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Hi, everyone! Are there any bard archetypes that work well for a ranged build? Arcane Duelist seems moslty melee-oriented, since apart from Arcane Strike (which is nice) none of the other feats seem useful for an archer.
Archaeologist is great, but i want to focus in archetypes that don't lose bardic performance.
Anything I'm missing?
bladethirst works for ammo.
Hi, everyone! Are there any bard archetypes that work well for a ranged build? Arcane Duelist seems moslty melee-oriented, since apart from Arcane Strike (which is nice) none of the other feats seem useful for an archer.
Archaeologist is great, but i want to focus in archetypes that don't lose bardic performance.
Anything I'm missing?
We had a Human Arcane Duelist that ran through RotRL and he did very well. He took a two level dip in Lore Warden for thematic and mechanical purposes, but he eventually took the Snap Shot feat chain and was murder on opposing sepllcasters.
Arcane Bond works as well with a bow as with a sword, Bladethirst works on ranged weapons though I'd still prefer Inspire Courage, Arcane Armor is good regardless of whether you're an archer or a melee-type and with the Improved Snapshot feat casters within 15' provoke AoO's...
Dervish Dancer would work. The Battle Dances will work with any manufactured weapon, not just melee.
I think the Dervish Dancer is a good archetype and a legitimate option... however, in my opinion, that's more true in a vacuum. There's almost never a time when I would rather give myself +2 attack and damage instead of giving myself, the party barbarian, the party Ranger and the party Rogue +1 attack and damage.
The biggest advantage to the Dervish Dancer imo is the later ability to flip back and forth between battle dances as a swift action - Inspire Courage for +8 attack/+8 damage on your turn and then Inspire Greatness for +8 AC and +8 saves on theirs.
Currently playing an Arcane Duelist bard archer in Carrion Crown and having a good time with it. I have started to multiclass into fighter (planned at least 5 levels of fighter) so I can pick up some more feats but at present I am bard 11 fighter 1. Having casters provoke within 15 feet will be nice, and being able to cast in medium armor without arcane spell failure is nice, too.
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True, but how about giving yourself Haste or giving your party +1 to attack and damage? Don't get me wrong, party buffing is great. But as an archer, you generally want to be away from melee, so your Barb, Ranger and Rogue may not even be in range of your performance.
Being selfish has drawbacks. But depending on playstlye, those drawbacks may not be so bad.
Found the Arcane Duelist build we used in RotRL if you're interested in seeing it... the Lore Warden levels came at 2nd and 3rd. Magical Knack and the Human favored class option for extra spells known goes a long way to make up for the 2 level dip when it comes to casting...
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Human 15th level Bard (Arcane Duelist) / 2nd level Fighter (Lore Warden)
Human favored class option for Bards
Attributes: (20 point buy)
STR - 10
DEX - 14 (+2 racial bonus, +1 @ 4th & 8th)
CON - 14
INT - 14
WIS - 10
CHA - 14 (+1 @ 12th & 16th)
Traits:
Magical Knack
Reactionary
Feats & Abilities:
1st - Point Blank Shot
1st - Lingering Performance
1st - Arcane Strike
2nd - Precise Shot
3rd - Weapon Focus: Bow
3rd - Rapid Shot
3rd - Combat Expertise
4th - Combat Casting
5th - Deadly Aim
7th - Arcane Bond
7th - Combat Reflexes
8th - Disruptive
9th - Snap Shot
11th - Discordant Voice
12th - Spellbreaker
13th - Improved Snap Shot
15th - Manyshot
16th - Penetrating Strike
17th - Improved Precise Shot
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Archaeologist is pretty solid for ranged. Their switch over to a self-buff is fine since you won't necessarily be near the party at any time and they get to activate it as a swift action right off the bat, which is pretty effective with Rapid Shot at early levels. The Rogue-y abilities can all synergize well with ranged combat too.
**EDIT** And then I reread your post and see that you covered that
Lump me in the Arcane Duelist boat then.
Or, as a weird suggestion, you could look at Animal Speaker. Freebie critters and swarms to keep the mooks at bay while you fill them full of arrows.
I could see Sandman having some potential as well, though I feel like that would be pretty situational.