Help me build a Called Shot Archer

[Angry Wizard]

Okay, so I’m building an archery fighter for a Rise of the Runelords campaign. Fighters are unfamiliar territory for me (being a caster of some kind all the time) and I could use the advice. I’m going to call him Bob for now.

Basic Backstory: Bob is a compulsive gambler and thrill/challenge seeker. Even surrounded by goblin hoards, Bob still feels the need to do trick shots and gambles frequently with his teammates on whether or not he can hit an unlikely target (With the Called Shot feat line). Disaster and hilarity is frequent.

His stats for a 20 point buy: Str 14, Dex 18, Con 12, Int 13, Wis 10, Cha 10.

Now I have some questions.

Vanilla Fighter vs. Archery Fighter: Pro and cons between them? Is the archetype worth it for some who won’t be relying on anything other than a bow and a prayer for luck?

Traits: what are some good traits for a character like this? Please also feel free to shoot me some character ideas to help flavor his backstory.

Skills: Besides Perception, what are some useful skills to invest in for this kind of character?

Feats: besides the basic archery feats (Precise shot, Deadly Aim, Rapid Shot, yadda yadda) and the Called Shot feats (Which will require that damned combat expertise feat) I wanted to try and squeeze in the human luck feats if it’s possible. What would be a good feat path up to level 15 for this?

[PapaZorro]

Don't forget about the benefits of Reduce Person and Alter Self for those extra size/dex bonuses for ranged attacks!

[Angry Wizard]

PapaZorro wrote:

Don't forget about the benefits of Reduce Person and Alter Self for those extra size/dex bonuses for ranged attacks!

Man how does that even work? I just had a complete body adjustment to the size of a halfling, but I'm suddenly much better at aiming. XD

[Gwen Smith]

I don't like the Archer archetype: it trades out both Armor Training and Weapon Training, which are two of the strongest features of the class. (You have a high dex, and with armor training you can wear medium armor without wasting extra money on mithral. And Weapon Training is the main thing that keeps the fighter archer ahead of the Zen Archer monk in pure damage output.)

I also think its trade outs take too long to kick in--by the time you can do a ranged trip, most of your enemies are too large to trip anyway.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out the Ranged Tactics Toolbox for some nice ranged combat maneuver feats and "tricksy" shots.

I would probably go with vanilla fighter or potentially the Hooded Champion Ranger archetype. You can take urban as your favored terrain for a nice "Phillip the Mouse, who shoots you with a bow" feel.

[Ash Catch 'em]

The traditional (vanilla) fighter is a much better choice because of armor training and weapon training. Mithril fullplate with no movement penalty is a major boon to the archer.