Marksmage

Though it is a bit of an odd match-up at first, some mages feel drawn towards
bowmanship, while many marksmen rangers who have seen the powers of magic wish to
learn its infinite mysteries to augment their skills with ranged weapons. Regardless, this
invariably creates a powerful long-range warrior who lacks both the connection to nature
seen in typical rangers as well as the intensity of magical knowledge and practice used by
most wizards and sorcerers. Many are elves or half-elves who feel the need to honor both
sides of their heritage with both archery and magic.
Role: Much like an archery-based ranger, marksmages are almost strictly longrange combat, having virtually no prowess with melee weapons at all. For this reason,
most take support roles rather than direct combat, causing havoc from afar and aiding
their allies. They do not make efficient lone wolf fighters for the most part.
Alignment: Any
Hit Die: d8
Starting Wealth: 3d8 x 10 gp (average 120 gp)
Class Skills: The marksmages class skills are Acrobatics (dex), Climb (str), Craft
(int), Knowledge (arcane) (int), Perception (wis), Profession (wis), Sleight of Hand (dex),
Spellcraft (int), Stealth(dex), Survival (wis), Use Magic Device (cha)
Skill Ranks Per Level: 3 + Intelligence Modifier
Base Attack Fort Will Reflex
Level
Special
Bonus
Save Save Save
Area of Expertise 1,
1
+1
+0
+0
+2
Enchanted Weapon, Marksman Feat
2
+2
+0
+1
+3
Imbue Arrows 1
3
+3
+1
+1
+3
Marksman Feat
4
+4
+1
+2
+4
Imbue Arrows 2, Aerial Companion
Area of Expertise 2,
5
+5
+2
+3
+5
Enchanted Weapon 2
6
+5
+2
+4
+6
Imbue Arrows 3, Marksman Feat
7
+6/+1
+2
+4
+6
Fletch Arrows 1
8
+7/+2
+3
+5
+7
Imbue Arrows 4
9
+8/+3
+3
+5
+7
Marksman Feat
Area of Expertise 3, Imbue Arrows 5,
10
+8/+3
+4
+6
+8
Enchanted Weapon 3
11
+9/+4
+4
+6
+8
12
+10/+5
+5
+7
+9
Imbue Arrows 6, Marksman Feat
13
+11/+6/+1
+5
+7
+9
Fletch Arrows 2
14
+11/+6/+1
+5
+8
+10
Imbue Arrows 7
Area of Expertise 4, Marksman Feat,
15
+12/+7/+2
+6
+8
+10
Enchanted Weapon 4
16
+13/+8/+3
+6
+9
+10
Imbue Arrows 8
17
+14/+9/+4
+7
+9
+11
18
+14/+9/+4
+7
+10
+12
Imbue Arrows 9, Marksman Feat
19
+15/+10/+5
+8
+10
+12
Fletch Arrows 3
Area of Expertise 5, Enchanted
20
+16/+6/+1
+8
+11
+13
Weapon 5 Imbue Arrows 10

Class Features
All of the following are class features for the Marksmage.
Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Marksmages are proficient with all martial, simple,
and exotic ranged weapons, as well as simple melee weapons and medium armor.
Marksmages are not proficient with shields of any type.
Area of Expertise: At first level, the marksmage denotes his/her primary section of
arcane knowledge such as Conjuration, Evocation, Enchantment, etc. from the
marksmage spell list. This is used extensively in the marksmage class, so choose wisely.
At 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th class levels, the marksmage gains a new area of expertise in
addition to those that he/she possessed before. The spells a marksmage can implement
into his/her arsenal are listed along with the areas of expertise on the Marksmage Spell
List.
Enchanted Weapon: At first level, the marksmage chooses one ranged weapon they
possess, which is then considered to be enchanted. The marksmage chooses one
permanent enchantment to place on this weapon in the form of elemental effects (fire,
lightning, or ice). When a non-enchanted arrow is fired from the bow, the marksmage can
choose to automatically deal elemental damage with the accompanying effects at the cost
of losing the damage ordinarily done by the bow; the arrows are transformed from
ordinary arrows into elemental power, which eliminates the ballistics power behind
ordinary arrows. At first level, the spell does 1d3 of damage plus the side effects of the
spell. Each subsequent level that Enchanted Weapon is leveled up, the damage count goes
up to 1d6 at 2, 2d6 at 3, 5d6 at 4, and 7d6 at 5. The effects of the elemental attacks are
scaled to the effects of any spell from the sorcerer/wizard spell list equivalent to or lower
than a spell level of (Enchanted Weapon lvl. x 2). These effects do not stack for magical
arrows; imbued arrows cannot gain the bonus from the enchanted bow.
Marksman Feat: Aside from channeling magic through their bows and arrows,
marksmages are still elite archers in their own right. At first level, the archer gains Point
Blank Shot. Every multiple of three levels afterwards, the marksmage gets her choice of
any of the following bonus feats (keep in mind that all prerequisites must still be met):
Far Shot, Rapid Shot, Precise Shot, Shot on the Run, Quick Draw, Improved Precise
Shot, Pinpoint Targeting, or Many Shot.
Imbue Arrows: The bread and butter of a marksmages arsenal, enchanted arrows are a
simple task to create. When the marksmage gains Imbue Arrows lvl. 1, they can imbue
any arrow with any spells within their Area of Expertise with a spell level of 0 (cantrips).
At Imbue Arrows 1, the marksmage can imbue a maximum (2 x Int modifier) arrows per
day with spells, one spell per arrow. Each level gained in Imbue Arrows allows the
marksmage to imbue their arrows with any spells from the next spell level category of
their Area of Expertise, as well as increasing the multiplier for the number of arrows by
one. For example, at Imbue Arrows 2, the marksmage can imbue (3 x Int modifier)

arrows per day with any 0 or 1st level spells within their Area. At Imbue arrows 7, they
can imbue (8 x Int modifier) arrows per day with any spells from level 0-7 within their
Areas of Expertise. Imbuing one arrow requires the marksmage to sleep for at least 7
hours the previous night and work their power into the arrow for ten minutes. To imbue
the arrow, the marksmage must take a Spellcraft check. The DC is dependant upon the
level of the spell. DC = 10 + (2 x level in Imbue Arrows). A failure causes the spell to not
take hold in the arrow, rendering it unenchanted until another attempt is committed. All
enchantments on arrows wear off after a day. When an imbued arrow is fired from any of
the marksmages bows, it retains none of damage gained from the bow in addition to the
effects of the spell (the arrow impacts on the target but cannot pierce because it
disintegrates on impact when the energy is released from it). However, because of this
effect, all attacks with imbued arrows count as a touch attacks. If the arrow hits
something other than a living opponent, the spell takes effect upon the surface it impacted
(i.e. a fireball arrow will impact and ignite the area around it, while an invisibility spell
will turn at least a portion of the object invisible).
Aerial Companion: Almost all archers feel an attachment to creatures of the sky, so
much that they will train a companion for themselves from a flying animal, whether it is
an eagle, bat, owl, or the like. The companion follows the same basic progression and
rules as a typical druids companion, but each type of animal is drastically different than
the normal beginning stats seen with a druids companion (see Aerial Companions Page).
Fletch Arrows: Starting 7th level, the marksmage is treated as having Craft (fletching) as
a class skill with an automatic boost of 4 ranks in the skill. When fletching an arrow after
gaining this special feat, the marksmage can imbue the arrow with more power than
would be imbued by simply enchanting the arrow. By spending fifteen minutes more than
what it would normally take to craft an arrow, the marksmage can make the enchantment
last for a week rather than a day, while making the magic essence contained in it much
stronger. The arrow must still be crafted, however, and therefore a craft check must be
made to create it. If it fails, as with a normal arrow, it is unusable. The DC to craft an
enchanted arrow in this way is also increased by 3 points due to the concentration needed.
A marksmage can only fletch (marksmage class level) arrows per day. All arrows crafted
this way at first level automatically have one of the following bonuses:
1.5 times the normal damage (or effect) of the spell (rounded down)
1.2 times the radius on AOE spells (rounded down)
+2 to all bonuses gained from the spell
Spell duration extends by 1 round or action, depending on original duration
At second level of Fletch Arrows, the bonuses become
2 times normal damage (or effect)
1.5 times radius
+4 to all bonuses
Spell duration extends by 2 rounds or actions
At third level of Fletch Arrows, the bonuses become
3 times normal damage (or effect)
2 times radius

+8 to all bonuses
Spell duration extends by 4 rounds or actions

Extra Rules:
Marksmages cannot take Metamagic Feats because they do not actually cast any
spells; the spells are imbued in arrows and cant be changed when in the arrow.
If a marksmages enchanted weapon is lost or in a state of disrepair, he/she can reenchant another bow to give it the same powers as the previous one, but can only
have one at any given time. To enchant another bow, the marksmage must work
their magic into it for at least six hours in the same fashion as an arrow, but
because of the sheer amount of magic being poured into the bow the time to
create it is drastically longer and requires more concentration.
When a marksmage gains a new area of expertise, they can retroactively use any
spells below their imbue arrows level in the new area of expertise.