| Jojo Crowser |
I'm sorry for the thread necro, but I do see one example where Rapid Shot could be useful, and that is with the spell Produce Flame. I'll provide two examples.
Example 1
Level 2 Human Druid (with Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot as feats) with a 10 Dex, and at farther than 30 feet:
On Round 1, he casts Produce Flame as a Standard Action.
On Round 2, he uses Rapid Shot in order to fire 2 ranged touch attacks at -1 each (1 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot), which expends his spell.
On Round 3, he could cast Produce Flame again (if he memorized it twice) as a Standard Action.
On Round 4, he uses Rapid Shot in order to fire 2 ranged touch attacks at -1 each, which expends his spell.
Note that Rapid Shot allowed him to fire 4 attacks in 4 rounds, which may not seem that great, but it's OK.
Example 2
Level 8 Human Druid (with Point Blank Shot and Rapid Shot as feats) with a 10 Dex, and at farther than 30 feet:
On Round 1, he casts Produce Flame as a Standard Action.
On Round 2, he uses Rapid Shot and his iterative attack in order to fire 2 ranged touch attacks at +4 each (6 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot) and then 1 more ranged touch attack at -1 (1 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot), which leaves 5 minutes of spell remaining.
On Round 3, he uses Rapid Shot and his iterative attack in order to fire 2 ranged touch attacks at +4 each (6 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot) and then 1 more ranged touch attack at -1 (1 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot), which leaves 2 minutes of spell remaining.
On Round 4, he uses Rapid Shot in order to fire 2 ranged touch attacks at +4 each (6 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot), which expends his spell. Now, if he has a weapon in hand and a foe in range, he could then take his iterative attack at -1 (1 BAB, -2 for Rapid Shot).
Note that Rapid Shot allowed him to fire 8 attacks in 4 rounds (plus a possible 9th attack with his weapon), which is respectable considering only one 1st level spell was expended.
This works, because it is the only spell that comes to mind that allows for multiple ranged attacks from one casting of the spell. However, the casting itself is still a Standard Action, and the description gives no instructions that allow free attacks on the round of casting. That's why Round 1 (and any other casting rounds) are used up by the casting itself (though actions that are free, swift, or move are still allowed).
I know that this is one single example, and is probably not relevant to most. Also, many won't believe it's worth the cost of two feats. However, that part is subjective and not the concern of this post. If you want to build a character this way, it's possible.