3.5 archer build?

[its_all_ogre]

ok i have a player who wants to play some kind of archer build.
now i've hashed together a couple of builds: pure fighter with a str built bow and ranged weapon mastery feat, dealing reasonable damage.
psychic warrior using str built bow, psi shot and greater, dissolving weapon and deep crystal bow (it will NOT be crystal, but a replacement material).

a combi of the two also works ok.

but i want to see any further possible builds?
also is there a power attack for bows?

[Keld Denar]

I think the two ultimately most common archers are the Swift Hunter archer, which is usually a Scout4/Ranger16. Using Greater Multishot, you can get scirmish damage on all arrows, eventually. The real bonus about this build is Swift Hunter's ability to ignore the normal immunity to precision based damage with careful selection of favored enemies. Pick up Undead, Plants, Constructs, and Oozes as favored enemies and you'll be able to scirmish almost everything.

The other is the cleric or archivist archer, who "hulks up" with Divine Power, Divine Favor, maybe Divine Agility, and a few other choice buffs and then shoots. Add in Divine Might to get +cha to damage on top of everything else. Knowledge Devotion also helps damage output. Elf domain gives PBS, and War gives Weapon Focus and proficiency if you arn't an elf.

Another potential would be a bard archer, using Dragonfire Inspiration to kick up the boom. That would be decent as well.

Also, as far as I know, there is no PA for bows. There is something similar to PA for thrown weapons, but not bows. Sorry.

For bow enchantments, one of the best is Splitting, but I've yet to see a DM allow it. I wouldn't, if I was you, because you're archer will be doing multiple hundreds of damage every round from a young age. I highly recommend the Exit Wounds enhancement, I think its in MIC. Its really nice for a Swift Hunter, since you make your move to get scirmish and also line your foes up, then release a barage of shots that tear through 2-3 targets. Its fun! I once saw a character in Living Greyhawk with a Merciful Exit Wounds bow, and we couldn't quite explain how exactly that would work...

[AmberVael]

One of the more interesting archer builds that I've heard of uses Cleric and Zen Archery. If you do it right, it can be a very good build, too. With the right spells you can become pretty lethal.

You'd have to ask someone else for the specifics though- I'm not clear on them. Obviously some of the attack boosters can be helpful (Divine Favor/Power), though Divine Power would probably be most useful with a sling or thrown weapon (getting the strength bonus to damage, after all). Some of the weapon ability spells can get nasty with you using them to stack on the bow AND the ammunition (but you'd have to choose the right ones so that they would indeed stack).

^: Ninja!

[An Enemy Spy]

I'm surprised you didn't simply think of a ranger with the archery combat style

[ocato]

Well, depending on what books are allowed, Scouts (Complete Adventurer) make nice archers. Especially if you mix Scout with Ranger and the Swift hunter feat (Complete Scoundrel). A Scout 3/Ranger 17 has full skirmish, full favored enemy, and can use their skirmish on favored enemies who are immune to critical strikes (making favored enemies like undead and constructs obvious choices). Take a race that is naturally psionic or the wild talent feat if you like and you can still use some psionic shot stuff. Grab the Travel Devotion feat (from Complete Champion) for an extra move action once per day (allowing you to full attack skirmish) and/or definitely grab Greater Manyshot so you can fire multiple arrows for skirmish damage on a standard action. The character will almost have full base attack, be able to fire multiple high powered shots a round, and will have great mobility and defenses. Grab Natural Bond (Complete Adventurer) if you're worried about your animal companion, but honestly your best bet is probably just to let the poor guy suck. Use a wolf or something and hope it can protect you by tripping potential threats or serving as a decoy.

Bleh, I got ninja'd too.

[RTGoodman]

lussmanj Keld Dennar (congrats on the name change, by the way) hit most of the common archery builds that I'm familiar with, so I"ll leave you with this:

There is only ONE way that I've ever heard of in 3.x to get "Power Shot" or whatever you want to call the equivalent of PA for ranged weapons, and it requires you to be using this specific magic bow. Hope that helps!

(Why, yes, that is the magic bow from the D&D cartoon series - what are you gonna do about it?) ;)

[Keld Denar]

I'm surprised you didn't simply think of a ranger with the archery combat style

Pure Ranger with archery combat style sucks, since you have almost no source of extra damage. The Swift Hunter build I posted HAS bonus damage, while still being mostly Ranger. Its like, the best of both worlds, at the cost of a single feat.

EDIT:

lussmanj Keld Dennar (congrats on the name change, by the way)

Thank you sir! /happydance

[its_all_ogre]

wow so many responses so fast
sorry should have said:level 9 game going to level 10 soon but going no higher

main enemies at this stage devils and undead

standard wealth by level
not a spellcaster

[goram.browncoat]

Paladin 4/Bard 16 .. no seriously :) Throw in some words of creation, song of the heart, crossbow sniper, rapid reload(or handcrossbow focus) and divine might.

Admittedly, not the most optimal :) More playable than you'd think though. That inspire courage boosted with words of creation and coupled with divine might stacks up for respectable damage. And huge words of creation inspire courage can also be a tremendous boost to your party (depends a bit on party composition but usually alot of people like it).

Apart from that its also has lvl 6 bardic spells (not as much as a bard 20, but still) and is a very proficient diplomancer/skillmonkey.

You'll need to spend quite a bit of money on your bow, as itll do alot of the work for you, but that is true for most archer builds im assuming (well, not soulbows). I think a +1 splitting force fierce light crossbow or handcrossbow is probably best.

In the end, not the best archer. But also not a sucky archer, and a very versatile character both in and out of combat. Also, nobody will see it coming ;)

EDIT: Drat, Didnt catch the lvl 9 to 10 thing. Not worth it for the bardadin archer then. It is admittedly a build that only begins to pick up (in terms of archery, its always usefull overall) around 12 :(
Though you can fit it inot lvl 9 (without the words of creation, but the rest is there) if your DM allows flaws (2).

[Talya]

Do you have tome of battle?

[AmberVael]

If undead are a big part of the game and you go with the Scout/Ranger Skirmish build then you definitely want to get the Truedeath Crystal from the MIC compendium- I'm pretty sure it applies to Skirmish as well as Sneak Attack (if not, it wouldn't be unbalanced to change it to be that way).

Also, if the cleric doesn't strike your fancy, the skirmisher is indeed probably the best way to go (as the bard would be spellcasterish as well).

[Keld Denar]

Hmmm, probably Swift Hunter then, with Undead as first favored enemy, EOs as 2nd. For a bow, sink as much gold as you can into getting a +1 Holy Sacred bow. This'll give you +3d6 vs undead and +4d6 vs EOs for a scant +4 equivilant (32000g). If that's most of your cash, then so be it, it'll be worth it. Tack on a Lesser or Greater Truedeath Crytal and get a GMW cast on you (oh wait, no spell casters?) for even more slayee power.

Probably this:
1 Ranger1 Track, PB Shot
2 Ranger2 Rapid Shot
3 Scout1 Precise Shot
4 Scout2
5 Scout3
6 Scout4 Swift Hunter
7 Ranger3
8 Ranger4
9 Ranger5 Improved Scirmish
10 Ranger6 Multishot

That should give +4d6 scirmish on per shot by 9th level, if my memory serves me right. If human, take Travel Devotion at 1st level as well, this'll greatly increase viability. For 1st level Ranger spells, take Arrow Mind, it'll allow you to threaten with your bow, if need be. Its really good.

[Eldariel]

ok i have a player who wants to play some kind of archer build.
now i've hashed together a couple of builds: pure fighter with a str built bow and ranged weapon mastery feat, dealing reasonable damage.
psychic warrior using str built bow, psi shot and greater, dissolving weapon and deep crystal bow (it will NOT be crystal, but a replacement material).

a combi of the two also works ok.

but i want to see any further possible builds?
also is there a power attack for bows?

Psi War or Soulbow is an awesome option. Psi War with Fell Shot Manyshot is just devastating - Offensive Prescience FTW. Soulbow is a decent Wis SAD archer, but generally Psi War can be more efficient due to the manifesting. Really, Psi War kicks Fighter's ass.

Other great archers:
-Cleric 20 (or any standard Cleric PrCs with full casting): One of the most powerful archers in the game.
-Archivist/Turn-granting PrC: Even better than Cleric, although lower BAB before access to Divine Power - has access to Ranger- and Druid-buffs! Also, some superb Domain-spells.
-Bard 8/Arcane Archer 2/Sublime Chord 2/Sacred Exorcist 3/Abjurant Champion 5: Best Arcane Archer-build I know of other than possibly Bard 1/Battle Sorcerer 6-7 or something with better spell list (Bards unfortunately don't get most of the low-level archery spells like True Strike, Arrow Mind, Flame Arrow, Heroics, Greater Magic Weapon et co.). Imbue two spells per arrow, bombard things.
-Ranger 2/Warblade 5/Fighter 2/Warblade +1/Eternal Blade 10: Best ToB-using Archer-build I've managed to create - Eternal Blade has a ton of great abilities (Int to damage and hit, ignore DR, Knowledge Devotion-enabling Eternal Knowledge, reacquire maneuvers and an awesome capstone), and you get access to Tiger Claw-prerequisites (so you can get item for Dancing/Raging Mongoose) and eventual Time Stands Still - the maneuvers that work with bows, and a ton of White Raven-support and quick movement coupled with solid melee.
-Mentioned Swift Hunters (and the Scout 4/Cloistered Cleric 1/Ranger 15-variant that also has Travel Devotion). I dislike them for their range limitations though - generally, archer's greatest advantage is immense range, something Skirmish immediately trades away. That said, fine in dungeons.

Give him the options. I'd imagine he'd probably enjoy Psionic Archer or an Archivist a ton. The mundanes have quite a bit less in terms of options, but they can well be passable as well. Still, I personally tend to get an archer with a magical flair just because mundane archery gets kinda dull kinda quick (you can do it for one game though). Power Attack doesn't exist for bows in 3.5 outside items (Energy Bow grants the ability), but is definitely a reasonable houserule.

EDIT: Not-a-spellcaster ninja'd. Bleh. Psychic Warrior would be my personal choice.

[Person_Man]

Skullclan Hunter. Hugely potent against undead and Evil enemies in general.

[its_all_ogre]

i'll look for the swift hunter feat.

thanks for all the ideas so far. although 32000gp is WELL over the wealth by level.

[Eldariel]

If you have a crafter in the party, you can have an Energy bow easily though - crafted, it's mere 11500gp; easily affordable and definitely a must-have for archers (adjusts for Str, can shoot energy arrows [which probably pass Wind Wall] and allows Power Shots).

I suggest Psychic Warrior over Swift Hunter if possible - they can both be really efficient, but Psychic Warrior has more options, and options are good. He can change for the demands of every encounter, and I'm betting he'll enjoy the game more if he has more than one trick.

[Keld Denar]

i'll look for the swift hunter feat.

thanks for all the ideas so far. although 32000gp is WELL over the wealth by level.

Well, a +1 Sacred bow would cost 8k gold, and a +1 Holy bow would cost 18k gold. Both align the weapon to [Good] which is useful for punching through the DR of like, 90% of demons/devils. Sacred gives 2d6 vs EOs and 1d6 against undead, while Holy does 2d6 to all of em, and adds in evil human(oids), and other other evil aligned things. Either would probably be the most cost effective damage given the nature of your campaign. I'd stay away from elemental damages though, since most outsiders have at least resistance 5-10 to most elements, which pretty much nerfs the damage they would do.

[Tequila Sunrise]

For ranged PA either use Manyshot or reflavor PA itself and change its prereq to Dex.

TS

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Since no one has really posted it yet, the PsyWar Archer Build (9th level)

Half-Giant Ranger2/PsiWar3/Slayer3
Ranger is taken to improve BAB for earlier access to Slayer and for Knowledge: Dungeoneering and the feat Track for easy access to Slayer

1)Ranger. Feats/Abilities: Track, Point Blank Shot
2)Ranger. Feats/Abilities: Rapid Shot (Combat Style)
3) PsiWar. Feats/Abilities: Psionic Shot, Psicrystal Affinity.
4) PsiWar. Feats/Abilities: Precise Shot
5) PsiWar.
6: Slayer. Feats and Abilities: Psicrystal Containment
7) Slayer
8: Slayer

Basically, take Slayer all 10 levels. Next level, you get a Feat, which should be Fell Shot.

Why half-giant? Because you can use a Large bow to shoot for extra damage.

Tactics: Expansion is your friend. If you take Metaphysical Weapon, you just became more powerful than the Arcane Archer. Make sure to blow the 4 points to make it have a duration of hours/level, with your manifester level of 5th, that's 5 hours, and this will only increase. Pretty soon, this will be an all day thing, and you can further boost for more bonuses.

The key to this ability is to be able to blow as many psionic feats as possible without having to take actions. That's why you blew two feats on Psicrystal Affinity and Containment. He gets to hold a Focus for you to blow on Fell Shot. Psionic Meditation should also be on your list of feats to pick up.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

Wood Elf, Fighter 10, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus: Longbow, Rapid Shot, Weapon Specialization: Longbow, Manyshot, Improved Rapid Shot (CW), Ranged Weapon Mastery: Piercing (PH2), Greater Weapon Focus: Longbow, and Penetrating Shot (PH2).

If you hadn't said no spellcasters, I'd have suggested Wood Elf Cloistered Cleric 5/ Ruathar 3/ Seeker of the Misty Isle 1/ Cloistered Cleric 1/ Contemplative 10, Elf and War domains, Zen Archery, and probably Divine Metamagic for either Quicken or Persistent.

[Draz74]

Factotum with the Knowledge Devotion feat and plenty of Knowledge skills is a fun archer build.

Cunning Insight = spend an Inspiration Point to add INT to damage. Works great on Manyshot or especially on Crits (x3 damage!).

Might want to dip 2 Fighter or Ranger levels, as Factotum is somewhat feat-starved.

EDIT

If undead are a big part of the game and you go with the Scout/Ranger Skirmish build then you definitely want to get the Truedeath Crystal from the MIC compendium- I'm pretty sure it applies to Skirmish as well as Sneak Attack (if not, it wouldn't be unbalanced to change it to be that way).

Um, there's a much easier way for a Swift Hunter to make Skirmish damage apply to Undead. Namely, the Swift Hunter feat. If Undead are selected as a Favored Enemy (which they obviously should be, especially in this campaign), the feat makes you able to Skirmish them.

[Triaxx]

Homebrew feat:

Impossible Shot
Effect: By sacrificing your entire attack bonus, you may deal an equal amount of damage on each shot with a Composite Bow.
Normal: Ranged Attack Bonuses may not be sacrificed for damage.

Now play a Half-Orc Wizard with Bull's Strength and True Strike. Problem solved. Of course you have to make sure it's a million to one chance to hit though.

[SoD]

If I could point your attention to this homebrew Archer class by MammonAzrael.

[Charlie Kemek]

Why half-giant? Because you can use a Large bow to shoot for extra damage.

there's an item in the MIC that does the same thing.

[Temp.]

With regards to the posted Swift Hunter builds, it's going to be a better moive to rearrange levels so you hit Ranger 6 at level 9.

This will let your player start with Greater Manyshot (basically doubling the player's skirmish damage per round).

[Talya]

Do you have tome of battle?

Repeating this. It's important for archery. Thanks to Fax.