1. The ARCHER by Lenard Lakofka Those who are familiar with the Errol Flynn movie Robin Hood may recall a scene where when he kills five men-at -arms with single arrow shots, all within one minute (I've timed some of the missle-firing scenes ). We have all seen some movies in which the bow (usually the long bow) is fantastically accurate and deadly. This pre-conditioning, if you will, confuses many a new player of the D&D or AD&D game. The novice might give up if the leader of a group of orcs shouts out to his troops, "Stand and deliver!" because the player has a fear of the bow. On the other hand, the party might refrain from missle fire for the opposite reason: Most monsters met in an encounter cannot be killed by a single arrow. Are, or were, archers really as good as they are sometimes portrayed to be? In fact, an English longbowman could hit and kill a figure at a range of 400 yards! This was, however, the rare shot and not the rule. That fact is based on fire into a group of figures and rarely, if ever was such a feat achieved by a single shot at a lone target. The maximum longbow range in the game is 21 inches, which equates to 630 feet outdoors - a mere 210 yards. How can this apparant inequity be taken care of? Well, it cannot without unbalancing the game. Remember that movement and spell range, say nothing of spell casting time, is tied to selecting distances. If bow range is tampered with, it will throw off the other numbers. However in the archer and archer-ranger subclass (described hereafter), some increase in range is allowed for strong characters. A new NPC class: Archers and Archer-Rangers The principle attributes of an archer are strength and dexterity, both of which must be 15 or better. Intelligence, wisdom, and charisma must all be at least 6, and constitution at least 9.Archer-rangers require even higher intelligence, wisdom, and constitution - a minimum of 14 in each. Archers and archer - rangers whose strength and dexterity are both 16 or better gain 10% to earned experience. While archers may be of any alignment, archer-rangers must be good, just as rangers. Archers can be human, elf, half-elf, or half-orc as well as some other humanoid races. Humanoids are limited in level as an archer as follows: Orcs can become 3rd level archers, gnolls can become 5th level archers, and hobgoblins can become 4th level archers. Kobolds, goblins, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings can not become archers. Only humans and half-elfs can become archer-rangers. Archer-rangers can be humans or half-elf. Archers and archer - rangers use 8 - sided dice for determination of hit points. At first level, two 8-sided dice are thrown, just as for the ranger class. All archers add 2 hit points per level after the 9th level. All archers may use a wide selection of armor, but the use of plate armor will negate an archer's "to hit" bonuses, and thus he will surely decline to use this type of armor. A shield can be carried, but obviously it must be set aside when arrows are fired. Archers have a great selection of weapons available, but this selection is not as broad as that of a fighter. They may use, in addition to their long/ composite/ great bow, the following weapons: swords of any type, dagger, axes of any type, spear or javelin, darts or scimitar. Archers rarely use blunt weapons like a mace, hammer , or flail. Archers do not use pole arms except for the throwing spear. It is very rare for an archer to use a short bow or any type of cross bow. Archers gain no bonuses to hit or damage when using these latter missle weapons. Archers and archer - rangers have the same saving throws as fighters. They melee on the fighter table. All archers begin with only two weapons, a bow and almost always some type of sword. Thereafter they may add one weapon for every three levels attained, just as other fighter classes do. However, their non-proficiency penalty is -3. All archers can make only one hand-to-hand melee attack per round through the 8th level. At 9th through 15th level, they can strike three times in two rounds. They gain two attacks per round only at 16th level and higher. At 7th level and above, archers can fire three arrows per round instead of just two. All archers can employ those magical items usable by all classes plus many other items as well. A magic bow and/or magic arrow operates at +1 in an archers hands, over and above any magical bonuses to hit and/or damage it may already have. However, elven archers do not gain this +1 to hit with a long bow because of their smaller than human size. At 9th level, an archer can establish a freehold just as a fighter can (see Players Handbook, page 22). However, archer-rangers cannot build such a freehold (PH, page 25). The following applies only to archer - rangers. In melee, acher - rangers gain +1 to damage vs "giant class" creatures, just as rangers do. An archer - ranger is as stealthy as a ranger and is able to track like a ranger does. An archer - ranger attracks a body of 2-24 followers, just as a ranger does. However, archer -rangers only gain druid spells, except for some very specific magic-user spells outlined hereafter for both archer - rangers and archers. Druid spells are gained at the 8th level and follow the chart given for rangers. An archer - ranger does not gain any special advantage from non-written magic items pertaining to clairaudience, ESP, and telephathy, such as a ranger can. All archers can learn some specific magic-user spells, but to do this intelligence must be 9 or higher. When the spell is to be taught by a magic-user, the archer must check to see if he can learn it, as if he were a magic user. Failure to succeed on this check forever negates that particular spell. Archers cannot read spells from scrolls in any case, and neither can they pen their own spells. Archers may use particular spells beginning at the 7th level of ability. The number of spells usuable and the list from which the archer may choose changes as the archers level increases: Level # of spells of Archer usuable Which spells possible 7th-8th 1 Magic missle, shield 9th-10th 2 Strength,mirror image plus above 11th-12th 3 Flame arrow, protection from normal missles, plus above. 13th and up 4 Enchanted weapon (bows & arrows only) plus above At 3rd level any archer can make arrows for his bow, assuming the proper raw material is obtained. He can craft a dozen arrows in an 8 hour day. At 5th level any archer can make a long, composite, or great bow. This process takes 9-14 days and also assumes proper materials are at hand. A crude bow that is -2 to hit and from which the archer gains no bonuses whatsoever can be crafted in less than an hour. An archers major attribute is an enhanced ability to hit and damage a target with bow and arrow. This bonus applies only if an archer is not wearing plate armor, as previously noted. He must be using a well-made bow and well-crafted arrows. The bonus applies to any target of human size, and may be further modified upward or downward depending on the target size and relative motion of archer and target (see preceeding discussion) . The bonuses to hit and to damage must be awarded at each level promotion the archer. Remember also that a +1 bow is +2 in the hands of an archer, over and above any bonus given here. The same "extra +1" is true of arrows. Archers use the range of "point blank" in addition to the short / medium / long ranges for most missles. For an archer, point-blank range is from 10 to 50 feet. Other ranges remain the same. (Hereafter are given range changes for exceptionally strong characters, which may be used for archers at the DM's option.) Note: the bonus to hit / damage given below do not include the -2 and -5 adjustments to armor class must always be applied at medium and long range, respectively. Bonus to hit / damage at the range given: Archer Point-blank Short Medium Long level Hit Dam. Hit Dam. Hit Dam. Hit Dam. 1 +1 2 +1 +1 +1 3 +2 +1 +1 +1 4 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 5 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 6 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 7 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 8 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 9 +5 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 10 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 11 +6 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +2 +2 12 +6 +6 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +2 13 +7 +6 +6 +5 +5 +4 +3 +2 14 and up +7 +7 +6 +6 +5 +5 +4 +4 No matter how well an archer is capable of shooting, a roll of 1 on the "to hit" die is always a miss. (Normal missle-firing troops always miss on a 1 or 2.) As an example of how to use the above chart, a 7th-level archer with a +1 bow firing a +2 arrow at point-blank range would have these bonuses to hit and damage: +1 for the bow and +1 more because an archer is firing it; +2 for the arrow and +1 more because an archer is firing it; plus +4 to hit due to skill and +3 damage due to skill at point blank range, for an overall bonus of +9 to hit and +8 damage! All archers, and optionally any trained figure with a long, composite, or great bow, can also do extra damage and gain greater accuracy through use of physical strength. This can only be accomplished by the use of specially made bows and arrows with a greater "pull." Normal bows and arrows cannot be used, nor can any short bows or any type of crossbow. Such a bow must be crafted by an archer, an archer-ranger, or an elf bowmaker who is at least 6th level as an archer or a fighter. Proper "long arrows" must be crafted by an archer, an archer-ranger, or an elf fletcher of at least 4th level. Ordinary fletchers can only make normal arrows. The strength bonuses apply to point-blank range and short range only. Full strength bonuses as given in the Players Handbook will apply; +3 to hit and +6 to damage is the maximum bonus allowed due to strength. Girdles of strength will not provide a further bonus for this purpose. At short range, the bonus to hit and damage is halved from the ammount of the bonus at point-blank range (fractions are dropped). This bonus for strength is in addition to an archers bonus for skill. The strength of an archer or archer-ranger may also allow for an expansion of of the long- range end of a bow's potential. Only specially made bows will give greater range. Only the top end of the long-range category is expanded. Medium range distance stays the same as given in the Players Handbook. Given below are ranges for each type of bow allowed to an archer, archer-ranger, or strong fighter according to the strength of the character. Remember, the bows and arrows must be special. Point Long Long Great Strength blank Short Medium comp. bow bow 9-15 10-50 51-210 211-420 421-630 421-630 421-630 16 421-630 421-640 421-630 17 421-640 421-650 421-640 18 (all 421-640 421-660 421-650 18/01-50 ranges 421-650 421-670 421-660 18/51-75 in 421-650 421-680 421-660 18/76-90 feet) 421-660 421-690 421-660 18/91-99 421-660 421-700 421-660 18/00 421-670 421-720 421-660 Only archers and archer rangers who reach 8th level or above can craft arrows that can later be magicked to become arrows of slaying. The magic must be accomplished by a magic-user the following spells: enchant an item, wish, and trap the soul. Fresh blood from the figure type to be slain must be available. Thus, it is virtually impossible to craft an arrow for use against a unique character like Bahamut, Tiamat, or a deity or demi-god. Archer or Archer-Ranger table 8-sided dice for Experience Experience accumulated points level hit points Level title 0.- 2,500 1 2 Bowman 2,500.- 5,000 2 3 Master Bowman 5,000.- 11,000 3 4 Fletcher 11,001.- 22,000 4 5 Master Fletcher 22,001.- 42,500 5 6 Bowyer 42,501.- 92,500 6 7 Master Bowyer 92,501.- 162,500 7 8 Sharpshooter 162,501.- 287,500 8 9 Arrowsmith 287,501.- 512,500 9 10 Archer 512,501.- 850,000 10 10+2 Archer Esquire 850,001.- 1,187,500 11 10+4 Archer Knight 1,187,501.- 1,525,000 12 10+6 Archer Lord 1,525,001.- 1,862,500 13 10+8 Archer Master 1,862,501.- 2,200,000 14 10+10 Archer Grandmaster 340,000 experience points per level for each additional level beyond the 14th. Archers and archer-rangers gain 2 hit points per level after the 9th. It is not uncommon for archer-rangers to have a double title, like Fletcher-Scout, or Ranger-Archer. Note that the ranger class title is given first. Any individual might only state part of his title. Note that the experience points necessary for each level are the same for archer or archer-ranger. (By the way, Errol Flynn's Robin Hood was an Archer Grandmaster and not a thief of any type. Consider Flynn's statistics as follows: Str 16, Int 17, Wis 15, Dex 18, Con 18, Cha 17; 14th- level Archer Grandmaster; leather armor+2 for AC 6; HP 110; long sword +2, long bow +3.) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 2. THE ARCHER CLASS The Archer's main attribute is enhanced 'to-hits' and damage to distant targets with their various forms of specialized bows. To become an Archer, a character must have a strength and dexterity of at least 15, a constitution of 9, and at least a 6 in intelligence, wisdom, and charisma. A minimum height of 5 feet 5 inches tall is required because of the size and power of the bows employed. If a character possesses both a 16 strength and dexterity he/she is entitled to +10% earned experience. Archers may be human, half-elf, elven, or half- orc. The height limitation may prevent most elves from becoming Archers of this type. Non-humans are limited to 8th level of experience; 9th level if they possess both an 18 strength and dexterity. Elves tall enough to fit the class who possess and 18 strength and dexterity may progress to the 13th level of ability. The classes which may double or multi-class with the Archer are the Ranger, Magic-user, and illusionist. Archers may be of any alignment, but Archer-rangers must be of good alignment. After 5th level no more than 2 Archers will work together in the same group. Archers use the fighter tables for 'to-hits', but begin with only two weapons: A bow of some kind and normally a sword. Thereafter they become proficient with one new weapon each 3rd level. The Archer non- proficiency penalty is -3. At 7th level Archers may shoot 3 arrows per round, and 4 arrows per round at 15th. At 8th level Archers get 3 attacks every 2 rounds with hand held weapons, at 15th they can attack twice in every round in hand-to-hand combat. Archers may use any type of armor, however platemail negates their skill and damage bonuses. The weapons Archers can use are: Bows, dagger, dart, javelin, spear, any type of sword or axe. They may (if rarely) use short-bows, crossbows, or blunt weapons. At 9th level Archers my build freeholds like fighters. Archers may employ any magic items usable by fighters, At 7th level they may begin to learn certain mage spells if their intelligence is 9 or more. The spells must be taught to the Archer by a mage or by studying a copy. Archers cannot write scrolls nor can they cast from them. Archer-rangers can gain spells from the Archer chart in place of their normal magic-user spells. The appropriate levels of spells equaling gained Archer specialty spells. Double or multi-classed Archers DO NOT gain Archer spells in addition, only in substitution for spells of the same level that the character may have already learned. FLETCHER CRAFTS THIRD LEVEL: Archers gain the ability to make 12 arrows in 8 hours. Archers also gain the ability to fashion any type of bow except crossbow in 9-14 days (8+1d6). FOURTH LEVEL: Archers learn to fashion "long-arrows", 12 in 8 hours. FIFTH LEVEL: Archers learn to fashion Arch-bows. These take 26 to 35 days to make (25 + 1d10). THIRTEENTH LEVEL: Arch-bows created by Archers of this level can be magicked by a mage into a strongbow. 70 days time is required to fashion such a bow. BOW & ARROW DESCRIPTIONS "Long-arrows" are arrows of greater length and larger feathering designed specifically for long range shots. These kind of arrows are required for all Archer LONG-RANGE shots. Listed are the three bows most used by Archers. LONGBOW: This is a bow of standard type utilized by adventurers. COMPOSITE LONGBOW: This bow is used for its harder hitting power at short ranges and greater accuracy. GREATBOW: These are very large longbows which can be fashioned to an individuals strength (personalized) to give greater damage. A 5'8" height is required as is a minimum strength of 16 to use these bows properly. SPECIAL & MAGICAL ARCHER ITEMRY THE ARCHBOW: These are bows crafted for great range and accuracy, and greater hitting power at short ranges. When firing at point blank range, strength bonuses 'to- hit' and damage are added. At short ranges, the same pluses are halved and fractions dropped. Greatbows of the arch-bow type can be fashioned to give strength bonuses at point-blank and short-ranges with bonuses being halved at medium range. A height of 5'8" and 16 strength are needed to pull a standard Archbow; Greatbows require a height of 6'0" and a 17 strength to pull. The maximum strength bonus applicable with these bows is +3 'to-hit' and +6 damage. STRONGBOWS: These are powerful magic bows which give strength 'to-hit' and damage bonuses at ALL ranges. These bows are the only type of bow which can give giant strength 'to-hit' and damage bonuses. A height of 6'0" and an 18 strength are required to pull a standard strongbow. A height of 6'0" and a 20 strength (stone-giant belt) are required to utilize a great strongbow. These bows are reputed to combine the bonuses 'to-hit' and damage for gauntlets of ogre power and belts of giant strength as does a hammer of thunderbolts c.f. MAGIC BOWS & ARROWS: Magical bows function as a great arch-bow in an Archers hands, adding their magical pluses 'to-hit' and to damage at short and point-blank ranges because of an Archers ability to make better use of the bows magic. Magic arrows shot by an Archer have 16% better chance of surviving unbroken. Magic arrows can be fired at long ranges the same way a "long-arrow" can be fired. ARCHER TABLES ARCHER SPELL TABLES ARCHER NO. SPELLS LEVEL SPELLS USABLE ------ ------ ----------------------------------- 7 - 8 1 Magic missile, shield 9 - 10 2 Strength, mirror image 11 - 12 3 Flame arrow, protection f missiles 13+ 4 True flight, Enchant item (bows) ------ ------- ---------------------------------- ======================================================== |ARCHER LONGBOW RANGES. | | | | | | POINT BLANK : 10 - 50 feet | | | SHORT : 51 - 210 | | | MEDIUM : 211 - 420 | | | LONG : 421+ (see ranges*) | | ======================================================== ARCHER LONG RANGES TABLE * STRENGTH LONG COMP GREAT -------- ---- ---- ----- 15 630 630 630 FT 16 630 630 640 17 640 650 650 18 640 650 660 TO 18.50 650 660 670 TO 18.75 650 660 680 TO 18.90 660 660 690 TO 18.99 660 660 700 18/00 670 660 720 19 ** 700 690 760 20 *** 730 720 800 21 760 750 840 22 790 780 880 23 820 810 920 24 850 840 960 25 900 880 1040 -------- ---- ---- ----- * ONLY Archers using magical or arch-bows along with 'magic' or long-arrows may use this chart. ** A strongbow is required for all ranges above 19 strength. *** A strength of 20 or gauntlets of ogre power and a belt of hill giant strength is required to pull a great strongbow. ARCHER SKILL TABLE BOW RANGES ARCHER POINT SHORT MEDIUM LONG LEVEL BLANK RANGE RANGE RANGE ======== ======== ======== ======== T-H DAM T-H DAM T-H DAM T-H DAM ------ --- --- --- --- --- --- --- --- 1 +1 *** *** *** *** *** *** *** 2 +1 +1 +1 *** *** *** *** *** 3 +2 +1 +1 *** *** *** *** *** 4 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 *** *** *** 5 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 *** *** 6 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 +1 *** 7 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 *** 8 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 +1 9 +5 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 +1 10 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +3 +2 +2 11 +6 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +2 +2 12 +6 +6 +5 +5 +4 +4 +3 +2 13 +7 +6 +6 +5 +5 +4 +3 +2 14+ +7 +7 +6 +6 +5 +5 +3 +3 ====== === === === === === === === === ============================================================= ARCHER ADVANCEMENT TABLE. 8-SIDED EXPERIENCE POINTS LEVEL DICE LEVEL TITLE 0 - 2,500 1 2 BOWMAN 2,501 - 5,000 2 3 MASTER BOWMAN 5,001 - 11,000 3 4 FLETCHER 11,001 - 22,000 4 5 MASTER FLETCHER 22,001 - 42,500 5 6 BOWYER 42,501 - 92,500 6 7 MASTER BOWYER 92,501 - 162,500 7 8 SHARPSHOOTER 162,501 - 287,500 8 9 ARROWSMITH 287,501 - 512,500 9 10 ARCHER 512,501 - 850,000 10 11 ARCHER ESQUIRE 850,001 - 1,190,000 11 11+2 ARCHER KNIGHT 1,190,001 - 1,530,000 12 11+4 ARCHER LORD 1,530,001 - 1,870,000 13 11+6 MASTER ARCHER 1,870,001 - 2,210,000 14 11+8 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 2,210,001 - 2,550,000 15 11+10 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 2,550,001 - 2,890,000 16 11+12 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 2,890,001 - 3,230,000 17 11+14 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 3,230,001 - 3,570,000 18 11+16 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 3,570,001 - 3,910,000 19 11+18 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 3,910,001 - 4,250,000 20 11+20 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 4,250,001 - 4,590,000 21 11+22 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 4,590,001 - 4,930,000 22 11+24 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 4,930,001 - 5,270,000 23 11+26 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 5,270,001 - 5,610,000 24 11+28 ARCHER GRANDMASTER 5,610,001 - 5,950,000 25 11+30 ARCHER GRANDMASTER