Pimp My Archer - Part 2 of 5 - “The Bowmen”
Pimp My Archer Part-II – The Bowmen
Bowmen:
The bowmen is the heavy battlefield archer. Originally bred for mass combat, the focus of the Bowmen is to put as many arrows in the air in a single round as possible. Because of their need to get off multiple shots, movement is of very little importance to them. Thus they have no problem wearing the heavier armors that Snipers & Skirmishers shy away from. Strength is just as important to a bowman as Dexterity due to the heavy pull of their larger great bows. Many armies field large units of Crossbowmen instead of Bowmen. They are much easier to train and can still put up a decent rate of fire. Fighters make the best Bowmen/Crossbowmen. They can wear the heaviest of armors and get enough feats to maximize their weapons potential.
Adventuring role:
In an adventuring party the Bowman takes up a fighter slot. Their ability to do a lot of damage to targets at long range is extremely handy, particularly when up against foes resistant to magic. Or when engaged in battle after your arcanists have run out of spell power. All you need is a large supply of arrows. As a heavily armored fighter trained in the use of all martial weapons you can still pinch in on the front lines when your supply of arrows have been depleted, or when ranged attacks are not a feasible option.
Bowmen are equally capable with taking on large heavy targets and numerous smaller targets. Unlike the Sniper and Skirmisher they only lose about half of their damage dealing ability at very long ranges. The downside to the Bowman is their lack of maneuverability and loss of firepower in a moving battle. An opponent that can force the bowman to have to move can negate up to 75% of his offensive might. Also the Bowman is not as good as the other archer types when operating without the support of a party.
Flavors:
There are basically three types of pure bowmen. Heavy Bowman, Light Bowman, Crossbowman.
Heavy Bowman: Heavy bowman are built primarily using the Fighter & or Psychic Warrior. What differentiates the heavy bowman from their lighter cousins is the use of Medium or Heavy armors. The Fighter and Psychic Warrior gain access to medium and heavy armor for free. Though these armors limit your movement the bowman works better when standing still anyway. To maximize your ability to juggle both your offense and defense go with medium armors until you can afford to step up to mithral armors. A mithral breast plate or even mithral full plate still allows you to make use of your higher than average dexterity. It’s important to note that as fully trained warriors you are still able to whip out a melee weapon when you need too. I suggest carrying a good two handed back-up weapon.
Light Bowman: The light bowman forgoes the heavier armor training of the heavy bowman. The class most often seen in this style is the Ranger, which get’s many of the good Bowman feats for free as they level. The Ranger is more easily able to handle themselves alone when isolated from the group due to their faster movement speed and ability to use stealth. When in the mix of the party however the ranger bowman is more vulnerable due to their lack of defense. If you are going for a pure bowman I would suggest the heavy bowman over the light. The light Bowman is better for Hybrid archer builds mixing in levels of rogue or scout and combining styles.
Crossbowman: The crossbowman is basically a heavy Bowman with a different primary weapon. The reason they are listed separately is because their feat tree is slightly different, substituting things like rapid shot for feats such as rapid reload and crossbow sniper. In functionality they operate as a heavy Bowman. Note: Due to their lesser requirements the heavy Crossbow builds can also be done with other non warrior classes such as the Cleric, or Favored Soul. These classes get Crossbow proficiency for free but not Longbows.
Recommended Prestige Classes:
The Fighter is not the best class to take beyond about level 4, which make many prestige classes popular for it.
Arcane Archer: (DMG-I)
Arcane Archer is a very popular and useful prestige class for Elf & Half-Elf Bowman. A single level of an arcane prestige class is all that’s required to gain access to the class. Sorcerer is a very popular choice. For a combat focused character I would suggest an arcane class that can cast in light armor such as the Bard, Warmage, or Beguiler. Whichever you choose I suggest taking enough levels in the class to get at least 2nd lvl spells.
This class has one, major ability which grants you two major strengths. Their ability to enchant any bow they pick up, with their magical ability is a big plus. This both increases their damage per shot; and practically eliminates the need to spend gold on their offense. Meaning you will have more funds available than a normal bowman to shore up your defense and utility magic. Your spell casting ability also gives you access to utility Magic through the use of Scrolls & Wands that you normally would not be able to use.
Kensai: (Comp-Warrior)
The Kensai offers the same primary advantage that the Arcane Archer does without as many prerequisites. Thus you can get into this prestige class as early as level 6. The Kensai ability to enchant their weapon is in many ways even greater than the arcane archer due to their flexibility.
Order of The Bow Initiate: (Comp-Warrior)
The Order of the Bow Initiate is one of the better archer prestige classes. They bring the ability to fire in close quarters as well as offering the bowman the option to play sniper with the Ranged Precision Class Feature which is similar to sneak attack but can be used at range.
Cragtop Archer: (Races Of Stone)
The Cragtop archer is the King of long range archery. They have multiple abilities which increase their range and power at range. Also since it’s only a 5 lvl prestige class you can easily pour it into hybrid builds or mix in a second prestige class.
Recommended Feats: (Those that maximize rate of fire, and damage per shot.)
Rapid Shot
Multishot
Improved Multishot
Rapid Reload (Crossbowman)
Weapon Focus
Weapon Specialization
Ranged Weapon Mastery
Ready Shot
Recommended Base Classes:
Fighter
Ranger
Psychic Warrior (XPH)
Recommended Prestige Classes:
Arcane Archer (DMG)
Kensai (Comp-War)
Order Of The Bow Initiate (Comp-War)
Cragtop Archer (Races Of Stone)
Recommended Equipment:
Get your hands on a great bow or great crossbow as soon as possible. These weapons do damage up to two dice categories higher than the standard weapons of their type.
Also bring plenty of extra arrows. YOU WILL RUN OUT!
Recommended Magic:
Have your chosen weapon enchanted with an elemental damage type as soon as possible. Adding Flaming/Sonic/Frost/Acid/Psychokinetic/ or Shocking to the weapon infuses every projectile fired with an extra 1d6 of damage. Effectively double the damage on every shot. Plus this damage is not affected by damage reduction.
Rapid firing weapons or weapons/items which enchant you with the “haste” spell can seriously increase your offensive power.
Do not underestimate the utility of single use magic arrows. Like a potion or scroll a special use magic arrow can be a life savor if used at the right time. An arrow of sleep, or lightning or fireball, or even slaying or silence or darkness can turn the tide if used at the right moment.
Recommended Races: Human, Half Orc, Dwarf
Humans gain a bonus feat which is always helpful. Half Orcs gain bonuses to strength. While dwarves lose nothing from wearing heavier armor that a bowman can. Essentially you build a bowman the same way you’d build a weapon specialist melee fighter, except with a bow instead of any other weapon of choice.
Popularity: 5%
