If the red mage is a balanced blend of swords and sorcery, the ruby archer is its ranged complement. Mixing martial prowess with magic at a distance, these jacks-of-all-trades are rarely outclassed in a shooting match, boosting the strength of their precision strikes with magery.
The ruby archer is an archetype of the red mage class.
Archetype Main Ability Scores:
The ruby archer mainly focuses on STR and DEX for martial combat and CHA for their class features and spellcasting, though they also use INT and WIS for class features, as well as DEX for optional class features.
Archetype Feature Replacements:
1st – Red Magery, Spell Combat, Spell Proficiency. 2nd – Arcane Pool, Spellstrike. 4th – Spell Power. 5th – Convert, Red Magery. 9th – Ruby Arcana. 15th – Ruby Arcana. 16th – Counterstrike.
Precise Shot
At 1st level, a ruby archer gains the Precise Shot feat as a bonus feat without needing to meet the prerequisite.
This ability replaces spell proficiency.
Ranged Weapon Bond (Su)
At 1st level, a ruby archer gains a bonded object as per the ruby wizard’s arcane bonded object; it must be a ranged weapon (any kind of bow or crossbow), and it can be used to cast a spell once per day for free.
This ability replaces a red magery gained at 1st level.
Ranged Spell Combat (Ex)
Instead of a light or one-handed melee weapon, a ruby archer must use a ranged weapon (any kind of bow or crossbow) for spell combat. He doesn’t need a free hand for ranged spell combat. However, the ruby archer cannot accept an attack penalty to gain a bonus on concentration checks to cast a spell defensively.
This ability modifies spell combat.
Ranged Spellstrike (Su)
At 2nd level, whenever a ruby archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack, he can deliver the spell through a ranged weapon (any kind of bow or crossbow) he wields as part of a ranged attack. Instead of the free ranged attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, a ruby archer can make one free ranged attack with a ranged weapon (at his highest base attack bonus) as part of casting this spell. The attack does not increase the spell’s range.
If the spell can normally affect multiple targets, only a single missile, ray, or effect accompanies each attack; if the spell allows multiple attacks and the ruby archer can make additional ranged attacks as part of a full-round action with spell combat, one additional ray, missile, or effect from the spell accompanies each subsequent ranged attack the ruby archer makes in the same round until all attacks allowed by the spell are made. Unused missiles, rays, or effects remaining at the end of the ruby archer’s turn are wasted.
This ability modifies spellstrike.
Arcane Pool (Su)
A ruby archer’s choices of weapon special abilities to apply with arcane pool at 6th level include distance, heart-piercing and nimble shot but not dancing, keen, or vorpal.
This ability modifies arcane pool.
Ruby Talents (Su)
In addition to the red mage’s ruby talents, the ruby archer can also pick from the list below:
Distant Spellstrike (Su): The range of any spell the red mage delivers through a ranged weapon attack increases to the maximum range of the weapon if that is greater than the spell’s range. Prerequisite: The ruby archer must be at least 12th level to select this arcana.
Reach Spellstrike (Su): The red mage can deliver spells with a range of touch with ranged spellstrike up to a maximum range of close (25 feet + 5 feet per two caster levels). Prerequisite: The ruby archer must be at least 6th level to select this arcana.
Ranged Spell Power (Ex)
Starting at 4th level, the ruby archer can more easily overcome the spell resistance of any opponent he successfully injures with a ranged attack. If he has injured an opponent with a ranged attack, he gains a +2 bonus on his caster level check to overcome spell resistance for the remainder of the encounter. This bonus increases to +3 at 9th level, to +4 at 14th level, and to +5 at 19th level.
This ability modifies spell power.
Spell Volley (Su)
At 5th level, when the ruby archer casts a spell with a range of close or longer using spell combat that does not normally require an attack roll, he can choose to deliver the spell using his wielded ranged weapon. This spell is placed upon a single piece of ammunition. When the ammunition is fired, the spell’s area is centered where the ammunition lands, even if the spell could normally be centered only on the caster. This ability allows the ruby archer to use his ranged weapon’s range rather than the spell’s range. The ammunition must be fired during the round that the casting is completed or the spell is wasted. If this attack misses by 5 or more it is off target, striking in a square 1d6 x 5 feet away in a random direction, otherwise it lands in the target’s square on a miss of 4 or less.
This ability replaces a red magery gained at 5th level.
Archery Talents (Ex)
At 5th level, the ruby archer is able to choose an archery talent from the archer’s list of archery talents, counting his red mage level for its prerequisite levels (if any). He gains an additional archery talent at 9th, 13th, and 17th levels.
This ability replaces convert.
Arcane Salvo (Su)
At 9th level, a ruby archer can fire a salvo of magical projectiles as a full-round action, targeting a number of enemies equal to his Charisma modifier within the first range increment of his ranged weapon. This attack only uses a single piece of ammunition, however if this ammunition is magical its effects only apply to a single creature of the ruby archer’s choice, determined before the attack is rolled. He rolls one attack at his highest attack bonus and applies it to the AC of each target. Before rolling for the attack, the ruby archer can choose to take a -2 to his attack roll and expend MP as a free action, dealing an additional amount of damage equal to 1d10 per level of the expended MP up to the max of his known spell level. This damage is magical in nature and bypasses any damage reduction. In addition, reloading a ranged weapon using Rapid Reload now reduces the time it takes to reload the weapon by an additional step.
This ability replaces a ruby arcana gained at 9th level.
Impossible Shots (Su)
At 15th level, the ruby archer’s ranged weapon attacks seek his targets with impossible accuracy, ignoring his target’s cover (but not total cover) and concealment (but not total concealment), and the effects of wind (both magical and mundane). If the ruby archer fires his weapon into a square of a creature he can’t see, or attacks a creature that has total concealment from another source (such as the displacement spell), the miss chance for doing so is reduced to 20%. In addition, once per round when the ruby archer misses his target with a ranged weapon attack, he can roll that attack again against a different target. This target must be within a number of feet from the initial target equal to the range increment of the weapon that was used to make the initial attack. The ruby archer must be able to see this second target.
This ability replaces a ruby arcana gained at 15th level.
Focusing Spellstrike (Su)
At 16th level, a ruby archer can use ranged spellstrike to deliver a cone- or line-shaped spell as a ray, affecting only the creature or object struck.
This ability replaces counterstrike.
