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1st level prestige class ability: fire any nonmagical ammunition and count it as a +1 arrow...
how...
useless...
should've just started off at first level ability with the +1d6 cold/fire/electricity instead.
lets take something that doesn't stack with already having a +1 bow, and waste time by adding it as a prestige ability.
so, now really. they didn't change bows/ammunition in PF did they? +1 bow with a +1 arrow is still only +1 to hit / +1 to damage right? and the bow already confers the magic +1/+1 on the ammunition when fired?
yea, it is rarely useful but not every level gives you something nice, not starting off with something really nice is somewhat intentional for PrC I think. On the other hand you might get some decent skills a good BAB and decent saves, the next two levels are more fun.
The AA might have their magic bow sundered and have to temporarily use a looted nonmagic bow.
In some campaigns they might not have a magic bow.
It starts a progression so at higher levels they can have raw enchantment bonuses on arrows for free and only put fun stuff on their bow.
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It's implausible that an Arcane Archer wouldn't have a magic bow, it's not impossible. So it's not a useful ability, however it's not useless either.
I wonder why it isn't a magus archetype yet
I wonder why it isn't a magus archetype yet
Check out the Myrmidarch archetype in Ultimate Combat. It's not quite the same, but ranged spellstrike is pretty cool.
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Both Arcane Archer and Duelist are 3.5 hold-overs which convert your once potentially-promising character into a one-trick pony who can do his main schtick perhaps 10% better in the best of circumstances while crippling his ability to do anything else at all.
When I look at an elf rang2/figh3[weapon master:bows]/wiz1/aa, I just cry.
"Dude? You could have been a full-blown wizard slinging 4th-level spells by now, and shooting bucketfuls of Flame Arrows if bows were your thing."
I actually find it synergizes well with Magus. You can apply the Arcane Pool bonuses to the bow, which stack with the free arrow properties, which stack with existing properties on your weapon. Combine them and you can end up with some absurdly magical arrows. It's also full BAB progression, which is nice.
going for the support character...
Bard / AA
Arrows of silence.
:P
Of course Silence can just be targeted on an object in the first place...
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The 1st level arcane archer power would work well with my house rule. While a bow is magical the ammunition is not. The arrow would still be +1 to hit and damage but considered non magical. So it doesn't bypass DR/magic.
By saying a bow makes the arrows fired from it magical arrows there is no point to actually have magical arrows. So with this house rule magic arrows are suddenly something of value. Before if the group found 50 +2 arrows they'd sell them for 4000 GP and buy a magic bow. Otherwise you are just pissing away gold by using magic arrows.
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AA actually looks like it might be a fairly effective dip for a myrmidarch. You can qualify after you've reached 8th level (so you can start it at 9, if you've taken the feats), so you don't have to multiclass the way a fighter or wizard would, although you probably should wait until after 11th to start taking it.
Two levels of it lets you shoot AoE arrows, to complement your ray/touch arrows from Ranged Spellstrike. A third level gives you permanent elemental damage, so you don't need to spend arcana points on it, and a fourth gives you that 1/day "I hit you no matter what's between us" arrow. You give up one level of spell progression, but gain a BAB.
The 1st level arcane archer power would work well with my house rule. While a bow is magical the ammunition is not. The arrow would still be +1 to hit and damage but considered non magical. So it doesn't bypass DR/magic.
By saying a bow makes the arrows fired from it magical arrows there is no point to actually have magical arrows. So with this house rule magic arrows are suddenly something of value. Before if the group found 50 +2 arrows they'd sell them for 4000 GP and buy a magic bow. Otherwise you are just pissing away gold by using magic arrows.
Of course, instead you could just make Arcane Archers not suck instead of shafting the entire ranged system in the game.
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1st level prestige class ability: fire any nonmagical ammunition and count it as a +1 arrow...
how...
useless...
should've just started off at first level ability with the +1d6 cold/fire/electricity instead.
lets take something that doesn't stack with already having a +1 bow, and waste time by adding it as a prestige ability.
I've house-ruled that the arcane archers bonuses now work like the Magus bonuses to enhance their weapon. So it will stack etc.
WHy? Because the abilities are both trying to accomplish the same thing and I think if the guys at Paizo had realized it back when they adapted the AA they would have done something more like they did for the Magus.
**another option is to have the AA's bonus work in the same way the bonuses Paladins can add to their weapons works. This also brings it more in line with current Paizo power levels and makes the class viable.
1st level prestige class ability: fire any nonmagical ammunition and count it as a +1 arrow...
how...
useless...
should've just started off at first level ability with the +1d6 cold/fire/electricity instead.
lets take something that doesn't stack with already having a +1 bow, and waste time by adding it as a prestige ability.
I've house-ruled that the arcane archers bonuses now work like the Magus bonuses to enhance their weapon. So it will stack etc.
WHy? Because the abilities are both trying to accomplish the same thing and I think if the guys at Paizo had realized it back when they adapted the AA they would have done something more like they did for the Magus.
**another option is to have the AA's bonus work in the same way the bonuses Paladins can add to their weapons works. This also brings it more in line with current Paizo power levels and makes the class viable.
Oh goodie! My AA can shoot bane arrows against every enemy?!
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considering Inquisitors get bane at 5th level, and can pick up a bow just as easily, and Magus can add bane to weapons with their arcane pool ( provided they're ... 16th level? ( don't have the book with me. but its some ridiculously high number compared to Inquisitor ) ).
bringing the arcane archer focus up to the bow, rather than the arrows would make a lot of sense in home games. making it work like a paladin's weapon bond or a magus' bond, or stacking with those if they're already posessed, would be great. they would be able to raise it from a +1, or choose different abilities to add to the weapon later on.
or if they already had a +1 flaming bow, they could make it +2, or +1 flaming, shocking. etc. If only paizo had done that when they added the spellcasting progression to the class.
myrmidarch / arcane archers do get a nice effect with arcane pool and arcane archer.
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I'd house rule it that the AA's bonuses stack with the weapon. Though it would have been nice if they'd made it more like the paladin's divine bond and given the AA some more weapon properties to choose from. Merciful? Speed?
Still, Arcane Archers are a darn sight better than Arcane Tricksters.
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Rogue 1/Wizard 4/assassin 1 to trickster actually makes a high damage sneak attack range machine for what that is worth; they actually have some solid things going for them, only 1 level behind on spells in exchange for cool tricks, and aiming for touch AC makes that horrid +2 BAB @ 6th seem OK.
Sadly there is no non-evil way of getting 2d6 sneak with only 2 levels of lost spell progression though
Rogue 1/Wizard 4/assassin 1 to trickster actually makes a high damage sneak attack range machine for what that is worth; they actually have some solid things going for them, only 1 level behind on spells in exchange for cool tricks, and aiming for touch AC makes that horrid +2 BAB @ 6th seem OK.
Sadly there is no non-evil way of getting 2d6 sneak with only 2 levels of lost spell progression though
Rogue 1/Wizard 6/Master Spy 1/Arcane Trickster/(insert number here)
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You might also want to check out the Vanguard class from Super Genius Games.
If you choose a bow as your arcane bond weapon, you can end up with a REALLY cool arcane archer type of character ... and you don't have to wait for a prestige class! :)
In one of our long term play tests, I played just such a bow bonded vanguard and, might I humbly say, he rocked!
This makes me wonder how "Detonate" would work with the Imbue Arrow...
1st level prestige class ability: fire any nonmagical ammunition and count it as a +1 arrow...
how...
useless...
should've just started off at first level ability with the +1d6 cold/fire/electricity instead.
lets take something that doesn't stack with already having a +1 bow, and waste time by adding it as a prestige ability.
so, now really. they didn't change bows/ammunition in PF did they? +1 bow with a +1 arrow is still only +1 to hit / +1 to damage right? and the bow already confers the magic +1/+1 on the ammunition when fired?
It's pretty limited by itself, but it is not intended to work alone. The arcane archer's enhancement abilities only work with non-magical arrows, but enhancements like frost or holy always require that the item have at least a +1 enhancement first. So this ability is necessary for the arcane archer to use those later abilities with any bow and arrows.
And then the best arcane archer ability is delivered at the next level. That is pretty front-loaded for the older prestige classes.
Just realized that the OP is 3 years old.
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Anecdotal experience with the Arcane Archer
A couple of years ago, in 2012 I played through Eyes of the Ten. In our party we had a dwarven fighter, who was an archer. We also had an Arcane Archer in the party. I think the Arcane Archer was a combination wizerd/ranger/ Arcane archer. I don't know what the combination was.
Both characters were doing respectable damage. The spell casters, one of which was my character were rarely bothered by a melee situation.
There was one moment where our opponent was fleeing from us up some stairs down a corridor out of sight...and the Dwarven archer said, "yeah I got nothing, now way I'm going to get up those stairs to get a shot", and the Arcane Archer said " I got this". He shot an arrow at one of the walls. The arrow curved away from the wall, flew up the stairs, went down the hall way, and we heard an "oww" and then a thump.
We were all impressed. I think the guy playing the dwarven fighter said, "yeah my character just does damage, now he ( indicating the AA) does all sorts of cool things".