PLANNING YOUR FUTURE CAREER
PLANNING YOUR
FUTURE CAREER
By now you know what kind of character you are at the moment you start your first adventure. But what next? What does your character aspire to? One of the most enjoyable aspects of D&D is setting a long-term goal for your character, then making it happen. Some NPCs may roll their eyes when your teenage character announces that someday you’ll become the best archer in the realm. But after years of adventuring, you might just achieve that goal. Give some thought to what you want your character to be at 5th, 10th, and 15th level, not just 1st level. Perhaps there’s a particular spell you dream of casting, or a magic item you fancy. Maybe your goal is less tangible: to be remembered in song, or to earn your estranged father’s approval. One compelling goal to work toward are the prestige classes in Chapter 2: Characters of the DMG. If you aspire to become a dwarven defender or loremaster, for example, you’ll need to start earning the feats and skills that’ll get you into that class someday. Below we’ve charted out ten possible directions to take your character, and a road map to guide your decision as you earn levels. Feel free to combine or change them as you see fit. Consider them just a few of the hundreds of careers that a D&D guidance counselor might suggest.
identify targets—and a cunning archer makes a deadly sniper. Key Feats: A 1st-level human fighter can take three feats. Here are the best choices for the ultimate archer. •
Point Blank Shot. You get +1 to bow attacks and +1 to damage within 30 feet, and it’s a prerequisite to most other archer feats. • Precise Shot. You’ll vastly increase your efficiency as an archer (and your usefulness to the group) if you can fire into melee without penalty. • Rapid Shot. An extra arrow fired every round is nothing to sneeze at. At 2nd level, add Weapon Focus in either composite shortbow or composite shortbow, for another +1 bonus to all bow attacks whatever the range. At 3rd level, Improved Initiative helps you get the drop on your foes. At 4th level, Weapon Specialization adds +2 damage to each pointblank attack. At 6th level, add Quick Draw, which makes it a free action to ready your bow if you didn’t have it out already and allows quick switches from bow to sword when closing for melee. Thereafter the sequence varies depending on how you want to customize your archer. Shot on the Run (move, shoot, move) and Far Shot
THE ULTIMATE ARCHER
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With uncanny accuracy, her first arrow severed the hangman’s rope. Her second stopped the guard’s bolt in mid-flight, and her third buried itself deep in the duke’s black heart. Preferred Race: Elf, half-elf, half-orc, human. Halflings, while too small for a good draw on a long-bow, can follow a similar path to become expert in the shortbow. Class: Fighter—it’s all about the feats and Attack bonus. Ranger makes a second-best alternative, lacking the extra feats but otherwise a good match (armor and fighting style go well with the archer archetype). It’s often hard to close to melee range with foes in a forest setting without alerting them, but it’s relatively easy for someone with woodcraft skills to unobtrusively creep into bow range. Ability Scores: Your best score should go to Dexterity (increases attack bonus), the second best to Strength (can increase damage per arrow). Any remaining good scores should go into Wisdom or Intelligence, making it easier to
Perhaps someday you’ll be the ultimate archer, but today you’re the ultimate frustration. (increasing your range increments by 50%) are good at 8th and 9th level. If you find yourself fighting in the dark a lot, opt for Blind-Fight at
