Arcane Archer

Arcane Archers are warriors who combine their skill at archery with a magical talent. Any bow becomes frightfully accurate in their hands, whilst their arrows are enchanted to deliver spells from afar. Few can stand against the resulting chaos and bloodshed for long. Fighters, rangers, paladins, and barbarians become arcane archers to add a little magic to their combat abilities. Conversely, wizards and sorcerers may take this prestige class to add combat capabilities to their repertoire.

Properties

• Hit Die: d8.
• AB Progression: High.
• Primary Save: Fortitude and Reflex.
• Skill Points: 4 + Int Modifier.
• Class Skills: Concentration, Knowledge, Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth.

Requirements

• Base Attack Bonus: +3.
• Feats: Weapon Focus in Longbow or Shortbow.
• Skills: Spellcraft 7.
• Spellcasting: 3 levels in an arcane class.

Progression

Available

Lvl	BAB	Saves			Feats	HP range		Arrow enchantment
		Fort	Ref	Will
1st	+1	+2	+2	+0	Enchant Arrow I, Frost Arrow	8±CON Modifier		+1
2nd	+2	+3	+3	+0	Imbue Arrow I	16±CON Modifier		+1
3rd	+3	+3	+3	+1	Enchant Arrow II, Acid Arrow	24±CON Modifier		+2
4th	+4	+4	+4	+1	Imbue Arrow II	32±CON Modifier		+2

Not Accessible

Lvl	BAB	Saves			Feats	HP range		Arrow enchantment
		Fort	Ref	Will
5th	+5	+4	+4	+1	Enchant Arrow III, Flame Arrow	40±CON Modifier		+3
6th	+6	+5	+5	+2	Imbue Arrow III	48±CON Modifier		+3

Feats

• Enchant Arrow - Each rank adds +1 to the enhancement bonus of the Arcane Archer's arrows.
• Imbue Arrow - The Arcane Archer can enchant arrows to deliver a previously memorized spell upon impact, similar to a Brew Potion feat. Each rank adds more spells to list of options:
  • I - Acid Splash, Animate Hinge, Daze, Electric Jolt, Flare, Horizikaul's Boom, Light, Scare
  • II - Balagarn's Iron Horn, Blindness/Deafness, Combust, Gedlee's Electric Loop, Ghoul Touch, Lesser Dispel, Sound Burst
  • III - Dispel Magic, Gust of Wind, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt, Silence, Vampiric Touch
• Frost Arrow - Once per day, the Arcane Archer can use a spell-like ability similar to Ice Dagger.
• Acid Arrow - Once per day, the Arcane Archer can use a spell-like ability similar to Melf's Acid Arrow.
• Flame Arrow - Once per day, the Arcane Archer can use a spell-like ability similar to Flame Arrow.

Imbue Arrows

Arrows Available to Bards	Arrows Available to Wizards & Sorcerers
I-Animate Hinge, Daze, Flare, Light, Scare II-Balagarn's Iron Horn, Blindness/Deafness, Lesser Dispel, Sound Burst III-Dispel Magic, Gust of Wind, Hold Person, Silence	I-Acid Splash, Animate Hinge, Daze, Electric Jolt, Flare, Horizikaul's Boom, Light, Scare II-Balagarn's Iron Horn, Blindness/Deafness, Combust, Gedlee's Electric Loop, Ghoul Touch, Lesser Dispel III-Dispel Magic, Gust of Wind, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt, Vampiric Touch

Class Route to Prestige

This assumes the character has only a single class to meet the requirements and is non-human before taking the prestige class (PrC). Human characters will have greater flexibility in regards to feat progression due to the extra feat granted at character creation by their racial bonus, Quick to Master. Some class routes to prestige may also favour multi-classing in order to more effectively meet pre-requisites or to better synergise the character's skill set to suit the PrC, however caution is advised as most PrCs have strict skill requirements and the wrong combination of classes (due to cross-classing of skills) may result in further delaying and reducing the levels of a prestige class obtainable or render it entirely unobtainable for the character.

Base Class	Minimum Base Class Level	Maximum Prestige Class Level	Spellcraft	Weapon Focus
Bard	4th Level	4th Level	4th Level	3rd Level
Sorcerer	6th Level	2nd Level	4th Level	3rd Level
Wizard	6th Level	2nd Level	4th Level	3rd Level

Notes

All prestige classes require a PC to met the real (unmodified) rank of a skill, refer to Skills for clarification, in order to progress into the prestige class.