another specialization champion archer

[avrael]

in a recent game we were discussing the lack luster archer abilities in the age system so i decided to put something together. what i came up was a champion archer based on the peerless archer from the d20 forgotten realms silver marches book.

any feed back or suggested tweaks is appreciated.

Champion Archer

Crécy was a battle in which an Anglo-Welsh army of 9,000 to 15,000 (depending on source), commanded by Edward III of England and heavily outnumbered by Philip VI of France's force of 35,000 to 100,000 (depending on source), was victorious as a result of superior weaponry and tactics, demonstrating the importance of the modern military concept of fire power. The effectiveness of the English longbow, used en masse, was proven against armored knights, contrary to the conventional wisdom of the day which held that archers would be ineffective and be butchered when the armored units closed in.

Champion Archer Talent
Class: Rogue
Requirement: You must have Cunning and Dexterity 3 or higher.

Novice: A Champion Archer can draw and fire in a split second, catching her targets unawares. The Champion Archer may perform a ranged sneak attack from a hidden or concealed position granting an additional +1d6 points of extra damage. It takes precision and penetration to hit a vital spot, so her ranged attacks can only count as sneak attacks if the target is no farther than 10 yards away.

Journeyman: An experienced Champion Archer can make a devastatingly powerful bowshot, she may choose to subtract a number of armor points from her target equal to the result on her dragon dice during an attack roll, this attack may not stunt for extra damage.

Master: A Champion Archer can draw and strike an extra number of targets equal to her dragon dice. Only one roll is made to hit, but damage is rolled separately for each target.

[Loswaith]

The journeyman and master talents seem a bit overpowered as they effectivly mimic the stunts pierce armour and dual strike (actually its even better) respectivly but can apply on every attack.

Also the Cunning requirement seems to make little sence as it doesnt tie into any of the abilities, nore into archery.

[avrael]

The journeyman and master talents seem a bit overpowered as they effectivly mimic the stunts pierce armour and dual strike (actually its even better) respectivly but can apply on every attack.

Also the Cunning requirement seems to make little sence as it doesnt tie into any of the abilities, nore into archery.

for the journeyman ability i was looking at the a power shot ability from the peerless archer. which is basically taking an amount from your attack and putting it into damage prior to an attack roll which i was hesitant to do since they already get the extra damage at novice.

for the master ability i was looking at the mantis bounty hunter from l5r which talks about darkening the skies with their arrow attacks. i was initially considering making it an attack that does 1d6 to a number of targets equal to their dragon dice rolled on attack. but thought that that would not be enough to get through armored monsters.

[shonuff]

Also the Cunning requirement seems to make little sence as it doesnt tie into any of the abilities, nore into archery.

Use of wind, gravity, etc. could show use of Cunning. Also, GR tied cunning to ranged attacks with Lethality.

That said, dragon die in extra attacks is entirely too powerful, imo, and unrealistic. It pretty much gimps the crossbow (and any other ranged weapon). I don't have my books handy at the moment, but what is long bow damage? 2d6+1, iirc? So total damage could be up to 14d6+28, and probably more with varying cunning/perception (provided lucky dragon roll and opponents). If nothing else, that's a lot of dice rolling.

Mechanics aside, the DA rounds are just too short to allow for this, imo. IIRC, the rounds are 15 seconds. That's a possible 28 arrows in a minute. An extremely well-trained archer can shoot about half that, and would typically fire half of that in order to conserve ammunition.

Ammunition would be another factor. In order to use your ability to the fullest, a PC would have to carry around a silly amount of arrows.

Just my two cents.

[Elfie]

BTW, I will point out that the latest issue of Kobold Quarterly (#20) has 5 new specializations, 1 warrior, 1 mage, and 3 rogue. One of the Rogue specializations is Marksman, and I think it satisfies the need for a ranged rogue pretty well, especially combined with Archery Style.

[avrael]

BTW, I will point out that the latest issue of Kobold Quarterly (#20) has 5 new specializations, 1 warrior, 1 mage, and 3 rogue. One of the Rogue specializations is Master Archer, and I think it satisfies the need for a ranged rogue pretty well, especially combined with Archery Style.

nice ill have to check it out, i have been looking at their site almost daily too, and missed this going up.

BTW how long have they been doing age system material, i can go back to issue 15 i think but not sure about any thing prior to that pertaining to dragon age,.

there's no brick and mortar stores around here that sell RPG materials any how, at least there hasn't been in the past 6 years or so. so i miss a lot of new material coming out in the industry until weeks or months after its been released its kind of like back in the day where i had to build my own material for adventures as no place to buy modules existed within 200 miles...

[shonuff]

What about a system for trick shots?

[avrael]

What about a system for trick shots?

Interesting idea, what did you have in mind?

[Elfie]

Trick Shots are described in the Set 2 GM's guide on Page 62 as part of The Archery Competition in The Autumn Falls.

[Disemvowel]

I would love to gie credit where credit is due, but I cannot remember where I found this:

Rogue Archers
The rogue class presented in the core Dragon Age rulebooks has several class powers that are a poor match for a character focused on ranged attacks such as a Sister of the Sightless Eye. When playing a rogue in AGE of Terror, you may choose to take the archer subclass when creating a rogue character. When you choose to take the subclass, you replace several of the rogue’s normal class powers with new options. This choice is all-or-nothing; your character must take all of the substitution powers listed below if you use this option.

Deadly Shot (level 1; replaces Backstab): You can inflict extra damage with a ranged attack if you can take your time and strike an opponent from an unexpected direction. You must use an aim action and win an opposed test of your Dexterity (Stealth) vs. your target’s Perception (Seeing). If you win the test, you can use your major action this round to make a deadly shot. This is a ranged attack that inflicts +1d6 extra damage. You cannot use deadly shot against an enemy that you are adjacent to.

Stunt Bonus (level 4; replaces Bluff): You are able to quickly fire your weapon. When using a missile weapon, you can perform the Lightning Attack stunt for 2 points rather than the usual 3. If you also have the Archery Style (master) talent and are using a bow or crossbow, you can perform a special Triple Shot stunt for 5 SP. You make two additional attacks against the same enemy or a different one within range and sight. You must have a loaded missile weapon to make a ranged attack. If you roll doubles on these attack rolls, you do not get any more stunt points.

Pin in Place (level 7; replaces Dirty Fighting): You can use a missile weapon to momentarily pin an opponent in place. To use pin in place, you must first hit with a ranged attack. If successful, you inflict no damage but your target is pinned in place and unable to move until it uses an activate action to free itself. While pinned in place, all ranged attacks against him from rogue characters are considered deadly shots. Stunts are possible on your initial attack roll, so you could pin your opponent and then use lightning attack for an immediate deadly shot, for example.