So Arcane Archer is ... Well not the favorite fighter subclass. There is a lot of conflict like having to be dex base for attack and Int for the magic arrows. Plus str and con because you are a fighter. MADD as hell.
However, an Artificer is Int based, dex being the second and con the third. They make a good range character with spell casting and infused weapons.
So... What if... We transplant the Arcane Archer subclass directly into the Artificer class. What would this look like?
- a infused bow that rapid fires
- crafting arrows with an always at hand woodworking kit (Right tool for the job + XGTE rules)
- crafting magic arrows (walloping and adimantium (sp?) come to mind) or supportive infusions (E-Quive or the bag of holding with more quivers)
- arcane arrows that have a high Int to make then actually effective.
- back up ranged and support spells.
I think it would work well.
Things I would change add.
- spell slots convert to Arcane arrow. A problem is that there are never enough arrows to be useful. But taking a note from the Alchemist or Artillerist, just burn of spell slots to make more arrows.
- squeeze in an extra attack. A repeating bow is useless if you have only one attack.
-squeeze in a fighting style for range attacks.
Please add more idea, thoughts *****es or complaints. I do think that this is a good proposal for anither homebrew subclasses.
Theres alot that could work with multiclassing, even within existing RAW, although it wouldnt necessarily be optimized.
If we imagine you took 3 levels in artificer, then you would get most of the things you mention in the first part of the post, plus you could choose to go Battlesmith artificer, which allows you to use INT for attack/damage rolls with magic weapons. Infuse your bow with repeating shot and BOOM, now you can make your build almost entirely INT focused. Although you wouldnt need it while using the infused bow, if you want magic ammunition you could use the Replicate Magic Item infusion to replicate an Unbreaking Arrow from XGTE, which is a Common magic item.
Once you get to level 7 in Fighter, you no longer have to dedicate infusions to making your attacks magical, although youd still want to keep an infusion on your bow so it is magical. Arguably, if you keep the Repeating Shot infusion on your bow the magical arrows it produces should still qualify for the Curving Shot feature as well.
For going the route of homebrew, I think you would want something that is like a range-specific Battlesmith
From Battlesmith youd want to take the proficiency with martial (ranged) weapons, the ability to use INT as your ability for attacks made with your bows, and Extra Attack
As you already suggested I think being able to turn Artificer spell slots into magic arrows would be a good mechanic, and there should be a way for their power to scale if using a higher level slot (although not so much so that its on the same level of damage as a Divine Smite, which is limited to melee range).
For higher level features, I think borrowing the Curving Shot ability from the existing Arcane Archer would be a good addition. This could fit in as the 9th level ability. Alternatively, if you wanted to play off of the existing Artificer kit you could maybe give them the ability to use their Flash of Genius feature to attack rolls they make with a ranged weapon?
So that just leaves the 15th level feature to figure out.
I think with artificer, it would also be a good opportunity to remove the tie to it being only an "Archer" and allow for the possibility of crossbows and firearms to be used.
Since this subclass would be an Artificer, I think it might be better flavored as something like a “Sniper” rather than an “Arcane” Archer. While the Fighter subclass uses magic arrows, they use tech or magi-tech for similar effects.
Perhaps at 9th level instead of Curving Shot at 7th you can give them two free infusions that can only go on a ranged weapon they possess (with two infusions allowed on one ranged weapon)? That’s similar to what the Armorer gets. It also addresses the infusion “tax” of almost every Sniper needing to take Repeating Shot.
I would also consider dropping a few of the magic shots like Banishing Arrow and Beguiling Arrow that seem overly magical. In exchange, they should get some subclass spells that are arrow related, like Magic Missile, Hail of Thorns, Acid Arrow, Lightning Arrow, Cordon of Arrows, Flaming Arrows, or Conjure Barrage. Or you could give them special infusions that allow them to replicate more magic ammunition per use, perhaps 6 at a time.
Overall, it feels like Hawkeye or Green Arrow, and would be pretty fun.
I would actually just give an artificer all the damage cantrips and some other utility ones. This gives them their bag of trick arrows. -Int for attack and damage rolls - Cantrips all have your weapons range use a ranged attack roll instead of saves for damage, the effects are on saves as stated in the cantrip.
This adds a lot of utility and variety to a kit, and you get to see some cantrips that people almost never take because they are too situational.
Maybe do something like meta magics or battle maneuvers
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So Arcane Archer is ... Well not the favorite fighter subclass. There is a lot of conflict like having to be dex base for attack and Int for the magic arrows. Plus str and con because you are a fighter. MADD as hell.
However, an Artificer is Int based, dex being the second and con the third. They make a good range character with spell casting and infused weapons.
So... What if... We transplant the Arcane Archer subclass directly into the Artificer class. What would this look like?
- a infused bow that rapid fires
- crafting arrows with an always at hand woodworking kit (Right tool for the job + XGTE rules)
- crafting magic arrows (walloping and adimantium (sp?) come to mind) or supportive infusions (E-Quive or the bag of holding with more quivers)
- arcane arrows that have a high Int to make then actually effective.
- back up ranged and support spells.
I think it would work well.
Things I would change add.
- spell slots convert to Arcane arrow. A problem is that there are never enough arrows to be useful. But taking a note from the Alchemist or Artillerist, just burn of spell slots to make more arrows.
- squeeze in an extra attack. A repeating bow is useless if you have only one attack.
-squeeze in a fighting style for range attacks.
Please add more idea, thoughts *****es or complaints. I do think that this is a good proposal for anither homebrew subclasses.
Why did this double post. My bad.
Theres alot that could work with multiclassing, even within existing RAW, although it wouldnt necessarily be optimized.
If we imagine you took 3 levels in artificer, then you would get most of the things you mention in the first part of the post, plus you could choose to go Battlesmith artificer, which allows you to use INT for attack/damage rolls with magic weapons. Infuse your bow with repeating shot and BOOM, now you can make your build almost entirely INT focused. Although you wouldnt need it while using the infused bow, if you want magic ammunition you could use the Replicate Magic Item infusion to replicate an Unbreaking Arrow from XGTE, which is a Common magic item.
Once you get to level 7 in Fighter, you no longer have to dedicate infusions to making your attacks magical, although youd still want to keep an infusion on your bow so it is magical. Arguably, if you keep the Repeating Shot infusion on your bow the magical arrows it produces should still qualify for the Curving Shot feature as well.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
For going the route of homebrew, I think you would want something that is like a range-specific Battlesmith
From Battlesmith youd want to take the proficiency with martial (ranged) weapons, the ability to use INT as your ability for attacks made with your bows, and Extra Attack
As you already suggested I think being able to turn Artificer spell slots into magic arrows would be a good mechanic, and there should be a way for their power to scale if using a higher level slot (although not so much so that its on the same level of damage as a Divine Smite, which is limited to melee range).
For higher level features, I think borrowing the Curving Shot ability from the existing Arcane Archer would be a good addition. This could fit in as the 9th level ability. Alternatively, if you wanted to play off of the existing Artificer kit you could maybe give them the ability to use their Flash of Genius feature to attack rolls they make with a ranged weapon?
So that just leaves the 15th level feature to figure out.
I think with artificer, it would also be a good opportunity to remove the tie to it being only an "Archer" and allow for the possibility of crossbows and firearms to be used.
Three-time Judge of the Competition of the Finest Brews! Come join us in making fun, unique homebrew and voting for your favorite entries!
Since this subclass would be an Artificer, I think it might be better flavored as something like a “Sniper” rather than an “Arcane” Archer. While the Fighter subclass uses magic arrows, they use tech or magi-tech for similar effects.
Perhaps at 9th level instead of Curving Shot at 7th you can give them two free infusions that can only go on a ranged weapon they possess (with two infusions allowed on one ranged weapon)? That’s similar to what the Armorer gets. It also addresses the infusion “tax” of almost every Sniper needing to take Repeating Shot.
I would also consider dropping a few of the magic shots like Banishing Arrow and Beguiling Arrow that seem overly magical. In exchange, they should get some subclass spells that are arrow related, like Magic Missile, Hail of Thorns, Acid Arrow, Lightning Arrow, Cordon of Arrows, Flaming Arrows, or Conjure Barrage. Or you could give them special infusions that allow them to replicate more magic ammunition per use, perhaps 6 at a time.
Overall, it feels like Hawkeye or Green Arrow, and would be pretty fun.
I'd do something like
I would actually just give an artificer all the damage cantrips and some other utility ones. This gives them their bag of trick arrows.
-Int for attack and damage rolls
- Cantrips all have your weapons range use a ranged attack roll instead of saves for damage, the effects are on saves as stated in the cantrip.
This adds a lot of utility and variety to a kit, and you get to see some cantrips that people almost never take because they are too situational.
Maybe do something like meta magics or battle maneuvers