NWN Arcane Archer Build
Arcane Archer builds should fire from NWN longbows or NWN shortbows. Arcane Archers should wear Fletcher's Friend.
We must be elf or half-elf and begin with Bard or Wizard. Elves have Wizard as their Favored class whereas Half-elves have Any class as Favored.
tl;dr: Go with the 2nd build (the half-elf one).
An elven AA will incur a 20% XP point penalty if she takes Bard, but that is barely felt in Hordes of the Underdark (because we begin at 17th level). If we don't want to incur that XP penalty, we must begin as Wizard. The problem then is, we don't get access to UMD like the Half-elven Bard does. Again, not a deal-breaker but definitely notable.
Elven Wizard / Fighter / Arcane Archer Build
02. Wizard (1) Fighter (1): Weapon Focus NWN: Longbow
04. Wizard (1) Fighter (3): Dex +1
05. Wizard (1) Fighter (4): Weapon Specialization NWN: Longbow
07. Wizard (1) Fighter (6): Dodge
08. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (1): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +1 (AA)
09. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (2): Imbue Arrow (AA), Improved Critical NWN: Longbow
11. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (4): Seeker Arrow I (AA)
12. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (5): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +3 (AA), Mobility
13. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (6): Seeker Arrow II (AA)
14. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (7): Enchant Arrow +4 (AA)
15. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (8): Hail of Arrows (AA), Spring Attack
16. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (9): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +5 (AA)
17. Wizard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (10): Arrow of Death (AA)
18. Wizard (1) Fighter (7) Arcane Archer (10): Toughness
We can start taking epic feats at 21st. Note that we don't have many ranks in Tumble, and we can't take ranks in UMD (no Bard).
On the other hand, if we go for Half-Elf and begin with Bard...
Half-elven Bard / Fighter / Arcane Archer Build
[Items not optimized, crits for 130+]
• Chaotic Good, Female, Half-Elf NWN: 14-18-8-8- Int 13-11
01. Bard (1): Point Blank Shot NWN (crank Use Magic Device, Tumble, Spellcraft, Perform: 3 for Bardsong)
02. Bard (1) Fighter (1): Weapon Focus NWNs: Longbow
Make sure you take Rapid SHOT, not Rapid Reload NWN (that's for crossbows!)
04. Bard (1) Fighter (3): Dex +1
05. Bard (1) Fighter (4): Weapon Specialization NWN: Longbow
07. Bard (1) Fighter (6): Dodge
AB +11/+6
08. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (1): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +1 (AA)
09. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (2): Imbue Arrow (AA), Improved Critical NWN: Longbow
10. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (3): Enchant Arrow +2
11. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (4): Seeker Arrow I (AA)
12. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (5): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +3 (AA), Mobility
AB +20/+15/+10 (1-8 +5, Critical 19-20 x3)
13. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (6): Seeker Arrow II (AA)
14. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (7): Enchant Arrow +4 (AA)
15. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (8): Hail of Arrows (AA), Spring Attack
16. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (9): Dex +1, Enchant Arrow +5 (AA)
17. Bard (1) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (10): Arrow of Death (AA)
AB +28/+13/+18/+13 (1-8 +7, Critical 19-20 x3)
18. Bard (2) Fighter (6) Arcane Archer (10): Curse Song [10 rounds] or Lingering Song
(dump skillpoints in Perform 21, Tumble 21, UMD 21, Spellcraft 21 etc.)
AB +30/+25/+20/+15 (1-8 +7, Bludgeoning +1, Critical 19-20 x3) (Bardsong + generic longbow)
The above is going to be better because of the ranks in Tumble, Perform, Spellcraft and UMD (>20 ranks). Also, Deekin doesn't get Curse Song (a 10-round AoE debuff) even if he levels as Bard. We don't have the Charisma to advance in Bard spells, but that doesn't matter. Once we hit 21st/epic levels, we start taking epic AA/fighter feats such as:
Epic Weapon Focus NWN: Longbow (21st), Epic Weapon Specialization NWN: Longbow (22nd), Epic Prowess + Great Dexterity +1 (24th).
With Rapid Shot active, it should result in something like: +57/+57/+52/+47/+42 [see end post].
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