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I've had fun with this PC and he's now currently going through eyes of the ten (one chronicle so far). I'm trying to figure out anything really cool that he should have. Any comments?
Arrowsong Ministrel lvl 12
Race: Vishkanya (GM boon) but could easily go with Ifrit with the new rules
Stats Str:12, Dex:22, Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 20
HP: 84. Initiative +9
AC: 25 Touch: 20 Flatfooted 19 (Armor 5, Dex 6, NA 1, Deflection 2, Miscellaneous 1
Fort 9 (+12 vs poison) Refl 17, Will 11
CMB +10 CMD 26
Skills with Ranks: Diplomacy 21, Disable Device 9, Knowledge arcana 9, knowledge local 9, knowledge planes 8, knowledge religion 9, Perception 22, Perform Oratory 20, spellcraft 18, UMD 20
Feats: point blank shot, precise shot (bonus), Weapon Focus (longbow), Rapid Shot, Improved Critical, manyshot, discordant voice
SA: low-light vision, keen senses, limber, Poison Resistance +12, Poison Use, Toxic 1/day DC 18, Weapon Familiarity, Bardic Performance 31rds/day, Inspire Courage +4, Countersong, Inspire Greatness, Jack of all Trades, Versatiltity (Sense motive +20), Spellstrike, Diminished Spell Casting
Traits: Reactionary, Stabbing Spells
Spells known: Detect Magic, Light, Open/close, Read Magic, Message, Prestidigitation
Saving Finale, Weaponwand, Chord of Shards, Adoration, Expeditious Retreat, Liberating Command
Mirror Image, Bestow Insight (GM star spell), Arrow Eruption, Frigid Touch, Acid Arrow
Haste, Dispel Magic, Displacement, Battering Blast
Dimension Door, Freedom of Movement, Song of Healing, Grand Destiny
Spells added to bard list: Gravity Bow, True Strike, Acid Arrow, Scorching Ray, Frigid Touch, Battering Blast, Flame Arrow, Arrow Eruption
Items: +1 seeking holy +1 composite longbow with deliquesent gloves and lesser bracers of archery +18/+13 1d8+2 + 1d6 acid + 2d6 holy + 1d6 sonic, +1 spellstoring mithril chain shirt, Cloak of Res +3, RoP + 2, Belt of Dex +4, Amulet of NA +1, 3 reasons to live ( special bard item), Handy haversack , lesser meta magic rod of rime, eyes of the eagle, ghost salt arrows, durable admantine arrows (50), Jaunt Boots, wayfinder, clear spindle ioun stone, cracked dusty rose ioun stone, cracked pink ioun stone, mswk thieves tools, headband of Cha + 2, Incandescent blue ioun stone.
What do people think?
Nice build! I have an Arrowsong at level 8, and it looks like your build. I could take notes from your build. One critique though: your Bracers of Archery don't stack with Bardic Performance, you know that, right? I saw them and decided to not buy them because my first action in combat will pretty much always be to Inspire.
Nice build! I have an Arrowsong at level 8, and it looks like your build. I could take notes from your build. One critique though: your Bracers of Archery don't stack with Bardic Performance, you know that, right? I saw them and decided to not buy them because my first action in combat will pretty much always be to Inspire.
I didn't see that!! Good catch. Good thing I didn't buy the greater version. Thanks.
I would also consider getting one of these: Tuned Bowstring
I thought about that, but my party pointed out that if combat actually lasted more than 31 rounds, than the cleric is out of spells, the alchemist is out of bombs, and the party is toast. For 18K it just didn't seem to be worth the price.
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I would also consider getting one of these: Tuned BowstringI thought about that, but my party pointed out that if combat actually lasted more than 31 rounds, than the cleric is out of spells, the alchemist is out of bombs, and the party is toast. For 18K it just didn't seem to be worth the price.
Wait, where does it show in entry for Tuned Bowstring about anything involving 31 rounds? From what I can see, it should work fine no matter how many turns the battle lasts.
I assume because if all the combat combined in a day is less than 31 rounds, then he has enough bardic performance to support it, and does not need to buy an item to give him more.
I don't have any specific advice or suggestions, but I've been looking at making a magic based archer for awhile and so your build is particularly nice. I was wondering if you would be willing to share some general experiences with it as you leveled up. In particular, did you find the lack of a spell slot at each level to hold you back? Any obvious "gotchas" or moments where you felt things didn't work?
To be honest, I played this guy to lvl 2 and then GMed everything but my last two scenarios. So I can't say anything beyond this guy is a good party character. Everybody loves him around, not the least of which is when he starts his bard song for inspire courage everybody gets +4 to hit and +4 to dmg and +1d6 sonic dmg.
Spells are not really a problem as I only use them when I can't make a full attack. The only thing that is frustrating is I have to wait to either switch out spells or add the evocation ones. But because pathfinder allows retroactive bonuses to apply, every time I raise my Cha I get a new spell to choose. Also using the rules for retraining in ultimate campaign can help in a pinch.
Make sure you have a get out of dodge maneuver. Mine is use my jaunt boots to take a 15ft step that doesn't provoke as a move and then DD REALLY far away. First range increment for a longbow is over 100ft, and that usually takes the BBEG a round or so to get to me.
GHOST SALT ARROWS - everybody breathes a sigh of relief when I can take care of pesky incorporeal creatures.
I assume because if all the combat combined in a day is less than 31 rounds, then he has enough bardic performance to support it, and does not need to buy an item to give him more.
Exactly. Thanks Saethori.
How do you get 15 feet no aoo step ?
Jaunt boots
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/a-b/boots -jaunt
In ultimate equipment.
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Gonna drop some more ideas for you.
Treat: Magical Lineage (Good Hope)
Feat: Encouraging Spell (in place of Weapon Focus)
Items:
Lesser Metamagic Rod Quicken Spell
Gloves of Storing.
PFS only usually has a couple of combats a session. A strong opening round for this kind of character would be to haste as a standard action and then to cast encouraging good hope which is normally a full round action, using the quickened rod so that it becomes a swift. This allows you to use a move action to inspire courage. The gloves of spell storing lets you store/retrieve your bow and the quicken rod as free actions. At 11 this becomes +3 competence bonus from inspire courage and +3 from the encouraging good hope on top the haste. Ain't no one going to turn their nose up at that. This also leaves you open to full round attacking for the rest of combat. This is an expensive combo to pull off, but I am pretty sure you'd be at the top of everyone's list of people to play with.
Note that magical lineage/encouraging spell also works well with Heroism, but not as well as good hope.
really quick--where are you getting Disable Device from? Bards don't get it as a class skill and doesn't it have to be trained to use?
Random things I thought I'd see on your list I'm not seeing:
wands - any, as you have weaponwand as one of your spells known, but no wands in your gear list...
arrows which are blunt, cold iron, or alchemical silver (your enhancement bonus is only +1) - or any other specialty arrows (ex. dye, trip, tanglefoot, splintercloud)
a backup weapon, or at least a spiked gauntlet in case of grappling / prone
Some random thoughts on other things you may want to think about purchasing:
50gp - air crystal
50gp - anti plague
50gp - anti toxin
150gp - scroll of see invisibility or glitterdust (or 600gp for a tar & feathers feather token)
300gp - potion of darkvision
750gp - potion of cure blindness / deafness
1,000gp - bead of newt prevention
1,000gp - add adaptive to the composite bow
1,000gp - fortifying stone to attach to the composite bow
2,000gp - blood reservoir of physical prowess
2,000gp - efficient quiver
3,000gp - add impervious to the composite bow
3,150gp - silver nocking point
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I thought about that, but my party pointed out that if combat actually lasted more than 31 rounds, than the cleric is out of spells, the alchemist is out of bombs, and the party is toast. For 18K it just didn't seem to be worth the price.I would also consider getting one of these: Tuned Bowstring
The real benefit of Tuned Bowstring is for things you normally wouldn't do at all.
For example, consider Soothing Performance... 4 rounds of bardic performance for a mass cure serious wounds. Not something you would usually do very often... but what if you could fire off arrows rather than burning rounds of bardic performance? Suddenly a seldom used bardic performance becomes unlimited full party healing.
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the archtype loose soothing performance.....
Just an example.
Many bardic performances and masterpieces take on whole new dimensions when you not only don't have to worry about them squandering your bardic performance rounds for the day, but can potentially keep them going indefinitely.
A tuned bowstring can achieve the same 'unlimited healing' result with the 'Life Budding in Salted Earth' masterpiece... or keep Inspire Heroics going to help an ally make multiple saves to beat a poison or disease... or inspire greatness while casters are buffing the party so all their spells are cast as if 2 levels higher... or use the Clamor of the Heavens masterpiece to potentially walk through an army of low level enemies unharmed... or The Depths of the Mountain can be kept going so long that it reduces a city to rubble... or take the Spellsong feat and then maintain any concentration spell indefinitely while still casting other spells... et cetera.
Basically, with a tuned bowstring your bardic performance rounds become the number of performances you can use in a day... rather than the total number of rounds you can use them for.
Random things I thought I'd see on your list I'm not seeing:
wands - any, as you have weaponwand as one of your spells known, but no wands in your gear list...
arrows which are blunt, cold iron, or alchemical silver (your enhancement bonus is only +1) - or any other specialty arrows (ex. dye, trip, tanglefoot, splintercloud)
a backup weapon, or at least a spiked gauntlet in case of grappling / proneSome random thoughts on other things you may want to think about purchasing:
50gp - air crystal
50gp - anti plague
50gp - anti toxin
150gp - scroll of see invisibility or glitterdust (or 600gp for a tar & feathers feather token)
300gp - potion of darkvision
750gp - potion of cure blindness / deafness
1,000gp - bead of newt prevention
1,000gp - add adaptive to the composite bow
1,000gp - fortifying stone to attach to the composite bow
2,000gp - blood reservoir of physical prowess
2,000gp - efficient quiver
3,000gp - add impervious to the composite bow
3,150gp - silver nocking point
I didn't get into all the stuff I have. Just some of the relevant part.