The arcane trickster is a prestige class which I always found to be a little mundane. It only grants two abilities that are interesting, ranged legerdemain and impromptu sneak attack. But it does let you progress with sneak attack and continue to improve many skills available almost exclusively to rogues, making for a fairly effective rogue/wizard build. The following prestige feats assume the character wants to continue leveling as a wizard (or sorcerer) to gain caster levels but continue to improve rogue skills at the same time. As I did with the arcane archer, the feats are also available starting at 6th-level and continue as a five feat progression. Because of this I had to relax the prerequisites a bit so that a rogue 3/wizard 3 would be able to take the first feat in the chain. Since a character wanting to utilize these feats is likely to lack the skill points necessary to keep rogue skills modestly high, I threw in some skill bonuses as well. If a character keeps the skill ranks at the minimum levels required, those skills at least (Decipher Script, Disable Device, and Escape Artist) will continue to be just as good as if the character had maximum ranks. Of course there is nothing keeping the character from having even more ranks than the bare minimum if he has the skill points to spare, so that may open the door for an interesting niche which is highly specialized in some skills.
The higher tier feats might not look all that appealing, but when looking at them, try to bear in mind that they grant extra benefits in addition to their listed benefits by virtue of requiring Arcane Trickster as a prerequisite, namely the extra sneak attack and skill bonuses.
ARCANE TRICKSTER [PRESTIGE]
Prerequisites: Decipher Script 7 ranks, Disable Device 7 ranks, Escape Artist 7 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 4 ranks, ability to cast mage hand and at least one arcane spell of 2nd-level or higher, sneak attack +2d6.
Benefit: You gain the ability of ranged legerdemain once per day. You may use this to perform one of the following class skills at a range of 30 feet: Disable Device, Open Lock, or Sleight of Hand. Working at a distance increases the normal skill check DC by 5, and you cannot take 10 on this check. Any object to be manipulated must weigh 5 pounds or less.
You also gain +1d6 sneak attack and +2 to Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Open Lock, Search, and Sleight of Hand.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Arcane Trickster as a prerequisite, you gain +1d6 sneak attack and +2 to Decipher Script, Disable Device, Escape Artist, Open Lock, Search, and Sleight of Hand.
IMPROMPTU SNEAK ATTACK [PRESTIGE]
Prerequisites: Decipher Script 8 ranks, Disable Device 8 ranks, Escape Artist 8 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 5 ranks, Arcane Trickster, ability to cast mage hand and at least one arcane spell of 3rd-level or higher, sneak attack +2d6.
Benefit: Once per day you can declare one
melee or ranged attack you make to be a sneak attack (the target can be
no more than 30 feet distant if the impromptu sneak attack is a ranged
attack). The target of an impromptu sneak attack loses any Dexterity
bonus to AC, but only against that attack. The power can be used against
any target, but creatures that are not subject to critical hits take no extra damage (though they still lose any Dexterity bonus to AC against the attack).
Special: This feat can be taken multiple times.
IMPROVED RANGED LEGERDEMAIN [PRESTIGE]
Prerequisites: Decipher Script 9 ranks, Disable Device 9
ranks, Escape Artist 9 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 6 ranks, Arcane
Trickster, Impromptu Sneak Attack, ability to cast mage hand and at least one arcane spell of 5rd-level or higher, sneak attack +2d6.
Benefit: You gain one additional use of ranged legerdemain per day. You may also now take 10 on this check.
GREATER RANGED LEGERDEMAIN [PRESTIGE]
Prerequisites: Decipher Script 11 ranks, Disable Device 11
ranks, Escape Artist 11 ranks, Knowledge (arcana) 8 ranks, Arcane
Trickster, Impromptu Sneak Attack, Improved Ranged Legerdemain, ability to cast mage hand and at least one arcane spell of 8th-level or higher, sneak attack +2d6.
Benefit: You gain one additional use of ranged legerdemain per day. Your ranged legerdemain also no longer increases your increases the DC by 5.
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Prestige Classes as Feats: Arcane Archer
Today I look at an idea which is not entirely novel, but has interested me nonetheless. To begin with, I have never really liked prestige classes in D&D 3.5 the way they were originally designed. I love the concept, but the implementation was, I feel, a disaster. The first problem is one which I have with multiclassing in general. It's just too good not to multiclass for most characters. Whether that means splashing a couple levels of fighter as a rogue or taking a powerful prestige class as a wizard, the benefits usually far outweigh the costs in terms of prerequisites and other things. The second problem is that prestige classes are, in general, inherently too good to ignore. A character who plays from level 1 to 20 as a single base class is generally going to be at a disadvantage by most metrics to a character who takes even a single prestige class. I have a few other minor gripes with prestige classes, but these two are the main ones. So I got to thinking about prestige classes in a recent EN World discussion which was focused on another topic, but sparked my interest in this idea. Someone posted what was essentially a conversion of the arcane archer prestige class into feats. I got to thinking, what if all prestige classes were that way?
I came up with a relatively simple notion. Convert all prestige classes into feat trees consisting of five feats each. Given that prestige classes generally become available at 6th-level, these feat trees would all have a minimum level requirement of 6th-level. From 6th-level all the way to 18th-level a character receives five feats. So through this conversion, a character who wants to be a consummate expert at the prestige class abilities would need to devote all feats from 6th-level onward to the prestige feat tree. But this would not preclude the character from dabbling in the prestige class by taking only one or two of these feats.
Prestige feats are a new type of feat which function as feat trees that grant a character successive abilities which become increasingly more powerful as one advances. Prestige feats generally have the same entry requirements as the prestige class upon which it is based. They also typically combine elements from one or more prestige class levels into each feat. The benefit granted by a base prestige feat is generally enhanced by each successive prestige feat in that chain. Below is an example of the Arcane Archer prestige feat chain.
ARCANE ARCHER (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow), ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells, base attack bonus +5.
Benefit: Every nonmagical arrow you nock and let fly becomes magical, gaining a +1 enhancement bonus. Unlike magic weapons created by normal means, you need not spend experience points or gold pieces to accomplish this task. However, your magic arrows only function for you.
Additionally, you gain the ability to place an area spell upon an arrow. When the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. This ability allows you to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range. It takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow. The arrow must be fired in the round the spell is cast, or the spell is wasted.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Arcane Archer as a prerequisite, the magic arrows you create gain +1 greater potency.
SEEKER ARROW (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: You can launch an arrow once per day at a target known to you within range, and the arrow travels to the target, even around corners. Only an unavoidable obstacle or the limit of the arrow’s range prevents the arrow’s flight. This ability negates cover and concealment modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally. Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action).
Special: For each feat you possess which has Seeker Arrow as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
PHASE ARROW (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: You can launch an arrow once per day at a target known to you within range, and the arrow travels to the target in a straight path, passing through any nonmagical barrier or wall in its way. (Any magical barrier stops the arrow.) This ability negates cover, concealment, and even armor modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally.
Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action).
Special: For each feat you possess which has Phase Arrow as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
HAIL OF ARROWS (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Phase Arrow, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: In lieu of your regular attacks, once per day you can fire an arrow at each and every target within range, to a maximum of two targets for every Arcane Archer feat you possess. Each attack uses your primary attack bonus, and each enemy may only be targeted by a single arrow.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Hail of Arrows as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
ARROW OF DEATH (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Hail of Arrows, Phase Arrow, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefits: You can create an arrow of death that forces the target, if damaged by the arrow’s attack, to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + your Dex modifier) or be slain immediately. It takes one day to make an arrow of death, and the arrow only functions for you. The arrow of death lasts no longer than one year, and you can only have one such arrow in existence at a time.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Arrow of Death as a prerequisite, you may have one additional arrow of death at a time.
Note that I have left the door open for further expansion of this feat chain. If a character wishes to continue taking Arcane Archer feats into epic levels, you could extrapolate to create greater effects, as well as granting more uses of the previous Arcane Archer feats and a greater enhancement bonus to arrows. These feats end up being a little more powerful than the arcane archer prestige class itself, but the cost is that you are giving up the flexibility of taking other feats and you do not gain some of the other benefits of the arcane archer prestige class, such as skills, saving throws and so on.
I came up with a relatively simple notion. Convert all prestige classes into feat trees consisting of five feats each. Given that prestige classes generally become available at 6th-level, these feat trees would all have a minimum level requirement of 6th-level. From 6th-level all the way to 18th-level a character receives five feats. So through this conversion, a character who wants to be a consummate expert at the prestige class abilities would need to devote all feats from 6th-level onward to the prestige feat tree. But this would not preclude the character from dabbling in the prestige class by taking only one or two of these feats.
Prestige feats are a new type of feat which function as feat trees that grant a character successive abilities which become increasingly more powerful as one advances. Prestige feats generally have the same entry requirements as the prestige class upon which it is based. They also typically combine elements from one or more prestige class levels into each feat. The benefit granted by a base prestige feat is generally enhanced by each successive prestige feat in that chain. Below is an example of the Arcane Archer prestige feat chain.
ARCANE ARCHER (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow), ability to cast 1st-level arcane spells, base attack bonus +5.
Benefit: Every nonmagical arrow you nock and let fly becomes magical, gaining a +1 enhancement bonus. Unlike magic weapons created by normal means, you need not spend experience points or gold pieces to accomplish this task. However, your magic arrows only function for you.
Additionally, you gain the ability to place an area spell upon an arrow. When the arrow is fired, the spell’s area is centered on where the arrow lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. This ability allows you to use the bow’s range rather than the spell’s range. It takes a standard action to cast the spell and fire the arrow. The arrow must be fired in the round the spell is cast, or the spell is wasted.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Arcane Archer as a prerequisite, the magic arrows you create gain +1 greater potency.
SEEKER ARROW (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: You can launch an arrow once per day at a target known to you within range, and the arrow travels to the target, even around corners. Only an unavoidable obstacle or the limit of the arrow’s range prevents the arrow’s flight. This ability negates cover and concealment modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally. Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action).
Special: For each feat you possess which has Seeker Arrow as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
PHASE ARROW (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: You can launch an arrow once per day at a target known to you within range, and the arrow travels to the target in a straight path, passing through any nonmagical barrier or wall in its way. (Any magical barrier stops the arrow.) This ability negates cover, concealment, and even armor modifiers, but otherwise the attack is rolled normally.
Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action).
Special: For each feat you possess which has Phase Arrow as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
HAIL OF ARROWS (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Phase Arrow, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefit: In lieu of your regular attacks, once per day you can fire an arrow at each and every target within range, to a maximum of two targets for every Arcane Archer feat you possess. Each attack uses your primary attack bonus, and each enemy may only be targeted by a single arrow.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Hail of Arrows as a prerequisite, you gain one additional use of this feat per day.
ARROW OF DEATH (PRESTIGE)
Prerequisites: Elf or half-elf, Arcane Archer, Hail of Arrows, Phase Arrow, Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Seeker Arrow, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).
Benefits: You can create an arrow of death that forces the target, if damaged by the arrow’s attack, to make a Fortitude save (DC 10 + 1/2 character level + your Dex modifier) or be slain immediately. It takes one day to make an arrow of death, and the arrow only functions for you. The arrow of death lasts no longer than one year, and you can only have one such arrow in existence at a time.
Special: For each feat you possess which has Arrow of Death as a prerequisite, you may have one additional arrow of death at a time.
Note that I have left the door open for further expansion of this feat chain. If a character wishes to continue taking Arcane Archer feats into epic levels, you could extrapolate to create greater effects, as well as granting more uses of the previous Arcane Archer feats and a greater enhancement bonus to arrows. These feats end up being a little more powerful than the arcane archer prestige class itself, but the cost is that you are giving up the flexibility of taking other feats and you do not gain some of the other benefits of the arcane archer prestige class, such as skills, saving throws and so on.
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