Step aside Arcane Archer... The true magic archer has arrived.
A comprehensive guide to playing a fun take on combining two classic fantasy characters; the archer and the wizard!
Hello readers, heroes, and villains alike! Welcome back to Kobold Stew, a blog officially affiliated with Chromatic Chimera! Makes sense, considering its author, me... Mr. Puddins... is the cohost of Chromatic Chimera! Feel free to check us out as my fellow cohost, @touchoftiefling and I run two 5E adventures on stream. I run SteamSpell which takes place on Evaryn, the setting detailed here at Kobold Stew! You can catch up on that here!
With the shameless plugging and mentioning I stream thing out of the way, you came here to see a sick new character build by yours truly! With these builds, I try to detail something cool both mechanically and flavor-wise, and that often calls on doing something different. Today, we are going to be mixing up casting with archery with what I am calling the Spellshooter.
Spellshooter is a sort of play on the word 'sharpshooter,' and I feel it fits the character idea well; the true mixing of arcane magic and archery.
To achieve this we will be utilizing the Wizard class and the Fighter. "But Mr. Puddins, there is already the Arcane Archer Fighter archetype." Yes there is, but the arcane archer adds magical effects to your arrows, while the Spellshooter here will allows us to be an effective archer AND spellcaster. You could perhaps use a sorcerer as well, but the Wizard has access to the most spells and has access to more buffs and utility..
Flavorwise, the Spellshooter could be a mage or magic initiate who decided to study the art of war as well. Perhaps they were a student of an old and rare order of mages who focus their magic through the study of archery.
Why Play the Spellshooter?
"I saw there was a spell in the grimoire called 'Melf's Acid Arrow,' and thought 'why not grab a bow while I'm at it?"
You want to play an archer? I don't blame you, the archer is a classic staple in fantasy and adventuring parties. The dead-eye, crack shot with a bow is fun to play in combat! But, you want to be able to do a little bit more than just turn enemies into pincushions behind your paladin and barbarian. Arcane Archer is a cool fighter subclass, but it does not exactly offer as many options as say... a caster.
Perhaps you want to be an archer, but your party is in dire need of a caster? Maybe you just don't want to be another old, bearded dude or angsty, necromancing edgelord. You want to change it up a bit!
Maybe you're just tired of running out of spell slots and your firebolts getting resisted by 1/3 of the Monster Manual. Well, the Spellshooter may be the answer you are looking for! I suppose the Spellshooter is like a Gish, but focuses on bows.
Pros
Decent damage output, even when out of spell slots.
Plenty of options and variety with both casting and martial prowess
Lots of options in terms of building the character
Archery is one of the most efficient and effect ways to deal consistent damage
Plenty of fun ways to flavor your spells, especially considering there are quite a few 'arrow' based spells
Not super MASD-y
Cons
Takes until level 5/6 to really start taking off. Like a lot of multiclasses, it's a later bloomer.
Might not be the craziest thing mechanically as many cantrips can handle ranged damage with similar damage ratios
Other, purist classes can achieve similar spell effects
Preference
This isn't going to be a skill monkey
Later extra attack if at all
Squishy (but you should stay in the back?)
Might focus more on utility casting
The Spellshooter's Role
"Bulls eye! Try to keep up now. I've got you 4 orcs to 1."
I've said it before, but I'll say it again. I am not a fan of making DnD too 'video-gamey,' but I do like to describe roles for builds/classes as it helps visualize what they're good for. Classes fill various roles for the most part, and it helps to give an idea of what a character will be doing.
The Spellshooter will fill the roll of a damage dealer, opting to hit shots from a distance while utilizing magic to either escape if caught out, control the battlefield, or for utility. You will often use your magic to give yourself an edge because why rely on your allies to buff you when you can buff yourself!
Or... I suppose you can save those buffs for them as well. You will have access to a whole mess of spells, and the fun doesn't stop when you aren't casting!
The nice thing is that you can tailor the Spellshooter to fit the parties needs and your own style a bit. Want to focus more on your archery? Grab more Fighter levels! Party needs more utility spells? No problem, you can grab a few more. Tired of getting ganked by hordes of goblins? Grab AOE spells. Plus, with all sorts of feats, you can really get this build to fit your style and needs.
***Do note that this build will rely on multiclassing and feats, both of which are optional rules according to the Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG). As I always recommend, talk to your DM before utilizing this build or any character for that matter.
The Basic Package
"I didn't just achieve this overnight. I studied with the Moonbows for years."
1) Dexterity and Intelligence - We will need at least a 13 in both stats to allow us to muticlass between Wizard and Fighter. A better Dexterity means a higher AC (if we forgo heavy armor) and more ranged damage. A higher Intelligence means a better Spell Save DC and better casting.
2) Proficiency with a Ranged Weapon - You will be most likely achieving this through an at least one level dip into Fighter at least, though some races do provide proficiency with bows. Why stop at bows? You could even take up a crossbow or a gun (if that's a thing in your campaign's setting).
3) Archery Fighting Style and Sharpshooter - If you are dipping at least one level into Fighter, you'll have access to fighting styles. Archery is the no brainer, and is arguably one of the better options for fighting style. If your ability scores are looking good, grab Sharshooter. It's one of the most busted feats. Better range, ignoring cover (who uses that), but the main thing we like is +10 damage to attacks. You take an attack penalty, but archery will make that -5 a -3, and with our good Dexterity score, we won't be feeling this too bad unless we are rolling low. Spells will also aid in correcting this.
4) Pew pew pew - Whether you're firing off spells or arrows, remember to have a good time doing so. Put a lot of flare into what you do. Make your bow glow, and utilize it as your somatic components!
Race Breakdown
"Your arcane archery might be an old elven craft, but my school, we take anybody in and teach them our ways as long as they are willing to learn."
When we are looking at what races we want to make our Spellshooter, we are looking for increases to our Dexterity and Intelligence. Bonuses to Constitution aren't bad as that will help with concentration and some of the squishy-ness that comes with playing the Spellshooter. In terms of other features, we don't have to be too picky. Since we're a caster, free spells are always nice for added utility. Other quirky features are a nice touch, and bonus points for flavor are always considered here.
I will be touching on the races detailed in all the official stuff, so strap yourselves in. There are A LOT these days. Of course, just because this guide looks at all the races, always talk to your DM about any restrictions on what race you can play before building your character.
Races are put on a 1-10 scale to help you in deciding which to pick. for this build.
The 10 point scale.
1: This race is essentially not viable.
2: This is one of the least optimal races to play. It's advised against picking this if you want a mechanically sound character.
3: This race has a few things that could get it to work. It isn't unviable, but there are so many other choices that will carry better.
4: This race falls short in one too many areas to have it be seriously considered, but it does have some merit.
5: This is doable. It's not the worst choice, but it isn't the best either.
6: This choice has some advantages to merit its selection, but it won't go as far as others.
7: This race is a strong choice and worth consideration. From this point forward, these are the races you should consider if you want a character with good mechanics.
8. You cannot go wrong choosing this race for this character. Features and racial ASIs line up well for you here.
9. This race is an optimal choice for this build. The only thing that'll ruin your character is bad rolls and decision at this point. Expect to be effective as your ASIs and features all line up perfectly for the character.
10. Monsters and DMs tremble before this choice. 10 is awarded only to the race that is clearly the best choice for the build. Oftentimes, the flavor is also present to make this a clear choice.
Let's take a look.
Dwarf - +2 Constitution is nice for maintaining concentration and hit points. A damage resistance with advantage vs. poison is great because being poisoned sucks. We aren't too interested in the weapon proficiencies, but tools are nice. Since we will have a high Intelligence, a Dwarf Spellshooter would know a metric butt load about stonework. In terms of sub-race, Hill Dwarf is the only one that interests us, with bonus hit points. 5/10
Elf - The classic archer is often an elf, and with good reason. Elves are also pretty magical, and they fit nicely for the Spellshooter. +2 Dexterity out the gates makes us happy. A bonus proficiency is nice to make up for only getting 4 skills. Fey Ancestry is nice to avoid some detrimental effects, and trance helps with resting. The High Elf is optimal choice here as it gives us a +1 bump to Intelligence AND A FREE WIZARD CANTRIP! Wood Elves have some decent features along, and the Eladrin come with a free escape. Flavorwise, this is an easy sell. Special elf conclave who have mastered both the arts of archery and magic. Elves also come with longbow proficiency which would allow you to play this build as a pure, non-multiclassed wizard if you like. Wing bing boom. 10/10
Halfling - The +2 bump to Dexterity is certainly something we are looking for. A lot of people swear by the lucky feat, and is worth considering if your dice are cursed like Krukazel's (that's a SteamSpell joke. He gets a lot of nat 1s). Being able to share a space with a creature is nice, but the braveness is sweet because why be scared when you can be shooting stuff with arrows or magic. Ghostwise come with a shorter range 'Message w/ the serial numbers filed off,' so I guess it's a free cantrip. Lightfoot is nice if we are going for sneaky sneaky, but Stout gives us a Constitution boost, which is nice. The resilience to poison is sweet. 8/10
Human - +1 to everything is the boost we like with regular human. Nothing spectacular. But Variant Human is nice. We'd use our +1s on Dexterity and Intelligence. A free skill is nice with a smaller skill list, but we like that free feat. Sure, Sharpshooter isn't as good early on while you are stuck with a lower proficiency bonus, but you know what's nice? Not having to burn an ASI on a feat later on. 6/10 Human 7/10 Variant Human
Dragonborn - Although the flavor of playing a bipedal, dragon dude is always fun, +2 to Strength and +1 to Charisma is not what we're looking for. Draconic Ancestry gives us a damage resistance, which is useful, but the breath weapon is like a free spell, but we aren't trying to get within 15 feet of our enemies anyway. Sorry Dragonbros. 3/10
Gnomes - I see that +2 Intelligence right away and I already know this is going to be good. The other short race also get advantage on any magic that calls for a check on Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma? Yes please. Less time incapacitated or taking damage means more time to do what we do. Deep Gnomes come packing a +1 to Dexterity, which is our ticket. The super darkvision is nice, especially for an archer who likes to see far. The rocky camouflage is decent as the party will find itself sneaking at some point. Forest Gnomes also come packing +1 to Dexterity. A free minor illusion cantrip using Intelligence as it's modifier... yes. Free cantrips means more for us to have access to. Speaking with small beasts is nice, and it's cute and flavorful. Rock Gnomes do come behind with the +1 to Constitution (still doesn't hurt), but they do get a bonus to an Intelligence based skill for magic and things jives nicely. Making little devices is cool as well! 10/10
Half-Elf - +2 to Charisma is only really helpful if we are doing the sorcerer variant of this build (which we aren't, but feel free to experiment!). We will be bumping Dexterity and Intelligence with our freebee +1s. Fey Ancestry is nice so we don't spend our turns sleeping or googoo eyed over the enemy. TWO skill proficiency does make up nicely for only getting the base four. If your DM allows you to grab a feature from High-Elf Variant for that free cantrip or weapon training for pure wizard if that's your thing. 6/10
Half-Orc - Seeing a +2 to Strength isn't promising for us, but +1 Constitution is okay for us. Free Intimidation is nice for rounding out our skill pool, but don't try to be using Relentless Endurance too much. You should be sitting in the back picking enemies off and casting spells, but it has it's uses. Savage Attacks only works for melee damage, which this build is *not* about. 2/10
Tiefling - +2 Charisma is for people who want to talk. We want to shoot stuff, but we are looking for that +1 Intelligence. Fire resistance is nice as that is a very common damage type. Free spells are always cool, but they are Charisma based. Even if you're DM allows you to mess with variant tieflings, you can't change the Ability Score Increase to give us +2 to one of the stats we are looking for. At that point, you're choosing free spells. 4/10
Aarakocra - +2 Dexterity has got my attention for the birbs. +1 Wisdom isn't what we are looking for, but it will help some skills I suppose. Although I personally find natural weapons for unarmed strikes to not be very useful (except in very specific instances, like the grappler build I did), with a focus on Dexterity, we can utilize light armor. Light armor means we can fly! We can forgo spells that give us flight-like abilities, opening up our horizons a bit to other choices, plus we have mobility on our side. 7/10
Genasi - I am not upset by the +2 Constitution here. More Constitution means more health and better concentration checks. The subraces really determine what tools we will be given to craft our Spellshooter. The Air Genasi gives us a +1 Dexterity, which we are looking for. Being able to hold your breath can be useful in certain situations, and a free levitate spell is nice to have. Earth Genasi get a +1 Strength, which is bleh, and the earth walk is okay in situations. A free pass without trace casting is nice to have, but there are better subraces for this build. Fire Genasi come in hot with a +1 Intelligence. Fire Resistance is nice as it is a common damage type. A free cantrip is always love with this build, and a free burning hands isn't anything to sneeze at. Water Genasi gets a +1 to Wisdom... meh. acid resistance is okay, but being able to swim and breathe in water is nice. Free spells are also nice, but Fire and Air Genasi are still the better choices of the four. 8/10
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Goliath - Being large doesn't always put you in charge. +2 Strength is a big, fat meh for us, but +1 Constitution is alright. A free skill is cool, and being able to shrug off damage is something we hope to not have to use too often. Adapted to cold climates is cool, and maybe being able to carry more is nice for all that ammo! All in all... meh. 3/10
Aasimar - I'm not liking that +2 to Charisma. The resistance is nice, and free heals is nice to have. A free casting of light... is okay? Only Scourge Aasimar give us an ability score worth mentioning with a +1 to Constitution. The transformation stuff is a cool feature and has flavor, and extra damage is nice, but there are better options out there. 2/10
Firbolg - +2 to Wisdom and +1 Strength are already looking to fall outside of what we are looking for here. The free spells are nice, but there are other races with free spell that help us with their ability score increases. Powerful build is nice if we are tracking supply count and weight. Speaking to beasts and leaf are alright, but you'd do better to look elsewhere for the Spellshooter. 2/10
Kenku - We like to see a +2 to our Dexterity! A +1 to Wisdom isn't what we are looking for, but it's okay. The expert forgery could perhaps be used for copying spells into your spell book if you can sell your DM on that. Bonus proficiencies are nice if you are looking for more skills, and with 3 of your 4 choices being Dexterity based skills, that's even nicer. Mimicry has its merits in certain situations. Bring on Russel Crow! 7/10
Lizardfolk - The +2 bump to Constitution is nice for more hitpoints and better concentration, but the +1 one Wisdom has us wincing a bit. You should hope you are not utilizing your bite as you should not be in the front lines of combat. Hold breath has merit and two freebee skills are always nice to see. Natural Armor is alright, but we plant to be wearing armor. Much like the bite, Hungry Jaws is something we are trying to avoid using. 3/10
Tabaxi - A +2 bonus to Dexterity already has me purring. +1 to Charisma is not optimal for the way we are building the Spellshooter. Darkvision is nice, but not necessary. Feline Agility is useful if we get caught out in combat or need to get the heck out of harms way. We hope to not be utilizing the melee part of Cat's Claws, but being able to nimbly climb up services will soon have your DM thinking about battle maps in the 3rd dimension as we would love to climb a tree and pick enemies off. 2 free skills help us round out our utility. 8/10
Triton - +1 to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma is not an ideal starting point for us at all. Being able to swim and breathe in the water is nice if we find ourselves near water, but other, more effective races offer similar abilities. Free spells are nice, especially considering some of the freebees. Being able to Aquaman it up with sea creatures is situational, but with Saltmarsh dropping, maybe Tritons will see more play in general. Resistances are always nice to have, but it is not always better down where it is wetter. 4/10
Yuan-ti Pureblood - Yuan-ti Purebloods suffer the same issues the tielfing does. The +1 Intelligence does not make up for a +2 Charisma. Free spells are always nice to have, especially considering one is a cantrip. Advantage vs spells and magic effects is nice in keeping us in the fight as if we do a good job sitting back and slinging spells and arrows, it will be one of the few ways our enemies will be able to touch us. Immunity (IMMUNITY) to poison damage and the condition is all sorts of busted... I'm not sure who signed off on that one, but damn. 4/10
Bugbear - +2 Strength is not ideal, but we do like to see that +1 to Dexterity. We wouldn't be making much use of Long-Limbed while playing the Spellshooter making it a dead feature. Powerful build is cool if our DM cares about how much we are carrying. A free proficiency in stealth is nice to see. Pulling off Surprise Attack would net us some decent extra damage. 3/10
Goblin - The goblins have a nice ability score increase in +2 to Dexterity and +1 to Constitution; helping out our shooting and our hitpoints. Considering most enemies will probably be larger than you, Fury of the Small will be put to nice use to get extra damage in once in awhile. Nimble Escape gives us a good get out of trouble card should we get caught out in combat without having to burn a spell or ability. The small peeps seem to be pretty decent for this build! 8/10
Hobgoblin - The goblins hobbier cousin's +2 to Constitution is nice to see, but we are more interested in that +1 to Intelligence. Martial Training will grant us proficiency with a martial ranged weapon and armor, which is nice should we take a pure wizard route. Saving Face can be useful, especially if we whiff real bad in combat. Archers to tend to get hit the hardest with friendly fire in these games. 7/10
Kobold - We won't be roasting them with this build because we get a +2 to our Dexterity! We aren't too concerned with losing Strength points; hell Strength is a dump stat for us. Being able to Grovel, Cower, and Beg is nice if we get caught out and need allies to kill monsters closing in on you. Also, the image of a Spellshooter instantly begging for mercy once enemies close in is hilarious. Pack Tactics is great if we are hanging out with our friends like the other squishy casters in the back! More hits means more damage. 6/10
Orcs - These big brutes are locked out of this build by that hefty -2 to Intelligence. 1/10
Tortle - Seeing bumps to Strength and Wisdom already have me concerned. Claws are worthless to this build in most battles. Holding your breath does have its merits. The natural armor is cool, but we can utilize good armor as a fighter to get us over 17 AC. Shell defense is nice if we do end up getting caught out, and a free proficiency is always nice to have. 3/10
Gith - We like that +1 to Intelligence, but both subraces don't give us more ability score bumps to the stuff we are looking for, but they both get free spells, which are nice. Their other stuff is nice to have, but it really doesn't give us a whole lot of help. The Gith are better suited to a Gish build meant to be in the thick of battle. 4/10
Changeling - Being forced to choose a +1 to Intelligence or Dexterity while a +2 is being given to Charisma hurts a little. Changing Appearance is essentially a free disguise self, so we save ourselves that spell slot. Free skills are always nice to round out our utiltiy. Unsettling Visage is nice if we find ourselves under attack. 5/10
Kalashtar - Being setting specific puts them on the lower end of my scale a bit already, but lets take a look. +1 to Wisdom and Charisma is already having my nose in the air. Our +1 of choice will go to an obvious choice. Advantage on Wisdom saves is nice considering Wisdom saving throws are a common one. A resistance is nice, and advantage with a skill is cool. The Mind Link is essentially a better message. 5/10
Shifter - Shifter arrives with a +1 to Dexterity. A free skill is nice, and shfting is cool and gives us some survivability. The two subraces that have my attention are the Beasthide and Swiftstride. Beasthide is nice if we want some more meat on our bones. Swiftstride gives us some mobility ad an escape! It also turns our +1 Dexterity to a +2, which is nice. 6/10
War-Forged - War-forged give us a +1 Constitution right away. Their resilience is very nice giving us advantages against and resistances to poison as well as immunity to diseases. Being tireless would be nice if we didn't rely on spells. The built in armor i a cool feature, and one we will be utilizing. In terms of sub-race, we like the Envoy and Skirmisher the best. Envoy will allow us to crank both Dexterity and Intelligence by 1. The free proficiencies are great too! Skirmisher gives us a +2 to Dexterity for better archery, and we are a bit more mobile. I like mobility. 6/10
Centaur - Hot take. I don't like centaurs. Never did. Especially as player characters. They also don't fit this build well, and I'll leave it at that. 2/10.
Loxodon - I like the bump to Constitution, but the Wisdom increase is meh to us. Powerful Build is only useful to us here if people actually care about how much junk we are carrying. Advantage vs being charmed or frightened is always nice. The natural armor would be nice if we weren't going to be able to wear armor, but we will. The trunk is flavorful and fun, but that's about it for us. Smelling things well is cool as well, but again, not great for us. 4/10
Minotaur - Minotaurs are built to be melee machines. They say mess with the bull and get the horns not mess with the bull and get the arrows. 1/10.
Simic Hybrid - +2 Constitution will be useful for us, and our two free +1s will be invested into our Dexterity. I really enjoy the animal enhancements because they give us some further customization with our character. You can grab the ones you find most useful to you. 7/10
Veldaken - Another very setting specific , but I like seeing that +2 to Intelligence. They too get the Gnome's saving throw advantage on the mental stats, but they lack the Dexterity boost. The free proficiency plus 1d4 is a bit nice too! 6/10
If you're still following, congrats! You're not graduated yet because we still have to talk class! (bad class/school pun point for me).
Class Breakdown
"She took a deep breathe in and held it. She slowly exhaled before letting an arrow wreathed in magic loose. It sailed through the air and on impact, exploded into a flurry of colors and lights."
Lifting the Bow
We need to get access to bows, preferably longbows, or if you like it, a heavy crossbow of some kind. As a wizard, we are only proficient with light crossbows in terms of bow-weapons, so we need find a way to pick up a bow and used it. Now we need to gain access to that bow. There are a few ways to do this.
1. Take at least one level of Fighter. You will gain access to proficiency with all martial weapons, which includes our bows!
2. Picking a race that grants us the longbow proficiency from the get-go, limiting us to Elf, variant Half-elf, or Hobgoblin. This does allow us to play a pure Wizard build.
3. Taking the Weapon Master feat and choosing proficiency in whichever bow/crossbow you prefer. The only way this seems feasible to the build (since we want to be shooting arrows from level 1 onward) is to take Variant Human and to take Weapon Master as your feat. At this rate, you might as well just pick Elf.
So, we are really only going to be looking at the first two. Option 2 is nice if you want to avoid multiclassing. It is also nice if your DM is not too keen on having multiclassing present in the campaign. (It is an optional rule, after all) But if we compare this to taking one level of Fighter, it isn't as optimal.
Fighter will give us the proficiency we are looking for along with a bunch of other goodies. Our archery is only going to get better with the Fighting Style feature. +2 bonus to attack rolls means more hits, and more hits means more damage. Nice!
Next, Second Wind will help us with some survivability, but eventually will probably fall off when we get to higher levels, but it'll help us live early on.
We also get proficiency in ALL armor (Medium and Light if we take Fighter later). Sure there are spells to help us with our AC, but we can just let armor take care of it for us and use our slots for other things. With a good Dexterity score, we can grab light armor to still have a decent AC and not suffer the negatives of heavy armor.
So even if you play as an Elf, you still get a lot of goodies for taking at least a level of Fighter. Just do it. It's worth it.
The Split
So, we're going to say taking a level in fighter. I argue for taking Fighter at level one for the armor proficiency. Plus, our Saving Throws become Strength and Constitution, which means we will have better concentration saves, but I do like being able to save for Wisdom with a bonus. Regardless, pick which seems better to you and go from there.
We also want to be aware of our ASIs as those come far and in between. They let us get our feats and make our stats better. They generally come at Levels 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19 (and in this case, they come with the Wizard as well), but each class is different. Also, it is important to remember we get two free spells for leveling up in Wizard. The nice thing is that we can learn new spells outside of leveling, unlike the other casters.
There are lots of ways to build this character... How do we split from here? Here are some of your options.
Fighter 1 // Wizard 19
1 level of Fighter gives us the goodies we need, and then we just go Wizard for the rest of the way. This is nice because we don't have to feel too 'behind' in terms of getting features and new spells.
The only spell slot we miss out is an additional 7th level slot, and we still can cast Wish.
Fighter 3 // Wizard 17
Taking Fighter to 3 allows us to pick out an Archetype, and along with this, we get Action Surge. The Samurai is cool for advantage when we say so. Battlemaster is pretty fun, but Arcane Archer fits so well with the flavor of the build. Plus, the abilities that come with it are pretty good and tie into your archery... and we get another skill and a free cantrip.
We sacrifice a few extra slots in the 6th and 7th slots. We miss out on Spell Mastery, and an Ability Score Improvement that the Fighter 1 // Wizard 19 split gave us. We get some extra hit points from the Fighter's d10 hitdice.
Fighter 4 // Wizard 16
Want all the benefits of Fighter 3, but don't want to miss the ASI that you would from the Fighter 3 // Wizard 17 split? Well, here it is! You still get all your standard ASIs. The downside to this though is you lock yourself out of that 9th level slot.
Fighter 5 // Wizard 15
I'll tell yah what's nice. Being able to attack twice! Taking Fighter to 5 will give us an extra attack with our bow; something our cantrips do not give us is attacking twice.
Luckily, we do not miss out on any spell slots, so we aren't taking that loss, but we do lose an ASI by taking this route. It's not as detrimental if we got decent rolls, but it still hurts nonetheless.
Fighter 6 // Wizard 14
This split grants us access to extra attack, and due to the Fighters rate of earning ASIs, we will not have to fear out on missing the ASI from the previous split. We do take a hit to our 8th level slot, so we get locked out of casting any spells of 8th or higher level.
Beyond this split, if we start taking any more levels in Fighter, we start losing out on Arcane Tradition Features, and we might wonder why we are even playing the Spellshooter. Of course, this guide is not a be all end all, so feel free to experiment!
Arcane Tradition
You'd think I would make a big deal out of which Arcane Tradition to take, but honestly, a lot of it is a preference. Do you have a preference for which kinds of spells you like? Just take that one! Here are some of my favorites for this character.
I do like War Magic with its protective features and stacking up additional damage, but that is just a preference. It might also fit the flavor idea of a solider wizard. The AC boost while maintaining concentration is nice since we do plan to self-buff. The initiative bonus is also a nice touch.
Conjuration is pretty neat too as you could just boof arrows into your hand out of the quiver. Along with this, being able to teleport is a nice escape plan if the enemies do close in.
Necromancy is a classic favorite. Being able to sap life from creatures is damn cool and keeps us up longer if we are in the fray. Along with this, the walking wall of zombies to give us cover is a sweet idea.
Divination is nice in that we can use our stored rolls to come in clutch for us to deal some sweet damage or pass that much needed save. The Third eye adds to our range and utility.
These are some of my favorites. Of course, Bladesinging is out of the question here. Evocation has some nice stuff, but Potent Cantrip is a bit less useful to us since our main form of damage from non-slot spells will be arrows.
Spells
"Alenna set her bow aside as she wove magic together to form a barrier of ice, at which she stood atop of."
In my character build for the God-Blade, when discussing spells, I said that since our regular attacks were going to be our main form of damage output when not casting spells from a slot, you want to avoid spells that focus on single damage, but rather have them focus on either buffing, debuffing, utlitiy, or AOE. The Spellshooter is in a similar boat.
We are going to want to take spells that aid us in combat and give us utility. I am not going to go through each and every spell, but we'll take about a few.
Since our bow will be dealing most our damage, you will want to grab a bunch of the utility and non-single damage ones. Some favorites for me include;
Gust it can used to keep an enemy at bay. It also has other uses.
Prestidigitation is a classic favorite.
True Strike is nice when that hit matters.
Message is invaluable as it can function as a silent, magic walkie-talkie.
Mending is cool if you have a DM who cares about arrows, plus it does have uses.
In terms of other spells, we want stuff that buffs us, gives us an escape, and stuff that makes the enemies debuffed, but especially with hindered movement. Wanna keep them in place so we can pepper them with arrows! AOE is also really nice because it'll allow us to clear out a room full of minions before we shoot down the boss. Some favorites for me and this build include;
Magic Missile. Yes, I know it kind of breaks my rule, but automatically hitting can be nice if you are rolling rough. Plus, targeting multiple creatures is useful when fighting hordes of kobolds
Cause Fear is great if you are worried about enemies closing in and keeping them at bay.
Any of the Arrow Spells. Stuff like Acid Arrow or Flame Arrow may also break my suggested guideline, but cmon. This is for flavor dammit! They do enough extra damage to merit their use.
Misty Step gives us a quick escape as a bonus action letting us still attack
Fireball clears rooms
Haste is just great, plus more attacks means more damage.
Flame Arrows was the spell that sparked the whole idea. Better arrows that last an hor, so you can activate this one before getting into the fray.
Feats
"Careful. Don't mess with him. He's a member of the Moonbows..."
The nice thing with this build is that there really isn't a feat tax, but there are some feats that really help to round the build out and add a little extra umph to it.
Umph Feats
Sharpshooter - This is the quintessential archer feat. It is also busted as hell. It's nice to see we can attack at long range and ignore cover, but really we like the possible +10 damage. Sure there is a -5, but with the archery fighting style, getting advantage, and other buffing magic, you can negate that penalty rather easily. It only gets better as your proficiency bonus goes up.
Crossbow Expert - If you're opting in for a crossbow, then crossbow expert is almost a must have. You won't have to worry about loading, and we can fire from point blank range without any adverse effects.
For Your Consideration
Magic Initiate - Got your eyes on that one spell or cantrip you don't have access to? Never fear, for you can learn them with this feat! This one is pretty nice, but do note you're the only Intelligence caster, so you'll want to pay attention to the potential modifiers to spells.
Ritual Caster - Bonus rituals from any book? Yes please. More utility for us! And you can keep adding to it as well.
War Caster - Since we won't be in the thick of it, we aren't as concerned with concentration, but it is still nice insurance to have.
Elemental Adept - Want your flame or acid arrows to pack a punch when they should? Here's your answer.
Playing the Spellshooter: Hints and Tips
"Well I have all sorts of solutions, but when all else fails, filling it with arrows it until it stops moving tends to work."
No need to be too stingy with your spells. You still have archery to fall back on when you run out of slots. This is doubly true if you took fighter to at least 5th level.
Although this guide mentions staying out of melee combat, you aren't completely doomed if you get engaged at 5 feet. You should have a decent Dexterity, meaning a rapier will serve you competently enough. Plus, should all go to shit, you have magic!
Avoid spells and effects that put enemies prone as that means disadvantage for us.
More a general, min/max-y piece of shit tip; damage resistance will help keep you alive. This is important considering our lower hit-points. Fire and Necrotic tend to be very common damage types you may find yourself taking. Of course, this all depends on the DM as well.
With resistances in mind, this is also true for monsters. You might consider The Elemental Adept feat.
Always leave yourself an out. Always having at least one teleportation/blink type spell like Misty Step available to cast can be useful for getting out of sticky situations.
Buckle Up, Cuz We're Going to Flavor Town
"That's gangster."
With the mechanics of the Spellshooter taken care of, we can talk a bit about flavoring the character. To be honest, the flavor for this build didn't fall into place as well as it did for my other builds, but that is okay because I think I have a few ideas to work with. The idea is that that the Spellshooter intermingles archery into their magic, and to be completely honest, this could be done even without building a backstory/flavor tailored specifically for the class, but we do want to try and sell it to DMs.
The Moonbow
"As a Moonbow, you shall serve Shenaine Moonbow, and in return, we will teach you what she taught us aeons ago."
At a young age, you were brought to a special order of wizards who studied and practed an old and almost forgotten form of wizardry; the way of the Moonbow. They taught you how to weave magic into your archery and how to use your bow as a conduit to cast spells. This enclave of wizards follow the teachings of either an old group of wizards or a deity to learn this special form of casting.
You can toss in all kinds of elements you like into this back story. It's pretty open to be interpreted as you like, and it gives your character a vestige in the world! Double whammy! I like the idea of the Spellshooter learning their craft from a special order and that their spell casting is the result of a special form of wizardry and magic practice as you then use your bow for a lot of the describing of casting your spells.
Soldier Turned Wizard
"I always told myself when the fighting stops, I'd like to go to the academy and learn some spells."
The soldier who always dreamed of more. You could play this as you were conscripted or too poor to attend the academy, but you always have had a fascination with the arcane arts. Perhaps you had a family member you were fond of who was a wizard, or there was a traveling wizard who would stop in your town and bring much joy to people. Maybe, you've heard all kinds of stories of the power wizards have, and you want to have them yourself.
You learned your archery from your training as a soldier, but during your down time, you've taken to reading tomes on magic, and one day, it all started with a simple spark, but you began to learn magic. As you develop as a wizard, you can make it where your character integrates their archery training into their casting. Again, this backstory remains relatively open for you to toss in all sorts of details.
So in essence the two ideas I have floating around for a backstory for this are someone who has a unique style of casting/archery and someone who knew archery, but went onto learn magic. Feel free to play around with the backstory for what fits your character best, but perhaps theses help for a DM who really needs the sell on the multiclass.
In Conclusion
And there yah have it! Playing as an archer wizard. Thank you for reading all the way through! I know these builds can get very lengthy due to all the different parts of making a character. It may not feel like mechanically the greatest thing ever, but it's about having fun and trying new stuff. That's at least my goal with these character builds, but I know we all enjoy different things. If this is something you enjoyed reading, perhaps you might consider giving it a shot next time you need to roll a character.
When I make builds, I make something that I eventually want to try, and this is certainly on my list of characters to give a shot. Let me know what you thought, or if yo have any ideas how you would implement this build.
Anyway, I know I promised a blogpost on the lore of Evaryn, but I had this build floating around the old noggin and wanted to get it written before I lost my ideas for it. Stick around because once in awhile, we cook up something good here on Kobold Stew.
Until next time, Happy gaming!
Puddins