Trinity:Archer

The original archer class appears here, and is not my own work. It has been modified from its original version for balance reasons.

The Archer

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1	+1	+0	+2	+0	Archery, Bow Prowess, Point Blank Shot
2	+2	+0	+3	+0	Bowcraft, Take Aim
3	+3	+1	+3	+1	Archery
4	+4	+1	+4	+1
5	+5	+1	+4	+1	Favored Bow
6	+6/+1	+2	+5	+2
7	+7/+2	+2	+5	+2	Archery
8	+8/+3	+2	+6	+2	Defensive Shot
9	+9/+4	+3	+6	+3	Archery
10	+10/5	+3	+7	+3
11	+11/+6/+1	+3	+7	+3	Special Ability
12	+12/+7/+2	+4	+8	+4
13	+13/+8/+3	+4	+8	+4	Archery
14	+14/+9/+4	+4	+9	+4	Special Ability
15	+15/+10/+5	+5	+9	+5	Archery
16	+16/+11/+6/+1	+5	+10	+5
17	+17/+12/+7/+2	+5	+10	+5	Special Ability
18	+18/+13/+8/+3	+6	+11	+6
19	+19/+14/+9/+4	+6	+11	+6	Archery
20	+20/+15/+10/+5	+6	+12	+6	Special Ability

The Archer

Archers

The archer excels in combat at a distance, using skill, speed, and accuracy to deadly effect. A standard and distinct fantasy archetype, unlike any other warrior focused on a specific weapon or weapon group, the archer has little use for the typical trappings of warriors – she values agility and skill over brute force and weapon prowess. An experienced archer can be more adept than a fighter bowman, more dedicated than the ranger stylist, faster than a hasted barbarian, and deadlier than the most cunning assassin – and can bring all four down in a storm of arrows.

Archer is a profession often pursued by humans, elves, and half-elves.

Game Rule Information

Archers have the following game statistics.

Force Alignment: None.

Force Resistances: None.

Abilities: Dexterity is absolutely vital to the archer, as her prowess with the bow and ability to dodge blows depend upon it. Wisdom and Strength also benefit many class skills, with Strength allowing her to wield mighty bows. Lightly armored, the archer benefits greatly from a high Constitution score to survive attacks.

Hit Die: d8.

Class Skills: The archer’s class skills are Balance (Dex), Climb (Str), Concentration (Con), Craft (Int), Hide (Dex), Move Silently (Dex), Profession (Wis), Ride (Dex), Spot (Per), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Points at Each Level: 4 + Int.

Alignment: Any.

Starting Age: As a fighter.

Starting Gold: 6d4 x 10gp.

Favored By: Selkies.

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the archer.

Weapons and Armor Proficiency: Archers are proficient with all simple weapons and all martial bows. They are proficient with light armor but not with shields.

Archery [1st/3rd/7th/9th/13th/15th/19th]: The archer masters the bow and arrow. At the indicated levels, she gains the benefit of one of the following feats for which she qualifies: Deflect Arrows, Far Shot, Improved Critical (Any bow), Improved Mounted Archery [CWar], Improved Precise Shot, Improved Rapid Shot [CWar], Manyshot, Mounted Archery, Precise Shot, Ranged Disarm [CWar], Ranged Pin [CWar], Ranged Sunder [CWar], Rapid Shot, Sharp-Shooting [CWar], Shot on the Run, Snatch Arrows, or Weapon Focus (Any bow).

Point Blank Shot: She receives the Point Blank Shot feat for free.

Bowcraft [2nd level]: The archer receives a +2 bonus on all Craft (Bowmaking) checks.

Take Aim [2nd level]: By aiming carefully, she can dramatically increase the accuracy of her arrow. As full-round action, the archer can Take Aim at a stationary target with a single arrow, granting her a +4 circumstance bonus to her attack roll. She can choose to continue to Take Aim for an additional number of rounds equal to half her archer level. Each additional round spent Taking Aim requires a Concentration check (DC 15 + 2 for each round aiming beyond the 1st round); success adds another +2 bonus to her attack roll with the pending arrow, failure requires her to let loose her arrow the round she fails the check or lose any accumulated bonuses. The archer can accumulate a maximum Aim bonus no higher than 4 + her archer level.

While aiming, the archer is considered to have a readied action to fire her arrow should the target move or attempt to move out of range. She loses all aiming bonuses if the target moves more than 5 feet from its position when the archer began to Take Aim.

If she takes damage while Taking Aim, the archer must succeed at a Concentration check (DC 10 + damage dealt) or lose any accumulated Take Aim bonuses and have her aim disrupted. Even succeeding at the check requires her to let loose her arrow that round or lose her accumulated bonuses. Take Aim does not stack with other bonuses based on aiming at a target.

Favored Bow [5th level]: The archer’s arrows strike with deadly effect. She gains the Weapon Specialization feat in any bow in which she is proficient, even if she does not qualify for the feat.

Defensive Shot [8th level]: She learns to fire her bow even in the heat of battle without leaving herself vulnerability to attacks. The archer gains the Defensive Shot feat for free, even if she does not qualify for the feat, allowing her to fire a single arrow each round without provoking an attack of opportunity from threatening foes.

Special Ability [11th/14th/17th/20th level]: The archer learns unusual maneuvers with the bow and arrow, such as ricocheting arrows off walls or peppering her enemies with volleys of arrows. At 11th level and every three levels thereafter, she may select one of the following special abilities; unless otherwise noted, each special ability can selected only once:

• Advanced Archery: The archer can select an additional feat from the Archery class feature, which she enjoys when in no more than light armor. In addition to those feats in the Archery list, the archer can select as a standard bonus feat (which she enjoys regardless of armor worn) one of the following feats for which she qualifies: Greater Weapon Focus (Any bow), Greater Weapon Specialization (Any bow), Weapon Focus (Any bow), or Weapon Specialization (Any bow). She may substitute her archer level for any required fighter level when qualifying for a feat selected. New feats are listed at the end of this post. Advanced Archery can be taken multiple times.
• Armored Archery: She can now use her Archery feats when wearing no more than Medium armor – although this special ability does not grant proficiency in any armor. Taken twice, Armored Archery allows her to use Archery feats regardless of armor worn.
• Bow Mastery: She selects any bow in which she enjoys Weapon Specialization, such as her Favored Bow. When using this weapon, she enjoys an additional +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls. Bow Mastery can be taken multiple times, applying to a different bow each time.
• Critical Shot: She selects any bow in which she enjoys Weapon Specialization, such as her Favored Bow. When using this weapon, the threat range is increased by 1 (from 19-20 to 18-20, for example), which stacks with other effects increasing threat range, and the archer enjoys a +2 bonus to her confirming critical rolls. Critical Shot can be taken multiple times, applying to a different bow each time.
• Deadly Precision: As a full round action, she can fire a single arrow at a target that deals an additional 1d8 points of damage; she may use this ability in conjunction with Take Aim and Sneak Attack. Deadly Precision can be taken multiple times.
• Eagle-Eyed: Her eyes are sharp. Any ranged penalty the archer suffers when using a bow is decreased by 1. For example, an archer using a longbow now suffers only a –1 penalty when firing at targets between 100 and 199 feet away, a –3 penalty to targets between 200 and 299 feet away, etc. Eagle-Eyed can be taken multiple times, each time reducing the penalty by –1 (to no lower than -1).
• Evasion: If she makes a successful Reflex saving throw against an attack that normally deals half damage on a successful save, she instead takes no damage. An extraordinary ability, Evasion can be used only if the archer is in no more than light armor, carrying no more than a light load, and not rendered helpless.
• Pepper Shot: Once per day as a full attack action, the archer can fire a flurry of arrows at a single target. She can fire two additional arrows at the target than her BAB would normally allow, and each arrow strikes at her highest BAB with a –2 penalty. For example, an archer with a +14/+9/+4 BAB can fire five arrows at a single target at +12/+12/+12/+12/+12. Pepper Shot cannot be combined with other effects that increase the number of arrows fired per round, such as Rapid Shot.
• Snipe: She gains +1d6 Sneak Attack damage on ranged attacks against targets within 30 feet. Each time Snipe is selected, the bonus increases by +1d6.
• Trick Shot: As a full round action, the archer can fire a single arrow at a target within 20 feet of the face of a wall (but not against the wall), ricochet the arrow off the wall, and strike the target, which is considered flat-footed for the purposes of Sneak Attack damage even if aware of the archer’s presence. Trick Shot also allows the archer to ignore one step of a target’s cover (three-quarters becomes one-half, etc.), if any, and to strike an unseen target just around a corner as if it only had three-quarters cover, as long as the archer is aware of the target (can see a shadow, can hear its voice, etc.) and the target is within 10 feet of the targeted wall.
• Volley of Arrows: Once per day as a full attack action, the archer can fire an arrow at each target within range, to a maximum of one target per 2 levels of archer. Each arrow uses the archer’s highest BAB bonus, and each enemy can only be targeted by a single arrow.