I'm trying to make a class that primarily uses some form of ranged attacks and provides buffing, with some amount of bonus feats.what is the best way to do this? I'm starting at 5th level and want to be able to this from then, so most PrCs are out until later.
Inquisitors and Warpriests are masters of self-buff and make fine archers if I recall correctly.
Inquisitor would be strong for this. Great ranged capability, good buffing, although your bonus feats would be teamwork feats.
The Myrmidarch magus is a possibility. I believe there is a guide for it in the Guide to the Guides.
Battle oracle could work as well, being the best buffer, although the bonus feats would have to come through revelations.
Warpriest should also meet your requirements.
'make a class' as in homebrew?
If you're asking for advice for which extant class to go with, warpriest is exactly this, I'd say go with that.
Remember to take advantage of the BaB clause of bonus feats to get many shot early and such.
Is this for a home game or PFS?
home game
and by "make a class" I mean character, and am looking for a class
most 3pp is at least possible. (but it seems every casting with archery focus is divine/wisdom based)
I'm also for theme reasons looking for arcane casting(wanting high int or chr). though with this that should be easy enough. even with an inquisitor, which I hadn't considered using the archetype with until now.
Arcane Duelist bard.
You get a cheaper bow through arcane bond, and you get the best buffing spell list in the game.
and i think we have a winner, jesus christ, why didn't i know this existed, it fits like my last 4 concepts perfectly.
so slight question, when choosing arcane bond, how exactly does it interact with composite longbows? do i get any possible +# i want for free?
I've always wondered: Evangelist Cleric of Erastil / Sohei1 - and take Crusader's Flurry. It seems like there should be some hitch to using standard flurry of blows with a longbow but...
As much as I like Arcane Duelist Bard, I find the Bard class itself, even with all of its buffs and archetypes, is still a support role. You take all of its buffs and put it on himself, he'll only be as effective as an unbuffed Full BAB character, at best. You take those same buffs and throw them on a Full BAB martial, and you got yourself a powerhouse who will basically 1-round everybody, even Balors and such.
I did a numbers comparison a long while ago, and by the endgame, it would take you 4 rounds, on average, to kill a CR Equivalent enemy; at the level you're at now, it would actually take 6 rounds. Whereas the fully-buffed martial would most likely kill 4 CR Equivalent enemies in a single round. You will also be feat starved, even with the benefits of the Arcane Duelist, and you'll be MAD, since you have to increase both Strength and Dexterity to maintain your damage and to-hit, respectively, on top of your other subjects.
It ultimately depends on what you want your role to accomplish. Since I presume you want to be a more self-reliant martial-type with access to spells, a Divine Hunter Paladin would fit the bill, as it gives you extra ranged feats, access to spells (and with a certain feat, gain access to some of the most powerful buff spells from the Bard), and you're a much more competent ranged attacker, especially against evil characters, which will be about 75-80% of what you fight. Unless you want to be a Neutral, Chaotic, and/or Evil character, the Lawful Good and Code of Conduct restrictions aren't that horrible, and if they are something you don't want to deal with, then Inquisitor is the other alternative, though it's also not as good in my opinion. But if you are absolutely set on Arcane Duelist, then you better be ready for offensive disappointment.
so slight question, when choosing arcane bond, how exactly does it interact with composite longbows? do i get any possible +# i want for free?
It functions no different than any other arcane bond, other than you can use that hand that's holding the weapon to fulfill somatic components. You are treated as having the relevant craft feat required to enhance it but nothing else, and you can upgrade it at cost using Spellcraft or whatever relevant Craft feat you have. The other benefit is that it starts off as Masterwork, so you do get a +1 to hit with it to start.
so slight question, when choosing arcane bond, how exactly does it interact with composite longbows? do i get any possible +# i want for free?It functions no different than any other arcane bond, other than you can use that hand that's holding the weapon to fulfill somatic components. You are treated as having the relevant craft feat required to enhance it but nothing else, and you can upgrade it at cost using Spellcraft or whatever relevant Craft feat you have. The other benefit is that it starts off as Masterwork, so you do get a +1 to hit with it to start.
but i start with it at no cost, so can i get a str 30 composite longbow for free?
edit: and on my role, I wanted to be support, but still able to be at least halfway decent at range while i'm no longer buffing or casting.
I'd say no. A 30 str composite longbow is a customized item, not just a masterwork weapon. It's also worth 1,000 gp...I think we both agree that's too much of a freebie.
==Aelryinth
I'd say no. A 30 str composite longbow is a customized item, not just a masterwork weapon. It's also worth 1,000 gp...I think we both agree that's too much of a freebie.
==Aelryinth
according to composite longbow you simply add 100gp to the cost for every 2 str.
this isn't magical or customized, it's just the default price for a weapon with that quality. any strength value is "customized" which is why i am asking exactly how "free" can a composite longbow get?
anyway as of right now i just set it to my strength of 14, not looking for freebies, but was still confused at what i could get it at.
I'd say no. A 30 str composite longbow is a customized item, not just a masterwork weapon. It's also worth 1,000 gp...I think we both agree that's too much of a freebie.
==Aelryinth
according to composite longbow you simply add 100gp to the cost for every 2 str.
this isn't magical or customized, it's just the default price for a weapon with that quality. any strength value is "customized" which is why i am asking exactly how "free" can a composite longbow get?
anyway as of right now i just set it to my strength of 14, not looking for freebies, but was still confused at what i could get it at.
How about we avoid this whole issue? There is a magical weapon property that solves this issue....and it is a straight gold cost rather than an extra enhancement bonus.
Adaptive is a straight +1000 gp enhancement that makes your bow act like it was an appropriate strength rating. This means you just have to spend an extra +500 gp with the arcane bond. And this does not affect the cost for regular enhancements at all. Just a simple one time price.
Anyway, back to the main issue: how about a dawnflower dervish bard? It gets double on performances like inspire courage, but those bonuses only work on itself. Not quite the same party buffer...but I mean... that puts inspire courage on par with rage at level 1, and you eventually get a +8 to attack and damage.
This works great for an archer (I know the archetype supports dervish dance...but those sweet, sweet static bonuses are wasted on a style that doesn't get a ton of hits like archery or TWF)
Have you considered divination wizard for early entry Eldritch Knight with Magical Knack trait for full caster level?
You could go Fighter 1/Div Wizard 1/ Eldritch Knight 3
You ll have 1 extra feat from eldritch knight, and you will be 1 BAB behind full BAB classes.
Although you won't be able to do both at the same time, you will be an almost full lvl wizard and a full BAB archer. Having all the sweet utility and buffing (10min/lvl and hour long buffs will be a great boon to your archery) and control of the wizard if you want to do that in battle and then grab your bow and shoot things.
You may continue with Arcane Archer eventually for full BAB again but with some spellcasting sacrifice (2 lvl), or more levels of wizards by sacrificing some BAB.
Elf (bonuses on dex and int and some other elf goodies) and Human (extra feat) work great with this.