The damage from Fighter options usually scales poorly at high levels- the damage bonus from the Rune Knight giant mode goes from d6 to d10 and the one rune that does damage doesn’t scale at all. Psi Warrior has a slightly larger initial resource pool, but it is much slower to refill and is pulled in more directions, although it does also add the INT mod when used for damage. Overall I think AA is on the typical curve, although they could stand to get a better refresh feature at level 15 though.
BM and Psi Warrior have automatic scaling -- they don't need to invest in a secondary attribute to get more uses. BM also gets a significant new feature at 15, Psi Warrior gets significant new features at 10, 15, and 18.
I think they need to do with AA what they did with rune knight and level gate some of the arrows. Otherwise you end up at level 15 and it’s like, time to pick the special shot I was 5th most interested in. It makes it backwards where the higher level you are the less exciting your choices are.
While I agree with this, it still needs work. The dice scale too slowly. 2d6 bonus damage from a special shot is great in T1. 2d12 bonus damage in T4 is a footnote; its less than twice as much damage vs enemies that have gone up 8-10x in health. Never mind the fact that your number of shots stopped scaling at level 8.
The damage from Fighter options usually scales poorly at high levels- the damage bonus from the Rune Knight giant mode goes from d6 to d10 and the one rune that does damage doesn’t scale at all. Psi Warrior has a slightly larger initial resource pool, but it is much slower to refill and is pulled in more directions, although it does also add the INT mod when used for damage. Overall I think AA is on the typical curve, although they could stand to get a better refresh feature at level 15 though.
Giant's Might lasts for a whole minute per use though. Even on a LR, you're unlikely to burn through all of those as quickly as a AA will their shots on a SR. More importantly, Rune Knight gets a bunch of stuff alongside the die scaling while this AA doesn't. It's a problem.
While I agree with this, it still needs work. The dice scale too slowly. 2d6 bonus damage from a special shot is great in T1. 2d12 bonus damage in T4 is a footnote; its less than twice as much damage vs enemies that have gone up 8-10x in health. Never mind the fact that your number of shots stopped scaling at level 8.
The damage from Fighter options usually scales poorly at high levels- the damage bonus from the Rune Knight giant mode goes from d6 to d10 and the one rune that does damage doesn’t scale at all. Psi Warrior has a slightly larger initial resource pool, but it is much slower to refill and is pulled in more directions, although it does also add the INT mod when used for damage. Overall I think AA is on the typical curve, although they could stand to get a better refresh feature at level 15 though.
Giant's Might lasts for a whole minute per use though. Even on a LR, you're unlikely to burn through all of those as quickly as a AA will their shots on a SR. More importantly, Rune Knight gets a bunch of stuff alongside the die scaling while this AA doesn't. It's a problem.
So it’s possibly 10d10 6 times per day. More realistically 3-5d10. Call that 6*4 for 24d10 if you actually have 6 encounters in a LR. Arcane Archer starts the day with potentially 10d12 (there’s two or three that only roll one die), fully refreshes on a SR, and has a stronger burst since they can put out double the output of a Rune Knight per round. So with 6 encounters and one short rest they can use all their shots, probably squeeze in at least two triggers of the refresh ability, and net 22d12 if they go single target, potentially more with the AoE shots, and with the damage more spread out so the effectiveness doesn’t drop as sharply on days that don’t have 6 encounters. Of the other stuff a Rune Knight can do, only two directly deal damage with one more that might do some indirect damage depending on how you use it. You can quibble the exact numbers, but especially once you start account for Curving Shot and AoE options, both are in the same ballpark with AA maybe being a touch more front-loaded for DPR.
Ignoring that the rune knight isn't a 2024 subclass, the rune knight gets a lot more scaling than the AA at level 10-18
AA 10: increase arcane shot die to d8. This has no effects other than damage; with Int 14, it's typically worth +4 damage per long rest (most things give 2 dice of damage).
AA 15: increase arcane shot die to 10. This has no effects other than damage; with Int 14, it's typically worth +4 damage per long rest.
AA 18: increase arcane shot die to 12. This has no effects other than damage; with Int 14, it's typically worth +4 damage per long rest.
Rune Knight 10: increase runes from 3 to 4, giving you 4 passive rune effects and 4 active rune uses. Also giant's might now +1d8 (note that Giant's Might scales with PB, by level 10 good chance you use it every fight; call it +10 damage per long rest)
Rune Knight 15: increase runes from 4 to 5 and 2 uses per rune, giving you 5 passive rune effects and 10 active rune uses.
Rune Knight 18: can become Huge, letting you grapple Gargantuan creatures. Giant's might now 1d10 (like level 10, not a big deal for damage).
Why on Earth would your INT stay at 14? As I said, you can do 16 at level 1 without dumping anything below 10 and DEX matching the 16. Also, AA shots fully refresh on SRs, so only gauging it by LR doesn’t hold up.
Because it doesn't do anything else for you? If the class has an ASI tax build in, it should get more out of Int than just arcane archer dice.
Any suggestions on what "more" it should get?
Because the other solutions, being allowed to cast from Dex or Con, opens up a whole can of "Why can't X cast from Y instead of Z"(Game balance, that's why)arguments. & that argument has returned as of late.
IMO, At least one non-stereotypical "martial stat" is good to invest a little in, Martials-wise, Might as well be Int.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
Psi warrior is entirely functional if you ignore INT.
Except for the part where you get no damage bonuses, can't block as much damage, are completely reliant on low rolls and little to no mods to get your saves through, and the only reason you can even use the 15th level feature is because they artificially boost the minimum to 1 if your INT mod is below it. So yes, you can do bog standard attacks, block small amounts of damage, and get slightly more functionality than a Mage Hand cantrip once per rest unless you spend a resource. If that's your threshold, then Arcane Archer is at least as "functional" since they can still use Curving Shots from 7+ to improve their DPR.
Pretty happy with what I see at the first glance on the arcana cleric.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
As someone who is currently playing an arcane archer in a 2014 campaign, I took a closer look at the revised subclass and am not very impressed.
The change to the number of shots per short rest is the most important buff. You'll most likely start with 16 intelligence and not increase it until high levels, so that is effectively 50% more shots.
Being able to use the subclass feature on weapons other than bows is nice, but not as dramatic as it might sound at first. There's also boosts to damage from the die scaling and changes to banishing and seeking shot.
The general nerfs to ranged combat obviously make the subclass weaker. In particular, curved shot is less impactful without the +10/-5 option from the old sharpshooter.
By far the biggest nerf is to grasping shot. Grasping arrow was very strong since it didn't include a saving throw, lasted for a minute, and the damage could be activated multiple times per round. The redesign is more in line with other options, which is good from a design perspective, but makes the whole subclass weaker.
Overall, I'm not sure if this is even better than the 2014 arcane archer. That was generally thought of as a below average fighter subclass, but certainly playable. Considering the power creep to 2024, I can't see this one doing well.
I admit I have never played the 2014 version, but looking at this new version...
The only real improvement I can see is that you get more uses of your primary subclass feature.
But for everything else:
You get to choose more Arcane shot options at higher-levels, but that doesn't amount to scaling power. All you get is your Arcane die going up one step at a time. Which is (a) kinda boring and (b) amounts to a whole 1-2 points of damage when you use your primary subclass feature.
She made me laugh when she said 3.5 was way back in D&D history. lol
Anyway, the Tatoo Monk looks promising because only one or two of the spells require any rest. The rest you can repeat as much as you have. I think there is synergy with the base monk's abilities there.
For example at 11th level you gain Nature Tattoo:
Storm. As a Magic action, you can expend 3 Focus Points to gain Resistance to Lightning damage and Advantage on Dexterity saving throws for 1 minute.
The Base Monk gets Evasion at 7th level, which would all you, in the above instance, to take NO damage on a save, and still only half damage. So not only are you getting two rolls to save, but even on a fail you would take 1/4 damage. So if cast Storm ahead of time, you would only take 1/4 damage if you fail. Of course if you save you take no damage because of Evasion.
At 17th level the base Monk gets Superior Defense, where he can spend 3 FP to be resistant all damage types, except Force. But not many people will ever see 17th level.
Another good thing Monk lovers should like is you also get to cast Misty Step and Blindsight:
3rd level: Bat. You know the Dancing Lights cantrip. When you expend 1 Focus Point to use Patient Defense or Step of the Wind, you gain Blindsight with a range of 10 feet for 1 minute.
7th level: Crescent Moon. You can expend 2 Focus Points to cast Misty Step.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
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BM and Psi Warrior have automatic scaling -- they don't need to invest in a secondary attribute to get more uses. BM also gets a significant new feature at 15, Psi Warrior gets significant new features at 10, 15, and 18.
I think they need to do with AA what they did with rune knight and level gate some of the arrows. Otherwise you end up at level 15 and it’s like, time to pick the special shot I was 5th most interested in. It makes it backwards where the higher level you are the less exciting your choices are.
Giant's Might lasts for a whole minute per use though. Even on a LR, you're unlikely to burn through all of those as quickly as a AA will their shots on a SR. More importantly, Rune Knight gets a bunch of stuff alongside the die scaling while this AA doesn't. It's a problem.
So it’s possibly 10d10 6 times per day. More realistically 3-5d10. Call that 6*4 for 24d10 if you actually have 6 encounters in a LR. Arcane Archer starts the day with potentially 10d12 (there’s two or three that only roll one die), fully refreshes on a SR, and has a stronger burst since they can put out double the output of a Rune Knight per round. So with 6 encounters and one short rest they can use all their shots, probably squeeze in at least two triggers of the refresh ability, and net 22d12 if they go single target, potentially more with the AoE shots, and with the damage more spread out so the effectiveness doesn’t drop as sharply on days that don’t have 6 encounters. Of the other stuff a Rune Knight can do, only two directly deal damage with one more that might do some indirect damage depending on how you use it. You can quibble the exact numbers, but especially once you start account for Curving Shot and AoE options, both are in the same ballpark with AA maybe being a touch more front-loaded for DPR.
Ignoring that the rune knight isn't a 2024 subclass, the rune knight gets a lot more scaling than the AA at level 10-18
Why on Earth would your INT stay at 14? As I said, you can do 16 at level 1 without dumping anything below 10 and DEX matching the 16. Also, AA shots fully refresh on SRs, so only gauging it by LR doesn’t hold up.
Because it doesn't do anything else for you? If the class has an ASI tax build in, it should get more out of Int than just arcane archer dice.
Any suggestions on what "more" it should get?
Because the other solutions, being allowed to cast from Dex or Con, opens up a whole can of "Why can't X cast from Y instead of Z"(Game balance, that's why)arguments. & that argument has returned as of late.
IMO, At least one non-stereotypical "martial stat" is good to invest a little in, Martials-wise, Might as well be Int.
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
Whereas Psi Warrior does so much more with INT?
It's roleplay and Fighters can afford it.
Psi warrior is entirely functional if you ignore INT.
Except for the part where you get no damage bonuses, can't block as much damage, are completely reliant on low rolls and little to no mods to get your saves through, and the only reason you can even use the 15th level feature is because they artificially boost the minimum to 1 if your INT mod is below it. So yes, you can do bog standard attacks, block small amounts of damage, and get slightly more functionality than a Mage Hand cantrip once per rest unless you spend a resource. If that's your threshold, then Arcane Archer is at least as "functional" since they can still use Curving Shots from 7+ to improve their DPR.
Pretty happy with what I see at the first glance on the arcana cleric.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
As someone who is currently playing an arcane archer in a 2014 campaign, I took a closer look at the revised subclass and am not very impressed.
The change to the number of shots per short rest is the most important buff. You'll most likely start with 16 intelligence and not increase it until high levels, so that is effectively 50% more shots.
Being able to use the subclass feature on weapons other than bows is nice, but not as dramatic as it might sound at first. There's also boosts to damage from the die scaling and changes to banishing and seeking shot.
The general nerfs to ranged combat obviously make the subclass weaker. In particular, curved shot is less impactful without the +10/-5 option from the old sharpshooter.
By far the biggest nerf is to grasping shot. Grasping arrow was very strong since it didn't include a saving throw, lasted for a minute, and the damage could be activated multiple times per round. The redesign is more in line with other options, which is good from a design perspective, but makes the whole subclass weaker.
Overall, I'm not sure if this is even better than the 2014 arcane archer. That was generally thought of as a below average fighter subclass, but certainly playable. Considering the power creep to 2024, I can't see this one doing well.
Arcane Archer just seems pretty lacklustre.
I admit I have never played the 2014 version, but looking at this new version...
The only real improvement I can see is that you get more uses of your primary subclass feature.
But for everything else:
You get to choose more Arcane shot options at higher-levels, but that doesn't amount to scaling power. All you get is your Arcane die going up one step at a time. Which is (a) kinda boring and (b) amounts to a whole 1-2 points of damage when you use your primary subclass feature.
Minor Conjuration, Hypnotic Gaze & Minor Alchemy are dealbreakers if they're not added back, & I let them know, survey-wise.
DM, player & homebrewer(Current homebrew project is an unofficial conversion of SBURB/SGRUB from Homestuck into DND 5e)
Once made Maxwell's Silver Hammer come down upon Strahd's head to make sure he was dead.
Always study & sharpen philosophical razors. They save a lot of trouble.
She made me laugh when she said 3.5 was way back in D&D history. lol
Anyway, the Tatoo Monk looks promising because only one or two of the spells require any rest. The rest you can repeat as much as you have. I think there is synergy with the base monk's abilities there.
For example at 11th level you gain Nature Tattoo:
Storm. As a Magic action, you can expend 3
Focus Points to gain Resistance to Lightning
damage and Advantage on Dexterity saving
throws for 1 minute.
The Base Monk gets Evasion at 7th level, which would all you, in the above instance, to take NO damage on a save, and still only half damage. So not only are you getting two rolls to save, but even on a fail you would take 1/4 damage. So if cast Storm ahead of time, you would only take 1/4 damage if you fail. Of course if you save you take no damage because of Evasion.
At 17th level the base Monk gets Superior Defense, where he can spend 3 FP to be resistant all damage types, except Force. But not many people will ever see 17th level.
Another good thing Monk lovers should like is you also get to cast Misty Step and Blindsight:
3rd level: Bat. You know the Dancing Lights cantrip.
When you expend 1 Focus Point to use Patient
Defense or Step of the Wind, you gain Blindsight
with a range of 10 feet for 1 minute.
7th level: Crescent Moon. You can expend 2 Focus
Points to cast Misty Step.
This still not working ? Asking for a friend….
Best Regards, VanillaDM
works for me
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha