How to play an archer in D&D (EVERY CLASS)

[@blumineck]

Download the game now to fight side by side with DND legends in Dragonheir: www.inflcr.co/SHJi7 #ad #dnd ⁠#dragonheir" Live now on Windows, Mac, Steam, Epic, Android and iOS! Use the gift code for free in-game unlocks! Code: diceroll Steam Link: www.inflcr.co/SHJiF @dragonheirsilentgods (kzbin.info/door/nD7Nyd9ALhjKImJfiz-DBA)

[@alanherlan3429]

honestly, the wizard archer synchronizes really well with another crazy DnD idea of infinite AC where the way to never being hit is if you are faster than a speeding bullet not even a bullet will be able to hit you and how does one achieve such blinding blazing impossible speed increasing your dex as a lich but without further ado, I'll let Blaine explain kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnzbpoaqn7eHrtE take it away Blaine Simple

[@NobodyDungeons]

One homebrew I added into my game was replacing the bonus action attack from cross bow expert to a readied attack. In essence when you roll initiative you can make a single attack against an enemy which falls inline with how crossbows actually work being able to load a bolt. I also added a speed shooter feat which lets an individual fire a ranged weapon without the loading property as a bonus action.

[@goingfilipino]

Where can I get the quiver you used in this video?

[@brettleisy356]

Crossbows being faster than bows? I am SOOOO glad I stopped playing back in 2E.

[@Brass319]

great video, but slight correction for 16:57 : bow are string instruments. Therefore, you can already use them as your spellcasting focus.

[@Karabiner5692]

This man is the peak nerd that we all strive to be

[@blumineck]

I try!

[@Srymak]

@@blumineck did you choose the elf twink life, or did the elf twink life choose you? curious minds wish to know 🤔

[@TheBestDog]

@@Srymak 😂🤣😂

[@petergtzsche8019]

Ja det er rigtigt! God jul

[@PupdudePwns]

With extra charisma due to stripper pole proficiency

[@colbyrackler3915]

This guy was secretly born a Viking in 1180 and was transported here in 2023 and became a D&D nerd just for our entertainment and awe

[@blumineck]

shhh!!! They'll send me back if they find out!

[@TikiTreeOG]

@@blumineckyou do know for barbarian you could just use a finesse weapon right?

[@NerdOManyThings]

@@TikiTreeOG The barbarian abilities he was refferring to specify that you need to be using your Strength modifer to use them. They work with finesse weapons, but not if you are using your dex for it, so you must choose between using those abilites (reckless attack & rage damage bonus), or using your dex

[@jubes1300]

sorry to nit-pick but Vikings (or rather Nords or Norsemen who went on a "Viking" (meaning raid)) and their lifestyle weren't around anymore in 1180, they were around roughly between the time of the holy roman empire and William the conqueror

[@moskaumaster1594]

@@jubes1300 I assume you mean the founding of the Holy Roman Empire?

[@Paws42]

The Wizard build sounds like a really fun villain idea. On a virtual tabletop it could be really fun to have a horde of skeletons, but then one of the random skeletons token suddenly changes to a necromancer token

[@alanherlan3429]

alright it seems my replies aren't sticking kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnzbpoaqn7eHrtE

[@alanherlan3429]

I intend to help you realize that goal kzbin.info/www/bejne/pnzbpoaqn7eHrtE That video had a lich gaining a lot of dexterity and why they would do that together with this video that works for creating a bowman necromancer/lich seek a hearted comment in that video comments and have fun

[@EphemeralPseudonym]

Necromancers are always peak villain/encounter material just because of the epic setpieces you can make

[@foxoninetails_]

My favorite archer build I've ever done was a half-elf Samurai Fighter. At level 10, the combination of Elven Accuracy, Sharpshooter, the Archery fighting style, the Samurai's Fighting Spirit ability, and her trusty +1 bow left her with a reliable +12 to hit on the best of three attack rolls on almost every attack, and let her quite comfortably drop down to +7 for greater damage without sacrificing much accuracy. It isn't a flashy build, but it was brutally effective.

[@degreeskelvin3025]

Currently playing a drow gloom stalker assassin. Basically this except its an underdark campaign so umbral sight means im invisible 90% of the time. Elven accuracy is a helluva drug. Also, i crit on all attacks turn 1.

[@nessredwood4830]

I read your comment and it kind of inspired me to also share an archer build I really like. I am currently playing this character in a campaign that is the longest one I ever played, so I grew really fond of her ❤ My girl is a battlemaster fighter aasimar (protector version). We are also level 10 right now, her dex is stil 18, but her current bow is +2, so with archery battle style it is +12 overall. Precision atack maneuver (and an occasional bardic inspiration) makes sure I hit almost all of the time, even with a sharpshooter active. And radiant soul gives her a flying speed which helps when I need to get some range. It does get a bit repetitive at times, but I do enjoy dealing some massive damage, especially when I can go all out, which would be something like d8 + 6 basic damage + d10 for a maneuvre + 10 for sharpshooter + 10 once per turn during radiant soul.

[@Evelyn-rb1zj]

@@degreeskelvin3025yeahhh I'm probably going to go this route with my half drow gloomstalker/rogue (currently gloomstalker 5/rogue 1, and I'm not sure when I want to get rogue 2 just because we don't play higher levels than 5/6 often so I'd probably build differently depending on if it were a oneshot or ongoing campaign at certain levels level 7 oneshot would definitely be ranger 5/rogue 2 levels 8 I'd consider rogue 3 level 9 I'd go either ranger 8/rogue 1 or ranger 5/rogue 4 for that second feat depending on the theme of the oneshot if it was likely to be bright out definitely more rogue for the hide lol)

[@seanmurphy3430]

An important note for the caster builds is that flavor is free. It can be a lot of fun to describe your spells as magic arrows being fired from your bow. I’m an big fan of Magic Missile being a quick volley with seemingly impossible accuracy; Lightning Bolt is a close second favorite.

[@notsae66]

Yeah, this was my immediate thought for basically every caster build, though with different flavour and bow aesthetics based on class and sub class. I picture the bard as using a big harp as a war bow, shooting magic effect arrows as they play.

[@MyStarseedColoring]

I played an archer warlock (and eventually paladin), I flavored my eldritch blasts as energy arrows I shot from my bow till I got enough levels to make the change to the actual weapon invocations to make the archery bit do enough damage XD Even after that, if I needed force damage, I'd still have my backup eldritch blast (even if I had no invocations for it)

[@danimag3904]

i played a multiclass barbarian mage and my dm let me concentrate on my greataxe. My magic missiles were small axes, my firebolt also axes, it was amazing

[@benjaminlee2150]

I would like to note that another very useful trait of elves for archers especially is their access to the Elven Accuracy feat. The +2 from the archery fighting style combined with triple advantage from Elven Accuracy can basically negate the -5 penalty from Sharpshooter entirely. It also helps if you have a floating ability score to increase. Pair this with some way to get consistent advantage on your attacks like with the Samurai Fighter’s Fighting spirit and you have what is essentially a free +10 to all of your damage rolls. If you really want to push it, you can multiclass into ranger or take fey touched/magic initiate for hunters mark, or multiclass somewhere else for Spirit Shroud.

[@Wlerin7]

The +2 from Archery coupled with regular advantage already negates the -5. Getting triple advantage is just dessert.

[@erxy6646]

As far as I know, there is no more than simple advantage

[@Kris_Lighthawk]

@@erxy6646 Normally not, but Elven Accuracy is an exception to that: "Elven Accuracy Souce: Xanathar's Guide to Everything Prerequisite: Elf or Half-Elf The accuracy of elves is legendary, especially that of elf archers and spellcasters. You have uncanny aim with attacks that rely on precision rather than brute force. You gain the following benefits: Increase your Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma score by 1, to a maximum of 20 Whenever you have advantage on an attack roll using Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma, you can reroll one of the dice once." You are basically getting 3 dice rolls every time you have advantage instead of 2.

[@Mortarah]

@@erxy6646With Elven Accuracy, each time you have advantage on a -ranged- attack roll, you can add another die and take the highest, so technically a super advantage.

[@Zulk_RS]

If your DM is allowing the optional class features from Tasha's, you can get easy Advantage by taking a 3 level dip in rogue. 3 level sounds like a lot but if you're not already playing a rogue, it can work wonders for an archery build because you get the best "Get me out of here" option: Cunning Action for BA Disengage, Dash and Hide at level 2 rogue. At 3rd level, if Optional Class Features are allowed, you can get BA Aim. Which, if you choose to not move on your turn, allows you to get advantage for a BA on the first attack you make on your turn. Combined with Sneak Attack 2d6, you'll do massive damage on the first attack of every turn. If you want advantage on every turn though, Samurai fighter might be the way to go.

[@SubacaiDarkwing]

I definitely would never have considered most of these options. I really like that you talk about what it would all look like, too. Really adds some spice to think about.

[@blumineck]

I'm glad you enjoyed that! It was fun to do!

[@stario18]

3:14 Feats 7:50 Races 10:07 Artificer 12:57 Barbarian 15:37 Bard 20:13 Cleric 22:37 Druid 25:27 Fighter 29:13 Monk 33:40 Paladin 38:18 Ranger 43:14 Rogue 46:51 Sorcerer 49:42 Warlock 52:04 Wizard 55:50 Final Tier List

[@digitaljanus]

🙏

[@josuesepulveda6850]

Thanks bro!

[@axel4320]

❤

[@blumineck]

It's in the video description too btw!

[@stario18]

​@@blumineckOh, ha. I guess I didn't check. Great video by the way! I love how you combine your archery skills with dnd.

[@marichka-mulligan]

We had an archer paladin: the DM allowed him to smite with a bow. He was an incredibly fun and over the top character, but we somewhat struggled without a proper frontliner 😅

[@SorayaAmythest_Dragon]

I am taking this idea

[@CorvusSolitario]

I absolutely love the trickery you came up with for the Necromancer Wizard. As someone who usually plays casters utilizing the transmutation, illusion, and enchantment magic to control the battlefield and act as a Loki-esque trickster, your idea is brilliant.

[@PhoenixVic21]

Can I just say, THANK YOU for including subtitles to your videos. Lots of great information that everyone can hear/see ❤

[@Jono997]

Pretty sure the subtitles are auto generated, but it's definitely nice nonetheless.

[@johansten7976]

​@@Jono997The in-video subtitles, while probably some kind of autogenerated, are drastically better than YTs autogenerated! I suspect they're manually cleaned up a little to catch the worst errors even though some slip through.

[@iamireland]

Conversely if he'd just used CC the people who don't like them could turn them off and everyone would be happy.

[@robinvanderpal372]

​@@iamirelandbut then he'd have to add subtitles to every platform individually, and some platforms don't even support subtitles. i think this iis overall the best way to add subtitles.

[@Uhhhi-ih8bb]

Feet

[@giraffegirl1691]

I actually really like the idea of the cleric archer. I mean, does it not sound incredibly terrifying to just watch 3 of your best buds die as they're struck down by arrows that you have no idea where they're coming from, then suddenly get swarmed by a team of overprepared melee fighters that just WON'T FREAKING DIE because this powerful blur of motion keeps busting in to heal them, and your teammates are still getting picked off by arrows. I also would love to play the wizard necromancer for the lols. I find that so funny.

[@blumineck]

glad you enjoyed those!

[@CheddarPowder]

I once created an Orc War Cleric called Zugrug. Nothing holy about him. He worshipped strength, battle and was absolutely loyal to his party. The gimmick was to use Guided Strike for a +10 while using Sharpshooter for -5 and +10 to damage. Lots of fun!

[@Wreckingba113r]

An option in Tasha's Cauldron allows for simple and martial weapon proficiencies to be swapped with other simple and martial weapons, which opens up a few more archery options. for example dwarves get proficiency with warhammers, so can easily swap that for longbow or a heavy crossbow.

[@MalloonTarka]

Funny, that last trick with wizards is why I made sure to pick up _Disguise Self_ for the last necromancer build I did. It's really fun inventing ways to use utility spells in combination with your undead minions. Spells like _Longstrider_ in order to make your zombies faster stand out in ways they wouldn't have otherwise.

[@tracyblanchard7663]

On my end, I've had a lot of success with an elven Shepherd Druid who uses a bow! Since you're primarily meant to summon other creatures with your concentration, this leaves your action open to make a weapon attack. If you wanna get tricky with it, you can utilize the Martial Adept feat's Trip Attack to cause an enemy in your summons' midst to fall prone, allowing your summons to use various trample attacks when you command.

[@blumineck]

That's really cool! It's close to the vibe that I ended up going for with the wizard in the end!

[@adnagapot]

One thing to remember with bards is that they can somewhat disregard the magical focus because many bard spells have only verbal components

[@DraconicLeafTalarus]

Oath of the Ancients is my favorite Paladin oath. I never considered trying to do an archer build with it until I saw this video title; and I was so glad you mentioned that oath.

[@morrigankasa570]

OATH OF CONQUEST IS BEST!!!

[@Tisiloves]

If you're playing a spellcaster archer the war caster feat is a solid choice. You can do somatic components even with a weapon in both hands, plus advantage on concentration checks and can use a spell for opportunity attacks

[@Sovreign071]

Okay, weirdly enough, I did have a similar character concept to your Wild Magic Sorcerer Archer. Their backstory is they grew up hunting, so they're pretty good with the bow. But when their magic showed up, they got curious. And then, as happens in all PC backstories, something REALLY bad happened on the wild magic table that alienated/hurt/killed their family. So now they're a sellsword (read: bow) who is trying to make a new life for themselves, and denying their own magic. Depending on the campaign type, might lead to some interesting roleplay and character development!

[@skyhightabby]

All of us liking before even watching it 😂

[@benjaminlee2150]

You got me

[@matthewfarmer982]

Worth it

[@VikingTeddy]

Yes, yes I did. Speaking of archers and character classes. I recently started a skyrim playthrough. Wanted to play as a pure mage. But no matter what I do, I always end up as a stealth archer! Every. Single. Time.

[@cosmicodyssey3382]

I’ll forget if I don’t

[@TheLawlessRogue]

GENUINELY THOUGH, he's so great at what he does.

[@roxannebednar9163]

Ive always pictured the sharpshooter bonus as being something like aiming for a weak point like a headshot. More likely to miss or bounce off the rounded helmet, but guaranteed to deal significant damage if it penetrates

[@karygurl]

If I'm remembering correctly, the druids and scimitars thing is a jank holdover from previous D&D editions, where sickles and "curved swords" were some of the only non-wooden/natural weapon available to druids, and it separated them from the old school clerics that could only use blunt weapons. Personally I'm with you, why not a druid with a bow?? Seems silly to me! Love this take on the different classes so much, thank you for sharing! I think I'm off to roll a new character or three, hahaha :D

[@jonathanwessner3456]

The way around the "Old School" cleric Blunt weapons thing was to take an Elf. Auto longsword proficiency.

[@morrigankasa570]

My lvl 1 Chaotic Neutral Female Drow Feylost background Death Domain Cleric sworn to the Raven Queen. She uses a Warhammer & Shield but also has a Spear backup. She also wears Scale Mail. As for my lvl 1 Chaotic Neutral Female Sun Elf Gate Warden background Druid planning Circle of Spores. She uses a Great Club with a Scimitar backup. She wears Leather Armor. Finally, my lvl 1 Chaotic Neutral Female Half-Sun Elf Half-Moon Elf Sage background Ranger planning Drakewarden. She has 2 Hand-Axes with a Longbow backup and wears Scale Mail. So I'm planning on "Duel-Weapon Fighting Style". Admittedly, I don't have a group to play with:( But, I have created 6 different lvl 1 characters in case I found a group. Yes Archery is fun in real life, but mechanically in D&D Archery is problematic. With basically the only way it is useful, relies on Feats to be viable:( In real life, you are highly effective in "Short/Melee Range" even with a Bow!

[@jonathanwessner3456]

@@morrigankasa570 My halfling fighter/archer shoots into melee and might have a shortsword for backup if he can't fight with his bow...I haven't rewritten him for 5e yet. I am still trying to figure out how to transfer my Thief/Fighter with psionic powers to it (he is not a psionicist)

[@MegaPokefan97]

Rogue + Fighter is pretty much it. Consider Psy Knight subclass from Tasha's Cauldron

[@RabblesTheBinx]

The idea that druids, a class that is supposed to be at one with nature and exactly the type of people to use every part of the animals they kill and otherwise live off the land, can't use a curved stick with an animal gut string that shoots pointy feathered sticks makes me irrationally angry.

[@WryAun]

You are such an inspiration, so many admirable qualities in one person. Today I was impressed by your D&D knowledge- obviously. You're clearly a fan and your ideas are creative and unexpected! I especially love how you made sure to include flavour ideas for every feature. It keeps everything feeling very evocative and immersive! I also really appreciated the baked in captions they're a wonderful accessibility feature and I appreciate that you included them as baseline. It helps get people who don't need them get used to seeing them too so when they're with someone who dues need them, they're less likely to complain about them being distracting! (I did notice there were a few cases where your captions didn't match what you were saying though; I'm guessing that's because you deviated a little from the script you wrote in advance and based your captions on, which is fine, but just leaves a little room for polishing so people who rely solely on the captions aren't disconnected by only having access to a different version of the content than folks without difficulty hearing) This was a tremendous video and well worth watching all the way through even though it's longer than many of your others! It does make me wonder though, were you into D&D before or after you were a celebrity archer online and people started commenting about your content with reference to DnD?

[@samwilliams6820]

Was not expecting an extremely detailed and almost mistake-free airtight mechanical breakdown from the poledance archer guy

[@catsandbooksforever5672]

Recently me and my friends started to play DnD, I've chosen to play as a ranger and while we haven't had that many sessions it's been a blast ^^

[@AllFlimmits]

Make sure you use the updated version from unearthed arcana. The original ranger from 5e is shit

[@derekskelton4187]

It's fine. Reddit likes to exaggerate@@AllFlimmits

[@PsychCaptain]

Sadly, the only good ranger class is the one found in Pathfinder 2e.

[@KelvinReynolds]

Tasha's Coe and xanthars have some great ranger options. I had a blast playing a gloomstalker

[@morrigankasa570]

FIZBAN'S TREASURY OF DRAGONS!!!!! DRAKEWARDEN SUB-CLASS IS F*"KING AWESOME!

[@Pizzagulper]

Thank you for mentioning the swift quiver part for bards. I was starting to wonder if you missed it. One thing you can also do, is get the paladin's Find Greater Steed Spell and choose a gryphon mount, for constant fast fly speed while shooting down on your opponents. You can also cloak yourself and the steed with greater invisibility to be able to shoot down while invisible, which is totally broken. I got both of those with my ranged bard I played a few years ago, and it was unbelievably strong. Easily my most mechanically powerful character yet.

[@prestonh.2771]

Kensei archer monk... Makes me think of Legolas. Wild close combat attacks like kicking off of an enemy to jump back then shooting or flavoring close attacks as using arrows for rapid melee attacks then shooting

[@timeless9534]

I actually have a warlock character with her Eldritch Blasts reflavored as a magical longbow made of pure eldritch energy firing off arrows of force. She’s young. She’s a 12-year-old water genasi whose ‘patron’ is her father, a genie, allowing her ‘spells’ to effectively be figments of her imagination come to life. She’s lived on the streets for most of her life, and only really discovered her powers when she was under pressure. Any archer worth their bow would immediately notice that she has never fired a bow before just by watching her cast Eldritch Blast (firing her bow) as she doesn’t let the arrow fly, she lets it go, jerkily releasing her hold on the arrow which would absolutely reduce a normal bow and arrow’s precision to almost nothing, but since it’s her imagination, the arrow still flies straight.

[@blumineck]

that's some incredible flavour! I love it!

[@pawz212]

mechanics AND narrative content, the holy matrimony

[@ericpeterson8732]

Yep. I just made a battle smith archer. It's really good and I love the flavor. Your mechanical helper is nice too. The fact that aren't a lot of archer themed magic items to replicate, you can use your infusions for repeating shot, enhanced weapon, and radiant weapon. Your attack cantrips become spell arrows and your arcane jolts can be force arrows. You get conjure barrage at level 9. It's just a great archer build.

[@draghettis6524]

Tasha's Otherworldly Guise is a good alternative to Tenser's Transformation for wizards, and an option for sorcerers, and it lets you use your int/cha for your bows, along with giving you flight and a nice bonus to AC ( situationally, you could also exploit the immunities it gives )

[@adamsiq4851]

Wow, these are clever concepts. I think my favorite one is the Barbarian because of how well I could envision it. I may need to save this video to reference when I'm making characters.

[@blumineck]

thank you! I hope they provide some fun inspiration!

[@TopazRage]

What an amazingly fun and useful video! Always a pleasure, but an unexpected one, with this comprehensive hour of great thoughts well-expressed. Thought-provoking, too, as now I'm gonna look at methods of shoring up the weak options (sorceror, wizard, druid) with small multiclass dips

[@glyphdragonix]

Well I am an example of this, I am currently playing a warlock that really likes to use a bow. As she can manipulate water into freezing in different shapes, a thing she got from her patreon,and she always has a water bottle on her back. She uses it to make arrows for her bows. However, if I ever knew her to have a melee weapon, I can just make one, and as a further plus, you don´t have to count arrows. It´s very fun trying to cheese a known encounter in the city just by getting on top of buildings and how the dm deals with it.

[@theokogod6711]

I've loved watching your Shorts for a while now. This is a great video! I love seeing your in-depth approach to it

[@blumineck]

thank you!

[@dagamerboi]

improved pact weapon can be done with an attuned magic weapon letting you use a normally melee enchantment on a bow, such as a flame tongue longbow

[@Brigtzen]

Many thanks for the closed captions!

[@mustardsfire22]

Doesn't really affect anything, but these would actually be open captions because they're unable to be removed. Just worth noting if you ever see the term anywhere. :)

[@blumineck]

good to know!

[@Enriath]

I played a Ranger as my first ever D&D character, and one of my absolute favourite things that only Ranger gets is the spell Zephyr Strike, from Xanathar's Guide. For any race that doesn't have some builtin get-out-of-melee-range ability, it's a blessing. For the cost of a level 1 spell slot, your bonus action, and your concentration: your movement doesn't provoke opportunity attacks for up to a minute, and you can empower one of your attacks, attacking with advantage and getting an extra 1d8 force damage on that attack. You also get a bonus 30 ft of movement speed the turn you make that attack, so you can really zoom. I would have it in my back pocket whenever I got rushed down, safely stepping outside of melee range, and then smacking someone with a Sharpshooter-boosted empowered arrow for some insane damage. The concentration requirement is annoying if you're casting other spells, but I was getting great use out of it even using its effects for a single turn. It's also sadly *only* for ranger, which really sucks, though you could always ask the DM to allow it on another class.

[@blumineck]

I have also had a lot of use out of zephyr strike on some builds! It's a great little spell

[@aadityayanamandra8846]

I am genuinely such a fan, thank you for such a consistent flow of amazing content!

[@blumineck]

thank you so much! That means a lot to me!

[@DragonKnightJin]

For the Cleric: My first D&D character was a tall Dragonborn Death Cleric Soldier. His casting of Sacred Flame was an energy bow that would release the arrow at the enemy *stupidly fast*, necessitating the Dex save to avoid. His casting of Guiding Bolt, however, was him basically pulling out the divine energy equivalent of a Dark Souls Greatbow, and yeeting one of those "ballista bolt" arrows at his enemy. He was a lot of fun to play. And fondly remembered as an NPC in a later campaign.

[@GunnarWahl]

Kensai monks make great archers. Don’t forget if you simply add the damage that costs a ki from the subclass, you get that bonus weapon attack. Couple this with being able to grab arrows shot back at them. It’s honestly very good

[@mme.veronica735]

Dang I haven't realised the Ancestra Guardian Barbarian ranged weapon combo! That is very good! I'd imagine you could do very well with crossbow expert/gunner and being a mix between melee and range

[@blumineck]

definitely!

[@daloypolizei]

i know you wanted to do only builds that use actual bows but an idea i love for a warlock is an archfey warlock with flavor for eldritch blast as conjuring an elegant silver fey bow that they shoot from and flavor most other spells as special arrows from that bow (its bcuz i love the flavor of the arcane archer but actually want to play as one of the sea archers from Giants: Citizen Kabuto)

[@blumineck]

Eldritch blast as bow flavour is a great concept! It just wasn't what I was going for here!

[@daloypolizei]

@@blumineck fair enough! I just wish there was more support for the arcane archer fantasy!

[@blumineck]

@@daloypolizei arcane archer as a concept really needs some love from D&D- there is so much potential for spellcasting archers to be awesome, but few ways that the rules actually directly support without having to get creative!

[@daloypolizei]

@@blumineck what i hate most about the subclass is other than the two magical shots you get, you have a basic cantrip and besides that, you’re not really like magic in any way! the psi warrior can cast telekinesis once per long rest, why not give the arcane archer some limited uses of things like swift quiver or lightning arrow!

[@Pyro_with_adhd]

A barbarian (especially one with fire resistance) can use alchemist's fire to light themselves on fire so they don't have to worry about thier rage ending early when using ranged attacks.

[@petervolmert2112]

That barbarian concept is sheer genius.

[@OriginalSoulbourne]

Just remember charisma also reflects your spiritual influence on reality. Of your shooting with charisma it can be either willing reality to how you want or being so handsome that reality adjusts itself to you.

[@garrettredding2837]

last week I was building a DEX based Sorcadin, I love goofy builds

[@Talia_Arts]

Omg thank you so much for the captions!

[@sutoriimmortal2177]

Barbarian is in a very interesting position as an archer, as it follows my general creed for what's really really strong in this game: High survivability and versatility. D&D is a game ruled by defense and options and Barbarians give themselves every chance at using both. They're going to have decent to good Dexterity due to it being their tertiary stat, so combine that with a shortbow and maybe the mobile feat and what do you get? A Barbarian harasser. Basically turning you from a mere muscly mongoloid, into a Mongol without need of a horse. Any subclass will do. Ancestral Guardian clearly gives more benefits than others, but you're going to be use your bow as either an opener or a closer, taking advantage of your group's superior range and stealth to chip away at or finish off fleeing foes. Free damage is free damage. My favorite subclass to use for it is the Giant subclass, because you open with many arrows and spells at a range and then switch to a hybrid thrown/melee style when either your enemies or you close the distance. Turning you to a walking piece of area denial, aka: The ultimate breed of tank.

[@SubacaiDarkwing]

Shooting with an instrument is certainly an interesting choice. 😹 Nice channeled divinity shot! And here we all thought you're a Bard/Ranger hybrid!

[@mikethewizard7378]

Oath of Devotion Paladin can use Sacred Weapon and Divine Favor. Slight boost to damage and accuracy as long as you use your first action and bonus action in combat to set it up. I’ve played a Dex Charisma Paladin archer with this build and the Interception fighting style to reduce damage our other backliners would take.

[@BrewerM23]

40:34 Discworld reference! Nice!

[@robertporter6683]

Yea, but a SWARM of NAC Mac Feegles? That's a war crime.

[@AndyBarkerBass]

10 minutes in and loving this long form content! Bravo good David

[@HighPhoenix1754]

For Druid... Prioritize Dex and Wis Race: Elf or Half-Elf (Any you prefer as long as they have elven weapon training) Circle of the Land - Has pass without trace, invisibility at level 3, and haste at level 5. You get what is effectively extra attack at the same time as martials ASI Level 4: Elven Accuracy +1 Dex. In combination with invisibility, will let you nail your first shot. ASI Level 8: Either Dex+2 or if odd number, Piercer. Druid continues to gain abilities that help maneuverability and nailing your shots more accurately. You are a natural sniper who hunts in the grasslands and pays respect to your prey. You are fast, stealthy, can still wild shape, and can summon if need be with a Wizard-Esque Arcane Recovery. Along with the variety of support abilities that the Druid has. Have fun with that.

[@blumineck]

Nice!

[@hiigguys7395]

I'm playing a college of Swords bard in Balder's Gate 3. I find myself using the flourishes with my bow way more than with my daggers. Also that Barbarian build sounds super fun!

[@JacobL228]

"Nearly as iconic as me". Damn, dude, you got confidence. Also, Eladrin and Shadar-Kai are both elves. They're not from the Player's Handbook like High Elves, Wood Elves, and Drow (Dark Elves), but they're still elves, so they can take the Elven Accuracy feat too. Speaking of the Player's Handbook, something in there that I've noticed most people seem to miss is that you can take a shortbow or a longbow and replace the bowstring with a sling, allowing the bow to use both arrows and stones as ammunition, so yes, 25:17 you _can_ use Magic Stone with a bow. You can also use it with Catapult if you can spare the spell slots and flavor it as shooting if from your bow. You're welcome. Additionally, 27:45 Dampir are a lineage, not a race, so you need to pick an original race for it to overwrite. Most people choose Aarakocra or Owlin since you get to keep their fly speed. Finally, while Kensei monks _can_ use bows, they're not _designed_ to use them; the "ken" in "Kensei" means "sword", after all. The "sei" part means either "sacred", "because of", or "blue". I don't know which because I don't speak Japanese. Either way, 33:48 they _do_ wear shoes like most monks. By the way, I've seen you drawing a bow so many times, but I only noticed you're left-handed after you "played" the ukulele left-handed. Maybe I need to take the Observant feat.

[@ultimatehawkeyefangirl]

HOUR VIDEO FROM BLUMINECK‽‽‽‽ HOLY SHIT!! BLESSED BE MY SUNDAY! I mean I also caught my cat bleping on camera after months of trying but this is pretty great too.

[@archonfett]

Not sure about using it as a pc, but A villain Necro Archer, hiding among his shambling horde, while plinking off the party, until they find the real one, does sound like a great and epic boss battle. Where its not about hitting bad guy, but finding them and positioning and tactics and strategy for boss battle.

[@drawberry_jam]

Oh let's go! Always been wanting a more long form video from you 👀

[@Sangfuglen]

The ukulele had me 😂

[@000Dragon50000]

Pathfinder 2e: A lot of the guides for most classes outside Fighter, Rogue and Ranger will just end up being "Take the Archer archetype" or "Multiclass into Magus" respectively lol.

[@huntcw]

Thanks!

[@krisedane]

I actually have a warlock archer! she's going to be fun as hell when i play her. I did lean crossbow for some flavor reasons but she can still use a longbow and her magic item(the string that doubles distances) she infused into her pact weapon is usable in both crossbows and bows! It's in a seafaring campaign so i like to imagine her using a longbow at 300 ft range!

[@tstymctst]

Really love this breakdown. I play a rogue archer in one of the campaigns I'm in, and it is very much like you described: slower, methodical, focused. I love using the Steady Aim feature to get advantage on my shots (thus also providing Sneak Attack damage) when I don't have an ally near my target. It *usually* doesn't bite me in the ass by making me unable to move on that turn, lol.

[@safaiaryu12]

This video is BRILLIANT. The length made me nervous (the internet has ruined my attention span), but every part of this was informative and entertaining!! Love the different outfits and acting stuff out. The dog in the beginning when you were showing the different classes was a fun touch - is that your dog?? And you being surprised at your own accuracy when you weren't looking was awesome! Anyway, this is giving me lots of character ideas!

[@BlakeFaeMorton]

I like flavoring the *Guiding Bolt* from Circle of Stars as an arrow from the celestial bow.

[@justinankeney6344]

Thank you for the comprehensive list of build options for the archer. Very well thought out for some of these concepts!

[@shavranotheferanox7809]

1:30 did... did he just shoot an arrow with a guitar?

[@arcadeunskilled]

I think it was a ukelele?

[@gcherfzthequietone]

goddammit that unhinged cheese golem got me good. gotta make that char now.

[@angela_merkeI]

This made me realize that I really miss a feat/class feature that allows speedshooting like it was done historically. Maybe give a small malus to accuracy or damage, but let the archer shoot up to three arrows on the same enemy, I dunno. Also, congratulations on you new bow! Where did you get that beauty?

[@Wlerin7]

Fighters can already shoot 3 (or 4) arrows with Extra Attack.

[@tomraineofmagigor3499]

Talking about keeping in mind how it'll look I once played an artificer/ranger. I used a gun in one hand and flavored my shield as an electrical focusing device that shot lightning. My subclass as the artificer was an armorer and I ended up flavoring my character as a "fleshomancer". I had an adaptable flesh armor that the reason I didn’t need to reload my guns is the flesh would simply adjust to create hardened flesh bullets. For the lightning shield I basically created an industrial power cable from the flesh and attached it to the shield

[@blumineck]

incredible flavour!

[@Kitterallynepetaleijon]

Hello hot pole dancer ranger man

[@fuchsia2449]

The longbow bladesinger option actually is effective, the condition that bladesingers can't use two hands to make an attack only applies in bladesong. The bladesinger extra attack does not require bladesong to be active. So you can start the battle with a bow, then drop it (free object interaction) activate bladesong, and then switch to your one handed weapons. This is a pretty good way to get the d12 damage from the toll the dead cantrip too I think, as it gives you good range and you can fire your bow and then immediately cast toll the dead thanks to bladesinger extra attack.

[@Nimbus-fo7fv]

On lvl 1 we tiptoed through a goblin dormitory Chorus- Shout if you can hear our song. Cheer for gold and glory On lvl 2 we triggered a trap it’s quite a funny story Chorus On lvl 3 we fought a troll it lair was bloody gory Chorus On lvl 4 the manticores were very predatory Chorus On lvl 5 the thieves contrived to rob our inventory Chorus On lvl 6 the pixie tricks made dancing mandatory Chorus On lvl 7 we were chased by from undead territory Chorus On lvl 8 the devils wait in hellish purgatory Chorus On lvl 9 a death knight gave a boring oratory Chorus On level 10 we saved a flumph the deedwas laudatory Dnd song for instrumentals look up pop goes the weasel instrumentals

[@WindriderMel]

Ahhh I love this kind of videos I love hearing different ideas about builds! I'm playing a barbarian Archer right now, I used an homebrew subclass called path of the feral archer that lets me add Str to attacks made with ranged weapons and lets me use my barbarian abilities on ranged attacks (but I can only reckless attack withing 15 feet of the target). The concept came to me from seeing the Oversized Longbow in Waterdeep Dragon Heist, I absolutely wanted to make a character that could wield that effectively. It requires a Str of 18 to wield and deals 1d12 damage. I took the Piercer feat right away, then the Fighter Initiate feat and I chose Closed Quarters Shooter. So now i can always effectively target you even up-close. I multiclassed rogue for efficiency reasons in abilities (the campaign is very narrative and focusing on combat only wouldn't have payed off) and took the Scout subclass. I also intend to multiclass 1 level in warlock and get hexblade. At some point in the story my character should ascend to valkyrie, changing her race to Aasimar, I'll pick protector. As for the feats I'll probably take sharpshooter as my next one for the fixed +10. So with brutal critical and all the abilities that last one minute that I can activate, I should be able to always have advantage (by either reckless attacking or standing still or having the target cursed), crit on 19, if I crit I'll roll 4d12+6d6+29. Not to mention that not only damage dealing matters, I'll be resistant to Bludgeoning, Piercing, Slashing, Necrotic and Radiant damage and I'll be able to halve all of them with unganny dodge or, for the first three ones, pair Rage with Uncanny dodge for a quarter of the damage.

[@elicenyne]

owo bow person made a new video?

[@renedemers8218]

I'm so glad that you *also* appreciate Twilight Cleric Archer. I've actually given mine the gunner feat which means that if there's a sniper rifle you basically get to use all 300 ft of that nightvision.

[@cassandras8797]

15:38 well, it fits with the charisma perfectly in all seriousness I'm very excited to try the artificer idea

[@StawbsGirl]

Thanks

[@missellie1]

Been playing my dragonborn Drakewarden ranger for a couple months now, and I'm having so much fun! These videos encourage me to be more creative with the ranger class.

[@mrmuffins951]

I appreciate the attention to detail with the fighter example shooting all those shots in 6 seconds

[@secretagenttau2233]

I saw the short...came for the full thing. Arcane archer for fighter is one of my FAVORITE archer classes. Combine that with a flying chracter or anyone with spiderclimb? So much fun

[@stirrcrazy2704]

gotta love when people base their buildcrafting around flavor. I often see experienced DnD players present making characters as a tradeoff between how cool they are in RP and how strong they are in combat, but it doesn't have to be that way. You can have an effective and unique build for combat that lends itself to your character's personality, and that's how it should be! To that end, might I present a slightly different build for making a Sorcerer Archer: Play a variant human, take sharpshooter at level 1, and as soon as you get metamagic convert all your spell slots to sorcery points every day. Use Quickened Spell metamagic to cast True Strike as a bonus action on every one of your turns, giving you advantage on the one and only attack you make on your next turn. Fire your bow while taking the -5/+10 from sharpshooter, knowing that the advantage from True Strike will work to somewhat cancel out the -5. This character would be a terrifying long range sniper, and the act of sacrificing all your spell slots every day to empower your archery could be like a rejection of your character's magical heritage, leading to some interesting internal conflict. I can't believe I just made a build focused around actually using True Strike, but here we are. Apparently it is good for something, lmao

[@dum5882]

I'm glad you brought up my favorite Ranger subclass, Swarmkeeper. I usually go melee with it, but archery works well for it

[@whoismegburns]

as a fantasy archery enthusiast i am very grateful for this video. i have an archer rogue planned for an upcoming oneshot and im really excited to try her out :)

[@tharrock337]

You are a legend, this video is fantastic and it's long overdue that I subscribe to your channel, not the least because I gotta remember to finish watching it when it is not 1am

[@g.i.e]

This was really interesting! I write and design TTRPGs semi-professionally, and one of my goals with my high fantasy game was I wanted an archer, no magic, to be a fun viable build with interesting tactical options that were at least inspired by historical archery. My approach was to let them customize their arrows with different fletching and arrowheads, which affect how the attack works. I'm actually currently working on a version 1.5 of the game, and your videos have been really good inspiration for building on that archery system.

[@Hot.Bel.Pepper]

I love the mastermind rouge making a shot then using you bonus action to help an Ally like shooting an enemy to open up their defenses for an ally.

[@kenanjones3481]

I love the dhampir echo knight concept, one of my favorite races and one of the coolest subclasses in my opinion. but my favorite is that you chose the swarmkeeper, I absolutely love my fey archer girl and her swarm of butterflies 🦋

[@UltimateMustacheX]

I've got an artificer that I haven't played yet who sometimes clicks clockwork gadgets to a crossbow to produce ranged spells (so it's technically just flavor for those). It could be a flamethrower-esque device that shoots Fire Bolt when the crossbow trigger is pressed, or setting a clockwork egg filled with acid in the bolt slot (probably clip a back plate onto the bow string to hold the egg) to launch it as an Acid Arrow. For the barbarian example, I could see it flavored as your bow doesn't actually have a string. You just hold the arrow at the back and thrust it forward in the standard motion. You used to have a string, but it broke during one of your rages, and you never bothered to fix it. You rage and you instinctively get into the proper motion, so you can't throw something using normal throw rules with the same damage/distance as when you "shoot" an arrow. For the bard flourish that hits a melee enemy too, it could be residual magic coming off the arrow that lashes out as it passes the closer target. Just a delayed bit of flair that radiates off a few seconds after you fire, to smack someone in the face as it passes.

[@Sellesion]

I love all the concepts you talk about here and I want to play that cleric, like, to a shocking degree. 😅 On the topic of druids though!! I agree whole heartedly. Im Alaskan Native and my tribe had a history of using light bows and dogs for hunting. So when I imagined a D&D character inspired by my heritage, I really wanted her to be able to shoot an accurate killing shot from hundreds of feet away, and then morph into a dire wolf and run into the frey to drag an injured ally (or tonights dinner) out. I had to build her as a multiclass of Horizon Walker Ranger with Moon Druid. For race, I played a Nymph which was basically a modified Eladrin. She could teleport, turn her weapon damage into force damage within 30ft, and also Wild Shape. She was extremely connected to nature and used my tribes traditional archery form. For feats, she had Piercer, Sharp Shooter, and Magic Initiate. With magic initiate she got a couple extra spells so that her Ranger Side didnt hold her back, and I used the 1st lvl spell slot for Find Familiar to give her an Owl Friend for scouting and casting cure wounds from a distance. It took a lot of work but she became a very versatile and effective character.

[@theenbee8222]

I'mma be real, the scene where you grabbed the dice and described the generic low-quality D&D experience of just rolling to hit then rolling for damage like it's a drab war game, I thought at first those dice were pieces of fudge with mint in them, and that you were gonna shove one of them delectable treats straight into your hungry maw right after making the roll; little did I expect you to roll one and for it to come out as an actual D&D dice lmao

[@RedCoyote]

I'll be honest, I started watching this because I play a circle of the stars druid (MM Hobgoblin to pick up longbow proficiency), but it still made me chuckle when you got to druid. It's absolutely the same mood I have about it! At least with star druid you do get the additional flavor of Guiding Bolt; with my druid, she basically conjures up a celestial bow to fire out the guiding bolt. Thankfully I have a DM who loves to homebrew so we've been slowly adding things to make her more archer flavored while still being a druid.

[@BathrobeKeck]

in Pathfinder 1e, there's a paladin archetype called the Divine Hunter that is specifically meant for ranged builds, it gets increased range on it's smite, they get favored terrain in place of their mercies, and get a slightly different spell list to benefit ranged weapons vs armor or melee weapons.

[@aangeldussst2120]

The overall charm exuding from this video is very endearing to me. I don't know if it is the cool archery, the nice voice, attractive features, or the DND talk that makes this so intriguing to me. It is almost hard for me to focus as I am staring at my screen in awe XD.

[@pandoratheclay]

35:14 to add on to the “I use the bow to keep my heart from succumbing to the fury I have in the past” deal, they use a dagger/short sword as their only melee The only way they can allow themselves to damage their foes and not fear what they become on the battlefield is if they can only barely subdue those who stand in their way

[@margodphd]

What a fantastic, well researched, fun video. It really refreshed my "elderly nerd" interest in DnD, I gotta put more effort into finding a fun group - thank you! You rock !

[@TrentRyanKatzenberger]

I love how much effort you put into this video. Glad you’re not just doing shorts!

[@StairFacts]

One of my favorite archer characters I've played was an Aarakocra Kensei Monk I used in a campaign with a heavy emphasis on survival. While I made the character with the intent to use polearms, I found myself gravitating heavily towards using bows because much of the campaign took place in open fields and forests. I did have to consider conserving arrows at times, but being able to fly made hunting for stray arrows as well as scouting for resources to make new arrows easier. I would take potshots at enemies and then swoop down like an eagle, talons primed to deliver a painful bonus action dive kick. The following turn if I decided to continue firing on my enemies I typically used Step of the Wind to Disengage while leaping into the sky, either making an unarmed attack on the way up, or shooting another foe after creating some distance. By the time I got Extra Attack, my "combo" began to get even more stylish as I'd kick and springboard off of an enemy's face in order to gain height and then nail them with an arrow after a backflip, because rolling Acrobatics just to flex is optimal. If your DM doesn't ban flying races outright (which is valid because they completely breaks encounters and area design) then I would highly recommend trying it out yourself with a Monk and getting creative with the ways you can flow in and out of melee and ranged combat with archery.