Necromantic Arcane Archer (Arcane Archer Variant, PEACH)

[Kane0]

Ok here we go.
The idea behind this was that since there are all different Schools of magic and thus Specialist mages, there must be different kinds of arcane archers. Necromancy may be a strange concept to merge with archery, but hey, there have been weirder combinations.

Requirements:
- Base Attack Bonus +5
- Feats: Point Blank Shot, Weapon Focus (one kind of bow), Spell Focus (Necromancy)
- Necromancy not a barred school
- Ability to cast 3rd level arcane spells

Hit Die d6.
Skills: 4 + Int
Class Skills: Balance, Craft, Concentration, Know (Arcana), Listen, Profession, Spellcraft, Spot, Survival, Tumble


{table=head] Level | BAB | Fort | Ref | Will | Special | Casting Progression
1st| +1 | +0 | +2 | +0 | Enhance Arrows +1, Mind's Eye |
2nd| +2 | +0 | +3 | +0 | Imbue Arrow, Necromantic | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
3rd| +3 | +1 | +3 | +1 | Enchance Arrows +2, Stabilized Flight |
4th| +4 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Vampiric Arrows +1 | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
5th| +5 | +1 | +4 | +1 | Enchance Arrows +3, Arcane Arrow |
6th| +6/+1 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Lifeseeking Arrow | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
7th| +7/+2 | +2 | +5 | +2 | Enchance Arrows +4, Arrow Bolt |
8th| +8/+3 | +2 | +6 | +2 | Vampiric Arrows +2 | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
9th| +9/+4 | +3 | +6 | +3 | Enchance Arrows +5, Delay Imbued Arrow |
10th| +10/+5 | +3 | +7 | +3 | Reanimating Arrow | +1 of Previous Spellcasting Class
[/table]

Mind's Eye: At level 1 the Arcane Archer can use casting ability score modifier in place of their dexterity modifier for attacks with bows it if it higher.

Enhance Arrows: At level 1 and every 2 levels following, as the Arcane Archer ability, but these arrows can also be created form arcane energy, meaning the Arcane Archer need not always use this ability on normal arrows. The damage bonus from these arrows is negative energy damage, unless it would not harm the target (in which case it reverts to the regular magical damage)

Imbue Arrow, Necromantic: At level 2, as the Arcane Archer ability, but can also be used to deliver Necromancy spells with a range of touch or ranged touch with a free attack.

Stabilized Flight: At level 3, Enhanced Arrows shot by the Arcane Archer treat unfavourable winds as 1 category lower per 3 caster levels, to a maximum of nothing.

Vampiric Arrows: At level 4, all arrows under the effects of the Enhance Arrows ability are also treated as Vampiric (the Arcane Archer will heal 1 point of damage when his Vampriric Arrow hits) when used by the Necromantic Arcane Archer. This ability improves from to Vampiric +2 at level 8.

Arcane Arrow: At level 5, the Arcane Archer can sacrifice an arcane spell to augment his arrows for a number of rounds equal to the spell level sacrificed. Arrows fire during this time gain a bonus to attack and damage equal to double the spell level sacrificed.

Lifeseeking Arrow: At level 6, three times per day, as a standard action, the Necromantic Arcane Archer may launch a Lifeseeking Arrow at a living creature. The Necromantic Arcane Archer gains a +2 bonus on this attack and ignores cover and concealment. On hitting a living enemy the arrow deals +1d6 extra damage per 2 caster levels. This damage is half magical and half negative energy. If used on a non-living target, this arrow has no effect and the use is wasted.

Arrow Bolt: At level 7, the Arcane Archer can deliver line spells through the Imbue Arrow ability. The Imbue Arrow ability also gains an extra use per day when you gain this ability.

Delay Imbued Arrow: At level 9, the Arcane Archer can now hold one imbued arrow ready to fire until he rests and regains spells. The Imbue Arrow ability also gains an extra use per day when you gain this ability.

Reanimating Arrow: At level 10, the Arcane Archer can make an arrow that kills its target if it fails a fortitude saving throw (DC = 20 + casting ability modifier). If the Reanimating arrow kills its target then in the next round the corpse of the target is subjected to the spell Create Greater Undead as if you had cast it. It takes 1 hour to make a reanimating arrow, and it will only work for the Arcane Archer. Only one can be made per day, with a maximum of one in existence at a time.


Please PEACH!

EDIT: Abilities and skills updated.

[Kane0]

Updated skills and abilities. Should be a little beefier and have a few more options now.

Please comment!

[AugustNights]

Okay, let us see.

Adding in a casting Progression certainly aids with the whole CAP issue, that's a good start.

Full Bab is good for the archer, and Half-casting is probably appropriate given the benefits of many of the abilities.
Using Casting Primary Ability for Archery attack is pretty cool.

Enhance Arrow: Shooting arrows made of magical essence is cool.

Stabilize Flight: Perhaps some specification on this is necessary. Does this include magical winds? Hurricane force winds? What is an "unfavorable" wind?

Vampiric Arrow: What does it mean to have the arrow treated as Vampiric?

Arcane Arrow: A nice boost, I suppose, but if it were me (and its not), I'd rather not trade my precious limited spells (as an effective half-caster) for low bonuses to damage and the like. Why not just add Primary Casting Ability to damage when using ranged attacks (and with rays for that matter)?

Life Seeking Arrow: +1d6 per 3 caster levels is rough, when you're only a half caster.

Delay Imbued Arrow: Pretty sweet. Allows one to prepare some nice arrows in advance. I'd just cut the whole hours thing and make it 24 hours. personally. Or when preparing/refreshing spells.

Reanimating Arrow: Nice. May want to limit the number of Reanimating Arrows a character can have. As is, a character could take a week and have 7 of these suckers ready to go.

All in all its interesting, but I'm not certain if each school of magic merits its own variant of Arcane Archer. The focus seems, to me, that it will come from the spells a character will select.
That said, I like the sort of "fix" as it were, you've got going on for an Arcane Archer here.

[Kane0]

Thanks for the input, ill get to touching it up now

[Kane0]

Update: Reworked abilities and added profession into skills.