Arcane Archer spell selection [3.5]

[RebelRogue]

I'm playing my first Gestalt game ever, and since I've always liked the Arcane Archer fluff, I thought this would be a great opportunity to actually make it playable. I went for Fighter/Wizard with a one-level dip in Spellsword (because I wanted to wear some kind of armor) and progressed to AA/Wizard. At level 8 this translates to Wiz4/SS1/Wiz3//Fighter6/AA2. Our playing style for this campaign is rather light-hearted, so I just picked core spells at semi-random (since none of us really brought any books to the char creation session... It was a case of "the usual DM is busy playing WoW, so we'll improvise something"-scenario ) So anyway, I'm pretty happy with my spell selection, but after looking a bit in SC I've found some useful stuff that would be nice indeed, such as Arrow Mind (swift/immediate spells are particularly useful). So, I'd like some input regarding good spells I might have missed. Of course suggestions for core spells would be appreciated as well. Here's the spells I've picked:

4th: Solid Fog, Wall of Fire (Imbuing arrows with these is probably the coolest thing I've done in a D&D game this year! ), Shout, Confusion
3rd: Fly, Fireball, Dispel Magic, Stinking Cloud
2nd: Invisibility, Web, Glitterdust, See Invisibility
1st: Mage Armor (mostly for the Monk/Barbarian [We didn't care much for Alignment restrictions in this particular game]), Shield, Sleep, Color Spray

As for Feats, it's mostly archery-related stuff. I've taken Widen Spell, obviously, but I'm a little in doubt about what to take at level 9. Quicken spell, perhaps?

Suggestion of any kind are welcome :)

Edit: Lol, of course it's Solid Fog, not Dog

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

(Greater) Fireburst is amazing for Imbue Arrow. I'd probably even get Spell Focus: Evocation and Metamagic School Focus (CM), and/or a Lesser Metamagic Rod or Maximize or Empower.

[mikej]

Evard's Black Tentacles maybe worth a try, nothing says fun then tentacles bursting from arrows to grapple people.

I believe its imbue arrow legal since its a area effect.

[Fax Celestis]

I forget if you can do this, but combust would be awesome.

[RebelRogue]

Evard's Black Tentacles maybe worth a try, nothing says fun then tentacles bursting from arrows to grapple people.

I believe its imbue arrow legal since its a area effect.

Yup, it's an area effect, so it's perfectly legal. And yes, I'm definitely getting that sooner or later.

[jcsw]

Antimagic Field.
EDIT: Serpent Arrows from Serpent Kingdoms is also fun. Not as useful, but still fun.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Grease is perfect for Imbuing. It's an area-effect, so it's legit. Even better, it's normally a Close range spell, so this greatly increases it's effectiveness.

And Grease is one of the few 1st level spells that remains perfectly usable even at extremely high levels.

[RebelRogue]

Grease is perfect for Imbuing. It's an area-effect, so it's legit. Even better, it's normally a Close range spell, so this greatly increases it's effectiveness.

And Grease is one of the few 1st level spells that remains perfectly usable even at extremely high levels.

How I forgot about this is beyond me!

[Duke of URL]

I forget if you can do this, but combust would be awesome.

Nope, single target.

Many of the XXX, mass spells could be fun, though, if not overly useful. Try flinging a reduce person, mass at a horde of oncoming humanoids...

For battlefield control, try Otiluke’s resilient sphere to hit and trap a nuisance (or more than one!) while you take care of its buddies.

[RebelRogue]

Many of the XXX, mass spells could be fun

Unfortunately, they're not AoE spells.

As for the Resilient Sphere, I don't think it's considered as such either.

[Duke of URL]

Unfortunately, they're not AoE spells.

Depends on how you interpret AoE -- it has a range of "Close" and a target of "One humanoid creature/level, no two of which can be more than 30 ft. apart", which reads remarkably like an AoE description to me. (Although the restriction to 1 target/level may be the kicker here.)

But maybe I'm just lenient.

Besides, very few of the xxx, mass spells (if any) are powerful enough to draw a DM's ire.

As for the Resilient Sphere, I don't think it's considered as such either.

Same idea -- here it affects a specified radius (1' per level) from the target location. If wall of fire counts, I don't see why this wouldn't.

[jcsw]

Hey... technically Line spells are Area:Line...

See how your DM interprets this... How exactly does the line come out? Etc.

[Duke of URL]

How exactly does the line come out? Etc.

I would interpret it as a line starting at the point of impact moving directly away from the caster, in the case where the line originally emanates from the caster. If the original spell allowed the line to be "aimed" from a range away from the caster, then the imbued spell could be "aimed" as well.

Ditto for cones.

[Sstoopidtallkid]

Greater Fireburst(SpC). The only spell I can think of that deals d10s.

[Mephit]

I'm just going to mention spells from the SpC since you mentioned it.

You could take Caltrops as a cantrip. Not useful, but heck, an arrow turning into caltrops? That's just cool.

Dispelling Screen (4th level) might not be too bad either.
Ooh, Explosive Cascade is actually a worthwhile spell, too, if you use it at Long range. It's effectively a sculpted fireball, at 1 square/level.

I'm tempted to say Rainbow Blast, because it's such a funny spell, but it's already got 120 ft., so I can't think of any reason to specifically suggest it to you for this build.

Shadow Binding is something I can wholeheartidly suggest: it's a good battlefield control spell.

I also just found something interesting:
Shadow

[Eldariel]

Try to vary your elements a bit. I see a lot of "Fire, Fire, Fire" (which is pretty bad when you run into Fire-immune things). Instead of Fireball, try packing Scintillating Sphere. Also, on 3, pack Flame Arrow; extra damage is always handy, even if it is Fire. And instead of Fighter 6, go Ranger 2/Fighter 4; same amount of feats (plus Track), way more skillpoints (which is something, an Archer appreciates), access to Ranger-wands (there're few good bow-relates ones there) and some other random abilities.

Heck, Ranger 4 picking the "Champion of the Wilds" [Complete Champion] alternative class feature would be nice - trades your Ranger Spellcasting for a bonus feat (and more later, but since you aren't taking more Ranger-levels, only the immediate benefit is interesting). Then you could also pick up Distracting Attack ACF [Player's Handbook II] for Ranger 4 (trades Animal Companion for making all the opponents you hit with a ranged attack flat-footed for your allies' next attack - great for archers) and you'd still be even on feats, and ahead on everything else (although you wouldn't qualify for Ranged Weapon Mastery this way; how dreadful).

Also, you may want to pick up Smiting Spell [Player's Handbook II], which would vastly enhance your Spell Binding options (you can toss Touch spells on it; Vampiric Touch is lots of fun, for example).

[Sstoopidtallkid]

I have to ask, is there a reason you're not going Wiz 5/PrC 15//Scout 4/Ranger 4/AA 2/Ranger X(in whatever order)? The higher level AA abilities aren't worth it and a Swift Hunter build tacks on a lot of passive and swift abilities to boost you.

[RebelRogue]

I have to ask, is there a reason you're not going Wiz 5/PrC 15//Scout 4/Ranger 4/AA 2/Ranger X(in whatever order)? The higher level AA abilities aren't worth it and a Swift Hunter build tacks on a lot of passive and swift abilities to boost you.

First of all, that would mean two Prestige Classes at once, which isn't allowed. Scout levels would mean loss of BAB, which I don't want. Also, I really like to keep things relatively simple. I have been wondering how far I want to take AA (in many ways two levels are all you really need to get the good stuff), though!

[Eldariel]

First of all, that would mean two Prestige Classes at once, which isn't allowed. Scout levels would mean loss of BAB, which I don't want. Also, I really like to keep things relatively simple. I have been wondering how far I want to take AA (in many ways two levels are all you really need to get the good stuff), though!

AA has no worthwhile abilities beyond level 2, unless you're using Homebrew. Phasing Arrows and Seeking Arrow are Standard Actions (so one attack per turn with no imbuing) once per day. That's major...ly disappointing. Hail of Arrows is decent, except for the Cap To CL and once per day; you'll hardly be shooting more than with Rapid Shot ever, and normal attacks aren't limited to one Range Increment. Arrow of Death is...about equivalent to a level 0 Save Or Die once you first get it and becomes worse with each level (the saving throw is so low nothing really ever fails it, and it's a huge pain to make). And Enhance Arrow is just a limited version of Greater Magic Weapon (which you actually can cast).

Also, losing one point of BAB isn't horrible. Taking 4 levels of Scout gets you Skirmish, making you far more fearsome at close quarters (and Arcane Archer already covers the "kick ass at range"-part). Oh, and getting Trapfinding and Skirmish increases your abilities as a scout tremendously (you know, those things Elves are supposed to be good at?). As a bonus, Imbue Arrow works fine with Skirmish.

[mangosta71]

AA is one of the PrCs I've kinda always wanted to try, but never got around to. I didn't realize that you could only imbue arrows with AoE effects. Kinda kills my idea of imbuing vampiric touch if you ever need a few more hp in a hurry...
For second level, Web can be extremely useful, especially if you're shooting at something that has no type of ranged attack.

[Firewind]

If you can somehow get 9th level spells then theoretically you can stack Wish on an arrow.

Imagine wishing for the Tarrasque to drop right into the middle of your enemies

[jcsw]

The fun part would be getting to epic, and then using a sucky spell range to mitigate your epic spells, and then imbuing them into the arrows anyway.