Sacred Arrow for Pathfinder RPG

by Randy
@coffeeswiller

Hello! I noticed that we were neglecting pen-and-paper roleplaying for a while, so I decided that I would share a bit of custom content I made for my favorite roleplaying game, Pathfinder. The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game is the successor to Dungeons & Dragons version 3.5. One of the very first prestige classes in D&D 3rd Edition, the Arcane Archer has stood the test of time. It's an excellent concept: an elf fighting tradition that fuses arcane magic and archery.

So what I have done is I took the Pathfinder version of the classes and modified it to combine divine magic and archery... why should the arcanists get all the love? I think that this is an overdue concept! I have reworked abilities to focus on combating enemies of the faith, including abilites primarily good against undead and outsiders. So... here it is! Enjoy!

Sacred Arrow

Elves or half-elves who seek to perfect the use of the bow in service to their deity sometimes pursue the path of the Sacred Arrow. Sacred Arrows are masters of ranged combat, as they possess the ability to strike at targets with unerring accuracy and can imbue their arrows with powerful spells. Arrows fired by Sacred Arrows smite the enemies of their faiths. At the height of their power, Sacred Arrows can also deliver the blessings of their deities via their arrows, as well.

Those who have trained as both rangers and clerics excel as Sacred Arrows, although other multiclass combinations are not unheard of. Sacred Arrows may be found wherever elves travel, but not all are allies of the elves. Many, particularly half-elven Sacred Arrows, use elven traditions solely for their own gain, or worse, against the elves whose very traditions they adhere to.

Role: Sacred Arrows deal death from afar, winnowing down opponents while their allies rush into hand-to-hand combat. With their capacity to unleash hails of arrows on the enemy, they represent the pinnacle of ranged combat.

Alignment: Sacred Arrows can be of any alignment, though as elves and half-elves tend to be free-spirited, they are rarely lawful. Similarly, it is uncommon to find evil elves and half-elves, and the path of the Sacred Arrow is therefore more often pursued by good or neutral characters.

Hit Die: d10.

Requirements

To qualify to become a Sacred Arrow, a character must fulfill all the following criteria.

Race: Elf or half-elf (Note: many think this requirement is unnecessary!)

Base Attack Bonus: +6.

Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Weapon Focus (longbow or shortbow).

Spells: Ability to cast 1st-level divine spells.

Class Skills

The Sacred Arrow's class skills (and the key ability for each skill) are Knowledge (Religion), Knowledge (The Planes), Perception (Wis), Stealth (Dex), and Survival (Wis).

Skill Ranks at Each Level: 4 + Int modifier.

Table: Sacred Arrow
Level	Base Attack Bonus	Fort Save	Ref Save	Will Save	Special	Spells per Day
1st	+1	+0	+1	+1	Enhance arrows (magic)	—
2nd	+2	+0	+1	+1	Align arrow	+1 level of existing class
3rd	+3	+1	+2	+2	Enhance arrows (righteousness and retribution)	+1 level of existing class
4th	+4	+1	+2	+2	Seeker arrow	+1 level of existing class
5th	+5	+2	+3	+3	Enhance arrows (distance)	—
6th	+6	+2	+3	+3	Disruption arrow	+1 level of existing class
7th	+7	+2	+4	+4	Enhance arrows (elemental burst)	+1 level of existing class
8th	+8	+3	+4	+4	Hail of arrows	+1 level of existing class
9th	+9	+3	+5	+5	Enhance arrows (aligned)	—
10th	+10	+3	+5	+5	Arrow of life	+1 level of existing class

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Sacred Arrow prestige class.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: A Sacred Arrow is proficient with all simple and martial weapons, light armor, medium armor, and shields.

Spells per Day: At the indicated levels, a Sacred Arrow gains new spells per day as if he had also gained a level in an divine spellcasting class he belonged to before adding the prestige class. He does not, however, gain other benefits a character of that class would have gained, except for additional spells per day, spells known (if he is a spontaneous spellcaster), and an increased effective level of spellcasting. If a character had more than one divine spellcasting class before becoming a Sacred Arrow, he must decide to which class he adds the new level for purposes of determining spells per day.

Enhance Arrows (Su): At 1st level, every nonmagical arrow a Sacred Arrow nocks and lets fly becomes magical, gaining a +1 enhancement bonus. Unlike magic weapons created by normal means, the archer need not spend gold pieces to accomplish this task. However, an archer's magic arrows only function for him.

In addition, the Sacred Arrow's arrows gain a number of additional qualities as he gains additional levels. The elemental, elemental burst, and aligned qualities can be changed once per day, when the Sacred Arrow prays for spells.

At 3rd level, every nonmagical arrow fired by a Sacred Arrow gains one of the following weapon qualities: Merciful, Ghost Touch, Undead Bane, (Aligned) Outsider Bane (chosen alignment must not be either component of patron deity’s alignment)

At 5th level, every nonmagical arrow fired by a Sacred Arrow gains the distance weapon quality.

At 7th level, every nonmagical arrow fired by a Sacred Arrow may gain one of the following elemental burst weapon qualities: flaming burst, icy burst, or shocking burst  instead of one of the qualities in the Enhance Arrows (Righteousness and Retribution).

At 9th level, every nonmagical arrow fired by a Sacred Arrow gains one of the following aligned weapon qualities: anarchic, axiomatic, holy, or unholy. The Sacred Arrow cannot choose an ability that is the opposite of his alignment, or the alignment of his patron deity (for example, a lawful good Sacred Arrow could not choose anarchic or unholy as his weapon quality).

The bonuses granted by a magic bow apply as normal to arrows that have been enhanced with this ability. Only the larger enhancement bonus applies. Duplicate abilities do not stack.

Align Arrow (Sp): Starting at 2^nd level, every nonmagical arrow fired by a Sacred Arrow is aligned, as per the spell Align Weapon. For the purpose of overcoming damage reduction, the arrow is treated as Good/Evil/Lawful/Chaotic (only one). The Sacred Arrow may not choose an alignment opposite his own, or of his patron deity. Therefore, a Lawful Neutral Sacred Arrow of a Lawful Good deity could not choose Evil, for instance.

Seeker Arrow (Sp): At 4th level, a Sacred Arrow can launch an arrow at a target known to him 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). A Sacred Arrow can use this ability once per day at 4th level, and one additional time per day for every two levels beyond 4th, to a maximum of four times per day at 10th level.

Disruption Arrow (Sp): At 6th level, a Sacred Arrow can launch an arrow once per day at an undead target, granting it the disruption  quality, except that the Save DC is 10 + half the Sacred Arrow’s class level + the Sacred Arrows Wisdom modifier. Using this ability is a standard action (and shooting the arrow is part of the action). A Sacred Arrow can use this ability once per day at 6th level, and one additional time per day for every two levels beyond 6th, to a maximum of three times per day at 10th level.

Hail of Arrows (Sp): In lieu of his regular attacks, once per day a Sacred Arrow of 8th level or higher can fire an arrow at each and every target within range, to a maximum of one target for every Sacred Arrow level she has earned. Each attack uses the archer's primary attack bonus, and each enemy may only be targeted by a single arrow.

Arrow of Life (Sp): At 10^th level, once per day the Sacred Arrow may fire an arrow at a target as a touch attack. If it hits, the arrow itself does no damage but instead acts as a Heal spell cast at the Sacred Arrow’s effective caster level. As with a normal Heal spell, this may be used as a Harm spell against undead.

So... I hope you liked it! This is one example of how you can tweak existing content to give you new and interesting options. This could be a great advancement option for a Cleric or Inquisitor focused on archery, or perhaps a Paladin with the new Divine Hunter archetype from Ultimate Combat. Lots of possibilities!

The good ol' RPG days...

by Angie
My first Dungeon Master

I was first introduced to Dungeons and Dragons as an imaginative 5 (6 maybe?) year old by my ultra cool Uncle Rob. I think he was babysitting my cousin and I and I guess decided it would be fun to take us on an adventure. We were enraptured. We had the attention of a grown-up, fistfuls of dice, and got to use our imaginations. Win! Our games were really just interactive sotrytelling, and complex rules were not a part of it, but that is what made it so amazing for our young little minds. For years after we begged and begged Uncle Rob to play D&D with us at every opportunity, always wanting to "pick up where we left off". As we grew, our experiences deepened. More rules, more devious dungeons, cooler treasures. We got caught in an endless paradox due to a misuse of a Wand of Wishing. We went to "dinner" at Castle Ravenloft and met with Count Straud and his minions. We explored, we mapped out vast dungeons, we fought, we laughed, and we cried. We begged and pleaded and bargained for more more more.

The making of a lifelong gamer

And then came the books! Rob started giving me my own D&D books. "Old" hand-me-downs as new editions came out were amazing and new to me. I would read and read and imagine all the worlds we'd "seen", and all the worlds still out there to explore. I would ponder over the maps and treasures and dream of grand adventures. A few years later, I had the good fortune to find myself living in the same town as my "favortie DM EVER" and he let me read all his books. Even the new ones! We started a little routine where we would walk down to the bookstore together and pick up the new Gazeteers as they came out. Gazeteers were supplements for the world of Greyhawk that were coming out in the late 80's-early 90's, and each one would be dedicated to a specific culture and region of that world. I remember excitedly looking at maps and pictures and talking about the history and culture of the various peoples of the world. The Elves of Alfhiem, The Grand Duchy of Karamekios, The Five Shires, Northern Reaches, Principalities of Glantri, The Dwarves of Rockhome... and many more. I think there were maybe 14 in all? Anyhow, this world came alive on the pages, and each new Gazeteer would bring hours of enjoyment and oodles of inspiration just in the reading of it. The thing I particularly liked about them was the focus on world-building, maps, and culture. Each one attempted to bring to light a unique region and it's people, and this felt like I was peeking into a living, vibrant world. In my opinion, they succeeded in a way in which very few since have.

Bring it back!

What I would like to see brought back into modern gaming is the wonder of exploring a new world through the pages of an ongoing world supplement. Give me rich histories, detailed cultures, more maps than I know what to do with, cities full of interesting and unique characters. Each Gazeteer was like a piece of the world, and that sense of discovery and intrigue of each new one was one of the prime influences on the development of my own worlds and style as I grew up and learned to "play by the rules". It seems like to me that many game supplements now are focused so heavily on the rules and character builds and new player options and less on revealing a world bit by bit. The campaign settings I've read over the past 10 years or so seem to try to give so much and come in with such little depth. I'm sure some people love that, they have all thier own ideas of how to populate the world and it's denizens and don't want detailed in-depth cultures. For me though, I love it when a game product is focused on one thing; some great examples I can think of are Freeport, City of Adventure and Sharn, City of Towers, but those aren't ongoing series' that round out a world, those are supplements focused on exploring a single city. Althought they do that well, what I'd really like to see brought back into modern roleplaying games is an ongoing detailed, rich world that I can look forward to the next installment of. Something I could spend hours looking over maps and discussing histories of fantastic peoples. I really loved that experience of discovering a world with my Uncle Rob, (thanks for all the memories!) and can't wait to pass along those experiences to my own children. Although I've since taught many younger relatives how to play D&D and various off-shoots, I'm really looking forward to exploring new worlds with my own kids, and would love to have a series as detailed and diverse as the Gazeteers were 'back in the day' to discover with them.

This post is part of an ongoing series of shared topics between our blog and Cool Factor 5, so pop on over and see what roleplaying game feature Julian would like to see brought back into games. And as always, feel free to leave a comment, share your experiences, ask questions, or just chat us up. We love you readers, share your thoughts with us!!!

Biggest Gaming Disappointment

Tonight I was working on a challenge post. We had decided that our topic was to be our biggest gaming disappointments and I had grabbed a boardgame off the shelf that I felt fit the tab. My wife, wise soul that she is, said, "That game? I thought you would have picked 4th Edition D&D." And the wheels started turning, and the game whisked back to the shelf. So, why would Dungeons and dragon 4th Edition be my biggest gaming disappointment? Let me tell you...

Flashback: I pick up the 3rd Edition D&D Player's Handbook. I had been on a bit of a hiatus from roleplaying games after moving to Oregon to finish college. I played 2nd Edition extensively in high school, and after moving away for college, I played sporadically when it came up. I even started a short-lived but fun campaign as the Dungeon Master. I decided to pop into my FLGS (Friendly Local Game Store) and check this out. I was not disappointed.

When I opened that book, I felt I had in my hands the ability to create any type of character I could imagine. Where earlier editions had fairly rigid archetypes, the customizability of character creation in 3rd Ed. was excellent. Skills, feats, generous multiclassing... I loved it. In short order, I found the university's gaming club, where I met other roleplayers... including Julian, the guy at Cool Factor 5 you hear about so much. And, indirectly, I also met my wife through the club via a listserve... to (surprise, surprise!) play D&D 3E. But I digress. Back to 3rd Edition....

Another gem of D&D 3rd Edition was the Open Gaming License (OGL). The basic system of D&D, called the D20 system, was open source. This means that third party publishers could create adventures, supplements, campaign worlds, etc., based on this system. And they did. Lots. This really opened the field for a lot of innovation, and great product lines rose from this. It was a great thing to experience. And it lasted for several years. And then 4th Edition D&D was announced.

At first, I was pretty thrilled by the announcement. I was pretty happy with the direction of the product line thus far, and was excited to see where they would take it. After all, they'd really made it shine, they're just going to do more of the same, right? Wrong.

I started being skeptical when Wizards of the Coast started giving previews. I just didn't feel behind what they were doing, but I still kept reservedly optimistic.But each subsequent preview made it really seem that something was not going right, in my opinion. And then it was released. I'll admit, I went to my FLGS to pick it up at midnight. Yup, I'm a geek and not ashamed to admit it!

So, I'm not going to review 4th Ed. I'll just say that I was unimpressed by character creation, and the fact that every character class pretty much does the same thing with slightly different window dressing. It wasn't ever, "What's YOUR cool power?", it was always "What's your 3d6 + ability modifier power?". Basically, they're all the same. At least it seems like that to me. Feats are also stripped of all flavor. And the archetypes and pretty rigid, backsliding to 2nd Edition. Among other things. All in all, it seems like a pen-and-paper MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game), probably by intention.

Another point of note was the Gaming System License (GSL) for 4th Edition. Whereas the OGL was very permissive and encouraged third parties, the GSL did everything it could to say that Wizard of the Coast could terminate your rights to publish 4th Edition-compatible material at their whim. It is very restrictive, though there are quite a few third party publishers who do use it. I'm not impressed with it, though. And, as I understand, the GSL itself exists only because a lot of people pushed Hasbro (Wizards' parent company) really hard.

So... yeah. This post isn't really about bashing 4th edition, Wizards of the Coast or Hasbro. I just wanted to convey my disappointment about the system, as compared with my previous experiences. I have played 4th Edition a bit, and enjoyed it; it's just not what I want to spend my small amount of roleplaying time playing. I've chosen to look to the Pathfinder line by Paizo Publishing as my RPG of  preference. To put credit where credit is due, Pathfinder is based on the 3rd edition OGL. I recommend checking this system out if you haven't already.

Do you have a big gaming disappointment? Misery loves company! Share it with us! And also, check out what Julian has to say at Cool Factor 5!