel free to disagree, that's just how I see it. Other than that, I like it.

[GNUsNotUnix]

Seems a bit redundant to the deepwood sniper.

Also, deadly accurate is deadly broken. Combine that with flaming burst weaponry or other critical-triggered abilities, and it's an overpowering build. Maybe you should make it 1 point of crit range for every four (guessing) points of attack bonus, or have it work only within a given range, or after a round or two of study (as the assasin).

[Saithis Bladewing]

Seems a bit redundant to the deepwood sniper.

Also, deadly accurate is deadly broken. Combine that with flaming burst weaponry or other critical-triggered abilities, and it's an overpowering build. Maybe you should make it 1 point of crit range for every four (guessing) points of attack bonus, or have it work only within a given range, or after a round or two of study (as the assasin).

I'm inclined to disagree. At higher levels, you're trading one powerful blow that's practically guaranteed to hit and do lots of damage for a number of smaller blows that could potentially produce far more damage.

[GNUsNotUnix]

And what of rapid reload? Suddenly you have two attacks with enormous damage.

Modify it further with 'Bull's Eye' and you easily have an average damage far larger than four normal attacks by a straight fighter.

[NEO|Phyte]

Seems a bit redundant to the deepwood sniper.

Also, deadly accurate is deadly broken. Combine that with flaming burst weaponry or other critical-triggered abilities, and it's an overpowering build. Maybe you should make it 1 point of crit range for every four (guessing) points of attack bonus, or have it work only within a given range, or after a round or two of study (as the assasin).

its even worse once you hit level 4 of the PrC and start getting crit multiplier increases

[Bob_the_Mighty]

Dead-eye Sniper

1: Deadly Accurate: for every point of base attack bonus beyond 5, reduce the threat range of the Heavy Crossbow by a point, this stacks with (but is not multiplied by) the bonus given by the improved critical feat. (i.e. a Dead-Sniper with a base AB of 11 would threaten a critical with a Heavy Crossbow on an 8 or better)

Why would you reduce the threat range? Or is that reduce as in it starts at a lower number?

[Gyrfalcon]

Heavy Crossbow: 19-20/x2, becomes 17-20/x2 with Improved Critical... and at level 20, becomes 2-20/x2 with Deadly Accurate.

And with Bull's eye, it becomes 2-20/x5. Granted, he can only fire once a round (though I can swear there's a reloading weapon ability in one of the books that makes this class utterly broken... four attacks a round, all of them guarenteed criticals if they hit?)

And as mentioned, combining the ability to crit on any hit with abilities that do massive damage on crit is fairly overpowering.

[Truwar]

I suppose an addendum could be added that said you could not apply the abilities of the Dead-Eye Sniper to more than one shot a round. I am not too terribly concerned about the flaming burst ability, however. A high level archer who has the flaming ability on his bow can do as much as +4d6 fire damage per round so you are not becoming any better than other missile weapon specialists.

As far as the critical vs. the skeleton example. Amazing shot represents the ability to hit a sweet-spot that does not have to do with a creature’s anatomy. In the skeleton example you might hit JUST the right spot in the skeleton that causes it to fall apart.

As far as I know, Rapid Reload only allows you to fire a Heavy Crossbow once a round.

[Saithis Bladewing]

I suppose an addendum could be added that said you could not apply the abilities of the Dead-Eye Sniper to more than one shot a round. I am not too terribly concerned about the flaming burst ability, however. A high level archer who has the flaming ability on his bow can do as much as +4d6 fire damage per round so you are not becoming any better than other missile weapon specialists.

As far as the critical vs. the skeleton example. Amazing shot represents the ability to hit a sweet-spot that does not have to do with a creature’s anatomy. In the skeleton example you might hit JUST the right spot in the skeleton that causes it to fall apart.

I would agree with what you said. Add a section that states that this only works if you fire once per round. If you make it so that it only works if you fire only once in a round, you might consider letting it apply to repeating heavy crossbows as well. *Shrug.* But that could just be my love for the repeating crossbows.

[Voyager_I]

As far as the critical vs. the skeleton example. Amazing shot represents the ability to hit a sweet-spot that does not have to do with a creature’s anatomy. In the skeleton example you might hit JUST the right spot in the skeleton that causes it to fall apart.

But...they don't have sweet spots. That's the whole reason they aren't affected by criticals. Furthermore, look at something like an ooze or a gelatinous cube. What the h*** kind of sweet spot are you going to find on that?

[Saithis Bladewing]

But...they don't have sweet spots. That's the whole reason they aren't affected by criticals. Furthermore, look at something like an ooze or a gelatinous cube. What the h*** kind of sweet spot are you going to find on that?

I don't see sweet spots being feasible on an ooze, I'll agree with you there, but on a skeleton? Of course there could be sweet spots on a skeleton...it's just very unfeasible that you'll ever hit it perfectly.

To critical hit a skeleton, you'd have to hit the spine, possibly going THROUGH the ribs to do so, and you'd have to hit it with enough force and at the right angle/position to severe the spine, which could cause the skeleton to just collapse right there.

[Truwar]

But...they don't have sweet spots. That's the whole reason they aren't affected by criticals. Furthermore, look at something like an ooze or a gelatinous cube. What the h*** kind of sweet spot are you going to find on that?

Sure a Skeleton does, there are spots you can hit on a skeleton that will destroy it (the middle of the spinal column, for example). The sweet-spot argument does not really work for the oozes though ;) so I suppose you could make a supernatural ability.

[Gyrfalcon]

Well, take a crit-machine bow (Thundering Shocking Burst Flaming Burst Frost Burst +1 Heavy Crossbow) - all of the abilities cap at +4 crit multiplier, but on a critical hit (which you threaten on everything but a 1), you hit for 1d10+3d10+3d10+3d10.

And yes, potentially a bowman can hit for more, but he's not nearly as likely to crit as often. :)

[Saithis Bladewing]

So basically, this prestige class lets you trade quick, weaker attacks that have the potential to do more damage overall but are more likely to miss...for slower, steady attacks that do lots of damage almost all of the time (don't forget guys, you still need to CONFIRM the critical after you threat, which doesn't always happen).

I really think that as long as you're limited to 1 shot per round, this is still balanced.

[Voyager_I]

True enough, you could sever parts of the body. However, Skeletons aren't actually alive, so who'se to really say how that affects them? There's no guarantee that severing the head, for example, would have any adverse effects, besides a few hit points of damage. Also, won't it be difficult to sever a spine with a crossbow?

[Saithis Bladewing]

Also, won't it be difficult to sever a spine with a crossbow?

Difficult, but not impossible. Mostly it's the aim, you need to hit the spine. An arbalest in real life does a LOT of damage, I have no doubt that it wouldn't shatter the spine if you hit it.

[The Glyphstone]

Or what's to stop the body just continuing to crawl towards you? ;D Undead are good at stuff like that...

[Bob_the_Mighty]

Also, I consider the bones of a skeleton to be somewhat brittle. They've been rotting long enough that the flesh is gone, otherwise they would be zombies.

[Callos_DeTerran]

Perhaps its simply that the Amazing shot doesn't so much as hit a "sweet spot" on an enemy as it is just so powerful it can potentially MAKE a sweet spot for just a moment.

If you go with the "sweet spot" arguement then how would it work against say....a golem? Which has no organs and can still function after the severing of otherwise important body parts.

I like it nonetheless.

[Saithis Bladewing]

Or what's to stop the body just continuing to crawl towards you? ;D Undead are good at stuff like that...

Good point. ;D

Of course, if it was supernatural, it would probably just cause the skeleton to collapse. *Shrug.*

[Brett Wong]

I LIKE IT

[Truwar]

I suppose the sweet spot argument would not work for, say, oozes :) . That is why I made it a supernatural ability. I figure that would justify why the bolts would be able damage creatures with no discernable anatomy and why it can only be done up to 3 times a day.