The Archer [3.5 Base Class, P.E.A.C.H.]

[Dryad]

I'm a bit in two minds about 'Called Shots,' because.. Well; called shots are already in the game. I was hoping for a removal of the penalties to attack rolls, but instead, you gave them a bit of a re-work. Which makes it awkward for other people using called shots. I'm not opposed to the rework you gave them, of course. ^_^ But it would mean that a fighter could use the same called shots without paying Token points for it. In fact; the Archer could in theory use the exact same effects without spending Token points. Anyone can poke someone's liver out, if they know where to find the liver.

Exhibitionist:
Two problems. One: You substitute a roll for(?)(with) intimidate ranks. Now; at lvl 10, you'll have thirteen ranks (max), and an average roll of twenty (10+BaB, no modifiers). So that's not very good.
Two: Is it still an attack? Do you try to hit against AC, against a save, against an opposed skill check/opposed skill ranks? Does it deal damage? What does it do? It's very unclear.
Three: Why would an ability called 'exhibitionist' ever be associated with an archer? I just don't see it working, flavour-wise.

For everything else: Even though the phrasing is unclear at some points, and a tad haphazard at other points, I really do love this class! Keep up the good work!

[Gardener]

Bull Rush get an extra 5 feet for every 5 you beat the check by, doesn't it? Since the DC is damage based, you can boost the distance with precision damage and other modifiers; you can easily push someone back a move action or farther with the Sniper path, or later on, the skirmish path - As it is already, the Volley path can trigger a bull rush attempt on almost every attack - a +3 weapon modifier. I'll also be adding clause so that it doesn't benefit from certain abilities (cough dungeoncrasher cough cough).

Actually, the "except as follows" bit of Ranged Bull Rush includes "If this attack hits and deals damage, the target is pushed back 5 feet". This replaces the normal pushback distance of a Bull Rush.

Frankly, the ability could use a good re-word. Perhaps something like this?

Forceful Shot.
By spending seven Precision Tokens, an Archer can make one of his ranged attacks a Forceful Shot. If the attack hits and deals damage, the target must make a Strength check (DC 10 + damage dealt) or be pushed back 5 feet, plus an additional 5 feet per 5 points the check is failed by. This Strength check gains any bonuses or penalties the target has to resist a bull rush.

We don't need a clause to avoid Dungeoncrasher or similar because the attack was never a bull rush to begin with, and since the DC is set by the damage, not rolled as a Strength check, Improved Bull Rush and similar never applied to begin with.

[Gideon Falcon]

I don't see the point of the token system, if they refresh every time you use them. You use them on an attack, and then the attack refreshes your pool. In other words, you might as well just have a set number of customization slots to put the abilities into for each attack.

[chrisrawr]

Replies in Bold

I don't see the point of the token system, if they refresh every time you use them. You use them on an attack, and then the attack refreshes your pool. In other words, you might as well just have a set number of customization slots to put the abilities into for each attack.


It scales the abilities you can use, and the amount of combinations you can do in an attack; You can't use some called shots or abilities like Bull Rush until later levels. It also limits the number of abilities you can apply per attack per attack action - a Full Attack Action only gets you 6 tokens to spread among your arrows, while a standard attack action would get you 6 tokens for that single arrow. Is this relevant at all to what you were talking about?

I'm a bit in two minds about 'Called Shots,' because.. Well; called shots are already in the game.


I didn't know there was a Called Shots system in the game! There's a 3.0 version, I think, but there's nothing about it I can find in 3.5 or pathfinder.


I was hoping for a removal of the penalties to attack rolls, but instead, you gave them a bit of a re-work. Which makes it awkward for other people using called shots. I'm not opposed to the rework you gave them, of course. ^_^ But it would mean that a fighter could use the same called shots without paying Token points for it.


I don't actually think you can use an ability simply because it has the same name as another ability; D&D is an allowance based game, and the only way to use the abilities listed under the Archer's Precision Archery is by spending Archery Tokens.


In fact; the Archer could in theory use the exact same effects without spending Token points. Anyone can poke someone's liver out, if they know where to find the liver.


See above; One thing I thought of was Meta-Archery or Archery Mastery feats, but that's pushing too far into the spells/psionics territory.

Exhibitionist:
Two problems. One: You substitute a roll for(?)(with) intimidate ranks. Now; at lvl 10, you'll have thirteen ranks (max), and an average roll of twenty (10+BaB, no modifiers). So that's not very good.


This ability either A) saves you skill points, if you never intended to focus on being scary, or B) gives you the chance to intimidate at range, with extra effects. The intimidate roll at level 10 will be closer to 16 (10BAB+4Abilit Mod+Enhancement Bonus +2) - Giving you an average roll of 26, which is quite decent.


Two: Is it still an attack?


Yes. It's an attack action against a target (which may be an opponent). This will be clarified.


Do you try to hit against AC, against a save, against an opposed skill check/opposed skill ranks? Does it deal damage? What does it do? It's very unclear.


You make an attack against a target at least 300 feet away. You make an attack roll against that target's AC. This attack grants special bonuses if it's against an opponent, and the roll's result is used as an intimidation check. This will be clarified.


Three: Why would an ability called 'exhibitionist' ever be associated with an archer? I just don't see it working, flavour-wise.


Think: Robin Hood - Exhibitions are a large part of how Archers compare their e-peens.


For everything else: Even though the phrasing is unclear at some points, and a tad haphazard at other points, I really do love this class! Keep up the good work!

Thank you very much! Thank you for your critique; Exhibitionist wording changes and a bit of a rewrite, and perhaps a name change for Called Shots (to remove confusion with any other similar abilities) will be made.

Actually, the "except as follows" bit of Ranged Bull Rush includes "If this attack hits and deals damage, the target is pushed back 5 feet". This replaces the normal pushback distance of a Bull Rush.

Frankly, the ability could use a good re-word. Perhaps something like this?


Agreed :D


Forceful Shot.
By spending seven Precision Tokens, an Archer can make one of his ranged attacks a Forceful Shot. If the attack hits and deals damage, the target must make a Strength check (DC 10 + damage dealt) or be pushed back 5 feet, plus an additional 5 feet per 5 points the check is failed by. This Strength check gains any bonuses or penalties the target has to resist a bull rush.

We don't need a clause to avoid Dungeoncrasher or similar because the attack was never a bull rush to begin with, and since the DC is set by the damage, not rolled as a Strength check, Improved Bull Rush and similar never applied to begin with.


Wonderful and elegant; it will be replacing my drivel at once!

[Gideon Falcon]

Thing is, your pool refreshes with every attack you make, meaning that you do have access to your full token pool for each individual attack in a full attack. This means that you're not really 'expending' points so much as filling slots.

Also, the ranged pin feat is not exactly useful, unless you rework it so as to only require the target and a surface to pin them against. It's not hard to imagine putting an arrow through someone's arm to pin them instead of through their sleeve.

[chrisrawr]

Thing is, your pool refreshes with every attack you make, meaning that you do have access to your full token pool for each individual attack in a full attack. This means that you're not really 'expending' points so much as filling slots.

Also, the ranged pin feat is not exactly useful, unless you rework it so as to only require the target and a surface to pin them against. It's not hard to imagine putting an arrow through someone's arm to pin them instead of through their sleeve.

Ranged pin is wonderfully useful as is; remember that the ground is a surface.

The Token Pool explicitly refreshes with each attack action the Archer makes, not with each attack.

[mucco]

Regarding Ranged Pin, I always considered that feat very broken. Mix it with the Volley variant of your class, haste, and Rapid Shot at level six. You get five arrows, and the target will have to remove each one via a standard action. Mix it with a Belt of Battle, and you can have someone pop arrows out of the ground for a full minute before they can do anything else.

The rest of the class looks awesome! Kinda reminds me of Incarnum with the bonus points you can reposition each time... should be fun to play.

EDIT: looking better into this class, something about called shots didn't convince me. The DC seems a bit too high: some effects are save-or-lose like stun, daze, suffocate. With a DC == 10 + damage + points spent, I believe it's a bit too high.

Hope you don't mind if I do some math here

Let's take a decently optimized level 11 Archer who started with 20 Dex and now has 26 (+2 increments, +4 item). He also invested his resources in a Fierce Collision Composite +1 bow, and let's say he has 12 Str. Deciding to put all his Dex into damage, he now can shoot an arrow dealing 1d8+8(Vital Aim)+8(Fierce)+5(Collision)+1(enh. bonus)+1(composite) = 1d8+23, averaging 27.5 damage. Let's say he's a skirmisher. His manyshot can employ four arrows for average 110 damage. +2d4 just for kicks. He'll shoot to the head, forcing a Fort DC 129 to not be stunned, dazed, and sickened.

He'll then move 10 feet and add another Manyshot, aiming at an Ability Score of his choice and dealing average 6 damage, DC 129 save.

End result: 225 average damage, target out of combat for two rounds and probably for the rest of the encounter. A bit strong if you ask me.

May I suggest the usual progression of 1/2 Archer level + Dex? Also maybe banning Fierce looks like a sane choice, given Vital Aim to put Dex into damage. Still it's probably over 150 dmg per round at level 11, maybe a bit high, don't know.

Oh and a crit would make stuff explode xD

Moar EDIT: man, I just pictured myself screaming MANYSHOT STRAIGHT IN HIS EYE! while playing. Four arrows in a single eye. Awesomeness. Keep the work up.

[chrisrawr]

Regarding Ranged Pin, I always considered that feat very broken. Mix it with the Volley variant of your class, haste, and Rapid Shot at level six. You get five arrows, and the target will have to remove each one via a standard action. Mix it with a Belt of Battle, and you can have someone pop arrows out of the ground for a full minute before they can do anything else.

The rest of the class looks awesome! Kinda reminds me of Incarnum with the bonus points you can reposition each time... should be fun to play.

EDIT: looking better into this class, something about called shots didn't convince me. The DC seems a bit too high: some effects are save-or-lose like stun, daze, suffocate. With a DC == 10 + damage + points spent, I believe it's a bit too high.

Hope you don't mind if I do some math here

Let's take a decently optimized level 11 Archer who started with 20 Dex and now has 26 (+2 increments, +4 item). He also invested his resources in a Fierce Collision Composite +1 bow, and let's say he has 12 Str. Deciding to put all his Dex into damage, he now can shoot an arrow dealing 1d8+8(Vital Aim)+8(Fierce)+5(Collision)+1(enh. bonus)+1(composite) = 1d8+23, averaging 27.5 damage. Let's say he's a skirmisher. His manyshot can employ four arrows for average 110 damage. +2d4 just for kicks. He'll shoot to the head, forcing a Fort DC 129 to not be stunned, dazed, and sickened.

He'll then move 10 feet and add another Manyshot, aiming at an Ability Score of his choice and dealing average 6 damage, DC 129 save.

End result: 225 average damage, target out of combat for two rounds and probably for the rest of the encounter. A bit strong if you ask me.

May I suggest the usual progression of 1/2 Archer level + Dex? Also maybe banning Fierce looks like a sane choice, given Vital Aim to put Dex into damage. Still it's probably over 150 dmg per round at level 11, maybe a bit high, don't know.

Oh and a crit would make stuff explode xD

Moar EDIT: man, I just pictured myself screaming MANYSHOT STRAIGHT IN HIS EYE! while playing. Four arrows in a single eye. Awesomeness. Keep the work up.

For a minute there, I was really worked up - you'd found my secret backdoor a serious flaw in the mechanics to fix- hooray!

But then I remembered that each attack from a manyshot requires its own allotment of archery tokens, and they apply their DC's separately - meaning that, using your example, the DC will be around 27.5 for each effect - 19.5, when you consider that not every DM will allow 3.0 material (the Fierce enhancement, from the A&E, IIRC?) in their 3.5+ games.

His arrows also have to hit, which, while a bunch easier due to chink in the armor, still ends up at around an 83% chance on average (70% to hit the spot DC, 95% to hit unless they're ridiculously Dex based, or have non-standard armor bonuses). While still high, there's a flat miss chance that applies before you even get to apply the effect. Still, I'm thinking of changing it to 10+1/2damage dealt; I've always felt that "character level" - while a good progression statistic mechanically speaking - is incredibly unflavorful. This change would help early characters, and tone later ones way down - An incredibly skilled, high level archer that deals no damage to the monster whose eye he's trying to put out still putting the eye out makes less sense than a lucky shot by a plucky young wannabee's arrow critting for full and slamming right through that eye.

I'd thought about making the Skirmisher's manyshot count as a 'single attack' for all purposes, but it ended up feeling too much like a mobile sniper, without all the studying. The Sniper's path is what's really going to test the limits of called shots' DC's - If it becomes too unbalanced, I might unfavorably switch it to a level-based progression, no matter how flavorful a sniper shooting someone's eye out is.

[chrisrawr]

I'm looking for abilities to replace the Bleed Damage from the Peerless Archer's Volley Path. I'm also looking for aid in fleshing out and balancing the skirmisher's path. Finally, if anyone has ideas for arrows or Precision Abilities, shoot them at me - Arrows are not limited to 3 per level scheme, and Precision Effects, well, if anyone has a way to make some kind of penetrating line shot work, I'm all ears.

Bleed Damage Replacement:
One proposal is extra attacks as free actions, at the cost of Hit points and ability scores. But, devising a system for this that's not inherently abusable (fast healing and strongheart vest somehow?) is looking to be a challenge. Making it encounter or round-based, so as to avoid a 5-minute workday, is another problem. Avoiding the Volley-Man going nova on everything and then retreating to rest in a rope trick or similar easily accessible hide-away is, again, another problem.

My proposal: "The Archery may make a number of desperation attacks each round equal to his Dexterity Bonus. These desperation attacks are made as free actions, any time during the round (even when it is not the Archer's turn). Each desperation attack costs 5 health. For every 10 health spent on this ability, the Archer takes a -1 penalty to Dexterity for the rest of the encounter."

The Skirmisher:
The skirmish path is teetering on the verge of being 'almost worth it' in comparison to the other two, mechanically. If it gets any direct buffs, it becomes silly powerful, in comparison. If I take something out, it looses feel, and becomes clearly underpowered.

I really have nothing to fix this at the moment. I enjoy skirmish battles, blends of stealth and scouting, reactionary clashes and chance encounters, but D&D (and table-top games in general) have always left me feeling a little empty when it comes to this kind of playstyle, so I've got nothing to build on.
Any help with this would be appreciated.

[chrisrawr]

Remaking the paths, splitting Precision Archery into Archer's Tricks and Called Shots.

Path Remake basics: I've re-split the paths into 5 steps, placing step 1 at level 1. This is to immediately differentiate the class's flavors, and make it more attractive overall.



The Skirmish path has been changed quite a bit - it's now much more focused on sustained harassment than it was - repeatedly dancing into range for large gains is now incredibly potent.

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Skirmish

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At 1st Level, the Archer may take a Standard action at any point during a Move Action used to move, though he may not use his Standard action to move as well. (This ability is similar to Fly-by attack. If there is confusion on what one can and can't do with this ability, refer to Fly-by attack.) As well, the Archer gains a +10 Skirmish bonus to all of his Move Speeds

Skirmish

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At 5th Level, the Archer gains the following bonus feats: Manyshot, Greater Manyshot. He gains the benefits of these feats even if he does not meet their prerequisites. If the Archer already has a feat listed here, for each feat listed here he has he may choose another feat that he qualifies for, and gain that instead. As well, the Archer gains the benefits of Evasion during any round he moves more than 10 feet.

Skirmish

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At 10th Level, the Archer gains an extra Standard Action, once per round, that can only be used during a Move Action in which the Archer moves more than 10 feet. This Standard Action cannot be used to move. The Archer may sacrifice this standard action, and the attack gained from a Standard Action Chink in the Armor Spot Check, to gain a Manyshot attack against the target of that spot check instead. The Archer gains the benefits of Improved Evasion during any round in which he moves more than 20 feet.

Skirmish

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At 15th level, the Archer no longer provokes attacks of opportunity due to his movement. The Archer may make "Ranged Charge" attacks, adding his considerable momentum to that of a fired arrow or manyshot. The Archer chooses a target, and moves at least 10 feet towards that target. He sacrifices his regular and skirmish Standard Actions in order to make an attack or Manyshot attack against the target, gaining a +1 Skirmish bonus to his attack and damage rolls, as well as to the numeric effects from his Archer's Tricks or Called Shots. This bonus has a maximum of +5. (For example)

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The Archer moves 30 feet towards his target, firing 3 arrows with a Manyshoy. 1 normal, 1 carrying 2d4 Precision Damage, and 1 Called Shot to the Heart. Each of those arrows gains +3 to the Attack and Damage rolls. The arrow carrying Precision Damage deals 2d4+3 Precision Damage, and the arrow to the Heart deals 1d6+3 bleed and constitution damage.)

Skirmish:

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At 20th level, the Archer takes no penalty to his attack rolls from the use of the Manyshot and Greater Manyshot feats. The Archer gains an Ex Freedom of Movement effect during any movement action he takes, and opponents taking hostile actions that target the Archer suffer a 10% miss chance against him for every 10 feet the Archer has moved during the round, up to a maximum of 30%. Only movement using the Archer's move speeds increases this miss chance. The archer gains a +10 Skirmish bonus to all of his Move Speeds.

The Sniper's path got the least changes - Study Counters from level 1, a few alterations to Sniping and Sniping Attacks, etc. Mostly though, it's retained the core of sitting in one spot for 14 hours and then shooting a hole in someone.

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Sniping

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At 1st level, the Archer may use a Move Action to Study a Target within [10xClass Levels+WIS bonus] feet, adding 1 Study Counter to that target.The Archer may only study 1 Target at a time. If Study Counters have not been added to a Target within 3 rounds, they are removed from that Target at a rate of 1 per round. A Target may have a number of Study Counters applied to it equal to the Archer's class levels plus his WIS bonus.

A Study Counter grants a stackable +1 Study bonus to the Attack and Damage rolls of the Archer's next attack against the Target. As well, for every Study Counter on his target, the Archer removes 5% of his chance to miss against that target, and his critical threat range increases by 1/2 (round down) on his next attack against that target.

If the target is immune to critical hits, the Archer may spend a full round in study, taking no other actions, to negate this immunity for the Archer's next attack against it. This round of study still adds Study Counters, and the same restrictions for adding Study Counters apply to it.

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At 5th Level, the Archer takes only half the penalty due to range on his attack rolls and spot checks. If the Archer successfully attacks a flat-footed foe that is unaware of his location using his Chink in the Armor ability, he may make his first attack of the round into a Sniping Attack. This attack deals double damage (subject to the same restrictions, but not the other benefits of a critical hit, i.e. shocking burst or telling blow), and takes no special penalties if a natural 1 is rolled. If this attack is also a critical hit, do not multiply this extra damage. Instead, add the damage from this ability after calculating the damage from the critical hit. This ability has no effect against creatures that are immune to critical hits. In addition, the penalty for Hiding while sniping is reduced by 10, to a maximum of 0.

Sniping

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At 10th Level, each Move Action the Archer uses to Study a Target adds 1 extra Study Counter to that Target, and the Archer adds his Wis bonus (if any) to his Climb, Hide, and Move Silently checks. The Archer may use Dex instead of Str for Climb checks. The Archer gains Hide in Plain Sight as an Ex ability, usable only in dim light or less, and may move and hide (using the penalty to hide from Sniping) after an attack, but only if that attack was a Sniping Attack (Normally, the move action required to Hide made after an attack does not allow movement.)

Sniping

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At 15th Level, the Archer may distribute up to 3 Study Counters to his Targets with a single Move Action, and may study up to 3 targets at once. The Archer may make a Sniping Attack against a target that is not flat-footed at the time of the attack - though the other restrictions still apply. The bonuses from his Study Counters improve to +2 if the Archer uses the Attack granted by the Standard Action Chink in the Armor Spot Check to make this Sniping Attack. In addition, the penalty for Hiding while sniping is reduced by an additional 10, to a maximum of 0.

Sniping

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At 20th level, the Archer's Hide in Plain Sight ability improves - the Archer can become Invisible as an extrodinary ability whenever he hides, as the spell Greater Invisibility. The Archer may distribute up to 5 Study Counters to his Targets with a single Move Action, and can Study up to 5 Targets. The bonuses from Study Counters double. Study Counters now last until the Archer dismisses them, a free action that can be made any time. Additionally, the Archer automatically confirms critical hits for Sniping Attacks.

The Volley Path has been cleaned up, reduced in attacks slightly, and the capstone has been changed to a more fitting ability. It seriously emphasizes standing one's ground and forcing enemies back with a hail of arrows, rather than tactical positioning or mobility.

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Volley

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At 1st Level, the Archer gains Rapid Shot as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't meet the requirements for it. If the Archer already has Rapid Shot, he may choose another feat that he qualifies for, and gain that instead.

Volley

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At 5th Level, whenever the Archer makes a Full Attack, he may make an extra attack at his full BAB. Every attack roll the Archer makes this round is subject to a -2 penalty. This ability stacks with Rapid Shot, Haste, and similar effects. When the Archer gains the Improved Rapid Shot feat, the penalty from this extra attack is removed.

Volley

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At 10th Level, the Archer now threatens an area of 30 feet with his ranged attacks. He gains Combat Reflexes and Improved Rapid Shot as bonus feats, even if he doesn't meet the prerequisits. If the Archer already have one or both of these feats, he may choose another feat that he qualifies for, for each feat he already has, and gain that instead.

Volley

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At 15th Level, the Archer can now make two Full Attacks as a single Full-Round action. If he does so, he becomes fatigued for the rest of the round at the end of his Turn. If the Archer is immune to fatigue and similar effects, he pays 20 points of health after every use of this ability. This health cost cannot be reduced or negated. The Archer cannot use this ability within one round of suffering from the effects of a negative status, such as Shaken, Sickened, or Fatigued.

Volley

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At 20th Level, the Archery may make a number of desperation attacks each round, equal to his Dexterity Bonus. A single desperation attack can be made as a free action whenever the Archer makes a ranged attack roll. Each desperation attack costs 5HP, which cannot be reduced or negated, and the Archer takes a -1 penalty to Dexterity for the rest of the encounter for every 10 hp he pays in this way.

Finally, I have separated Precision Effects (Now called Archer's Tricks), and Called Shots.

Archer's Tricks (Ex): At 3th level, the Archer gains access to his pool of Archery Tokens, given in the far right column of Table: Archer. He may pay Archery Tokens to apply Archer's tricks to Ranged Attack Rolls. Paying Tokens is a free action: before a Ranged Attack roll, the Archer announces how many Archery Tokens he will pay to enhance that attack, and which effect(s) he will pay for. Paying Tokens does not provoke an attack of opportunity, and can be done any time the Archer makes a ranged attack roll (including outside of his turn, assuming he still has tokens left to pay with). Some of the Archer's Tricks granted by paying tokens have further requirements, which will be listed with them.

During the Archer's Turn, he may use a Swift Action to fully replenish his Token Pool. He may not pay Archery Tokens to gain Archer's Tricks during any turn which he does this, and may not do this on any turn he has paid Archery Tokens, but may otherwise move, attack, and take other actions as normal.

The Archer may only use effects which he can pay all of the cost(s) for. The Archer may not use these effects against targets with concealment from the Archer unless otherwise noted. The range at which these Archer's Tricks affect targets is equal to [Archer's Class levels+DEX Bonus]x10 feet, unless otherwise noted. The Archer may not apply more than 1 Archer's Trick to any single attack, unless otherwise noted.

Archer's Tricks

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Precision Damage

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By Paying 1 Archery Token, the Archer may add +1d4 damage to his attack. This damage is not multiplied on a critical hit. Creatures that are immune to critical hits are immune to this extra damage. The Archer may pay any amount of Archery Tokens for this effect, but the Archer may only pay tokens for Precision damage against targets of successful Chink in the Armor Spot Checks.

Ranged Combat Maneuvers

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By spending 3 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may make that attack into a Ranged Disarm, Ranged Pin, or Ranged Sunder. All of these abilities work exactly as the feats of the same names (from the Complete Warrior), with the following exceptions: The Archer may substitute his Dex for Str when determining the results of the opposed checks, and the range for these maneuvers is the standard range for Archer's Tricks. The Archer may only pay for one of these maneuvers per attack (i.e., he cannot make a single attack a ranged pin and a ranged disarm).

Ranged Trip

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By spending 4 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may attempt to trip his target with that attack. If the attack hits and deals damage, make a trip check as normal, except for the following: The Archer may use his Dex instead of his Str for this check, and does not become tripped if the attempt fails. Improved Trip grants only the +4 bonus on this check - the Archer gains no extra attacks from tripping a foe. The Archer may only gain one trip attempt from any single attack with this effect.

Bounce Shot

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This Archer's Trick may be used against opponents who have concealment from the Archer. By spending 4 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may 'bounce' that attack off of walls, roofs, floors, or other solid surfaces, in order to circumvent cover or obstacles. The attack bounces off of up to 1 surface and takes a -2 penalty to attack and damage, but is treated as if the Archer has line of effect from the point of the surface from which the attack bounced. If the Archer has no line of sight to his target, he must still attack a square, and roll against a miss chance - this effect simply gives the Archer the ability to circumvent objects and obstacles blocking his ability to attack. The Archer may spend an additional number of Tokens equal to half his Archer Class Levels on this effect; for each additional Archery Token paid, the Archer may bounce the Arrow off an additional surface at a cumulative -2 penalty to attack and damage.

Forceful Shot

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By spending 6 Archery Tokens on a ranged attack, the Archer can that attack a Forceful Shot. If the attack hits and deals damage, the target must make a Strength check, DC10+1/2 Damage Dealt, or be pushed back 5 feet, plus an additional 5 feet per 5 points the check is failed by. This Strength check gains any bonuses or penalties the target has to resist a bull rush.

Called Shots (Ex): At 4th Level, the Archer gains the ability to make Called Shots. By spending various Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may hinder his target in various ways. Unless otherwise noted, a called shot takes a -4 penalty to attack. Apply the appropriate effect if the attack hits and deals damage.

A Fortitude save DC 10+1/2 Damage Dealt negates the effects of a called shot. Damage that isn't multiplied on a critical is not counted toward this DC. The effects from a called shot last until either magical healing is received, or a Heal Check that beats the Called Shot's Save DC is performed on the target, although HP damage and ability damage must be healed naturally. The Archer may only apply one of these effects to any single attack, and may not combine Called Shots with Archer's Tricks.

Costs:

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By spending 1 Archery Token on an attack, the Archer may aim that attack at an Arm or Leg of his target.

By spending 3 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may aim that attack at a Foot or Hand of his target.

By spending 5 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may aim that attack at a Throat of his target, or may ignore up 50% miss chance against a target.

By spending 7 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may aim that attack at a Knee or Lung of his target.

By spending 9 Archery Tokens on an attack, the Archer may aim that attack at a Head or Heart of his target.

By spending 11 Archery Tokens on an Attack, the Archer may aim that attack at an Eye or Ability Score of his target.

Effects:

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Ability Score - This attack deals 2d4+1 damage to a target's ability score of the Archer's choice. This effect is not applied to creatures immune to critical hits.

Arm - This attack causes a 1d3+1 penalty to the target's attack, damage, skill, and ability checks made with the arm. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible arms.

Eye - This attack destroys one of the target's eyes - this effect cannot be healed normally. The attack is made at a -8 penalty, instead of the standard -4. The target is also dazed for one round. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible eyes.

Foot - The target takes a -10 penalty to its land speed, to a minimum of 5. This penalty can only be applied once per foot (until healing is received), and can only be made against creatures with discernible feet.

Hand - The target cannot hold objects, make attacks or gestures, or make skill checks with that hand. This effect can only be applied once per hand (until healed). This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible hands.

Head - The target is stunned for 1 round, dazed for 1 round, and then sickened until the damage from this attack is healed. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible heads.

Heart - This effect only applies if the attack deals at least 10 points of damage to the target. The target takes 1d6 bleed damage, and 1d6 points of constitution damage. Using an action to do anything other than move causes another 1 constitution damage. In addition to the normal duration, this effect lasts until the arrow is removed (one full-round action that triggers the constitution damage). This attack can only be made against creatures not immune to critical hits.

Knee/Wing/Flipper - The target can only move over land/air/water as a full-round action, and its appropriate movement speed is halved. If all of a target's knees/wings/flippers have been affected by this ability, that target can no longer use its appropriate speed to move. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible knees, wings, or flippers.

Leg - The target takes a 1d3+1 penalty to the target's attack, damage, skill, and ability checks made with the leg, as well as a -5 penalty to its land speed, to a minimum of 5. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible legs.

Lung - This effect is only applied if the target takes at least 10 points of damage from the attack. The target becomes fatigued. If at least half of the target's lungs have been affected, the target becomes exhausted, instead. If all of the target's lungs have been affected, it immediately begins making saves against suffocation. This attack can only be made against creatures with lungs, that need to breathe, and that are not immune to critical hits.

Throat - The target is unable to create more than a guttering gurgle from the mouth the attacked throat is attached to. This may cause it to be unable to perform the verbal components some spells require. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible throats.

Incoming progress table - some dead levels, I took bonus feats out for now in order to look at how I'm going to progress them.

Spoiler

Show

Table: Archer
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|

Special

|

Archery Tokens

1st|

+1

|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

| Precise Shot, Archer's Path |

0

2nd|

+2

|

+0

|

+3

|

+0

| Chink in the Armor (Standard) |

1

3rd|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|

+1

| Archer's Tricks, Arrow Theory|

3

4th|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

| Called Shots, Vital Aim |

4

5th|

+5

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

| Improved Archer's Path |

5

6th|

+6/+1

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

| Arrow Theory, Bonus Feat |

7

7th|

+7/+2

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

| Chink In the Armor (Move) |

8

8th|

+8/+3

|

+2

|

+6

|

+2

| Practiced Draw |

9

9th|

+9/+4

|

+3

|

+6

|

+3

| Arrow Theory, Exhibitionist|

11

10th|

+10/+5

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

| Greater Archer's Path|

12

11th|

+11/+6/+1

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

| Bonus Feat, Expert Aim|

13

12th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

| Arrow Theory, Chink in the Armor (Swift)|

15

13th|

+13/+8/+3

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

| Improved Precise Shot |

16

14th|

+14/+9/+4

|

+4

|

+9

|

+4

| Renowned Exhibitionist |

17

15th|

+15/+10/+5

|

+5

|

+9

|

+5

|Arrow Theory, Paragon Archer's Path |

19

16th|

+16/+11/+6/+1

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

| Bonus Feat |

20

17th|

+17/+12/+7/+2

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

| Chink in the Armor (Free)|

21

18th|

+18/+13/+8/+3

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

| Arrow Theory |

23

19th|

+19/+14/+9/+4

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

| Legendary Exhibitionist |

24

20th|

+20/+15/+10/+5

|

+6

|

+12

|

+6

| Armor Piercing, Peerless Archer |

25

[/table]

Practiced Draw (Ex): The Archer may now wield a ranged weapon one size smaller or larger than normal at no size penalty. This ability does not stack with similar abilities, such as Powerful Build.


Working on Mounted Path. It's tricky :I

[Wyntonian]

Hey, I'm designing a lowish-magic world, and I'd like to make this a "sponsored" homebrew class, and make it available to players. Are you ok with that?

[chrisrawr]

Hey, I'm designing a lowish-magic world, and I'd like to make this a "sponsored" homebrew class, and make it available to players. Are you ok with that?

Am I ever! You might want to raise the archery/gold costs of some of the abilities and arrows, however, as some are meant to compete with weak spells at later levels. Namely, blindness/deafness arrows can be fun in the hands of a volley archer.

[DracoDei]

Have you looked at the Archery Resource Thread?

Sidenote (and I really need to say this more), I fully support writing up one's own ideas before checking out "prior art" so your ideas are fresh and new, without being shackled to the past. But AFTER that, one should check out what has gone before, so as to hone what you have.

[chrisrawr]

I pulled heavily from the Sniper listed there after Lyndworm suggested it; this archive is wonderful and I'll probably find something to improve on :V Many thanks your way.

Your sniper feat on page 1 is awesome :V Could come in all sorts of handy. I'm thinking of compiling a list of Path feats once I finish the Mounted Path, and get the OP formatted and updated properly. Such a pain~

Improved Close Combat Fighting is... wow. Just thinking of how to fluff it, you'd need to be able to see into the future D: Especially since I'm a fan of having a range increment of over 200, as a rule. Perhaps I'll work it into the path feats, somehow.

I might take a page from Lix Lorn's book; instead of ranged touch attacks, I'll let the Archer negate AC equal to his class level - perhaps his class level + his Wis Mod later on. Armor Piercing will still simply negate the need for a check.

The Demented One's "Nock the Sword" ability is... pure awesome. I need to work it in, somehow, somewhere. To heck with the guy who can throw 16 Katanas a turn, I'll grab the feat that gets me proficiency with improvised werapons, use a dwarf dual-wielding crossbows loaded with petals dual-wielding crossbows, as an improvised weapon, and fire that. With Splitting. Someone should make a picture of that.

On that note, I might pick up a bit of "Strike True" with the Damage reduction reduction. Perhaps by boosting the Chink in the Armor check time one notch - ignoring DR from Armor, shields, and armor and shield enhancements only, where a Standard action would become full-round, etc. I'll need a bit of wording changes to some of the sniper's path abilities, but I suppose it could help?

Maybe I'll add an ability that stacks enhancement effects; I personally think they're fine as is, though I might let the archer alter arrows so that they don't need a +1 enhancement to be enhanced further - saving you a huge chunk on your frost/flaming burst arrows (from +1,000 each to 640, delicious).

On a design note: Should I consolidate the abilities into spoilered blurbs? i.e. have all the Archer's Path abilities under a spoiler at level 1, all of the Chink in the Armor upgrades under a spoiler at level 2, etc.?

Ranged Weapon Aptitude will be added, as it is needed. Thinking of giving the option of a 'Disciplined' path; might just focus on that, instead of mounted path. There's too much wrong with the entire mount system as is for me to be adding to it. I'll give it another couple days.

Might brew up a variation of the Cragtop Archer that progresses a few things, and gains entry at 10th level. This would be as an alternate for 'extreme range' attacks - people want Arcing Shot and 15 range increments. I don't feel that it's for this class, as there's a 4 level (lastlevelissouselessohgod.) PrC that does it, and does it well.



As a side note, I really want to gestalt Kellus' Sagittarius with his Truenamer. Delicious hueg bonus to truespeaking. I am a bad person, and that is all.

[DracoDei]

You are welcome.

[jojolagger]

Level 20 sniper, with 20 Wis, has been studying someone for about 30 seconds. Said sniper now get's +50 to attacks/Damage agaisnt them, a threat range of about -6 to 20, and ignore the first 250% miss chance against them. Unless they attack using the standard action chink in the Armor, in which case it's +100 to attack/damage. And the tokens only ever go away if he want's them to. The bonuses even apply to melee attacks. Oh, and you auto-confirm crits, so it's more like +100 attack +200 damage.
And that's without archer's tricks. Throw in forceful shot to throw the enemy back 60 feet (assuming enemy is pulling +25 STR at level 20).

Vs. the tarrasque, a sniper can drop it in 6 rounds. And can throw it back about 70 feet with a single arrow.
A solar or pit fiend dies after a snipers first shot.
A sniper can drop a great wyrm gold dragon, the highest CR creature in the monster manual, in 2 shots..

[Lyesmith]

Level 20 sniper, with 20 Wis, has been studying someone for about 30 seconds. Said sniper now get's +50 to attacks/Damage agaisnt them, a threat range of about -6 to 20, and ignore the first 250% miss chance against them. Unless they attack using the standard action chink in the Armor, in which case it's +100 to attack/damage. And the tokens only ever go away if he want's them to. The bonuses even apply to melee attacks. Oh, and you auto-confirm crits, so it's more like +100 attack +200 damage.
And that's without archer's tricks. Throw in forceful shot to throw the enemy back 60 feet (assuming enemy is pulling +25 STR at level 20).

Vs. the tarrasque, a sniper can drop it in 6 rounds. And can throw it back about 70 feet with a single arrow.
A solar or pit fiend dies after a snipers first shot.
A sniper can drop a great wyrm gold dragon, the highest CR creature in the monster manual, in 2 shots..

Boom. Headshot.

[jojolagger]

Boom. Headshot.

You can do said damage with a foot shot.

[ILM]

I've got three comments about the class:
1. Greater Skirmisher: granting extra standard actions is a bad thing. The one thing that's sure to break the game (or give a player the power to do so) is breaking the action economy. Even WotC had to admit this when they nerfed Haste. Granted, you'd need 10 levels of Archer to get this so it's not going on a full caster chassis, but you're still asking for trouble. Why don't you rephrase it to something more specific?

2. A level 20 archer pretty much auto-hits anything he wants to (ranged touch, full BAB, take 10 on the roll: nothing has that kind of touch AC)... unless they're a level 5 caster, in which case they have Wind Wall and the Archer is rendered completely useless. You need a way to deal with that.

3. I also think you need to cap the Sniper's Study Counters earlier. Maybe 1/2 class levels + Wis? Or cap the number of rounds you can observe a target for (say, three).

[Knaight]

A solar or pit fiend dies after a snipers first shot.
A sniper can drop a great wyrm gold dragon, the highest CR creature in the monster manual, in 2 shots..

Both the solar and pit fiend have methods to not get shot that aren't AC or miss chance. Still, a limit to time spent studying a target (say, 2 rounds) would probably be helpful.

[chrisrawr]

Casting Revive! I've been away a long time, and in that time I learned a lot about homebrew and creation in general. Since this project was one I enjoyed immensely, I'm going to be working some magic on it over the next few weeks during breaks and lunch at work. Here's what I've got so far! Replace all instances of SPECIAL with STUFF I'M WORKING ON, and all rules not mentioned yet are also STUFF I'M WORKING ON

Spoiler

Show

GAME RULE INFORMATION
Archers have the following game statistics.
Abilities: Dexterity provides accuracy and damage, but only if you have enough strength to wield a powerful bow. Wisdom is important, as Spot plays an important role. Intelligence may serve you well as a scout or skill-monkey.
Alignment: Archers are best suited towards the Neutral alignments, favoring patience, and acting on a big-picture agenda.
Hit Die: d6
Starting Age: As Fighter
Starting Gold: As Fighter


Table: Archer
{table=head]Level|BAB|Fort|Ref|Will|

Special

|

Archery Tokens

1st|

+1

|

+0

|

+2

|

+0

| Precise Shot, Archer's Path |

5

2nd|

+2

|

+0

|

+3

|

+0

|Arrow Theory|

10

3rd|

+3

|

+1

|

+3

|

+1

| Path Advancement |

15

4th|

+4

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

| Vital Aim |

20

5th|

+5

|

+1

|

+4

|

+1

| Path Advancement |

25

6th|

+6/+1

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

| Arrow Theory, Called Shots |

30

7th|

+7/+2

|

+2

|

+5

|

+2

| Path Advancement |

35

8th|

+8/+3

|

+2

|

+6

|

+2

|Faster Shots, Practiced Draw|

40

9th|

+9/+4

|

+3

|

+6

|

+3

| Path Advancement |

45

10th|

+10/+5

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|Arrow Theory, Exhibitionist|

50

11th|

+11/+6/+1

|

+3

|

+7

|

+3

|Path Advancement|

55

12th|

+12/+7/+2

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

| Expert Aim |

60

13th|

+13/+8/+3

|

+4

|

+8

|

+4

| Path Advancement |

65

14th|

+14/+9/+4

|

+4

|

+9

|

+4

| Arrow Theory, Renowned Exhibitionist |

70

15th|

+15/+10/+5

|

+5

|

+9

|

+5

| Path Advancement |

75

16th|

+16/+11/+6/+1

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

|Bonus Feat, Faster Shots|

80

17th|

+17/+12/+7/+2

|

+5

|

+10

|

+5

| Arrow Theory, SPECIAL? |

85

18th|

+18/+13/+8/+3

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

| Path Advancement |

90

19th|

+19/+14/+9/+4

|

+6

|

+11

|

+6

| Legendary Exhibitionist, SPECIAL? |

95

20th|

+20/+15/+10/+5

|

+6

|

+12

|

+6

| Path Advancement, SPECIAL?|

100

[/table]


Skill Points: (4 + Int modifier) per level, x4 at first level.

Class Skills: The Archer’s class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Heal (Wis), Hide (Dex), Intimidate, Listen (Wis), Knowledge: Nature (Int), Move Silently (Dex), Ride (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), and Use Rope (Dex).

Unless noted, all abilities are (Ex) effects, and all attack modifiers only affect ranged attacks.
Proficiencies: The Archer gains proficiency with Simple weapons and Ranged Martial Weapons, Light and Medium armor, and Bucklers. The Archer gains proficiency with a Ranged Exotic Weapon of his choice, as long as that weapon can be purchased with gold available at character creation. As well, Archer levels count as, and stack with, Fighter levels for the purposes of qualifying for Fighter Bonus Feats that affect ranged weapons. (For example, a Fighter 2 / Archer 2 would count as Fighter 4 for taking Fighter Feats)

Archery Tokens: The column on the right gives a character's Archery Tokens. Archery Tokens are used for a number of the Archers' special abilities. An Archer gains a pool of Archery Tokens which fills at the beginning of each of the Archer's turns, and which may not be filled beyond maximum.

Level 1: Precise Shot and the Archer's Path
At first level, the Archer gains Precise Shot as a bonus feat, even if he doesn't qualify for it. The Archer also picks which path to follow, from the following: Skirmishers Path, Sniper's Path, Volley-man’s Path. Only Archer levels count towards the progression of these abilities. The benefits of each path are described below -

Skirmishers Path:

Spoiler

Show

Upon taking the Skirmishers Path, the Skirmisher gains a 10 foot Skirmish Bonus to all of his movement speeds. He may take his Standard action at any point during a Move Action used to move. Only normal movement (using one of the Skirmishers' movement speeds) counts toward satisfying any conditions involving movement from the Skirmishers abilities. (i.e. being teleported does not count toward any of the Skirmishers' abilities).

At 3rd level, attacks and hostile effects that target the Skirmisher specifically will miss the him 10% + Archer Levels% + INT% of the time during any round the Skirmisher has moved.

At 5th level, the Skirmisher may negate a number of attacks of opportunity from his movement each turn equal to his INT modifier. A negated attack of opportunity does not count toward a character's limit. The Skirmisher gains a 10 foot Skirmish Bonus to all of his movement speeds.

At 7th level, the Skirmisher gains the Multishot and Greater Multishot feats.

At 9th Level, the Skirmisher gains an extra Standard Action during any turn he moves. He gains a 10 foot Skirmish Bonus to all of his movement speeds.

At 11th level, the Skirmishers flight skill increases by 1 step if he can fly. He gains the ability to walk on walls at half his land speed, if he did not already have it. He is unhindered by difficult terrain.

At 13th level, the Skirmisher gains SR 15+Archer Levels against spells that limit or impede movement, but only during turns he's already moved.He gains a 10 foot Skirmish Bonus to all of his movement speeds.

At 15th Level, the Skirmisher gains another extra Standard Action during any turn he uses a Standard Action to move.

At 18th Level, the Skirmisher gains (Ex) Freedom of Movement during any round he's moved. His movement speeds gain a 10 foot Skirmish bonus.

At 20th Level, the Skirmisher gains that extra Standard Action during any turn he moves. The Skirmisher may sacrifice any 2 Standard or Move actions for a Full-Round action. (Allowing up to 2 Full-Round actions each turn!) He may fire ranged attacks through up to 10+INT feet of intervening matter or spell-work (including force effects) unhindered (his arrow essentially phases up to 10+INT feet.) The Skirmisher must still roll miss chance if he doesn't have sight to his target, and still takes any applicable penalties for concealment or total concealment.

The Sniper's Path:

Spoiler

Show

The Sniper may use a Move Action to Study a Target within 50+Search feet. This Distance increases to 75+Search feet at level 5, 100+Search feet at level 10, 125+Search feet at level 15, and 150+Search feet at level 20.

Studying a target adds WIS Study Counters to that target at level 1, WIS+1 at level 5, WIS+2 at level 10, WIS+3 at level 15, and WIS+4 at level 20.

The Archer may only study 1 Target at a time at level 1, 2 at level 5, 3 at level 10, 4 at level 15, and 4+.5WIS at level 20. If Study Counters have not been added to a Target within 3 rounds, they are all removed from that Target.

A Target may have a number of Study Counters applied to it equal to the Archer's class levels plus his WIS bonus. Study Counters may only be spent when the Target is unaware of the Sniper, and only on attacks being made – you can't spend study counters on an attack that will be made next round, for instance.

At 3rd level, The Sniper may spend a Study Counters to apply a +1 Study bonus to the Attack or Damage roll of his next attack against the Target. If the Sniper successfully attacks a flat-footed foe that is unaware of his location, his first attack of the round becomes a Sniping Attack. Sniping Attacks deal additional damage equal to the Sniper's Archer Levels + Wis Bonus. If this attack is also a critical hit, do not multiply this extra damage. This damage is ignored by Targets immune to critical hits.

At 5th level, the Sniper reduces the penalty due to range on his attack rolls and spot checks by his Archer Levels + WIS. The Sniper's penalty to Hiding while sniping is reduced by 10, to a maximum of 0. The Sniper may spend Study Counters to Remove 5% of his chance to miss on his next attack against the Target.

At 7th Level, the Sniper adds WIS to his climb, hide, and move silently checks, and may use Dex instead of Str for climb checks. The Sniper may spend Study Counters to lower the Archery Token Cost of his next attack against that Target by 1.

At 9th level, If the Target is immune to critical hits or precision damage, the Archer may spend a full round in study, taking no other actions, to negate this immunity for the Archer's next attack against it. This round of study still adds Study Counters, and the same restrictions for adding Study Counters apply to it. The Sniper may spend Study Counters to increase his Critical Threat range by 1/2 (round down) on his next attack against the Target.

At 11th Level, the Sniper gains Hide in Plain Sight as an Ex ability, usable only in dim light or less, and may move and hide (using the penalty to hide from Sniping) after an attack, but only if that attack was a Sniping Attack (Normally, the move action required to Hide made after an attack does not allow movement – this essentially allows a Sniper to strafe-run targets from the shadows.) The Sniper may spend study counters against a target that is aware of the Sniper, but not his location.

At 13th Level, the Sniper may make a Sniping Attack against a target that is not flat-footed at the time of the attack - though the other restrictions still apply. The Attack and Damage bonuses from his Study Counters improve to +2 per Study Counter for Sniping Attacks.

At 15th level, the Sniper may Hide in Plain Sight in all conditions, though he takes a -10 penalty in open, brightly lit areas. The Sniper's penalty to Hide while sniping is reduced to 0, before any other modifications. The Sniper may move at full speed with no penalty to hide or move silently.

At 18th level, Study Counters now last until the Archer dismisses them, a free action that can be made any time. Additionally, the Archer automatically confirms critical hits for Sniping Attacks. Study Counters can be spent on any target at any time.

At 20th level, the Sniper's Hide in Plain Sight ability improves - the Archer becomes Invisible as an extraordinary ability whenever he hides, as the spell Invisibility. The Sniper may take 10 for his attack roll when attacking from such an invisible state.

[Lyndworm]

Wow! This is looking really good, man. I can't wait to check in once you've got the STUFF a little more fleshed out.

[chrisrawr]

Oh, sure, way to make my day, man. What an upper. Punk.

Volleyman's Path:

Spoiler

Show

The Volleyman's path is perhaps the most reliant on Archery Tokens, and gains his Archer Level as a bonus to his Archery Token pool. Taking the Volleyman's Path grants the Bonus Feat, Rapid Shot.

From 1st level onward, a Volleyman may spend a full pool of Archery Tokens to make an extra ranged attack at Full BAB as a free action during your turn. This ranged attack must be made against an enemy you've already attacked this turn, and uses the same weapon as that attack.

At 3rd level, the Volleyman may re-roll missed ranged attacks for 10 Archery Tokens.This ability may only be used once per attack, and the only the re-rolled attack counts towards effects that take hits or misses into account (such as Woodland Archer).

At 5th Level, whenever the Archer makes a ranged Full Attack, he may make an extra ranged attack at his full BAB. Every ranged attack roll the Archer makes this round is subject to a -2 penalty. This ability stacks with Rapid Shot, Haste, and similar effects.

At 7th level, each Ranged Attack that hits a target refills the Volleyman's Archery Token pool by 5. This may not take the pool over its maximum.

At 9th level, the Volleyman threatens an area of 30 feet with ranged weapons. He gains Combat reflexes as a bonus feat.

At 11th level, the Archer gains Improved Rapidshot. The Volleyman may now make 2 additional ranged attacks at his full BAB, instead of 1, in exchange for a full Archery Token pool.

At 13th level, any damage done by the Volleyman's ranged attacks also replenishes his Archery Token pool for that amount.

At 15th level, the Volleyman may make two Full Attacks as a single Full-Round action. If he does so, he becomes fatigued for the rest of the round at the end of his Turn. If the Archer is immune to fatigue and similar effects, he pays 20% of his maximum HP after every use of this ability. This health cost cannot be reduced or negated. The Archer cannot use this ability within one round of suffering from the effects of a negative status, such as Shaken, Sickened, Level-Drained, turned to stone, Fatigued, etc.

At 18th level, any ranged weapon the Volleyman wields gains the benefit of the Splitting enchantment.

At 20th level, a Volleyman may make a number of desperation ranged attacks each round, equal to his Dexterity Bonus. A desperation ranged attack is a ranged attack with the Volleyman's currently wielded ranged weapon made at full BAB. A single desperation ranged attack can be made as a free action, as a part of any non-desperation ranged attack roll. Each desperation attack costs 5HP, which cannot be reduced or negated, and the Archer takes a -1 penalty to Dexterity for the rest of the encounter for every 10HP he pays in this way.

STUFF incoming

Arrow Theory: At levels 2, 6, 10, 14, and 17, the Archer gains the ability to craft one of the following specialty arrows. Anyone without an Archer level takes a -4 penalty to Attacks made with these arrows. An Archer may combine 2 arrows known to him by passing Craft and Knowledge: Engineering checks, each with DC equal to the Craft DC of the Higher plus half that of the lower. The cost and time is double the highest.

Table: Crafting
{table=head]Name|Cost|Crafting DC|Time:|Effect
5xIncendiary Arrow|2GP|15|3 Hours| Adds 1 point of Fire Damage to the attack and ignites the target.
5xBurrowing Arrow|2GP|15|3 Hours| Counts as Bludgeoning/Piercing, will imbed into stone or wooden surfaces, holds up to 200lb. Bypasses the hardness of objects and constructs.
5xFar-Shot Arrow|3GP|15|3 Hours| Increases the Firer's range increment by 20 feet, firer may shoot up to 2 extra range increments.
5xSwift Arrow|3GP|15|3 Hours| Firer ignores penalties for first 2 range increments.
5xSwimming Arrow|5GP|20|5 Hours|Firer ignores penalties for underwater ranged attacks.
5xShattering Arrow|7gp|20|5 Hours|Deals 1d4 slashing damage in a 5-foot burst centered on the opponent hit.
5xPoisonVial Arrow|10GP|20|5 Hours|+2 to the DC of any poisons applied by it.
5xFlashbang Arrow|15GP|25|7 Hours| causes 1d4 rounds of blindness and deafness in a 10-foot burst when it strikes an opponent. Fortitude save DC equal to 5+1/2 the Craft Check used to create the arrow. Opponents are dazzled for 1 round on a successful save. Resolve misses as if it were a thrown splash weapon.
5xFog Arrow|20GP|25|7 Hours|Target is affected as if by the Fog spell, except the 20x20 burst is (Ex). By voluntarily increasing the craft DC by 10, the Archer my add poisons to this Fog. If he does so, creatures in the Fog's area take 1d4 acid damage per round, and become Nauseated (Save DC 5+1/2 the Craft Check used to create the arrow) Resolve misses as if it were a thrown splash weapon.
5xDraining Arrow|30GP|30|8 Hours|Causes 1 point of bleed damage. This damage stacks with itself. This bleed damage is removed if the target receives a heal check DC15, or is magically healed for at least 1 point of damage.
5xExploding Arrow|30GP|30|8 Hours|Explodes upon hitting a target, dealing 1d6 points of force damage and 1d6 points of fire damage in a 10 foot burst. Resolve misses as if it were a thrown splash weapon.
[/table]

Vital Aim: At 4th Level, once per ranged attack, the Archer may spend an Archery Token to add his DEX to that ranged attack's damage. This damage is treated the same way as damage from a high STR mod is treated.

Called Shots: Beginning at level 6, the Archer may spend Archery Tokens and a Full-Round action to make a Ranged attack that applies a special effect. At level 8, the Called Shot may be made as a Standard Action. At level 16, you may spend Archery Tokens to apply the effects to any ranged attack made.

Each effect may only be applied once to each body part. Some effects will not work against targets immune to critical hits - these will be specified.

The effects of a called shot are negated if any magical healing is received, or if a DC8+Archer Level Heal check succeeds on the Target. Each of these effects has a Fortitude or Reflex save (choose the highest) equal to the Attack Roll or the Damage (choose the highest) to negate.

For 11 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot to an arm or leg of the Target. If the attack hits, it causes a 1d3+1 penalty to the target's attack, damage, skill, and ability checks made with that arm or leg. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible arms or legs, and its effects apply only once per arm or leg affected. Its effects stack if multiple limbs are being used to perform the same action (wielding a 2-handed weapon, climbing, etc.)

For 26 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot to a hand or foot of a target. If Foot, the target takes a -10 penalty to its land speed, to a minimum of 5. This penalty can only be applied once per foot (until healing is received), and can only be made against creatures with discernible feet.

Against the Hand, the target cannot hold objects, make attacks or gestures, or make skill checks with that hand. This effect can only be applied once per hand (until healed). This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible hands.

For 41 Archery Tokens, the Archery may call his shot against the Throat of a Target, or ignore concealment for that attack. Against the Throat, the target is unable to create more than a guttering gurgle from the mouth the attacked throat is attached to. This may cause it to be unable to perform the verbal components some spells require. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible throats, and its effects apply only once per throat (until healing is received).

For 56 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot to the Knee or Lung of a Target. Against the Knee (which includes wing-joint, flipper, etc.), the target can only move over land/air/water as a full-round action, and its appropriate movement speed is halved. If all of a target's knees have been affected by this ability, that target can no longer use its corresponding speed to move. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible knees and its effects apply only once per Knee (until healing is received).

Against the Lung, if the Target loses at least 10% of his max health from the attack, the target becomes fatigued. If at least half of the target's lungs have been affected (usually 2, but DM's call), the target becomes exhausted, instead. If all of the target's lungs have been affected, it immediately begins making saves against suffocation as if its CON was 0. This attack can only be made against creatures with lungs, that need to breathe, and that are not immune to critical hits, and its effects apply only once per Lung (until healing is received).

For 71 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot to a Head or Heart of the target. Against the Head, the target is sickened until healing has been received, stunned for 1 round, and dazed for 1 round after that. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible heads, and its effects may only be applied once per head (until healed).

Against the Heart, Roll an appropriate knowledge check for the Target, DC=CR. The effects of this called shot may only be applied if this check is passed. If the Target loses at least 10% of his max health from the attack, he takes 1D6 CON damage, and 1D6 Bleeding. Unlike a normal called shot, the effects last until the arrow is removed, and the CON damage must be healed normally or by magic. If an affected target has multiple hearts, each heart after the first reduces both damages by 1, to a minimum of 1. This attack can only be made against creatures with hearts, that are not immune to critical hits, and its effects may only be applied once per heart (until healed). If CON is reduced to 0 or below, the Target immediately dies.

For 86 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot to an Eye of his target, or double the critical range of his next attack. Against the eye, his attack destroys one of the target's eyes. Unlike a normal called shot, this effect must be healed by either Regeneration or Magic. This attack can only be made against creatures with discernible eyes, and its effects applied only once per eye. If the target would make a save against massive damage, the DC is increased by 5.

For 91 Archery Tokens, the Archer may call his shot directly against an ability score of his target. The attack is representative of the Archer seriously hampering his target, and you might represent it with dismemberment a series of well-placed arrows to a specific region. To apply the effects of this called shot, the Archer must pass a Knowledge check with DC = 5+Target's CR. If this check is failed, the attack does nothing - not even damage. Additionally, the target must lose at least 10% of his max health from the attack for the effects to apply. If these conditions are met, the target takes 2d6+1 points of damage to the ability score of your choice. This damage is permanent and can only be healed at an unalterable rate of 1 point per 8 hours of rest. This attack's effects may be applied once to each of a Target's ability scores (until healed).

For 100 Archery Tokens, the Archer's next attack will kill the target. The target must lose at least 20% of his maximum health from the attack, Massive Damage must be triggered, and the Archer must succeed on a Knowledge check with DC = 5+Target's CR.

[Rapidghoul]

I really like this. It's nice to see some ranged-fighter love.

Some of it... is exceptionally complicated. Skirmisher's % miss chance is kind of INSANE to use every attack. A simple bonus to AC like the Scout's Skirmish would be a lot simpler and easier to understand (+1 AC = 5% miss chance), or maybe just give them general Concealment. Simplicity is always appealing.

Is there a reason the class gets actions as they move rather than attack actions? Giving them bonus standard actions / full-round actions can apply to a lot of unrelated stuff like casting spells, but if you made it specifically bonus attacks you'd accomplish the same thing for moving attackers.

Overall, I like this a lot. There's a LOT to go over, but good by what I can tell.

[chrisrawr]

:D thanks for the feedback. With the skirmisher. I figured the level sink would be thw biggest detriment to caster abuse. Might be a gestalt issue, but really, gestalt casters are already broken beyond the pale, so an extra salvo in a game of rocket tag isn't going to be noticed much. I agree the miss chance might get tedious. Ill change it to an intbased ac bonus.The main reason for bonus standard actions is they can be used to manyshot, or run, or set traps, or do any number of speedy things. Action economy is the easiest way to level the caster/martial field.

[chrisrawr]

Reopened for PEACH and suggestions.

[chrisrawr]

Re-open for feedback, I'll be updating this incrementally and a re-do might be in order.

[Chaos_Laicosin]

Ok... A little drunk, so I might not remember everything a read 10 minutes ago...

Anyway, this seems to be vary similar to an arching class I wanted to make a little while ago (I was going to go Box/xbow/handxbow, similar to volley/snipe/skirmish) and it seems to work out pretty well.

However, I was thinking that a sniping path would be more for strategic reasons, such as extra spot distance (3x maybe?) so that they could set up the field and dictate assault against multiple opponents. And automatic crit hits with extended target study.

I WAS going to have my h-xbow path using a specialized h-xbow (though in retrospect it might no make sense to have it class-limited) that would have 2 triggers, one to shoot and one to re-load. Effectively allowing one to dual wield ranged weapons (to 30 ft.) without having to use 2 hands to reload. Though I was going to have it as one size lower in damage. This might make moot your skirmisher's extra action when using a FRA for movement, though.

Also, hi-5 on the arrow crafting. Way more option than I could think up.


Just some thoughts and comments. I might make a separate class using some of your ideas.

[chrisrawr]

Thanks :D I actually really want to steal a lot from some of the more recent archer classes that've popped up (MoL's is beautiful!), so definitely look out for changes you'll like.

I especially want to continue cutting away at the base issue for snipers, which is yeah - spot, and feeling like you've significantly damaged something when you've spent time studying it, without making it into a "I wait 10 turns and then shoot"-action route.

I'm also working on updating this entirely to pathfinder, as that's what's being used in more of my gaming IRL; continuing to remove the "dip" viability is another important aspect... womp womm

[chrisrawr]

Reopening. Some of the abilities feel forced or out of place at certain levels, but I'm feeling brainfarty. Open to suggestions, but want to retain lack of needing to hit, and poor BAB if lack-of-need-to-hit is negated for whatever reason.