protection fro arrows + stoneskin makes a wizard almost imune to archers and fickle winds make a divine caster imune.
wind wall ruins their day, oscuring mist, darkness, blur, mirror image....
a monk can deflect and catch arrows.
and anyone can put arrow deflection on a shield, armor or both.
I can keep going too. what level are we talking here?
Please note that Fickle Winds is the equivalent of Disjunction for archers - many GMs are reluctant to use it because it will completely invalidate the archer for that specific encounter.
That said, used sparingly and in situations where it would make sense for the opposition to have researched the party tactics and prepared accordingly Fickle Winds is a fantastic counter to archery.
For an alternative that is still very potent but slightly less "archer? Yeah, not going to happen" consider Wind Wall. At least that can be maneuvered through.
honestly I don't find archers to be a problem in most games their damage only gets realy high when they can do like 6 attacks a round at like 12th level.
I find that archers consistently provide the highest sustainable DPR in the parties I've run with. However archers also has a number of downsides, so it seems to balance out fairly well.
Archers are often quite vulnerable to grappling, though it depends a little on their class. Many archers will also have a low save to target (but Sarenrae help you if you've got a paladin archer :-))
I played a paladin Archer recently and grappling was generally my greatest fear. You can also do the whole wind-effect thing, but I'd recommend using that sparingly as there's a difference between challenging an archer and completely invalidating his build.
Zen Archer wouldn't care about being grapple as much, I have a team mate she is a Zen Archer. She rarely shoot arrows and half the time she just grapple things.
I would say win will effect arrows effectively. That's why chakram was used for hunting weapon in plain field due to their ability to resist wind more than most range weapon.
Summon monsters between the archer and the advancing guys who want to get into melee range with the archer. The archer can either shoot throuch the summons getting a cover penalty or he can shoot the summons then he's not dealing damage to those he wants to kill.
Or use your own archers. Or the web spell. Even if the archer manages to not get grappled he still can't see you and you can burn down the web anytime you want to reach him and deal damage to him by doing so.
There afre so many thing you can do to archers that you don't even have to use the "anti archer spells" too often. Instead just use what many casters have prepared as standard spells.
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Alternate Thread Title:
How should I create an escalating arms race with my player?
75% of the time as GM you just have to sit and weep as the archer wins the day
occasionally yr cleric, wizard, monk etc. Baddie will fight back but mostly the critter will just get peppered n perish.
all IME of course
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(but Sarenrae help you if you've got a paladin archer :-))
Regrettably Sarenrae will probably side with the Paladin.
You want to get a handle on archers? Track ammunition. That basic, common sensical approach in our campaign has turned archers from an ultra-specialized uber-maxxed artillery platform to the switch-hitters they probably should have been all along.
Even Legolas ran out of arrows and had to whip out those knives from time to time and Robin Hood's defeat of Little John using a quaterstaff ranks among his most legendary feats.
Just my 2 cp.
Any spells/Tricks that can be done to limit the damage of the Archer until a melee can get in range?
First of all, apply all the penalties for shooting through cover. Most GMs ignore this. For example, at one PFS table I saw an archer shoot through 4 PCs with no penalty. Umm... yeah.
Second, if this is an AP or home campaign, you can change the rules back to the 3.5 rules, where archers can hit their allies if they miss by 4. Fun stuff and it's what I do at home.
And then you can implement other penalties if you want, like range. All ranged weapons (in my home game) have a range increment of 20' because imo although the weapons can fire for hundreds of feat, they can't do so with any accuracy. But with the current rules you can fire 6+ arrows at 200' with no problem. And I definitely have a problem with that.
But yeah, if it's a home campaign feel free to change the rules however you like.
There afre so many thing you can do to archers that you don't even have to use the "anti archer spells" too often. Instead just use what many casters have prepared as standard spells.
All of these suggestions are fine, however they all assume you're facing in a spellcaster, which is not the case most of the time.
Also in practice, most archers tend to win initiative and can easily kill a spellcaster before they can act (unless buffed with serious protective spells).
So yes, some of these suggestions don't jive with my experiences.
OP: Bring a bow of your own. That's what I do. All my fighters carry around bows just in case.
Line of sight issues.
Flying grapplers, or disarmers, or sunderers. "Robin the Bow-Collecting Gragon flies by and tries to grab your bow in his might jaws."
Dropping anything that cuts the archer to a standard action (slow, stinking doud, barrier spells forcing him to move to get a shot in.)
Other archers firing back at him.
I have not seen anything in this thread that would hinder my Barbarian Archer very much, apart from "change the rules" and "Wind Wall". And with Wind Wall, well, that's what Javelins and switching up my Controlled Rage while pulling a Greataxe are for.
And you better hope you get that Wind Wall off first.
Assuming I don't have an infinite amount of gold and the only thing on my side is time to plan, and knowing I'm going against an archer. Any spells/Tricks that can be done to limit the damage of the Archer until a melee can get in range?
1) Just close the distance faster.
Movement enhancements are relatively cheap and generally readily available. A potion of Expeditious retreat gives you +30ft to movement, so even a heavily armored melee fighter starting with a 20ft move can close 100ft in a single round.As the GM, you can also put the archer in difficult terrain so he can't 5-foot step or get away easily, then give your melee guy Feather Step slippers so his movement isn't impaired.
Total cost for this solution is less than 3000gp. (You can cut that in half with a potion of Feather step, but that takes another action.)
2) Use cover. Most terrains provide some means of cover: trees, boulders, elevation changes, corners, walls, etc. Even out in the open, you can always get total cover from a tower shield.
3) Don't forget that concealment provides a miss chance. Most GMs and players forget the regular environmental sources of concealment like darkness, dim light, rain, etc. I've also seen a lot of GMs forget about Perception penalties for distance.
Also, spells/potions that give miss chance work just as well for ranged attacks. Also, Invisibility is going to screw all archers unless they know the square, which is a lot harder using ranges attacks. Use invisibility and then close the distance. Or use mundane cover.
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Keep the Archer off balance so he cannot setup for a full attack action. If you can limit the archer to a standard action you will severely limit their damage output.
As a GM you need to use these tactics sparingly or run the risk of driving off players. If I am playing an archer and every encounter is designed specifically to be anti-archer, I will likely quit the game.
Shoot the bow with a scorching ray.
Shoot the bow with a scorching ray.
Shatter!
Warpwood!
Bad guys use tower shields and advance slowly while keeping under cover.