...I'm not sure what to think of it.
Say I'm an Arcane Archer. Through some feat or other, or simply by playing a Bard to begin by, I know the cantrip Sift.
I'm standing atop a tall tower. Clear day. not much impeding vision.
I launch an Imbued Arrow with Sift. It travels almost 2000 feet, a speed of roughly a third the speed of sound...
Lands at the feet of a typical human knight, 2000 feet away.
According to Sift, i take no penalty for making a perception check at Extreme ranges.
This spell is telling me I can tell what metal his armor is made of, the texture of his boots, the mark encrested on his helmet, The Earth and grass that was flattened by his steps...
...But the spell can't perceive the knight themself, as a creature?
Would it basically just perceive the grass and earth that was crushed in a mysterious shape by some unknown force?
If the arrow had actually struck the Knight, then yes, that's essentially how it would work. But, since your arrow didn't strike the Knight, the spell is wasted.
Imbue Arrow (Sp): At 2nd level, an arcane archer gains the ability to place an area spell upon an arrow. When the arrow is fired, the spell's area is centered where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. This ability allows the archer to use the bow's range rather than the spell's range. A spell cast in this way uses its standard casting time and the arcane archer can fire the arrow as part of the casting. The arrow must be fired during the round that the casting is completed or the spell is wasted. If the arrow misses, the spell is wasted.
If the arrow had actually struck the Knight, then yes, that's essentially how it would work. But, since your arrow didn't strike the Knight, the spell is wasted.
I can easily aim for the ground, as an unattended object or simply with an AC of 5 for targetting the intersection of some squares, as if with a splash weapon. <_<
This is talking about Perception, not whether or not I can beat an AC of 5 with a -10 from range increments on a Distant weapon, from someone fully capable of casting True-strike...
Edit: Looking into the thread... Thanks Cheapy!