Hi,

My old child wants to play Pathfinder for the first time. We have talk about characters ideas and she said she is interested in playing a combination of ‘Hermione Granger and Katniss Everdeen.’

So I was thinking of Bard Archaeologist that used a bow. If we get high level she could do an Arcane Archer.

Are there other ideas of getting a scholar archer?

Can people give me hints on good feats and for this build?

If its her first time, I wouldn't worry too much about builds. Start off slow and just let her make whatever sounds like fun at the time. Even just a basic bard with aspirations to one day progress into Arcane Archer is special enough; doesn't need to get more optimized than that. What matters is that she gets creative and has fun the first time around.

Just take the essential archery feats and you're good. Point Blank Shot > Precise Shot > Rapid Shot > Deadly Aim > Manyshot, etc.

Fighter/Wizard could work out really well, too, and it would allow her to not only try out two classes at once, but allow her to gradually customize the ratio of Hermione to Katniss as she chooses between more wizard or more fighter at each level. Wizard comes with the fun of organizing a spell book and a component pouch and doing all that very Hogwarty stuff.

Really, you can't go wrong; I'm always happy to have an even half-way competent archer on the team.

Also, while it is more Martial, there is the Myrmidarch Magus. They get reduced spellcasting, but they are int-based and bow-based and aside from casting less spells per spell level, they get full caster level progression (i think).

They may just have a more martial focus than she wants, and there is no denying that the bard is more scholarly. But I figured I would offer an alternative.

Bards also do the knowledge thing. If it's making knowledge checks rather than having a high int mod that she's looking for that's probably a better choice.

Archaeologist bards sounds perfect.

Thanks everyone.

I talked to a friend last night and he suggested Archivist Bard.

@Animation, I had not thought of Myrmidarch Magus.

The Myrmidarch Magus is more combat focused than the bards.

The Archaeologist Bard is more rogue-ish. We will be playing the Rise of the Runelords and I think it would fit nicely in a role-playing aspect.

The Archivist Bard will be more of a bookworm and I could hear her say "I head this book and I know about..."

So I will bring all three to her and let her decide.

@Chris, Thanks for the feat list.

Would Arcane Strike work with the bow?

Does she want someone who can use magic, or just someone with high INT and lots of knowledge skills? If she's new, you might not want to give her a spellcaster, especially a prepared caster like a wizard or magus.

I'd recommend a Lore Warden, which is an archetype of the Fighter (in the Pathfinder Society Field Guide). They get bonus skill points, and special benefits in combat from using knowledge skills. Plus, many of the feats you would use (Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Deadly Aim) just add plusses, instead of new abilities, so it would be easier for a new player to handle. If she does want to go into Arcane Archer, you could always take a dip into Wizard later, as she gets more comfortable with the rules.

Yes, Arcane Strike will work with a bow; definitely a good feat for an arcane archer sort of character.