Wednesday May 12, 2004

Just about anyone can shoot a crossbow, and all trained warriors can use bows with normal proficiency.  The archer, though, is a master of the bow.  In his hands, the common longbow can be made to do amazing things, and the common arrow seems to come alive in mid-flight.  So great are the archer’s skills that many archery tournaments bar the class from participation.  Others entreat them come that they might dazzle audiences with their skills.  Whether it be hitting the bull’s-eye multiple times, nailing two separate targets simultaneously, bending the arrow’s flight around corners, or shooting behind-the-back shots while blindfolded and standing on a tightrope, the archer’s poise and confidence with his weapon cannot be underestimated.  As he gains experience, the archer learns not only these tricks, but also the more mundane and useful abilities of shooting from horseback without penalty, firing into combat with no fear of hitting allies, and compensating for high-velocity winds and other obstructions.  In short, he becomes nothing short of amazing.

Adventures:  For all the same reasons that a fighter would strike out to adventure, the archer sees the adventuring road as laden with opportunity.  He may be called upon specifically to provide long-range cover, or to pick off the party’s opponents from a treetop.  They come from all walks of life, rich and poor, well bred and ignorant.  Each has his own goal, some chasing down a hated enemy and some hoping to make one.  Many are in it simply for the fabled riches to be had.

Characteristics:  Archers are often loners, and even when joining an adventuring party, they tend to stick to themselves in the camps, at taverns, or while walking the trails.  Their lives were spent studying the finer points of bowmanship, learning to do things most bowmen only dream about.  They stand alone in their training, and they often die alone in their quest.  The archer makes friends slowly, but once a friend is made, he all but vows his eternal loyalty.  Archers approach their skills with a somberness that earns them a reputation for not knowing how to have any fun, but his solemnity applies only when exercising his weapon.

Alignment:  The archer can be of any alignment, but tends strongly toward lawfulness.  As the requisite training to become a master sharpshooter involves a high level of discipline, the archer tends toward an ordered life, including early mornings and many hours each day of target practice.  Only a few are very dour, but this stereotype seems to have settled upon all archers.  Even those who have abandoned traditional rules of archery for their own brand of showmanship are very strict about following their personal style.  Aiming a bow at the eye of an unseen target around a corner in blinding fog is not something to approach lightly.

Religion:  As distant cousin to the ranger, the archer usually worships the gods of nature, or even the neutral forces of nature themselves, as a druid might.  This certainly is not absolute, as some archers are combatants to the core and tip their hats to the gods of war, strength and valor.  Evil archers are liable to worship the gods of slaughter, death, or vengeance.  Some embrace gods of the road or traveling.

Background:  A great many archers are former military men, trained specifically for the archery companies of the standing army.  Just as many are loners who roam the forested lands, associating with the rangers or druids who frequent those parts.  A falling out with military strictures or a small calamity in the woods may be reasons to drive an archer into adventure.

Races:  Elves and their half-elf brethren are the consummate archers, taking to the bow with a natural grace that none can rival.  Humans, with their natural adaptability, are also good candidates for this class.  The smaller races of halfling and gnome do not make good archers, even with their high dexterity, because they must use smaller bows that are greatly reduced in effectiveness.  Dwarven archers are uncommon, but not unlikely.  Half-orc archers are rare, but one raised among humans might take up the bow rather than the giant double axe.

Other Classes:  An adventuring archer is a great asset to any party, lending his volley of fire to enemies before they have a chance to close for melee.  In melee, he often finds foes on the periphery to pick off one by one, and usually concentrates his fire on spellcasters who purposefully stand to the outside of battle.  Paladins (and fighters with a little misguided bravado) might consider him cowardly for not entering the foray, and his lack of injury when the fight is done only adds to their consternation.  In the end though, they are usually glad for his dropping a few enemies so they didn’t have to.  But like any fighter, the archer is not without a melee weapon, and he knows how to use it if he has to.  He realizes that sometimes the battle comes to him, and there’s no escaping it.  The archer relates well to all the classes, but befriends none too quickly.  Only the ranger finds much in common.

Abilities:  Dexterity is certainly the most important ability for the archer, not only for mastery of his ranged weapons, but also for his lack for a shield and his customary light armor.  Strength is also important for using mighty bows and for the melee combat that he cannot avoid.  And as with any other warrior class, constitution plays an important role in the archer’s survival.

Hit Die:  d8

Restrictions/Requirements:  DEX 14+; can multi-class ONLY with Fighter or Ranger, or appropriate prestige class.

Skill Points/Level:  At first level: (2+INT mod) x4 (+4).  Thereafter: 2+INT mod (+1) per level.

Skills:  Craft (bowyer/fletcher), Hide, Listen, Move Silently, Ride, Sense Motive, Spot, Survival, and Use Rope.

Starting Gold:  6d4 x 10.

Armor & Weapon Proficiencies:  The archer is proficient with all simple weapons.  Further, he is proficient with all martial bow-type weapons and all exotic bow-type weapons.  He is not proficient with any other martial or exotic weapons, including other types of ranged weapons.  He is proficient with all light and medium armor, but not with shields.  The archer starts his adventuring days knowing everything there is to know about bowed weapons.  He begins with one masterwork bow of his choice (not exotic), and a quiver full (20) of masterwork arrows/bolts.

The Archer’s Table

Master of Bows:  The archer begins play with full knowledge of every type of bowed weapon there is.  Even if he’s never seen its kind before, if the weapon launches an arrow or bolt, the archer instinctively knows how to use it.  He does not suffer the –4 penalty to attack with an exotic weapon that fires an arrow or bolt.  This penalty still applies to other exotic ranged weapons (like the pistol) and all exotic melee weapons.

Ranged Sneak Attack:  Any time the archer's target would be denied his dexterity bonus to AC, the archer deals extra damage on a successful hit.  Only ranged attacks may apply this extra damage, and only if the attack is within 30 feet.  Such deadly accuracy is not possible beyond this range.  The extra damage increases by +1d6 every six levels thereafter.  This sneak attack damage stacks with damage from sneak attack abilities granted by other classes, such as the rogue.

Bonus Feat:  Beginning at 2^nd level, and for every three levels afterwards, the archer gains a bonus feat.  This is in addition to the normal feats that each character class gains.  These bonus feats must be chosen from this list:  Far Shot, Greater Weapon Focus (any bow), Greater Weapon Specialization (any bow), Improved Called Shot, Improved Critical (any bow), Improved Initiative, Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Mounted Archery, Mounted Combat, Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot, Quick Draw, Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot, Shot on the Run, Weapon Focus (any bow), Weapon Specialization (any bow).  These feats may be chosen as desired, but any prerequisites must be met as normal.

Uncanny Accuracy:  At 3rd level, the archer may roll the d20 twice for an attack roll with any bowed weapon, taking the higher of the two rolls.  The player must declare that he is using this ability before making the rolls.  This ability may be used once per day at 3rd level, increasing by one additional use per day every six levels thereafter.

Special Ability:  The archer alone masters the bow to the point of dazzling displays of talent.  Beginning at 4^th level, and for every four levels afterwards, the archer develops a special ability.  These special abilities are chosen from this list, and may be selected as desired with no special prerequisites necessary (unless stated otherwise):

Deadly Aim:  By concentrating on a specific location on his target, the archer gains a +10 bonus to hit with one attack.  The archer must maintain concentration for the full round, thus allowing only a single attack.  If this concentration is broken for any reason, he must make a Concentration check (as a spellcaster would to keep his spell; see the skill description for examples) or lose the bonus to his aim.  The shot is still fired, but at normal bonuses to hit.  This ability is also useful for targeting objects and trap triggers, as well as making “called shots” on creatures.

Deadly Strike:  The archer zeroes in on the most critical part of his target.  As a full round action, the archer may make one attack more deadly than it otherwise would be.  The extra damage equals the archer’s level plus his Wisdom (perception) modifier.

Deflected Shot:  Using his knowledge of angles, the archer sizes up a solid and sturdy object, using it to rebound an arrow/bolt to his target.  By using this technique, the target creature is caught off guard and is considered flat-footed even if he was fully aware of the archer’s presence.  The object of deflection must be capable of deflecting a missile; that is, it must consist of a reasonably hard material that will not readily absorb the arrow or bolt.  A creature may be used to deflect the shot only if it has scaly natural armor or is wearing hard leather, banded, scale, splint or plate armor.  The archer must first roll to hit the deflection target with a ranged touch attack (if deflection target is an ally—a risky undertaking—the ally may opt not to defend himself, thereby making his AC effectively a 10).  A hit indicates the missile deflected off the surface, armor or natural armor as planned.  The archer then rolls to hit the intended target for normal damage.  If the archer “misses” his deflection target, roll a second time to hit the same AC plus any armor bonuses; this time a hit indicates that the arrow stuck into the deflection target, dealing normal damage (and critical hits apply).  A miss on the second roll indicates that the arrow did indeed deflect, but with no hope of striking the intended target.  The angle of deflection must be no more than 90 degrees.  Note: if the deflection target is protected by magic that deflects missiles anyway (like protection from arrows), the archer may certainly use this to his advantage.

Guided Missile:  The archer makes a quick judgment as to distance, angle and wind direction, and then adjusts his arrow or bolt to respond accordingly.  As a full round action, he removes part of the fletching, twists or bends the shaft slightly, or runs grooves down the length of the shaft, and then fires to make his missile hook or slice through the air, whipping around objects that otherwise would prevent an attack.  The archer must be able to see the target to hit at no penalty.  Otherwise, if he at least knows the target is there but cannot see it, consider the target to be fully concealed; that is, the archer has a 50% chance to miss.  He takes a single shot at his full bonus and may strike a target that is at least 30’ away.  The angle of curve he may gain from this ability is equal to 1 degree of arc per foot of distance, up to a maximum of 90 degrees.  The distance covered is limited only by the range increment of his weapon.  For example, Jarvis the archer sees his quarry run around the corner of a building and down an alley.  He knows he has but one chance to land a shot before his target is safe on the other side of a door.  The distance between them is approximately 50 feet.  Jarvis steps to a spot (a 5-foot step) that gives him about a 45-degree angle, then prepares the arrow and fires.  Because Jarvis cannot see his target, he is 50% likely to miss, but rolls a 72 on the d%, landing a blow.  His attack roll beats his quarry’s AC, and so he deals normal damage to a target around a corner in a dark alley, a target he cannot even see.

One-hand Operation:  His expertise with a crossbow has gained the archer the ability to use the weapon with only one hand by bracing the stock of the bow against his body (or another stable object) while loading and cocking the mechanism.  This frees his off hand to hold a shield, wield a sword, pull a potion from his belt, hang onto or climb a tree, rope or cliff, or even operate a second crossbow—penalties for two-weapon fighting notwithstanding.  Note: this ability cannot be used with standard bows, and the archer must have a Strength score of at least 14.  One-hand Operation does not reduce the time requirements for loading a crossbow.

Penetrating Shot:  The archer may use a full round action to make a single shot with any bowed weapon so devastating that the attack ignores the target's armor bonus, shield bonus, and natural armor bonus.  The attack is effectively a ranged touch attack.

Scattershot:  The archer rips off a portion of the fletching of two arrows and so aligns the arrows along his string that when he fires, they shoot off at angles toward two different targets.  The archer must roll an attack roll for each target (at his highest attack bonus, but with a -2 penalty for each arrow).  The two targets must be within 20’ of each other.  Because of the time required to properly remove the fletching and align the arrows, this ability can be used only once per round as a full round action.  The archer may fire simultaneously as many arrows as he has number of attacks per round.  Note: this ability cannot be used with crossbows.

Special Delivery:  Arrows and bolts certainly aren’t the only things the archer can launch from his weapon.  With this ability, a wide variety of things may be attached to the shafts or heads of the missiles and delivered at range.  This obviously includes notes, burning rags, and extended ropes.  But consider the benefits of launching a small battering ram, a grenade-like projectile, a grappling hook, or miscellaneous small objects.  When attaching any foreign object to the shaft of his missile, or launching the object directly, the archer incurs no penalty to hit (a –4 to –8 penalty might normally be levied for this kind of maneuver).  This ability necessarily requires a full round action.

Trick Shot:  While most bowmen were practicing the rudiments of shooting, the archer was honing his fancy, “show-off” stunts.  This has gained him the ability to accomplish some fairly amazing techniques.  As a standard action, the archer may fire his bow from just about any precarious position or situation imaginable with no penalty to the attack roll for the inherent difficulty of the task (a –4 to –8 penalty might normally be levied on an inordinately difficult maneuver).  This would include behind-the-back shots, upside-down shots, no-look shots, hip shots, mirror-shots, shots while falling, or nearly anything else.  Certainly, it should be at least remotely possible to do, but ultimately the plausibility of a Trick Shot is decided by DM adjudication.

Close Combat:  The archer is trained and experienced in using his bow in all types of situations.  At 6th level, he does not suffer an Attack of Opportunity when firing his bow in a threatened square.

Opportunity Shot:  At 10th level, the archer's eyesight and reflexes have developed to near impeccable levels.  He is now considered to be threatening opponents with his bow, and may make attacks of opportunity against his foes as they move past the archer's threatened squares.

Keen Arrows:  At 12th level, all projectiles the archer fires behave as if they had the keen ability, in addition to any other properties that they might possess, increasing the critical threat range of the archer's attacks by one.  The ability does not stack with any other keen effects.

Superior Critical Damage:  At 18th level, the multiplier for the archer's critical hits increases by one; for example, a x3 increases to x4.