Deep Wood Sniper viable? (3.5)

[Noedig]

Came across this little PrC yesterday and didn't really know much about it, other than the fact that it sounded cool.

Could this be viable with a straight Ranger, and maybe a dash of Rogue? Sneak attack from several hundred yards away = pretty cool.

[lsfreak]

Deepwoods sniper is good. A ranger2/fighter4 (for Ranged Weapon Mastery from PHB2, and grabbing Knowledge Devotion from CC) with a few PrC's makes for the best martial-only archery. One level of barbarian for Whirling Frenzy is good as well.

Four levels in Peerless Archer is good (in Silver Marches) as well; with archery, your problem is getting large damage bonuses on your arrows moreso than more +hit, hence Power Shot. While different from the others, and despite the same name, the Order of the Bow Initiate from Sword and Fist is completely different from the one in Complete Warrior (read: not utter trash).

[Greenish]

Blade of Orien 10 for proper volleys.

[Eldariel]

Deepwoods sniper is good. A ranger2/fighter4 (for Ranged Weapon Mastery from PHB2, and grabbing Knowledge Devotion from CC) with a few PrC's makes for the best martial-only archery. One level of barbarian for Whirling Frenzy is good as well.

Four levels in Peerless Archer is good (in Silver Marches) as well; with archery, your problem is getting large damage bonuses on your arrows moreso than more +hit, hence Power Shot. While different from the others, and despite the same name, the Order of the Bow Initiate from Sword and Fist is completely different from the one in Complete Warrior (read: not utter trash).

3 levels in Peerless Archer. 4th gives little of relevance and you need until level 7 to get something really good so it's mostly a 3-level class. Once again, when 3.0 classes are game, I point you towards KSB Snow Owl's Archery Builds; there's a few quite decent ones there. Notable is how well Deepwood Sniper synergizes with the Ranger-spell "Hunter's Mercy" that automatically threatens on your next attack.

Mystic Ranger [DR336] is therefore the perfect companion, getting you lots of level 1 slots fast while paving the entry to Deepwood Sniper. Also, Fighter 4 is a good option, but it also has a fine alternative in Pious Templar [Complete Divine] if you happen to worship Ehlonna. Both get you Weapon Specialization for Ranged Weapon Mastery, which is what you really want. Knowledge Devotion is also nice.