A few things.
First, you can only take 10 levels in a prestige class, so if you make it to 18th level, you will have to switch back out to either fighter or wizard.
Second, Fighter 6/Wizard 1 has the same BAB as Fighter 5/Wizard 2. The later you get an additional caster level at the cost of a feat, a few hit points and a +1 to fort and ref. That's more of a style question though, as both are good choices.
Third, if you have (and are allowed) to use the APG, take a look at the archer archetype and some of the archer feats, especially point blank master.
I'd suggest Improved Initiative for one feat. Just because you CAN go first, doesn't mean you have to. You can wait until someone else in the party casts a spell, or attacks. You can then tailor your attacks based on what your fellow party members have in mind, and their success in their spells or attacks.
Is bard/AA/bard still popular? I know it was at one point.
This is just my personal opinion (and the way I went with my AA in Kingamker) but I would go Ranger 6 instead of fighter. Yes you lose Weapon Spec but by going to level 6 you get two combat style feats. Plus you get a better Reflex save if you go Ranger. By 20th level I end up Ranger6/Wizard5/AA9. Here's the stats I'd start with:
Str-12
Dex-19[17+2]
Con-11[13-2]
Int-16[14+2]
Wis-12
Cha-10
Take Con at level 4 then Dex the rest of the way.
Here's the feat selection I used:
1 - Point Blank Shot
3 - Precise Shot (ranger), Arcane Strike
5 - Rapid Shot
7 - Manyshot (ranger), Weapon Focus (longbow)
I took one level of wizard as my second level, that's why the feats are off by a level. Level 8 will be your first level of Arcane Archer. IMO Arcane Strike will make up for the loss of Weapon Spec as it will scale up to a better bonus as you gain more caster levels.
A couple other opinions:
Go Transmuter specialist with Wizard levels to get the bonus to physical stat.
25 points is A LOT of points. We're running with 3 people with 15 point buy and doing fine. That many points you'll be flying through it.
Taking Favored Enemy (human) is a good choice for a ranger.
When you tack on additional classes- be them base classes or prestige classes- you add up the bab from all of them to determine your actual BAB.
so Fighter 5 and ranger 5 = 10 BAB.
Similarly, EK and AA both give full bab, so 10 EK= 10 BAB and 4 AA = another 4 bab, for 14 bab.
14 bab from those + 1 for fighter and 2 for the 5 levels of wizard=17 bab
17 bab gets 4 attacks a round
That makes sense, thanks. Do you go off of the BAB to determine those 4 attacks from fighter since that is the first class I took? The chart says +17/+12/+7/+2, so that's where I got that from.
BAB isn't tied to a specific class. It's just a number progression, and when you hit certain breakpoints, however you got there, you get more iterative attacks.
You have it right for what your attacks would like like based on BAB with the build you quoted.
Also, I forgot to add in Manyshot on my previous post you quoted, so at high levels its really 7 attacks that you add damages like Arcane Strike to, not 6.
Here's a "for fun" kind of workup I did of that build at 20th with decent gear, just to play around with and see some numbers:
Attacks:
BAB +17 (4 shots)
Rapid Shot -2 (1 extra shot)
Manyshot (1 extra shot)
Haste +1 (1 extra shot)
Deadly Aim -5
Point Blank +1
Magic Weapon +5
Dexterity +12
Weapon Focus +1
Greater Weapon Focus +1
Heroism +2
Greater Bracers of Archery +2
Total: 7 attacks, +35(manyshot)/+35/+35/+30/+25/+20
Damage:
Gravity Bow: 2d6 (7 avg)
4 Elemental Enchants: 4d6 (14 avg)
Magic Weapon: +5
Point Blank Shot: +1
Weapon Specialization: +2
Deadly Aim: +10
Arcane Strike: +5
Strength: +7
Greater Bracers of Archery: +1
Total: Avg = 52 damage x 7 attacks = 364 damage if all hit
Obviously that's in ideal circumstances and such, but just some stuff to consider.
As a note: If you are using traits, I suggest Magical Knack. Combined with an orange ioun stone you will be able to get your CL to equal your level, hitting end breakpoints for GMW and arcane strike.
Manyshot doesn't give you an extra attack, your first attack just fires two arrows. They either both hit or both miss. You end up with 6 shots the first of which fires two arrows.
Manyshot (Combat)You can fire multiple arrows at a single target.
Prerequisites: Dex 17, Point-Blank Shot, Rapid Shot, base attack bonus +6.
Benefit: When making a full-attack action with a bow, your first attack fires two arrows. If the attack hits, both arrows hit. Apply precision-based damage (such as sneak attack) and critical hit damage only once for this attack. Damage bonuses from using a composite bow with a high Strength bonus apply to each arrow, as do other damage bonuses, such as a ranger's favored enemy bonus. Damage reduction and resistances apply separately to each arrow.
I know. For damage calculation it's two shots tho. So it's essentially a 7th attack for calculating DPR and figuring stuff like that out.
That's why in my lil chart I made there are only 6 attacks listed, but the first says manyshot in parentheses. Sorry if that wasn't clear,
At here, I planned on dipping into wizard for a level, then shooting straight to arcane archer. I don't have anything concrete planned out for those levels, so any suggestions at all would be appreciated.
It sounds like you want to maximize the fighting rather than the spellcasting abilities of the Arcane Archer. Because of that, I would suggest a high strength score rather than a high intelligence. By the time you're able to cast any particular spell level, the appropriate +INT item will be easy to obtain.
You'll rarely cast spells that offer a save, so the DC bonus won't come up much, if ever. On the other hand, the damage bonus you get from high strength will effect every attack you ever make for the lifetime of the character!
- Consider taking Arcane Armor Training. (Mithril Chain Shirt, eventually) You'd have no penalties when not spellcasting, and you can spend a swift action to negate spell failure. (10% spell failure chance when casting if you don't spend the action)
- Choose your arcane school carefully to gain good 1st level abilities. I'd suggest Divination (Foresight), Transmutation (Enhancement), or Conjuration (Teleportation) focused schools from the APG.
- You'll probably want Evocation, Enchantment, or Necromancy as opposition schools.
- You'll eventually want the feat "Point-Blank Master" for shooting while in melee.
I disagree with Arcane Armor Training. Your Dex will be so high that wearing Armor at all will be counterproductive compared to good ol' mage armor and your Dex.
You'll eventually have such ridiculous Dexterity, that armor will block your max dex bonus, plus it's nice to have your swift actions open for either Spell Critical later on or Arcane Strike, or Quickened buffs.
Also, necromancy doesn't give you much, but if you have enchantment or evocation as opposed schools you lose some staple AA spells such as Heroism, greater heroism, and the biggest AA trick of all, Anti-Magic Field. Wall of Force is also awesome. It's a tough choice what to make your opposition schools, and requires some real thought, after necromancy at least.
My advice would be Necro and Evocation, as you will probably have to use the AMF trick less frequently than buffing with Heroism, but it's a tough call.
Remember that the imbue arrow ability only works with AoE spells now -- most of these are found in the following schools:
Enchantment (high level especially -- mass suggestion, charm, etc)
Evocation (lightning bolt, fireball, cone of cold, burning hands, flaming sphere, and so on)
Necromancy (horrid wilting, undeath to death, circle of death, etc)
Conjuration (cloud spells for the most part but includes web too)
My advice would be to drop divination and abjuration.
There are really two ways to play AA. One is to be an Archer who has spellcasting to buff and for versatility. This way you amp up your damage while being able to cast awesome spells like overland flight etc. Go Strength for this and Int boosting items, which should be easy to get unless your DM is playing a nonstandard style of game. This will amp your damage while giving you enough INT to cast the spells of certain levels when you get them.
The other way is to play a caster who can fall back on archery and use imbue arrow if you want. If you go this route, then you want to drop Strength and focus on getting Int up so that the DCs of your spells is higher. I think that's what Abe is referring to.
I would try to get a 16 in str if i could. If you aren't planning on casting spells with Save effects, then a 14 Int to start is fine, and by the time you need to start casting 5th level spells and higher you should have some Int boosting items.
I would go specialist in Transmutation (enhancement) as it lets you get that +1 enhancement at low levels, and then when you hit Wizard 5, you can do a +2 enhancement.
Str - 16
Dex - 17 (19)
Con - 12 (10)
Int - 12 (14)
Wis - 12
Cha - 7
Use your +1 enhancement on Dex until 4 when you bump it. When your bonus becomes +2 at 6, you can swing it to Con for some HP or Str for some damage, basically wherever it is most useful to a score where you don't have bonuses from gear.
Drop all your boosts from levels into Dex. Get good Dex gear to go with enough Int gear to boost you to where you need to be spellcasting wise.
This is all presuming the Fighter 1/Wizard 5/EK 3/AA3/EK +7/AA+1 build style of course.
Also, just remember that you are a glass cannon. Invest in spells that keep you away from melee and as best protected as possible. Fly whenever you can. Be improved invisible if possible. Mirror Image is nice, blur is cool...you get what I mean. If you have to spend a round buffing at the start of a fight to ensure your survival it is ok. Let the big melee people pull aggro by swinging first, and once you are untouchable, unleash hell from afar. You're awesome at cleaning up whatever HP things have left after your tanks go once or twice, because you can change targets of your attacks without having to move.
You'll eventually have such ridiculous Dexterity, that armor will block your max dex bonus. . .
The maximum dex bonus with Mithral Chain Shirt is +7. Which accommodates a dexterity of 24. You could potentially get a 26 dex at level 8 if you start with a 20, add one at levels 4 & 8, and have a +4 dex item. If you start with a 19 and spread your items out slightly for cost efficiency, you're likely to hit 26 in the mid-teen levels. So, if you expect the campaign to go on all the way through level 20, then Arcane Armor Training isn't as good.
For a build of 5 Fighter/1 Wizard/10 AA . . . game over at 16, it's an option worth considering.
plus it's nice to have your swift actions open for either Spell Critical later on or Arcane Strike, or Quickened buffs.
[list]
the biggest AA trick of all, Anti-Magic Field.
I agree that Necromancy & Evocation is a good choice, but Anti-Magic Field is a 6th level Abjuration spell.
Celestial Armor gives a total of +9 AC with a maximum Dex of +8 (which is Dex 26) starting with an 17 means that you'll be out of celestial chain after level 16 in all likelihood. Arcane Armor Training on a buffing caster could be worthwhile in this case -- or you can just eat the 15% failure rate while hoping for the best.
Personally I think AA's are too starved for feats to really go for arcane armor training.
Sorry, Blueluck, my suggestions were aimed at the build he quoted from me, not one with lots of fighter levels. I know he stated in the OP he was thinking about taking mostly fighter before dipping Wizard, but I thought that had changed over the thread. On rereading it, I dunno. Haha. Either way, my suggestions are aimed at a character that gets 9th level spells and a CL of 20 by the end and all that jazz...
Yer suggestions are dead on for a character with far less casting.
Also, a Mithral Shirt has a max dex bonus of +6. In mid-levels it very well may be slightly better than mage armor and dex. At later levels when you factor in tomes, level boosts, and items, it swings the other way.
I'm ridiculous. I dunno why I have been under the impression that AMF was evocation. Well that seals the deal against Evocation pretty much now that I know it's Abjuration! Thanks for pointing that out.
Edit: Also, as for armor, just work with your DM to research higher level Mage Armor spells with bigger bonuses. Researching new spells is part of the core rules, and a level 6 version of Mage Armor that gives +8 AC or something isn't overpowered by any stretch of the imagination compared to the spells already out there. Up to DM discretion tho.
Core Rule Book page 219 under the heading "Independent Research".
Basically, you can research spells to learn one that already exists if you otherwise haven't been able to gain access to it. Or, as it says, work with your DM to come up with an entirely new spell.
Obviously, this is left up to the DM, but the fact that it specifically says this is something wizards can do in the core rules makes me lean toward believing it.
As a side note, when I DM....my powerful spellcasting NPCs (friend or enemy) ALWAYS have custom spells....especially if they are liches or elves or something else that has been around forrrreeeeevvvvverrrr. It makes the combats more interesting, and the rewards super fun for the party's casters. I find it hard to believe that ancient spellcasters dedicated to their art wouldn't have created custom spells tailored to their personal styles. Like...yer tellin me an Eldritch Knight lich wouldn't have researched some amazing high level combat buffs in the 3,000 years he's been living in his underground lair? Puhhhllleaaase!
Edit: I balance research as a DM by imposing some heavy gp costs for spells that are basically replacing gear, such as a higher level Mage Armor spell. Yer basically gonna use that over bracers of armor, so if a player asks to research a spell like that, I make it cost a pretty hefty amount of money (though not the same...as bracers can get upgraded/less subject to dispel/don't take up one of your spell slots etc.) But having the DM tell you that its gonna cost 25-35k to research a mage armor spell that gives you +8 armor....thats fairly reasonable I feel.