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A
new NPC class:
Archers and Archer-Rangers
The principal attributes of an Archer are
STR and DEX,
both of which must be 15 or better. INT,
WIS and
CHA must be at least 6 and CON at least
9. Archer-
Rangers require an even higher INT, WIS
and CON,
a minimum of 14 in each. Archers and Archer-Rangers
whose
STR and DEX are both 16 or better gain
10% to earned
experience.
ARCHER
1. SUBCLASS = Fighter
2. SOCIAL CLASS MINIMUM =
3. ABILITY SCORE MINIMUMS
STRENGTH = 15
INTELLIGENCE = 6
WISDOM = 6
DEXTERITY = 15
CONSTITUTION = 6
CHARISMA =
COMELINESS =
PERCEPTION =
4. POSSIBLE RACES & MAX. LEVEL ATTAINABLE
=
5. MULTI-CLASS POSSIBILITIES =
6. HIT DIE TYPE =
7. MAXIMUM NUMBER OF HIT DICE =
8. SPELL ABILITY =
9. ARMOR PERMITTED =
10. SHIELD PERMITTED =
11. WEAPONS PERMITTED = They may use, in
addition to their
long/composite/great bow, the following
weapons: swords of any
type, dagger, axes of any type, a spear
or javelin, darts, or scimitars.
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 crossbow.
12. OIL PERMITTED =
13. POISON PERMITTED =
14. ALIGNMENT =
15. STARTING MONEY =
16. WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
17. NON-PROFICIENCY PENALTY =
18. NON-WEAPON PROFICIENCIES =
19. STARTING AGE =
20. COMBAT =
21. SAVING THROWS =
22. MAGIC ITEMS =
While Archers may be of any alignment, Archer-Rangers
must be
Good.
St. Sebastian
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 Fletchers, Gnolls
can become
Bowyers, Hobgoblins
can become Master Fletchers.
Kobolds,
Goblins, Dwarves,
Gnomes and Hobbits
cannot become
archers.
<move this image>
Archer-Rangers can be human
or half-elf. Demi-humans and
non-humans NOT mentioned above are limited
to becoming Arrowsmiths or Archer-Rangers.
Archers and Archer-Rangers use an 8-sided
die for HP
determination. At 1st level, 2 8-sided
dice are thrown, just as the
Ranger class does. All Archers add 2 hit
points per level after the 9th
level.
Archer or Archer-Ranger Table
340,000 XP per level for each additional level beyond the 14th.
Archers and archer-rangers gain 2 HP per level after the 9th.
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/she <also applies
to field plate and full plate>
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 <daikyu>
type, dagger, axes of any type, a spear
or javelin, darts, or scimitars.
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 crossbow.
Archers gain no bonuses to hit or damage
from those latter missile
weapons.
Archers and Archer-Rangers have the same
saving throws as
Fighters. They melee on the Fighter table.
All Archers begin with
only 2 weapons, a bow and almost always
some type of sword.
Thereafter they may add 1 weapon every
3rd level, just as other
fighting classes do. However, their non-proficiency
penalty is -3. All
Archers can make only 1 hand-to-hand melee
attack per round
through the 8th level. At the 9th level
through 15th levels, they can
strike 3/2 rounds. They gain 2 attacks
per round
only at 16th level Archer
Grandmaster and higher. At Sharpshooter and above
all Archers can
fire 3 arrows per round instead of just
2. All Archers can
employ those magical items usable by all
classes plus many other
items as well. A magic bow and/or a magic
arrow operates at + 1 in
an Archer’s hands, over and above any magical
bonus to hit and/or
damage it may already have.
However, elven Archers do not gain this + 1 to hit with a longbow 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 (Players
Handbook, page 25).
The following applies only to Archer-Rangers.
In melee, Archer-
Rangers gain + 1 to damage vs. the “giant
class” just as Rangers do.
Archer-Rangers are as stealthy as a Ranger.
Archer-Rangers track
like a Ranger does. Archer-Rangers attract
a body of 2-24 followers
just as a Ranger does. However, Archer-Rangers
only gain Druidic
spells, save for some very specific Magic-User
spells outlined hereafter
for both Archer-Rangers and Archers. Druidic
spells are gained
at the Arrowsmiths follow
the chart given for Rangers. Archer-
Rangers do not gain any special advantage
from non-written magic
items pertaining to clairaudience,
clairvoyance, ESP,
and telepathy,
such as a Ranger can.
All Archers can learn some specific Magic-User
spells, but to do
this INT must be 9 or higher. When the
spell is to be taught by
a Wizard, the Archer must check to see
if he/she can learn it, as if
he/she were a M-U. Failure 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 Sharpshooter. The number of spells usable and the list
from which the
Archer may choose changes as the Archer’s
level increases:
| Level of Archer | # of Spells Usable | Which Spells Possible |
| 7th-8th | 1 | Magick Missile, Shield |
| 9th-10th | 2 | Strength, Mirror Image plus above |
| 11th-12th | 3 | Flame Arrow, Protection from Normal Missiles plus above |
| 13th and up | 4 | Enchanted Weapon (bows & arrows only) plus above |
At 3rd level any archer can make arrows
for his/her bow, assuming
the proper raw material is obtained. He/she
can craft a dozen
arrows in an 8-hour day. At 5th level any
archer can make a long/
composite/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
by an Archer in less than an hour.
An Archer’s 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/she 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 preceding discussion).
The bonuses to hit and
to damage must be awarded at each level
promotion of 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 missiles. 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 bonuses to hit/damage given below
do not include
the -2 and -5 adjustments to AC which must
always be
applied at medium and long range, respectively.
Bonus to hit/damage at the range given:
| - | Point-blank | - | Short | - | Medium | - | Long | - |
| Archer 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 | +7 | +7 | +6 | +6 | +5 | +5 | +3 | +3 |
No matter how well an Archer is capable
of shooting, a roll of 1
on the “to hit” die is always a miss. (Normal
missile-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 this bonus 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; +4 to hit
due to skill and +3 to damage
due to skill at point-blank range for an
overall bonus of +9 to hit and
+8 to damage!
All archers, and optionally any trained
figure with a long/composite/
great bow, can also do extra damage and
gain greater accuracy
through use of physical strength. This
can only be accomplished
via 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, Archer-Ranger or 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.
Strength applies 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 due to
strength is halved (fractions are dropped).
This bonus for Strength is
in addition to an Archer’s bonus for great
skill.
Strength
of an Archer or Archer-Ranger may also allow for an
expansion 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 as given
in the Player’s Handbook. Given
below are ranges for each type of
bow allowed to an Archer, Archer-Ranger
or strong Fighter, according
to the STR of the character. Remember,
the bow and arrows
must be special.
<Strength bow, 16-17 (1,000 gp)
Strength bow, 18 (2,000 gp)
Strength bow, 18/01-75 (3,000 gp)
Strength bow, 18/76-90 (4,000 gp)
Strength bow, 18/91-99 (5,000 gp)
Strength bow, 18/00 (6,000 gp)
(Dragon #127) >
| Strength | Point-
blank |
Short | Medium | Long
comp. |
Long
bow |
Great
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 | - | - | - | 421-640 | 421-660 | 421-650 |
| 18/01-50 | - | - | - | 421-650 | 421-670 | 421-660 |
| 18/51-75 | - | - | - | 421-650 | 421-680 | 421-660 |
| 18/76-90 | - | - | - | 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 be magicked to
become Arrows of Slaying.
The magic must be accomplished by a Magic-User
with 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 versus
a unique character like
Bahamut,
Tiamat, any Deity,
etc.
Saint Ursula
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/her title.
Note that the XP necessary for each level
are the same
for Archer or for 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: S 16, I 17, W 15, D 18, C 18,
Ch 17, 14th-level Archer
Grandmaster, Leather
+2 for AC: 6/2, HP: 110, Long
Sword +2,
Long
Bow +3.)
rg-
zb-
NAMES
Belfram (human archer-ranger) (Thanks:
Norman K Kelly, RIP Todd)
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An arcane archer.
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A special archer?
Dear Dragon,
Should the archer NPC class (Best of
DRAGON Vol. III) be allowed to have
the ability
of weapon specialization as described in
Unearthed
Arcana?
Adam Lidz
Bala Cynwyd, Pa.
(Dragon
#105)
If you're using the unofficial archer
NPC
designed by Len Lakofka, the original
bonuses to
hit and damage given in that article
should be
retained, not replaced by the combat
bonuses
given in Arcana
for specialization with a bow.
Those original bonuses are part of what
makes an
archer an archer; besides, from 4th
level on,
they're better than the bonuses given
to a bow
specialist. On top of that, the archer
gets an extra
+1 when using any magical bow
or arrow. If you
find these advantages too powerful,
you can treat
the archer more like a regular bow specialist.
But
if these advantages haven't caused any
game balance
problems in your campaign, then there's
no reason to replace them with the lower
bonuses.
I can't think of a logical reason why
archers
should be denied the benefit of the
other aspects
of weapon specialization. If a bow specialist
"who
begins the round with arrow nocked,
shaft
drawn, and target in sight is entitled
to loose that
arrow prior to any initiative check,"
then an
archer should be able to do this, too.
An archer
should be able to do increased damage
at point-blank
range just as a bow specialist can,
but don't
add in the archer's damage bonus before
doubling
the amount. Determine "raw double damage
" first; e.g., an arrow +1 does 2-7
points of
damage, so "raw double damage" would
be 4-
14 (2d6 + 2). A <14th-level archer>
also gets +7 on
damage and an extra +1 for using a magic
arrow,
for a total of 12-22. That's enough damage,
isn't it? I'd make the archer live with
his
generally lower number of attacks per
round (he
never gets better than 3/1), as some
compensation
for his greater ability to hit and damage.
You'll need to solve other problems to
make the
two systems mesh smoothly; for instance,
they
differ in the definition of point-blank
and short
range. Maybe you'll want to rule that
an archer
who benefits from some of the aspects
of weapon
specialization can never have proficiency
with
anything but a bow. You can use the
2 systems
side-by-side, or you can mesh one into
the other
without making the archer too powerful.
— KM
Missile
Fire & The Archer Subclass
by
Leomund (Len Lakofka)
Fighters,
all humanoids <sic> and, to some degree, Thieves are underrated
when it comes to their abilities to project
missiles. Many melees
are conducted with no missile fire whatsoever
because the rules for
missile fire are perhaps a bit hard to
handle. DMs too often forget that
missiles should be used by both sides in
melee. Missiles not only kill
opponents, they often prevent the use of
a spell if they can hit and
damage the target spell-caster before he/she/it
can finish casting the
spell.
Here is a method of determining whether
a spell is ruined:
Consider all blows in melee
to be landing in the middle of a segment.
Likewise, consider all missiles to be hitting
in the middle of a segment.
Consider all casting times as beginning
in the 1st moment of a
segment and ending in the final moment
of the last segment, as
called for by the spell’s casting time.
If a blow hits for damage in any
segment of a spell’s casting time, the
spell is ruined. Thus if a goblin,
for example, strikes with simultaneous
initiative at a Magic-User
casting Magic
Missile, the Magic-User’s spell is ruined if the goblin
hits.
Missiles, once launched, will consume Time
while in flight. However,
it is wasted effort to try to precisely
figure every missile’s flight
time. I’d suggest the creation of some
simple “in flight” guidelines:
Any missile fired or cast will have the
same flying SPEED. Those fired
less than 50 feet from the target will
reach the target in the middle of
the 1st segment after being fired. Those
traveling to a target
between 51 and 200 feet away will be in
flight for an additional
segment. For targets 201 to 400 feet distant,
add 1 more segment,
401 to 600 feet, 1 more, etc. Obviously,
you may determine your
own parameters for flight Time, but I feel
these work best in the game
system now being used, because the flight
times have been calculated
to be compatible with casting
times, movement speeds, etc.
A missile is considered to be fired at the
end of a segment. Thus, if
an archer firing on a Magic-User gets an
initiative of 1, the arrow will
take flight at the very end of segment
number 1. It will hit its target
(if within 50 feet) in the middle segment
number 2. If the archer
had a Sleep
spell cast at him simultaneously by the M-U, the arrow
would still be in flight. If the Sleep-casting
Magic-User got an initiative
of 2 and was within 50 feet of the archer,
then the spell would be
ruined if the arrow hit.
A blow in melee would ruin an intention
to fire a missile, since
blows hit in the middle of a segment. Thus,
in the example mentioned,
if a Thief
struck the archer from behind in segment number
1 and hit for damage, the archer would
not be able to fire.
This system will make conducting all missile
fire far more easy.
Note that over long distances both targets
might be hit if missiles are
exchanged or if a missile is fired at a
spell caster, even if the actions
are not taken simultaneously. Once a missile
is airborne most spells
cannot affect it if they are cast at the
archer/thrower.
"Segment of Action" update
Earlier in the Leomund’s Tiny Hut series
(Dragon #34), the
“Segment
of Action” system of rules for melee were discussed. Here
is an update of those rules as they apply
to melee and missile fire.
First, and most important, a d6 should
be used for “initiative”
and not the d10 die earlier suggested (in
#34). The
reason for the change is that waiting until
the 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th
segment for the first blow gives too much
advantage to spell-casters
who use only a d4 in most cases for determining
their
spell-casting initiative. The d6 tells
if the action of launching
a missile will occur in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
4th, 5th or 6th segment
and is not meant to imply that the round
is divided into 6 segments
instead of 10. Missile fire also uses the
d6 plus a second
d6 for the second arrow, if applicable
(some types of
arrows allow for a rate of fire of 2 per
round). If the 2 dice add up
to 11 or 12, then no second arrow firing
is allowed that round.
However, the archer could quite correctly
launch that arrow at the
end of the 1st or 2nd segment of the next
round, assuming he/she/it
has not been struck, enspelled, etc.
The “Segment of Action” system must sometimes
be overruled
by common sense. If, for example, a Magic-User
decides to cast
Polymorph
Other on a goblin standing right
in front of him hoping
that his initiative will be 1 and his opponent’s
5 or worse, the DM
should have the goblin react by ignoring
its initiative roll and striking
almost immediately. It is one thing for
a spell caster to attempt a 1 or
2-segment spell. He or she might just get
away with it. But spells
taking 3 or more segments to cast will
render the spell-caster
almost immobile for too long a Time. No
opponent will just bob and
weave waiting for his segment-of-action
versus a basically immobile
opponent. The solution is a re-roll the
initiative using the Magic-
User’s 1st segment of spell-casting as
the base. If the opponent
already has an early segment-of-action
this may not be necessary.
Use d4 for this initiative. Example: The
spell-caster tries to cast a
4-segment spell. His initiative is 2. Roll
d4 for his opponent and
apply the result based on the fact that
the spell-caster began to CAST in
segment #2. Even if 4 is rolled the attempted
blow will take place in
the middle of segment number 5, not number
6 (when the spell
would take effect). A roll of 1 equates
to the strike occurring in the
middle of segment #2, a 2 to the middle
of segment #3, a 3 to the
middle of segment #4 and a 4 to the middle
of segment #5. Since
the spell-caster’s spell does not go off
until after the end of segment
#5, any blow that hits for damage will
negate the spell.
A really intelligent monster will not try
for a weapon/claw/bite
attack in such a situation. He/she/it will
try to overbear/pummel/
grapple or use some rapidly employed weapon
like breath or glance
(if the monster has this ability). How
can that action be judged? Take
the “monster’s” INT and multiply by 5%.
Add that to a base
of 35%. This means any monster of Intelligence
13 or higher will
always know that overbearing/pummeling/grappeling
is the thing to
do in such a situation unless he/she/it
possesses some even more
rapid attack/device. Such physical attack
will almost always destroy
the spell the spell-caster is attempting,
and rightly so.
Target size and
range adjustments
Those who are familiar with the Errol Flynn
movie Robin Hood may
recall a scene when he kills 4 or 5 men-at-arms
with single arrow shots, all within one
minute (I've timed some
of the missile-firing melee scenes). We
have all seen some movies
in which the bow (usu. the longbow) 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 missile 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 400
yards! This was, however, the rare shot
and not the rule. The number
is also based upon fire into a group of
figures and rarely, if ever, was
achieved by a single shot at a lone target.
The maximum D&D/
AD&D
longbow range is 21 inches which equates to 630 feet outdoors,
a mere 210 yards. How can this range inequity
be taken care
of? Well, it cannot without unbalancing
the game. Remember that
movement and spell range, to say nothing
of 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
(hereafter) some increase in range is allowed
for strong characters.
On page 64 of the DMG we find AC
modifications for the amount of cover
a target is concealed behind.
The target is assumed to be a human-sized
figure; at least, that is
what it seems to mean. What happens if
the target is larger/smaller/
moving/flying? The “target cover” adjustments
give us a basis for
making AC adjustments based on target size
and range.
It must be clearly understood that the
given adjustments to AC involve the size of the
target and not the armor actually worn.
The basic subtractions of -2 “to hit” at
medium range and -5 at
long range still apply. They apply to Archers
and Archer-Rangers (as
described hereafter) as well. This basic
adjustment due to range is
taken from the AC before the “to hit” roll,
as is the size
adjustment. A target becomes “arrow proof’
when a 21 or better is
required to hit. The AC determination should
take into
account all adjustments for magick, strength,
skill, etc.
Example: A Kobold
is at long range from a Fighter with
a longbow.
The Kobold’s AC is 6. The
Fighter is using a + 1 bow.
His Strength gives him +2
to hit and +5 to damage. However, his
strength is taken into account
at short and “POINT blank” ranges only
(full at “point blank”, i.e.
under 50 feet, and 1/2 rounded down at
short range) and only then
for trained Fighters with special bows (see
hereafter
for a full explanation). The Kobold’s armor class is adjusted
3 places to the better (see
chart above) due to its small size
relative to a human
target at long range; its effective armor class
becomes 3. At long range
there is a basic -5 adjustment for range
alone, so the Kobold is now
considered armor class -2. The Fighter’s
Strength does not apply at
long range, but his bow is + 1, so the
Kobold’s armor class becomes
- 1. That would be the final armor
class used to see what the
“to hit” number is.
In the same example, if the
Kobold were at short range the
calculation of AC would be
as follows: Base class 6, range
adjustment - 1 changing AC
to 5, STR adjustment is +2, halved
to + 1, so AC is back to
6, and the bow is + 1 changing the AC to 7. If
the Fighter were an Archer
(see hereafter), a bonus for skill would
also apply.
<The following chart is mathematically inaccurate: see "Target Sizes" in the article "Aiming for Realism in Archery" for the corrected figures.>
| - | - | Armor Class
Adjustment for Range |
- | - | - |
| Target Type (Size) | % of Human Size | Long | Medium | Short | Point-blank |
| "Broad side of a Barn" (21') | 525+% | +3 | +5 | +6 | +8 |
| Storm giant (21') | 375-500% | +2 | +4 | +5 | +6 |
| Cloud giant (18') | 300-350% | +2 | +3 | +4 | +5 |
| Frost giant (15') | 225-275% | +1 | +2 | +4 | +5 |
| Ettin (13') | 200% | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 |
| Fire/Stone giant (12') | 175% | +1 | +2 | +3 | +4 |
| Ogre mage, Djinni, Hill giant (10 1/2') | 150% | 0 | +1 | +2 | +3 |
| Ogre, Troll (9') | 125% | 0 | 0 | +1 | +2 |
| Bugbear, Gnoll (7') | 110% | 0 | 0 | 0 | +1 |
| Troglodyte, Hobgoblin (6 1/2') | 105% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Man, Orc (6') | 100% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Elves (5') | 90% | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Dwarf, Goblin (4') | 75% | -2 | -1 | 0 | 0 |
| Halfling, Kobold, Gnome (3') | 50% | -3 | -2 | -1 | 0 |
| Pixie (2 1/2') | 40% | -4 | -3 | -2 | -1 |
| Imp, Sprite, Leprechaun (2') | 30% | -6 | -4 | -3 | -2 |
| Brownie, Homonculous (1 1/2') | 20% | -8 | -6 | -4 | -2 |
| Quasit (1') | 10% | -10 | -8 | -6 | -3 |
| Robin (1/2') | 5% | -17 | -13 | -9 | -5 |
| Wren (1/4') | 2% | -24 | -19 | -12 | -6 |
| Coin (1") | 1/2% | invisible | -21 | -14 | -7 |
Point Blank (under 50 feet) applies only
to trained archers.
Note: This chart does not consider color
or contrast of the TARGET
against its background.
“Arrow proof” targets can still be hit by
fully trained Fighters as
well as Archers and Archer-Rangers. To
accomplish this the 20-
sided die must be rolled twice. The 1st
roll must be a “natural” 20.
At that time the 2nd d20 is cast to see
if an extraordinary
shot has occurred:
| Required to hit after all adjustments
tabulated for armor class target |
Second roll for
extraordinary hit |
| 21 | 13 or better |
| 22 | 15 or better |
| 23 | 17 or better |
| 24 | 18 or better |
| 25 | 19 or better |
| 26 | 20 |
| 27 | 20 |
| 28 or higher | impossible |
Adjusting for
motion
Mobile targets are harder to hit. Any target
moving at over “walk
speed,” i.e. 100 feet/minute, is -2 to
AC. Further adjustment
can be made up to a -5 modification for
very fast-moving
targets. Fast targets moving in a straight
line should not receive as
great an adjustment as a target moving
rapidly and in an evasive
manner.
What if the archer is moving? The subtraction
from the target’s
AC should be at least -2 for slow movement
on foot, up to
-7 for being astride a trotting mount.
Firing from any kind of flying
mount is possible, but only from a mount
in steady, level flight. A
maneuvering flying mount would render archer
fire from it impossible.
Strength
and hurled missiles
A bonus to hit and/or to damage due to
a character’s STR
can be taken into account when that character
or creature hurls a
missile. Such missiles are throwing daggers,
throwing axes, spears,
hammers, and javelins (not darts). To gain
a STR bonus the
figure must be proficient with the weapon.
However, Magic-Users
never gain a STR bonus to hit or to damage
from a thrown
dagger (aside: Magic-Users must learn to
throw a dagger. 1st- to
5th-level M-Us are -5 to hit with a dagger,
whether they like it or
not, whenever they try to throw it.). A
Thief can gain a STR
bonus with a thrown dagger but never if
he/she is trying for a “back
stab” bonus.
The full bonus to hit and to damage is awarded
for targets within
15 feet of the thrower. For the balance
of the short-range distance,
16 to 30 feet (16 to 60 feet for a javelin)
1/2 the bonus is awarded.
Halved bonuses are rounded down. Giants
gain their full strength
bonus to damage whenever the target is
within 20 feet. (See other
notes on Strength
in Leomund’s Tiny Hut,
Dragon
#44.)
Dear Editor:
I’ve been involved in the D&D®
game for
about a year now, and it always bugged
me
that there was no provision for archers
in the
combat system or the character classes.
So
you can imagine my enthusiasm when I saw
the Leomund’s
Tiny Hut article in #45. However,
I have a few complaints about parts of
that article which I wish to air, in the
order of
their appearance in the article.
1st — “Wizards
must learn to throw a
dagger. 1rst to 5th-level M-Us are -5 to
hit
with a dagger, whether they like it or
not,
whenever they try to throw it.” Not only
do I
not like this, but I will not accept it.
If a person
decides to become a Magic-User, he will
be
aware, or informed, of his/her limitations
as to
weaponry. An MU will, therefore, learn
to
throw a dagger, darts, use a staff, all
while
learning to be a MU. The only excuse for
such
a subtraction is poor Dexterity, 11 or
less for
example, and then it should be a subtraction
of 1 for each point below that minimum
level.
2nd — “Kobolds,
goblins, dwarves,
gnomes
and hobbit cannot become archers.”
In the last chapter of the 3rd book of
the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, there
are no less
than 3 incidents where the effectiveness
of hobbit archers is demonstrated. Also,
refer
to the AD&D Monster Manual,
p. 50, under
hobbits,
under special attacks, note “+3 with
bow or sling.”
3rd — “It is very rare for an archer to
use a
short bow or any type of crossbow. Archers
gain no bonuses to hit or damage from those
latter missile weapons.” According to my
information,
the crossbow was invented BEFORE
the longbow! It was a portable arbalest
(a siege weapon used to hurl stones or
spears
over castle walls). The Chinese invented
a
5-shot repeating version of the crossbow,
to <cf. chu-ko-nu>
the detriment of the Huns. A crossbow is
as
accurate as a rifle at distances of up
to 500
yards, and more effective than a rifle
at that
distance, due to the blades on the head
(of the
bolt). Crossbows were used to smash through
the armor used at the time. Only the thickest
of shields could deflect a bolt, and no
body
armor could stop a direct hit.
An archer could be trained to use a crossbow
in far less time than a longbow,
but once
(one was) learned it was all but impossible
to
learn the other. An archer should specify
which bow he is using, and receive a subtraction
on his “to hit” number if he tries to use
the
other. If the crossbow is specified, state
what
kind it is. Some could be cocked by hand;
these will have a range equal to that of
the
best longbow, a touch more accuracy, and
1/2 the rate of fire as for a crossbow
that
cannot be cocked by hand. Others were
cocked by a windlass (a rope-and-pulley
arrangement).
These can reach out to 500 yards
with good accuracy, but you’ll only get
1
shot off every 3 rounds. At close range,
such a weapon is useless.
As for the statement made about the short
bow, refer to my statement
concerning hobbits
(what else would they use?).
The balance of the article was interesting
and informative. I have already earmarked
one of my future characters as an archer.
(Please note that all of my rebuttal refers
to
normal weapons used by persons with normal
strength. Obviously an archer with 18/00
Strength could get off 1 shot per round
even with the most powerful of crossbows,
because he could cock it by hand.)
William G. Welsh
Detroit, Mich.
(Dragon #49)
This is by no means the 1st letter of
this
general type that we have received,
and it
surely won’t be the last. Generally,
our response
to William’s arguments is the same as
on other previous occasions when we’ve
dealt
with a “Here’s what’s wrong with this
article”
letter: First and foremost, we do NOT
deal
with the “facts” of the situation —
for instance,
whether or not William’s descriptions
of the crossbow are factual and historically
accurate. This is not the place to stage
a confrontation
over crossbows, because the “rightness”
or “wrongness” of information like this
is secondary to the main issue, which
is this:
None of the ideas presented in articles
in
DRAGON
magazine are official rule changes
or additions, unless the article specifically
says so (and there haven’t been very
many of
those). The people who write articles
that we
publish aren’t trying to get everyone
to play
the way they do, and we certainly don’t
hold
that opinion ourselves. As is the case
with
many of the game rules themselves, the
articles
in DRAGON magazine are suggestions,
ideas and alternatives. Any DM or player
who
can make use of part of the information
in an
article but wants to delete or alter
other things
in the same article is entirely free
to do so.
Whether a particular rule or an entire
campaign
is “authentic,” playable, or even desirable
is a decision that can only be made
by the
members of the playing group or The
DM, not
by what we decide to publish in the
pages of
DRAGON magazine.
In the case of a Leomund’s
Tiny Hut article,
the above statements apply to a greater
degree
than for other types of articles. The
ideas
expressed in Len Lakofka’s column are
entirely
his own, and are almost all, if not
all, based
on the campaigns which he has conducted
over the past several years. The way
Len Lakofka
does something is not necessarily the
way William Welsh, or anyone else, has
to do
it. Len takes special pains to point
this out in
the text of his columns, emphasizing
in one
form or another the fact that his columns
are
unofficial, and any reader, player or
DM is free
to alter or eliminate any sections of
an article
which do not suit him or her.
One minor point that has been made before
but bears repeating has to do with William’s
2nd objection. Regardless of how anyone
feels about whether hobbits
can be archers
or not, it is a fact that no direct
connection is
intended or should be inferred between
the
hobbit character as depicted in the
D&D and
AD&D
rules and the hobbit character as portrayed
in Tolkien’s
books. It is no secret that
the
halfling race is, at least in superficial ways,
modeled rather closely after the hobbit.
But
this alone is not enough to draw a firm
parallel
between the 2 character types. The rules
for the D&D and AD&D
game systems drew
some of their inspiration
from the Ring trilogy,
as well as from dozens of other works
of
Fantasy and historical literature. Again,
any
particular DM or group of players can
choose
to develop a campaign which is as faithful
to
Tolkien’s world as they can make it.
However,
it is inappropriate to demand or suggest
that
the rules for AD&D be “bent”
to accommodate
this world view. Any group which plays
AD&D strictly by the books
will not be able to
stage a Tolkien-type campaign. Any group
which chooses to change some of the
official
rules is free to do so, as long as the
CHANGES
are agreeable to those in the group.
But
changed rules aren’t rules, and Middle
Earth
is not a D&D universe.
— KM
(Dragon #49)
Leomund takes aim
Dear Editor:
I would like to reply to Mr.
Welsh’s letter in
DRAGON #49 (concerning Leomund’s
Tiny
Hut in issue #45, which described
the archer
as a NPC — Ed.)
1st, an AD&D
magic-user is not a fighting
class. He or she resorts to a dagger, dart
or
quarter staff as a last resort. His or
her main
interest (read, only interest) is magick.
He or
she can only learn 1 weapon initially and
1 new weapon at levels 6, 11, etc., as
per the
Players Handbook.
AD&D magic-users wield
weapons at a -5 non-proficiency rating,
also
as proscribed in the PH. Therefore
they are
not knife
throwers, nor do they want to be.
Players might like their m-u’s to be a
knife-throwing
guy with a bandolier of 6 daggers
hanging over each shoulder and a belt holding
a 6 darts on each hip. Alas, their
fate is to cast magic and USE magic items,
not
to sling darts and daggers.
Second, this is not The Lord of The Rings.
Further, the archer subclass is one that
uses
long bows and not short bows. Therefore,
there is no bonus for hobbits.
3rd, I do not much care when the crossbow
was invented, nor how far it can fire.
The
ranges in AD&D are set by Mr.
Gygax, and if
you wish to CHANGE
them you must also
tamper with other ranges, spell casting
times,
etc. I do not find that task worthwhile,
since it
produces a variant of AD&D which
is unique
to your campaign. Such radical variance
will
give your players a false sense of security
in
other campaigns or tournaments where strict
AD&D rules are used.
Finally, I have a romantic Love for long
bows. Anyone who has seen Errol Flynn’s
Robin Hood
will hate the cursed crossbow and
favor the wonderful long bow. Pooh on crossbows,
pooh!
Lenard Lakofka
Chicago, III.
(Dragon #51)
