I have the opportunity to play an Atomie.
I've wanted to play an Arcane Archer for a long time, and I think this might the chance to do it.
Basic Concept:
Atomie gets most of her licks in with ranged sneak attack.
She also helps party as skill monkey and knowledge monkey (2 lacking groups).
Once she becomes an Arcane Archer she casts ranged debuffing spells-- silence, invisibility purge, dispel magic, etc, via arrows.
Stats:
S 6
D 18
C 13
I 11
W 14
Cha 18
Bonus Abilities:
Fly 50'
Invisibility, personal, 3x day, 1 action
Low Light Vision
Reduce Person at Will (next size down)
Shrink item, 1x day, non magical, 4 sizes down
+1d6 sneak attack
Speak with animals at will
dancing lights at will
Penalties:
Strength 6, so damage is impeded
2 level impairment
Decisions:
1. Archer Type?
I'm leaning more towards sneak attack damage, since her strength is so low. Is there a way to get more ranged DAMAGE from a fighter or ranger with low strength?
Otherwise its down to Rogue:sniper or Ninja, but then I realized items and ninja tricks can give the Deadly Range ability.
So with her low strength and high charisma it seems a natural--- Ninja
2. Arcane Spellcaster Type?
Wizard-- Intelligence 11. No
Summoner-- GM Ban
Sorcerer-- Mayyyyybeee? If so, which bloodline? Is there one that would synergize with ranged damage?
Bard-- The archaelogist bard with Luck bonus would be very nice. Probably vanilla bard won't work since she'll be trying to stay invisible and unnoticed.
3. Then how many levels of each? Goal is to reach +6 Bab
4. Spell selection.
The goal is to imbue arrows with AoE spells, probably debuffs. (AA 2nd)
Since she will probably be way behind in caster levels, are there ways to take a spell from a scroll, wand, or rod and imbue the arrow that way?
Then which AoE spells?
5. Feats, Traits and Ninja Tricks
Point-Blank Shot (manditory)
Precise Shot (manditory)
Weapon Focus: Shortbow (manditory)
Reactionary
Fates Favored (if archaelogist)
Improved Initiative
Deadly Range
Others
6. Ways to get sneak attack/ Ways to get damage when SA is not an option?
Going First
Going Invisible before next attack
Flanking is not a good option for diminutive creatures
Feinting also seems to be a poor option
Other suggestions????
Thanks for playing along. I appreciate all suggestions
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I just built a character going for Arcane Archer, although I have yet to play him, and he is only level 3.
1. You have the stats to make a very good Paladin (Divine Hunter lets you trade your heavy armor for precise shot). The downside is low skills from Paladin levels. Otherwise Ninja is a solid fit for what you want, although sneak attack is negated by many enemy types at higher levels. The other downside to the ninja is low BAB progression gets you into Arcane Archer later than you might like. Eldrich Knight is a solid way to raise your BAB while raising your casting so that you don't end up as far behind in caster levels (and is what I'm doing with my AA). However, Eldrich Knight will also put off the level at which you start AA unless you have some cheesy way to take it early like I did. Actually, come to think of it, you do have Shrink Item as a SLA which can qualify you for the class under official rules (talk to your GM about this though).
2. I would recommend Sorcerer over Bard because you will want as many levels of spells as you can get. I'm generally a fan of the Arcane bloodline, which gives you a knowledge of your choice as a class skill and a bonded object (or a familiar, but the bonded object is much better for multiclassing) that lets you cast an additional spell per day.
3. Possible Builds:
Paladin 1/Sorcerer 1/Eldrich Knight 5/Arcane Archer - if your gm allows it
Paladin 6/Sorcerer 1/Arcane Archer - fastest other route
Paladin 1/Sorcerer 5/Eldrich Knight 3/Arcane Archer - slower, but much more spellpower
Ninja 8/Sorcerer 1/Arcane Archer - powerful sneak attacks, weak spells
Ninja 3/Sorcerer 1/Arcane Trickster 6/Arcane Archer - requires the same RAW interpretation as the first build, good balance of spells and sneak attack, but you don't reach AA until lv11 - ouch!
Ninja 4/Sorcerer 1/Arcane Trickster 4/Arcane Archer - gets you there 1 level earlier, and you get the same sneak attack, still requires gm permission
4. TRUE STRIKE - no somatic components means no spell failure
Gravity Bow - a nice damage buff
Abundant Ammunition - need Adamantine Arrows to kill the Golem? Use the same one over and over again.
Here's a thread where I asked about good spells for Imbue Arrow and good archer spells in general:
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2r7fh?Good-Spells-for-Arcane-Archer
The overwhelming answer was Anti-Magic Field
5. Here's my 20 lv Arcane Archer feat build tweaked a bit for you:
Arcane Archer, Vital Strike build
l1-1 - Weapon Finesse
l1p1 - Precise Shot
l2s1 - Eschew Materials
l3-3 - Weapon Focus (Longbow)
l3ek1 - Point Blank Shot
l5-5 - Arcane Armor Training
l7-7 - Vital Strike
l7ek5 - Bullseye Shot
l9-9 - Improved Critical (Longbow)
l11-11 - Improved Precise Shot
l13-13 - Improved Vital Strike
l15-15 - Far Shot
l17-17 - Greater Vital Strike
l19-19 - Pinpoint Targeting
With your low strength, Vital Strike becomes dare I say more vital for raising your damage. Bullseye Shot can be used in conjunction with all of your AA class abilities and with Vital Strike. Arcane Armor Training + Mithril Kikko Armor allows you to spend a swift action to remove your spell failure chance.
6. Get damage/feel useful without sneak attack via imbue arrow or just straight casting spells like glitterdust or energy explosion.
If you don't mind the delay in spellcasting, be sure to pick up a second Paladin level for Charisma to all saves.
Thank you L33 Fish for your detailed answer! Very helpful.
I probably should have mentioned that it's a Skull & Shackles variant campaign, so Paladin would be tough. And we're currently only 4th level, so couldn't afford an early "fall".
You answered so many questions, and I'll definitely review your link when I get time.
In the meanwhile, is it possible to imbue arrows with spells from scrolls, etc?
Bard 8 / Arcane Archer X is viable with archaeologist or dawnflowr dervish. If the latter Bard 9 would be tempting for doubled inspire greatness.
The highlight for a bard arcane archer is confusion, with glitterdust, grease and silence useful. Frozen note should be useful if you get that far.
A bard is a better archer and worse arcanist than sorcerer base alternatives.
Casting from scrolls should work if your DM doesn't insist on about having both hands on the bow. It's not specifically required and switching from scroll one hand/bow one hand to bow in both hands is a free action, but ask your DM.
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4 lv.Fighter/1 lv.Sorcerer/X lv.Arcane Archer/X lv.Rouge or Ninja
1 point blank attack
1f weapon focus bow
2f precise shot
3 deadly aim
4f weapon specialization bow
5 point blank master
7 rapid shot
9 many shot
11 hammer the gap
13 combat reflexes
15 snap shot
17 improved snap shot
19 greater snap shot
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Thank you L33 Fish for your detailed answer! Very helpful.
I probably should have mentioned that it's a Skull & Shackles variant campaign, so Paladin would be tough. And we're currently only 4th level, so couldn't afford an early "fall".
You answered so many questions, and I'll definitely review your link when I get time.
In the meanwhile, is it possible to imbue arrows with spells from scrolls, etc?
Glad I could help.
Even if you fall from grace, a single level dip in Paladin is better than one in Fighter for you by +2 will save (which I guess reflects poorly on the Fighter). I forgot to mention that a single level dip in Oracle can get you all martial weapons via the Battle or Metal mysteries, but I'm not really a fan of single level dips in Oracle because your curse never gets better. The Swashbuckler (Advanced Class Guide) is a martial option that might fit your campaign's flavor, scales a bit off of Cha, and gives you Weapon Finesse for free (so you could have more melee options). Cavalier also might be an option for you, although Ranger is probably better.
As far as imbuing arrows with spells from wands, scrolls, or staves or using metamagic rods on imbued spells, I would personally rule against it because you need both hands to fire your bow when the spell is cast, so you don't have a spare one for magic items. However, I could see it argued both ways, so that question is best left up to your GM.