~Valkyrie~ |
So, I'm trying to build a character with some particular flavor requirements and I am trying to decide what class or combination of classes would be best to get the type of character I have in mind. I am willing to sacrifice Some function for flavor, but I don't want her to be completely useless.
This character that I'm working on needs to have levels in some sort of arcane class for story reasons. However, her upbringing was that of a hunter/trapper/woods guide sort of thing (she is an archer). I really like the idea of her being able to channel spells through her bow, sort of like a Magus can with their sword.
I was going to build her as an Arcanist from the new Advanced Class Guide book and the GM was going to house rule an Exploit so that I could attach a spell to an arrow. The problem is that--as far as I can tell--you kind of have to be a munchkin player to build them well and I'm not. It's cool that they get All of the knowledge skills as class skills, but it lacks skills like perception and survival, which I feel she should have. I'm thinking about dual classing fighter and something else since it would give her most of the skills I want and more feats, but I'm not sure.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Val
Deadmanwalking |
Go Bard!
Bards can be excellent spell casters as well as having a good skill-set, and make great archers. They do lack Survival as a Class Skill, but it's the only one they lack, and if using Traits you can get it with one of those easily.
They don't have a lot of direct damaging spells (being more self-buff and utility), but other than that, it sounds perfect.
If you really want direct damage spells, you're gonna need at least two levels before you'll have both good archery and good offensive spells you can put in your arrows, you're gonna want to go Fighter, Ranger, or whatever 1, then go Wizard and eventually Arcane Archer...but I think Bard's gonna be mechanically more effective and should give you more or less the flavor you're looking for.
~Valkyrie~ |
I am heavily leaning towards Arcane Archer. I would like for her to have some of those abilities at early levels like the Magus does, but I don't think there is a ranged class that has that ability, is there? Unless I can talk the GM into helping me build a custom Magus archetype that uses a bow, what class or class combination do you think I should use to fill the prerequisites for the Arcane Archer?
Rynjin |
RainyDayNinja RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16, RPG Superstar 2013 Top 16 |
Arcane Duelist bard would be good, since he can use his bardic performance to add enhancements to weapons, and at level 5 gets a bonded weapon. The bonus feats aren't terribly useful for a ranged attacker, but there you go.
Another option, which is best if you go Half-Elf, is the witch. The Strength patron gives her divine favor and divine power on her spell list, which is great for boosting attack and damage (especially combo'd with Fate's Favored). The Bonded Witch archetype (Half-Elf only) lets you make your bow a bonded item, so you can enchant it on the cheap.