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So I'm currently playing as a Chaotic Evil sorcerer in an ongoing campaign. Problem is that, despite my ministrations to prevent it, the party Paladin was able to catch on and while we are going to be role-playing it out, there's a good chance that one of us will have to leave the party. As evil is harder to keep in check with good and neutral (the rest of the party is LG, VERY TN, TN-leaning-NG, LN), I volunteered that should it come down to a him or me situation, I would allow my character to be killed/incarcerated/split from the group.
It saddens me, because I loves this character, but it does provide an opportunity to bolster the party with something it desperately needs: range. We've got a couple of decent melee combatants and a battlefield controller, but once the target pulls away we're screwed.
I know I don't want to do a straight Fighter. (The poor saves and lack of skill points are going to hurt badly.) I'm thinking Human Ranger (Only problem is don't want to deal with an animal companion, and the alternative nature's bond ability S-U-C-K-S.), Human Paladin, or Half-Orc Inquisitor but am open if there are better suggestions out there. The rest of the party make-up:
LG Half-Elf CHA focused Aegis Paladin
TN Human Longsword Wielding Magus
LN Half-Orc Dex Based Monk
TN/NG Halfling Rogue
CG Human Greatsword Wielding Battle-Cleric (Good STR, but WIS highest)
Mostly have to stick to Core and APG, but alternative feats and builds allowed with DM approval.
I would go with a ranger.
The damage output from favored enemy is really good.
You seem weak on arcane magic. Wizard or EK, I'd say. Probably straight wizard. You've got plenty of fighters, already. Buff 'em. Teleport 'em. Do things they can't do.
Lots of good ranged spells.
So I'm currently playing as a Chaotic Evil sorcerer in an ongoing campaign. Problem is that, despite my ministrations to prevent it, the party Paladin was able to catch on and while we are going to be role-playing it out, there's a good chance that one of us will have to leave the party. As evil is harder to keep in check with good and neutral (the rest of the party is LG, VERY TN, TN-leaning-NG, LN), I volunteered that should it come down to a him or me situation, I would allow my character to be killed/incarcerated/split from the group.
It saddens me, because I loves this character, but it does provide an opportunity to bolster the party with something it desperately needs: range. We've got a couple of decent melee combatants and a battlefield controller, but once the target pulls away we're screwed.
I know I don't want to do a straight Fighter. (The poor saves and lack of skill points are going to hurt badly.) I'm thinking Human Ranger (Only problem is don't want to deal with an animal companion, and the alternative nature's bond ability S-U-C-K-S.), Human Paladin, or Half-Orc Inquisitor but am open if there are better suggestions out there. The rest of the party make-up:
LG Half-Elf CHA focused Aegis Paladin
TN Human Longsword Wielding Magus
LN Half-Orc Dex Based Monk
TN/NG Halfling Rogue
CG Human Greatsword Wielding Battle-Cleric (Good STR, but WIS highest)Mostly have to stick to Core and APG, but alternative feats and builds allowed with DM approval.
Sorry about only skimming the post. You can go dwarf for the fighter. Take steel would from the APG. All of your saves go up by 4 vs spells, SLA's and poison.
Iron will is another +2 to will save. Dwarves get a +2 bonus to wisdom.In short you don't have to have bad saves as a fighter, and as an archer you won't be doing a lot of moving anyway so the dwarf's speed of 20 should not really hurt you.
As for the ranger you don't have to take the animal companion. You can take the guide archetype from the APG.
It also allows you to choose when to add the favored bonus if that is something you want to look into.
Have you thought about the Battle Scout Ranger Archetype from Ultimate Combat? I know you said Core/AGP, but ask your DM about this one too.
This allows you to get rid of the ranger companion and focus on terrain and initiative more. This would also kind of give your character a roguish feel.
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Another option is the Fighter route:
Human Fighter (no archetypes)
Be sure to double-check prereq.'s (the Feats have High Dex req.).
Don't blow off Wisdom.
Traits: Take one that gives you a +1 Will, and if allowed one that grants Perception as a class skill (like Observant from the PFS Guide to Organized Play).
1st) Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus-Longbow
2nd) Rapid Shot
3rd) Iron Will
4th) Weapon Specialization-Longbow
5th) Point Blank Master (from APG)
6th) Snap Shot (from Ultimate Combat, if GM allows)
7th) Rapidshot
8th) Improved Critical-LongbowGreater Weapon Focus-Longbow
9th) Improved Snap Shot (again, from UC)
10th) Greater Weapon Focus-Longbow
11th) Improved Precise Shot
12th) Greater Weapon Specialization-Longbow
13th) Greater Snap Shot
The biggest deal about this build is the Point Blank Master, Snap Shot, and Improved Snap Shot. They allow you to use your bow in melee, and dispense with changing weapons.
Fighters get more feats than a Ranger, and can get Point Blank Master a level earlier.
The trade off is low skill points and no spells.
Design Manager
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The Sohei monk build (if you guys are at least level 6) can be a fantastic ranged combatant, if you choose the bow for your weapon training (Flurry with bow) and take a few feats. The Sohei doesn't have the limitations on not being able to use Rapid Shot and Manyshot that the Zen Archer does, so at 7th level you're up to 4 attacks (5 by spending a ki point) all at a decent to hit. Plus, you get a few cool tricks for mounted combat, so you have the ability to move and full attack in situations where your mount is available. We have an elven Sohei at 7th level in our current campaign whose normal full attack with a ki point spent is +12/+12/+12/+12/+7 for 1d8+9 with Deadly Aim.
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@Weren Wu Jen - your build above has Rapid shot twice & no combat reflexes (which is wicked with the the snap shot line). Probably a typo.
Ranger on the other hand gets more static bonus w/ favoured enemy and Mount that doesn't suck and allows a full move with a full attack. Every round.
But still the archer fighter & ranger are only good enough to string the Zen Archers bow... They just don't compare at higher levels.
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Zen Archer might actually be a good deal. My only concerns would be A) the GM nixing it if he's not familiar enough with the concept and B) how effective the build would be if I had to wade into melee.
Something I didn't mention that I should have is that the reason I'm not doing an animal companion is because mounts/companions aren't allowed in this campaign. (Not banned, per se, just strongly discouraged.) Also the bulk of the campaign is taking place underground so if I want to be an effective damage dealer (ie NOT a small race) my mount is going to be out of commission a lot of the time. This can be solved by getting a ranger with a small-to-medium companion, but again, it's discouraged.
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@Weren Wu Jen - your build above has Rapid shot twice & no combat reflexes (which is wicked with the the snap shot line). Probably a typo.
Ranger on the other hand gets more static bonus w/ favoured enemy and Mount that doesn't suck and allows a full move with a full attack. Every round.
But still the archer fighter & ranger are only good enough to string the Zen Archers bow... They just don't compare at higher levels.
I feel like the biggest advantages to the Zen Archer are the fact that he's essentially a single stat build, so no MADness to deal with there, and the fact that he gets some cool tricks that up his versatility. I don't think his damage really outshines too many of the other archer builds all told though. The specifications on what feats a Zen Archer can and can't take plays into balancing him down fairly well, IMHO.
@Weren Wu Jen - your build above has Rapid shot twice & no combat reflexes (which is wicked with the the snap shot line). Probably a typo.
Yeah, it was off the cuff. The second Rapid Shot was supposed to be Manyshot.
Good catch on the Combat Reflexes. If he has a decent Wisdom, he might be able to drop Iron Will and go for Combat Reflexes. Of course, it won't pay off until later.
ACK!!! I just noticed that at 8th I had two feats (ignore the second one).
Of course, at 8th you could drop Impr. Crit and put Combat Reflexes there...
Zen Archer might actually be a good deal. My only concerns would be A) the GM nixing it if he's not familiar enough with the concept and B) how effective the build would be if I had to wade into melee.
Something I didn't mention that I should have is that the reason I'm not doing an animal companion is because mounts/companions aren't allowed in this campaign. (Not banned, per se, just strongly discouraged.) Also the bulk of the campaign is taking place underground so if I want to be an effective damage dealer (ie NOT a small race) my mount is going to be out of commission a lot of the time. This can be solved by getting a ranger with a small-to-medium companion, but again, it's discouraged.
Underground huh? Well, that might put a different spin on things. It's hard to do ranged if you can't see your opponent.
Another option is a race w/ Darkvision (say, half-orc) and take the Deepsight feat from the APG.
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If you're spending most of your time underground it changes the game a bit. As Wu Jen suggested a race with Darkvision is going to help out so in this case I'd go Dwarf Zen Archer (Zen Archers are perfect in Melee from about level 4 onwards). Or a race with darkvision and go Ranger (Guide)/Horizon Walker.
The Guides 'Hunters Focus' stacks with the HW's Terrain Dominance/Favoured Enemy bonus. This means that a Guide 6/HW 10 for example can have +38 attack/+22 damage (or something ridonkulous like that) from his terrain/focus bonuses and BAB alone. Factor in other bonuses from attributes/feats/magic gear and your laughing.
I'd say deffinatly go ranger, and instead of using the animal companion for another combatant, just get yourself a really survivable mount. Taking full attacks while moving 50ft a round without minus's is nothing to sneeze at, and with the companion boosts your horse wont just up and die the first time somebody sneezes at it =).
Asta
PSY
I'm currently playing a fighter archer archetype. I really like the amount of damage he puts out, but the lack of skills and out of combat options hurts the fighter. The zen archer is better for the same benefit of feats as the fighter. They get over 22 feats or something, all archery beneficial vs the fighter which has to make it combat oriented.
Ranger is good if you know where you'll be a lot or what you will fight.
Honestly those two are the better archers overall. The arcane archer/wizard/fighter/ek build is nice for flashy abilities in combat, as well as some spell casting.
Zen archer is particularly good for your needs because it has three good saves and the monk typically wants all three save stats (WIS, DEX, CON). You get more attacks than other archers even though you can't use rapid shot and many shot. Also, zen archers get weapon focus and specialisation for free for one type of bow. I agree with the above post suggesting a dwarf. Also, a monk will be some sort of lawful, which fits with most of the rest of your party's alignments.
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Definately read this guide by porpetine before you decide.
If you get nothing else from this guide (unlikely) the idea of Bestmass is worth the read (I've convinced our GM to run our party through it when once we hit 19th or 20th).
My level 16 Ranger (Sable Company Marine) is a great archery build - but admittedly it doesn't really compare to One and probably couldn't take on Beastmass solo.
Although I could have probably made my Ranger better by dipping into HW and terrain stacking - but unless you know you're going to spend the majority of your career in a single terrain it's not a versatile way to go.
The op did mention that the bulk of the campaign will be nderground. In that case, I would go more ranger than zen archer, for the bonuses to not oly attack and damage- favored enemy, but the terrain bonuses as mention will get stupid crazy high. (Daryl, are you sure the HW terrain bonuses stack? If so, I love that combo even more now.)
Pump the underground/ dungeon terrain the most then, with urban as the next one (might only need a +2 in urban, so the underground bonuses stay high. From there your pretty much set. If ou want to spellcast,mwhich is a bulge bonus for you, than stay as is for ranger. If you don't want the spell casting then go the guide archetype, for more terrain bonuses and abilities.
Also, most combat will be closer it seems , than the large open field type stuff archers tend to like now and again. In this case distance enhancement on your bow isn't in any likelihood wanted, but cold be useful late game. Seeking on your bow will be more important for you than other archers since concealment tends to run high in the underground type campaigns and what have you. Same for cover. Dark vision will be important, and possibly also low light vision.
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The HW Terrain Dominance does not stack with a Ranger's Favoured Enemy bonus - it overlaps it and only the largest bonus is used.
The Guide feature "Hunter's Focus" is not Favoured Enemy bonus so by RAW it stacks.
Remember too - Guide still gets spells (they just lose the Animal Companion and replace Favoured Enemey)
Another thing to consider is combat patrol. As written a character who can take AoO's with a bow can have a serious threatened area without having to move. Great for disrupting spellcasters.
The HW Terrain Dominance does not stack with a Ranger's Favoured Enemy bonus - it overlaps it and only the largest bonus is used.
The Guide feature "Hunter's Focus" is not Favoured Enemy bonus so by RAW it stacks.
Remember too - Guide still gets spells (they just lose the Animal Companion and replace Favoured Enemey)
But without favored enemy class feature, they can't use instant enemy (on a wand, most likely) spell to designate foes not from their dominant terrain to be their favored enemy for all intents and purposes (including native terrain). So retaining favored enemy is still quite vaulable for a Horizon Walker.
Given that the game is so focused on one type of terrain, I would definitely suggest a Horizon Walker build. Do at least 3 levels in ranger, and consider doing the rest in rogue -- their UC rogue talent "terrain mastery" (which is actually favored terrain, basically) stacks wonderfully and can then open up taking more via Extra Talent feats -- for the best build. For race, I like Strix, Half-Orc, Goblin...pretty much any race with a dex bonus and darkvision.
The Freebooter Ranger is a cool archetype in my book.
And the myrmidarch magus can be a nice ranged char, too.
The magus can use spell combat for other things than just cast shocking grasp and attack twice.
And the myrmidarch can deliver ray spells with a ranged weapon once he is 4th level.
If you think about the myrmidarch take a look at the halfling staff sling. (can learn it as other race, too) it is a ranged weapon and a melee weapon at the same time. So with it you can use spell combat (which needs a melee weapon) AND ranged spellstrike. So you can full attack (with +1 shot) and enhance one of your shots with a spell.
If you take the arcana to add a wizard spell to your spell list and choose abundand ammunition you can even shoot special material ammo without any cost for you.
Think about ray enhanced adamantium ammo.
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With my GM's approval I went with the Zen Archer for a couple of reasons:
This is a low-treasure campaign. (To whit, the average starting wealth for a 6th Level character is 16,000 gp. I got 7,000---and that was talked up from 6,000.) Monks have a huge advantage in any low-treasure game.
The favored enemy is good, but it seems like the bonus to attack and damage about evens out with the Zen Archer's free WF and WS.
Dwarf does seem like the best option, although I freakin' hate Dwarves. Funny thing is I just never had to deal with it, but darkvision and WIS/CON bonuses with a dump-stat penalty are just so damn good. I just wish I could get it with a race whose flavor didn't make me nerdrage.
One thing I'm a bit unclear on, though: Do Zen Archers still get Improved Unarmed Strike? Their UAS damage increases like the monk's, but it says that the archery bonus feats replace the normal monk bonus feats and they can't flurry unarmed?
Bards make surprisingly good archers (see Treantmonk's guide for build details). They can suffer a bit from ramp time in combat, but the rest of your group will benefit greatly from inspire courage, and as someone mentioned, it would add some useful arcane magic to your group.
It does not say he loses it, but he can't flurry with Improved Unarmed Strike.
The bonus feats that are changed out are the ones the normal monks gets to choose.
Since we now know your going zen archer... Later on we ou have the gold for it, after you get seeking on your bow, make it a guided bow. The guided ability replaces str with wisdom where applicable for the weapon. It has been tossed around that this should work with a composite bows str bonus. This to course would now become a wis bonus, but you would still need a wis bonus to match the rating of the bow.
Now, your attack, damage, AC, and a whole bunch of other stuff is coming off of your monks wisdom. You could essentially dump charisma and also maybe str now.
Also the thing that prevents me from going Bard is because my current character is an enchantment based Sorcerer, so it is sort of redundant and it's always going to be 'meh' in the damage department, comparatively.
Fair point about enchantment, but the bard does have more than that in his arsenal. Also, don't write off his damage so quickly. It's true that it won't quite keep up with a fighter or zen archer, but I'm playing an archer bard who is currently 13th level, and he can put out 4 arrows per turn for 1d4+19 damage each, and this could well be optimized further (he doesn't have boots of speed, for example. It's quite respectable, IMO.
If you can get your dm to allow the archetypes this would be an effective bard archer and not very enchanter like
LG Human Bard (Dawnflower Dervish) 5 Paladin (Divine Hunter) 1
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Init: +6; Perception: +9
Hp: 38 (5d8+1d10+6)
AC: 18, touch: 14, flat: 14 (+4 armor, +4 dex)
Fort: +4, Ref: +9, Wil: +4,
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Speed: 30 ft.
Melee +1 Scimitar +9 (1d6+6/18-20x2)
Ranged +1 Long Comp Bow (+2 Mighty) +7 (1d8+9/x3) or +6/+6(1d8+9/x3)
Special Abilities: Bardic Performance; Battle dance (Gain +4 to hit and damage), Countersong (+2) Distraction (+11) Fascinate(dc 14), 17 rounds/day, Versitile Perfomance (Oratory, Dance), Well Versed Spinning spell caster; Smite evil 1/day (+2 to hit, +1 damage, +2 ac ignore DR), Aura of good, Detect Evil.
Spells Caster Level 5th Concentration +7 (+11)
Lvl 0 (-) Detect Magic, Prestidigitation, Mage Hand, Read Magic, Mending,
Lvl 1 (5) Cure Light Wounds, Feather Step, Abundant Ammunition, Vanish,
Lvl 2 (3) Allegro,+2 others ,
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Str 14, Dex 19, Con 12, Int 08, Wis 10, Cha 14
BAB +4, CMB +6, CMD 21
Traits: Reactionary, Maestro of the Society
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot, Arcane Strike, Deadly Aim,
Skills: (38) Perform (Dance) 6, Perform (Oratory) 6, Perception 6, Escape Artist 6,Spellcraft 6, Linguistics 2, Intimidate 6 (Versitile perfomance grants Diplomacy 6, Sense Motive 6, Acrobatics 6, and Fly 6.)
Gear: Mithril Chain Shirt, +1 Long Comp Bow (+2 Mighty), +1 Scimitar, Cloak of Resistance +1, 40 Cold Iron Arrows 4x scrolls clw 181 gold for other items
Now he is looking like a good archery character probably not optimal but good none the less and can also function in melee if needed.
Round 1(a) If the terrain is bad cast feather step and move to a good spot then if not or afterwards preoceed to round 1(b)
Round 1(b) Battle Dance (move action) and Cast Allegro (personal haste)
Round 2+ Dance (free action) 5' step if needed and Attack +12/+12/+12 1d8+13 damage (13/13/13 and 14 dmg in 30')
Melee
Round 1 as above
Round 2 Full Attack +14/+14 1d6+10 damage
You can swap out paladin for fighter without much hassle.
What don't you like about the dwarves? What race would you prefer and why?
Many people don't like the stereotypical drunken and loud/obnoxious behaviour. I have never played a dwarf like that, but the two are associated, just like kender are associated with "borrowing" things.
So don't play that kind of dwarf then
Monks have a huge advantage in any low-treasure game.
Lies!
Dwarf does seem like the best option, although I freakin' hate Dwarves. Funny thing is I just never had to deal with it, but darkvision and WIS/CON bonuses with a dump-stat penalty are just so damn good. I just wish I could get it with a race whose flavor didn't make me nerdrage.
Oread is just as good as dwarf. Vanara is only a small step down from either of those. You have other options.
One thing I'm a bit unclear on, though: Do Zen Archers still get Improved Unarmed Strike? Their UAS damage increases like the monk's, but it says that the archery bonus feats replace the normal monk bonus feats and they can't flurry unarmed?
Yes, you still have IUS and your unarmed damage progression. Pre-level 3, if someone closes to melee with you, you kick them in the face. level 3+...you just shoot them in the face.
Instead of letting your Evil one just lay down and die...put up a fight! Or just up and leave the party ... live to fight another day. If the evil one is partial to the party you could cast magic from a distance...don't let them know you are tailing them to look over them.
If that isn't an option a fighter with a bow and the right feats is lethal!
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Fair point about enchantment, but the bard does have more than that in his arsenal. Also, don't write off his damage so quickly. It's true that it won't quite keep up with a fighter or zen archer, but I'm playing an archer bard who is currently 13th level, and he can put out 4 arrows per turn for 1d4+19 damage each, and this could well be optimized further (he doesn't have boots of speed, for example. It's quite respectable, IMO.
Also the thing that prevents me from going Bard is because my current character is an enchantment based Sorcerer, so it is sort of redundant and it's always going to be 'meh' in the damage department, comparatively.
I'm very interested to know how you're managing +19? Remember this is a low treasure game so I won't get much benefit if it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to buy it.
What don't you like about the dwarves? What race would you prefer and why?
I'd be lying if I said that the whole stereotypical dwarf image wasn't a part of it. Every person who has ever played a Dwarf has done so with a Scottish brogue and a deep fondness for ale. I understand that I could alleviate this by playing against type, which is common for me, anyway.
My biggest issue, though, is that even though they're technically "Medium" creatures I've always found the idea of a small race trying to be burly hardcore fighters kind of silly. Every time I try to picture a 4' tall bearded dwarf fighting alongside/against Humans/Elves/(especially) Orcs the image is comical to me. This is only exacerbated with artwork that uniformly depicts them as barrel-chested with stubby arms and legs.
Oread is just as good as dwarf. Vanara is only a small step down from either of those. You have other options.
After reading that I asked my DM about being an Oread, and he said it was possible, but asked I stick to Core races if I could help it. Vanara was nixed outright---anthros don't exist in his world. But I am considering going over to Half-Orc. I still get Darkvision, and sacrifice a Con bonus (not super important for a ranged build) and Hatred for Orc Ferocity. The weapon familiarities are pretty much equal.
What don't you like about the dwarves? What race would you prefer and why?I'd be lying if I said that the whole stereotypical dwarf image wasn't a part of it. Every person who has ever played a Dwarf has done so with a Scottish brogue and a deep fondness for ale. I understand that I could alleviate this by playing against type, which is common for me, anyway.
My biggest issue, though, is that even though they're technically "Medium" creatures I've always found the idea of a small race trying to be burly hardcore fighters kind of silly. Every time I try to picture a 4' tall bearded dwarf fighting alongside/against Humans/Elves/(especially) Orcs the image is comical to me. This is only exacerbated with artwork that uniformly depicts them as barrel-chested with stubby arms and legs.
Well, a small archer should certainly be able to hold his own in a fight. I think it would be hilarious to play a dwarf archer who shows up all the elves. Make him kind of spindly (by dwarf standards) and have him be super ascetic - as in no ale. Could be really fun.
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Instead of letting your Evil one just lay down and die...put up a fight! Or just up and leave the party ... live to fight another day. If the evil one is partial to the party you could cast magic from a distance...don't let them know you are tailing them to look over them.
If that isn't an option a fighter with a bow and the right feats is lethal!
Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm not going to just up and kill the Evil character. There's a chance I'm not even going to use this new character. But the GM did me a great favor in letting me play an evil character (They're typically banned, but he loved the concept so much he let me roll with it) and while my character essentially made his own plot hooks a big part of the main narrative is tied to the Paladin. It would be a lot harder to justify having him roll up a new character than me. When you play token evil, that's a possibility you have to accept.
Inquisitor all the way. Bane and judgement make every enemy a favored enemy.
And we have a vote for Inquisitor. With the lack of enthusiasm for the suggestion I was beginning to think I was mistaken in my initial assessment of them.
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I'm very interested to know how you're managing +19? Remember this is a low treasure game so I won't get much benefit if it's going to cost me an arm and a leg to buy it.
It breaks down thus: +3 str, +3 enhancement, +6 deadly aim, +3 arcane strike, +3 inspire courage, +1 point-blank shot = +19 total. As you can see, the only equipment required for this is a +3 bow (and in my character's case, a +4 str belt. YMMV for that), stuff that is more than reasonable at the level he is (13). With no magical gear at all it would drop by 5 to +14 per arrow given my gnome's 12 str, which is still pretty okay. Also note that all of this is CRB-only, so you won't have any trouble there. Plus like I said, and as someone else demonstrated, it can be optimized somewhat further if you want. I strongly recommend Treantmonk's Guide to Bards. It's a bit outdated, and CRB only, but still excellent.
On a related note, inspire courage is severely undervalued in my opinion, since people evaluate on the basis of what it does for your character only. It's important to remember that a bard doing this is giving his whole group a bonus to attack and damage on every attack while he's shooting these arrows, and that is a bonus that can add up quickly and only gets better the more melee characters are around.
Grizzly, you mentioned that the notion of the guided property stacking with +str from composite bows has been tossed around. Can you (or anyone else) elaborate? Or include a link?
Thanks!
Deadly ai is -1/+2 at 3rd and 4 th, then every 4.... At 14th level that maes it a +8 for damage. 3,4,8,12.
So it should be at +21 actually for damage. Not bad for the bard.
I love getting inspire courage from our party's bard. He was providing a +3 to each one of my shots, for a bump of about 15-18 Dmg per round. Archers benefit more I think, because they get more full attacks. It benefits the attack for the me leers just the same, but the damage output is nowhere near the same.
Instead of letting your Evil one just lay down and die...put up a fight! Or just up and leave the party ... live to fight another day. If the evil one is partial to the party you could cast magic from a distance...don't let them know you are tailing them to look over them.
If that isn't an option a fighter with a bow and the right feats is lethal!
Oh, don't misunderstand. I'm not going to just up and kill the Evil character. There's a chance I'm not even going to use this new character. But the GM did me a great favor in letting me play an evil character (They're typically banned, but he loved the concept so much he let me roll with it) and while my character essentially made his own plot hooks a big part of the main narrative is tied to the Paladin. It would be a lot harder to justify having him roll up a new character than me. When you play token evil, that's a possibility you have to accept.
Glad to hear that stories play a big part in your campaigns!
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Story trumps all in our games. One thing I love about our table is no matter who's GMing, we're always willing to work with ideas that enrich the narrative.
Danny Kessler, that Bard seems pretty impressive. But I figure by going a low-CHA class if this one goes belly up, it will give the Paladin a chance to really face for the party. (He was a CHA based character, after all---just a tad behind me.) I am going to keep that in my back pocket, though, for the next campaign. I love bards.
Also I know we're a bit weak on the arcane side, but I figure the Magus will handle most of that (they do have a fair bit of utility spells) and since I'm an arcane caster right now I hate the idea of replacing my current character with a copycat.
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Currently I am in a campaign that is split into 2 to three groups. One is the good players. The second is the evil players and the last is my CN Gunfighter (A fighter who uses guns instead of other weapons, 'cause I didn't want to have to keep track of Grit points.).
My evil character is a female human who only wears body paint. Using the Archer Fighter Arch-type I removed some of the class abilities and picked up some other feats to make her extremely dangerous.
She has some wonderful feats for the bow, but she also has some feats for unarmed combat like the Hamunatra....Hamunatu....you know that feat that allows you to use an unarmed strike to do piercing damage on a critical strike in the Ultimate Combat book.
Ranger's hunter's bond could be improved with the favored class bonuses from the kobold or the strix. One of these races is insanely weak and the other is very rarely played, but hey.