So, as I'm digging into the Zen Archer deeper, I'm running into some dillemae that I'd appreciate community input with:
1) Statting. Usually, Dexterity is Monk's Friend. However, with Zen Archer:
a) AC (Dex+Wis stack) is not a top priority on account of one being a ranged combatant first
b) Ranged to-hit may base off of Wisdom, rathter than Dex, at 3rd level (Wis & Dex don't stack)
c) Str investment may pay of fairly well in terms of damage bonus, especially when flurrying.
These are the statblocks I'm considering: (20 point buy with a single +2 Stat)
Str 14 15 14
Dex 12 10 10
Con 10 10 10
Int 12 12 14
Wis 19 19 19
Cha 08 08 08
Var1 assumes a bit of Dex investment for sake of Acrobatics, Stealth and a bit of AC/Ref boost; Var2 and Var3 drop that Dex in favor of Boosting Str to 15 (16 later) or Int for some extra Knowledge skills.
Seeing as I've envisioned the character as an old hermit-pilgrim philosopher, I'm even tempted to drop Con a bit to illustrate his age and infirmity - points would pro'lly go into Int for a boost to Knowledge skills.
2) Race. Human seems like a straightforward choice - since I'm planning on basing archery off of Wis rather than Dex, Elf just doesn't make much sense. Half-Elf is a viable alternative, perhaps with Ancestral Arms : Temple Sword to give the character a bit of melee kick. I'm leaning towards HalfElf, simply to avoid the all-too-frequent human - anyone see flaws with that plan? :)
Right; Doc Genius here forgot there are a bunch of archery feats like Deadly Aim that will require Dex 13+... this will require some more numbershuffling...
If you're able to, I'd recommend at least dropping the 8 CHA down to 7, and putting the two points towards CON. +1 to your HP/level and to Fort saves will be worth more than the -1 to your social skills. No reason why a hermit needs to be socialable after all. ;)
If you're able to, I'd recommend at least dropping the 8 CHA down to 7, and putting the two points towards CON. +1 to your HP/level and to Fort saves will be worth more than the -1 to your social skills. No reason why a hermit needs to be socialable after all. ;)
I've considered it, but between all-around good saves and the +1 HP/lvl for favored class, I'm not sure it's worth it - especially since I'll have to bump Dex up to 13. Right now, this is the spread that seems to make sense:
Str 15
Dex 14
Con 10
Int 12
Wis 18
Cha 07
Alternately, I could be nuts and go with a Dwarf Zen Archer (I have to admit the concept does amuse the crud out of me):
Str 15
Dex 13
Con 11
Int 14
Wis 18
Cha 05
I'm not very fond of abusing the proverbial "Charisma=Dump Stat" paradigm, but it'd actually click with the concept...
OK, this is the build I believe I'm settling on:
Half-Elf Zen Archer:
Str 15
Dex 13
Con 12
Int 12
Wis 18
Cha 07
1 Cosmopolitan | ***Exotic Weapon : Temple Sword | *Precise Shot | **Perfect Strike
2 *Point Blank Shot | **Weapon Focus : Bow
3 Deadly Aim | **Point Blank Master
4 --
5 Far Shot
6 *Improved Precise Shot | **Weapon Specialization : Bow
7 Extra Ki
8 --
9 Vital Strike
10 *Pinpoint Targeting
11 Improved Critical
12 --
*Monk Bonus Feat
**Zen Archer Bonus Feat
***Half-Elf Ancestral Arms
Anyone see a glaring flaw or three in this? Also, anyone see why this wouldn't be a PFS-legal build?
Thanks y'all!
Andro
OK, this is the build I believe I'm settling on:
Half-Elf Zen Archer
Andro
Why bother with Exotic Weapon: Temple Sword? Point blank master means you can do heaps more damage with your bow even when the enemy is next to you without provoking attacks of opportunity. Far Shot is another wasted feat. You can already shoot very far and most combats will be alot closer. Look closely at Vital Strike. It's generally not as good as what people think it is.
A possible replacement feat is Scorpion Style which allows you to kick them if they get too close forcing their movement to be only 5 feet for a number of rounds equal to your wisdom bonus. If you take Parting Shot as one of your bonus feats later, you can do a full withdrawal with a free attack and they're stuck at chasing you with 5 feet of movement while you continue to fill them full of arrows.
I'd go Dwarf as you gain 2 important stats and lose 2 to your dump stat.
Str 16
Dex 13
Con 12 (14)
Int 9
Wis 16 (18)
Cha 07 (05)
The Int 9 sucks but you're all about you bow. That's still enough to take Stealth and Perception plus one other per level.
Take Rich Parents as one of your traits so you have 900gp starting gold. Now you have enough money to buy your masterwork +3 strength composite longbow (costs 700gp) to give you +1 to hit and +3 damage at level 1.
Here's a zen archer build that I was thinking for PFS. The plan is monk10/rogue2. The rogue2 kicks in as monk11&12 don't appeal as much and the build is so good at spotting traps when searching I figured that the autospot talent of the rogue coupled with actual trap removal would be worthwhile.
-James
I'm surprised you think lvl 11 is no good for monk. Perhaps the most important bonus a monk gets at lvl 11 is they get an extra attack with their flurry of blows going from:
+8/+8/+3/+3to:
+9/+9/+4/+4/–1
Spend a ki point for an extra attack and you're turning your monk into a machine gun on a full attack.
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I, too, am surprised that you do not find levels 11 and 12 useful for a Zen Archer. At level 11:
At 11th level, a zen archer may hit targets that he might otherwise miss. By spending 1 point from his ki pool as a swift action, the zen archer can ignore concealment. By spending 2 points, he can ignore total concealment or cover. By spending 3 points, he can ignore total cover, even firing arrows around corners. The arrow must still be able to reach the target; a target inside a closed building with no open doors or windows cannot be attacked. These effects last for 1 round.
This ability replaces diamond body.
Given your character's extremely high wisdom, he should have plenty of ki available to do cool stuff like that.
And you get Abundant Step at level 12.
Re: Vital Strike : Ahhh, I see what you're saying... it's another one of those filthy full attack action for a single attack feats, innit? Dammit. What would be a good replacement? I could tap Deflect Arrows or Combat Expertise for some defense goodness, or Deepsight (doubled Darkvision) if I go Dwarf - other than that, I'm idea-dry...
Re: EWP - Temple Sword: I was considering it for flavor but yeah, I guess it's droppable. I'll likely swap it out for Scorpion Strike (good one!)
Re: Far Shot: I'm sort of on the fence about this one; I like being able to peg someone at stupid-far ranges, and seeing as there's a large number of PFS scenarios, how unlikely is it really that none of them have outdoorsy combat? Especially when one starts dealing with flyers outdoors, every little bit of range counts. Or am I over-thinking it? :)
I'm not very keen on dropping my Int - I'm angling towards a wise old dude character concept, not a nimble young dude one; I understand it's perhaps not totally optimal, but I like the idea of tapping a couple of knowledge skills as a side trick for the otherwise one-trick-archer-pony.
As far as Rogue multiclass goes, I'm afraid I'm not sold - both from the standpoint of character concept, as well as the setbacks it presents in the primary monk shticks : Flurry and requirement-free archery feats.
@James: What's Hellcat Stealth? I'm having trouble finding it.
Thanks for all the awesome input guys!
Andro
Also you don't need the feat for the temple sword -- monks are auto-proficient according to the APG (look at the temple sword description in the equipment section).