Marksman Mastery: You Only Get One Shot
The Pathfinder Marksman (SRD)
By Nova Wurmson and Lucy Fur
“Bolt actions speak louder than words.” ― Craig Roberts, Crosshairs on the Kill Zone
The Marksman was a psionic class introduced in the pathfinder Psionics Unleashed Handbook, and updated for Pathfinder by Dreamscarred Press. Throughout this guide, we’ll be using the following rating system:
⧫ Amazing: A must have for an optimized build. It’s also used to denote strengths.
⧫ Good: Should be heavily considered for those who can use it.
⧫ Average: Not bad or good, but there may be better things (generally option works only for certain builds or there is an opportunity cost).
⧫ Bad: A turkey; this is inferior and should be skipped. It’s also used to denote vulnerabilities.
⧫ GM Notes: Article notes and GM tricks, shows ways to counter marksmen, and what to forbid.
The Marksman is a good ranged class. You will hit often and accurately, and be able to add riders to attacks. It acts like a specialized Psychic Warrior, which focuses on ranged, but with better hit dice, BAB (meaning you get bonus attacks sooner, and higher hit chance), saves, and automatic ranged bonuses. However, a Marksman has fewer powers known and even lower maximum level than a Psychic Warrior. If you want to hit things from far away, the Marksman class is great, just do not use it in roles it is not designed for.
Unlike 3.5, you don’t need to bend over backwards to be a good ranged attacker in Pathfinder ― you can be a great archer with nothing but CRB feats. Everything the Marksman gives you on top of that is just pure gravy. The marksman should be able to contribute to every party; we’d generally classify it as a tier 4 class
The wilder is a great assassin, spy, soldier, mercenary or like. Especially the Shroud archetype, which gives short-term invisibility that has no save to resist -- something very rare and valuable in psionics.
If you are new to playing a Marksman, suggest the MARK the MARKSMAN with MOXIE (page 9) to give you versatility. If you are a GM, and want some tips to fighting marksmen, read the cyan-colored text near powers and COUNTERS at the bottom of page 19. Same section also shows how players can best fend off Marksmen.
Laconic Condensing: Effort was put into having the most material in the least amount of pages. Thus, in parts, shorthand was used (esp. in the powers, build and NPC sections), which follows: w/=with, w/o=without, w/n=within, &=and, b/n=between, rnd=round, foe=target or subject, dmg=damage, Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha=ability scores, and contractions saved space.
What a Marksman Does
The Marksman is a specialist, with a few different things it can focus on.
Things a Marksman can do Easily:
⧫ Sniping: Marksmen are very good at hitting things from far away.
⧫ Area Damage: Certain builds allow you to hit many times per round. Unleashing a ranged whirlwind of projectiles.
⧫ Zone Control: Cover Fire, and the powers that modify it, and Wind Stike, can give Marksman the ability to pepper an area; keeping the enemy down so that allies can re-maneuver.
⧫ Ranged Defence: A Marksman has many ways to defend against enemy ranged attacks, with things like the deflect, disengage and defensive shot features; or many of his powers.
Things a Marksman can do, with Difficulty:
⧫ Scout: The generic Marksman has some good class skills. But is still lacking bluff, disable device, most knowledge, and does not have the best skill rank modifier (only Int+4). Thus they are not the skill monkey that being a scout normally requires. Dipping in Rogue, Slayer or like will give them better skills -- but still requires a dip. They are also lacking in powers known, which may have compensated for the low skill ranks. However, the Shroud archetype makes them closer to blue in scouting ability, as being invisible is a massive boon.
⧫ Melee: If you want to be good at this, you are in the wrong class. The spearman archetype is a little better (making this average), but still suggest being a Soulknife, Psychic Warrior or Aegis if you want to do melee well.
Vital Statistics
⧫ d10/Full BAB: As a fighter. This makes it an excellent martial character.
⧫ 4+Intelligence skills per level: Not bad, and not great. You get some great class skills, but are missing a few you would expect to have. Thus it is average. Make sure to have Acrobatics, Perception and Stealth high.
⧫ Bad Fort — You are vulnerable to poison, and physically affecting powers. This could be a problem if fighting certain enemies.
⧫ Good Reflex and Will: Two good saves to have bonuses in, especially in a psionic game where Will saves are common.
⧫ Half the PP of a Psychic Warrior: And Psychic Warriors do not get a lot. You will only be able to use powers rarely. Manifesting on the level of the spellcasting Paladin or Ranger, except you’ll get a power known at level 2. You’ll have 70 base PP at 20 (as the Aegis), but you have 12 powers known at level 19/20. The marksman power list is perfectly suited for a ranged attacker.
⧫ One of the worst Powers Known progression in the game: You get about the same as a wilder (a class known for having very few powers known). And you have to wait until 13th level to get 4th level powers, which is your maximum level! Even expanded knowledge can’t really help you with anything more than low level powers. Further, with your low power points per day, even outside powers known will only be used very rarely.
Class Features
⧫ Simple weapons; all light, projectile, and thrown martial weapons proficiency: Makes you proficient with most any weapon you would want to use.
⧫ Light armor and bucklers: You should not be in the front lines anyway, and should not rely on armor to keep you safe.
⧫ Combat Style (Technique/Mantra/Skill/Ability) - This choice will probably be the biggest decider of how you build your marksman and how you play it round to round. I’ll cover it in its own section below.
⃟ Finesse - Crowd control. Don’t take it if you just want to deal damage.
⃟ Sniper Style - Vital Strike.
⃟ Volley - Full attacks. Highest potential DPR.
⧫ Point Blank Shot - It’s a prerequisite for practically every other ranged feat. Just take it and say “Thank you.”
⧫ Wind Reader - Add Wis to all ranged attacks for 1 round. The catch? It’s a competence bonus, so it doesn’t stack with your Favored Weapon ability. If you really crank up your Wisdom, it’s better. There is one highly important power to resolve with your GM: Wind Strike. I’ll talk about it in more detail later, but suffice to say if it’s in as written, Wind Reader gets upgrade to blue.
⧫ Favored Weapon - Bonus to attack rolls with ranged weapons. Just what a growing marksman needs.
⧫ Evade Arrows - Bonus to AC against ranged attacks (but not ranged touch attacks).
⧫ Cover Fire - Force an opponent to make a Reflex save or be staggered for 1 round as an attack action (same wording as Vital Strike - it’s a standard action; thanks to Extra Achovies). If you can pin down a melee opponent or prevent a ranged attacker from full attacking your party, you’re doing pretty good. Careful use of this ability can make or break a combat.
⧫ Bonus Feat - Get a bonus feat from a list of great feats.
⧫ Disengage - Expend focus to add Wis mod to AC and Acrobatics checks when leaving a threatened square, and move at full speed without increasing Acrobatics DC.
⧫ Defensive Shot - You don’t provoke attacks of opportunity for making ranged attacks.
⧫ Ranged Specialist - Crit multiplier increased for ranged attacks, plus essentially free Far Shot, but better. It comes at 19, so you won’t have it for long, but it’s great.
COMBAT STYLES | Finesse | Sniper | Volley |
Skill +1 per 3 levels | Intimidate | Stealth | Perception |
Technique (Expend focus) | Ranged CMB checks | Add Wis to damage of one attack | Bonus attack |
Mantra (Maintain Focus) | Bonus to Attack rolls | Bonus to damage | Initiative and Reflex saves |
Ability (Level 4) | Dazzle on hit | Reroll ranged missed ranged attacks | Split damage between two targets. |
Ability (Level 8) | Standard action attack + Will save vs. shaken | Increase your base weapon damage for single attacks | Move while full attacking while taking penalties (Just take hustle) |
Ability (Level 12) | Expend focus to make target flat-footed | When you kill or knock an opponent unconscious, your shot keeps going. | Throw down caltrops |
Ability (Level 16) | Fascinate/Stun creatures within 30ft. | Increased crit range and bonus on crit confirmations; sort-of stacks with Improved Crit | Bonus attacks |
Ability (Level 20) | Bounce attacks back and forth, potentially hitting every creature Wis mod times/round | Standard action save-or-suck ability. | Blanket an area in attacks |
Bonus Feat Choices | Disrupting Shot*, Shot on the Run, Throw Anything | Greater Vital Strike, Improved Precise Shot, Improved Vital Strike, Pinpoint Targeting, Vital Strike | Crossbow Mastery, Manyshot, Rapid Reload, Rapid Shot |
Ability Scores and Races
Most Markman just need high Dexterity and Wisdom, plus good Intelligence for skill ranks. However, some builds could benefit from lowering Dexterity a little, and raising Strength and Constitution. For most Marksmen, your stat weights will probably look something like Dex>Wis>Int>Con>Str>Cha. If you are using composite bows, Strength should be higher.
⧫ Strength: If you’re using a composite bow (or are a Cannoneer) this should be two over the bow you are using (in case you
get Strength damage). But if not using a composite bows, dump it.
⧫ Dexterity: Essential for any Marksman, maximise it. Even Strength builds need at least 13 for feat requirements.
⧫ Constitution: Hit points and Fortitude saves. Even with a decent hit die, more hit points is always better than less and you
have poor Fortitude saves to begin with.
⧫ Intelligence: Helps you get more skill ranks, which is vital if you want to be a scout or skill monkey.
⧫ Wisdom: Your powers, power points per day and class features are modified by this. With how few base power points you
have, get Wisdom as high as you can. You will be expending focus a lot with style abilities and feats, thus Psionic Meditation becomes more vital (and Psionic Meditation requires a Wisdom of 13).
⧫ Charisma: This affects no class feature — dump it.
Small races are generally best, as they generally give size and Dexterity bonuses to attack rolls. Anything which gives a Wisdom bonus is at least good. And anything that gives a penalty to Dexterity or Wisdom is bad. Psionic races generally get bumped up a notch because they can get PP as their favored class bonus — something you need desperately.
⧫ Blue: —2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Int and small-sized. The Intelligence bonus helps them get more skill ranks.
⧫ Dromite: —2 Str, +2 Dex and small-sized. Plus they get natural armor.
⧫ Duergar: +2 Con, +2 Wis and —2 Cha. Not bad, but not great.
⧫ Elan: +2 to one ability. Plus some good defensive racial features.
⧫ Elf: +2 Dex, —2 Con, +2 Int.
⧫ Forgeborn: +2 Str, +2 Int and —4 Cha. It has nothing to offer a Marksman other than being a sitting duck.
⧫ Half-elf: +2 to one ability. You can take Ancestral Arms for easy access to a repeating crossbow.
⧫ Half-Giant: +2 Str, —2 Dex and +2 Wis. A surprisingly good marksman, especially for a composite longbow build. The
strength and wisdom bonuses, plus powerful build are good. However, it has a penalty to Dexterity!
⧫ Half-orc: +2 to one ability. The Sacred Tattoo alternate racial trait is very good.
⧫ Halflings: —2 Str, +2 Dex, +2 Cha and small-sized. A psionic race is generally better.
⧫ Human: +2 to one ability and bonus feat. This allows Point-Blank Shot and any two of Precise Shot, Deadly Aim or Rapid Shot
at 1st level.
⧫ Maenad: +2 to one ability. Elan is much better.
⧫ Noral: —2 Dex, +2 Con and +2 Wis. There are better races out there.
⧫ Ophiduan: +2 Dex AND +2 Wis. YES! The best two Stats for you. They get natural armor, and a bonus against poison. Plus, one
of the alternate racial traits gives you a once per day poison. This is the only amazing race because of this.
⧫ Xeph: —2 Str, +2 Dex and +2 Cha. Good for throwing marksman (especially with some of the alternate racial traits), but the
Strength penalty will always hurt.
Other Races: Paizo prints +2 Dex races like they’ve got a crippling addiction, this is not an exhaustive list — only a taste.
⧫ Goblin: +4 to Dex, racial +4 to Stealth, Small size for a +4 to stealth (thanks to CGNefarious)
⧫ Oread - +2 Str, +2 Wis
⧫ Tengu - +2 Dex, +2 Wis
⧫ Tiefling (Asura-Spawn) +2 Dex, +2 Wis
⧫ Vanara - +2 Dex, +2 Wis
⧫ Grippli - +2 Dex, +2 Wis, but -2 Str and painfully mediocre racial features
⧫ Tiefling (Standard) - +2 Dex
Favored Class Bonuses
Always put it into more power points per day. Markmen have so few, that every point extra helps. None of the below are better than more power points.
⧫ Blue: +1 use of Wind Reader per day.
⧫ Elf: 1 psionic talent (level 0 power).
⧫ Human: +⅓ damage when expending focus on Psionic Shot. If you were already planning on taking Psionic Shot and using it frequently, it’s decent.
Archetypes
ULTIMATE PSIONICS: Unless you want to be locked into a gun, spear, or knife, your main choice is to Shroud or not to Shroud.
⧫ Cannoneer: Firearms are extremely powerful, and can quickly overpower you beyond the rest of the group. Firearms require careful GM management -- but can be done in a balanced fashion. That being said, this archetype makes you a Strength-focused beast who lugs around a culverin for either shooting or bludgeoning. Later, cover fire is upgraded to permit the lock down of multiple opponents at once.
⧫ Kaigun: Another firearm archetype, but a bit more “traditional” if you just want a guy with a gun. If you take this archetype, take Deadeye at level 2. Slowing Shot (the 15th level psionic deed) is basically a no-save slow.
⧫ Shroud: Swift action invisibility from level 1. Best use: Sniper style, Psionic Meditation. Standard action, Vital Strike, expend focus for your level 8 ability; swift action, turn invisible; move action, regain focus. Occasionally use your move action to reposition or a swift action to hustle to reposition. The bonus to Stealth stacks with Sniper style’s. Hide in Plain Sight is basically a straight upgrade to disengage, and essentially greater invisibility is generally superior to not provoking with ranged attacks.
⧫ Spearman: Remember what was said about a Str-based throwing build? This is one place to start. You don’t really lose too much of consequence, but you gain fun stuff like x2 Str bonus on the first thrown attack of the round after moving 10ft. You can also melee with your spear, if you’re into that sort of thing.
⧫ Mobile Knife (Xeph): This hyper-mobile archetype is a fun and powerful choice. You’re mostly gaining more than you lose (+1-5d6 damage when moving instead of evade arrows), but the real fun comes online when you get Fury of the Single Blade and Returning Knives, allowing you to move + quasi full attack or just throw one weapon and get all your attacks with it. You can also use all those juicy Standard action/1 attack feats like Intuitive Shot highly effectively (special thanks to thisisacat).
Powers
MARKSMAN POWERS: A separate document on marksman powers can be found here.
BAD MARKSMAN POWERS: As a marksman you have a small number of powers known, thus each power must count for more. The below powers are either weak or super situational that you will not use them often. Use psionic tattoos or power stones to add situational powers to your character.
⧫ Wind Strike is a second level power that causes all successful ranged attacks this round to daze the opponents struck for 1 round. It requires expending a daily use of your Wind Reader class feature. We’re going to be considering two schools of thought on the power:
⃟ Wind Strike IS Overpowered:
1) It doesn’t allow a save.
2) It deals damage while also applying one of the most powerful statuses in the game.
3) The PP expenditure is laughably small late-game, when you have 70 PP from your class (before high Wisdom, racial bonuses, etc.).
4) It applies to every attack in the round, meaning if you miss a target, you can just keep on firing until you get the desired result. A player could easily keep one opponent (say, the boss of the campaign) permanently dazed until death.
5) Dazing effects usually grant a Fortitude save, so creatures that should normally be technically immune to daze (constructs, undead, inevitables) are vulnerable to Wind Strike.
6) A GM could conceivably throw a horde of level 5 marksman at a party of any level and keep them permanently dazed until death.
⃟ Wind Strike ISN’T Overpowered:
1) It allows power resistance.
2) It requires a swift action, and the marksman does have several options of swift-action abilities.
3) It requires a daily use of Wind Reader and power points. At the level the marksman can first select it, they only have 7 PP from their class.
4) A player trying to use it optimally for crowd control will split their attacks, which is non-optimal for damage. Also, when a single ranged attack is sent at someone, there are multiple ways to auto-negate it (Deflect Arrows, deflect).
5) You do actually have to hit the target, which can be negated by breaking line of sight, hampered by high AC and concealment/total concealment, etc.
⃟ If you find Wind Strike to be overpowered: I suggest implementing one or a mixture of the following homebrew fixes:
A) It grants a Fortitude save, but has an augment to increase the DC.
B) It only affects one attack; if the attack misses, the power fails (similar to Stunning Fist).
C) It does not deal the damage of the attack; it only applies the dazed condition.
Check out the massive feat guide called The Big Fat Feat Compendium (WIP).
GENERAL/COMBAT FEATS:
The elemental four are: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Shot and Deadly Aim. These will almost always be your first four feats in every ranged build.
⧫ Assassin’s Shot: Activate a style ability without expending psionic focus when you deal sneak attack damage with a ranged attack. Augmented Shot (8th level Sniper style) is the big one you’d want - possibly worth a level of rogue or similar.
⧫ Clustered Shots: Only apply DR once to a full attack. Incredibly useful when you’re full attacking. Obviously nearly worthless to Sniper style marksmen.
⧫ DEADLY AIM: Deadly Aim is Power Attack for ranged attacks. With the marksman’s good accuracy, you should be able to use it most of the time.
⧫ Far Shot: Half range increment penalties. Only worth thinking about for thrown weapons, and I’d prefer Empowered Shot for that purpose.
⧫ Focused Precision: Add your Dexterity modifier to damage rolls with crossbows and firearms when focused. Sadly not bows.
⧫ Expanded Favored Weapon: Apply your favored weapon benefits to another weapon group. There’s almost never a reason to use another weapon.
⧫ Hawkeye: Increases the range of precision damage like sneak attack (and Deadly Throw), but also Point Blank Shot. Not worth it for just PBS, of course, but if you have precision damage, it’s worth considering.
⧫ Improved Critical: Only really useful if you’re going for a weapon with a larger critical chance
⧫ Improved Initiative: +4 to initiative. Going first wins battles.
⧫ Improved Precise Shot: Ignore anything less than total cover or total concealment.
⧫ Improved Disengage: Gain a bonus 5ft. step when you disengage.
⧫ Improved Cover Fire: Increase the DC for cover fire, and you can expend focus to stun instead of stagger on a crit.
⧫ Manyshot: Moar attacks if you’re using a bow (with some restrictions). Damage is damage.
⧫ POINT BLANK SHOT: This is a prerequisite for just about every other ranged feat. The marksman gets it for free, but some archetypes don’t get it automatically.
⧫ PRECISE SHOT: This lets you ignore penalties for firing into melee. You might be able to get away without it if no one in your party is melee (such as if you’re a GM building a squad of archers).
⧫ Open Minded: +1 skill per level. Interesting if you want to make a heavily skill-focused marksman.
⧫ Rapid Reload/Crossbow Mastery: Because if you’re going crossbow (or firearms for Rapid Reload), you basically have to take these, and if you’re not going crossbow, there’s no reason to.
⧫ RAPID SHOT: This lets you make an additional attack on a full attack by accepting a -2 penalty. So before BAB +6, that’s a real potential to double your damage per round.
⧫ Relentless Shot: If you make a ranged attack against a foe within 30ft., you can make attacks of opportunity against them with ranged weapons. Bizarre, but it’s free attacks if you’re a Finesse marksman.
⧫ Shot on the Run/Parting Shot: The prerequisites are so high they’re hardly even worth considering. If you really want Shot on the Run, go Xeph Mobile Knife.
⧫ Snap Shot/Improved/Greater: Threaten 5/10ft. with ranged weapons. You can have some fun with it by doing things like manifesting fold space to get next to an enemy ranged opponent.
⧫ Stabbing Shot: Elf/Half-Elf only. Shove enemies away from you to avoid attacks of opportunity. You get Defensive Shot eventually (unless you traded it away with an archetype), but this can come online at very low levels and doesn’t require a CMB check, save, or similar.
⧫ Twin Throw: Manyshot for TWF thrown. You want tons of attacks? This is how you get tons of attacks.
⧫ Vital Strike/Improved/Greater: A great way to improve damage and bypass damage reduction.
⧫ Weapon Focus: Hey, its accuracy. But you should be accurate enough. Only take for prerequisite purposes.
PSIONIC FEATS:
⧫ Access Psionic Talent: Get 5 psionic talents. Potentially useful since you don’t start with any of your own, but this should generally be left to the primary casters/manifesters.
⧫ Assassin’s Venom: You have to multiclass in Psychic Warrior, and does not give much of a bonus. SKIP.
⧫ Deadly Throw: Dex to damage with thrown attacks (within 30ft.). If you’re going to do a Dex throwing build, take it.
⧫ Empowered Shot: Double range increment while maintaining focus. Could be useful for thrown builds with very low range increments, but they’re pretty feat-heavy to begin with.
⧫ Expanded Knowledge: Not as good for you as most psionicists - the marksman power list is pretty much exactly what you need to fulfill your role. That doesn’t mean that there aren’t goodies to be found like astral construct, inertial armor. or an energy power like energy missile as a failsafe against foes you can’t hit with a bow.
⧫ Intimidating Shot/Staggering Shot/Crippling Assault: With Intimidating Shot, you make a standard action ranged attack and can Intimidate them if you hit; pretty nice, because Intimidate is more or less automatic. With Staggering Shot/Crippling Assault you make a standard action attack to potentially stagger/paralyze, but they allow saves (ugh) and they have to have lower levels of debuffs to use - if they work, they’re great, if not, you’re handicapping your damage.
⧫ Intuitive Shot/Greater Intuitive Shot: Standard action, add Wis to damage for one attack. Greater, expend focus, Wis to damage for all attacks. With Wind Reader, you can get Dex and Wis to attack and damage, at least for a round. Kind of fun.
⧫ Knockdown Shot: Expend focus, standard action, if the attack hits, your foe must save or be knocked prone. Not a priority of any kind, but you can mess with high Str/low Dex opponents.
⧫ Psicrystal Affinity/Psicrystal Containment: Psicrystal Affinity Isn't half bad - you get Alertness just for having it stick around, plus you can get useful bonuses like +3 to initiative. The real draw is getting a second psionic focus - with the number of feats and class features the marksman have that require expending or maintain focus, it’s a godsend.
⧫ Psionic Body/Deep Focus: Get 2 bonus HP for each psionic feat you have. You’ve got tons of bonus feats, but you need to put quite a few of them into non-psionic feats. Plus, HP isn’t that great for you. The only reason you should consider is as one of the two paths to a second psionic focus (Deep Focus - the other being Psicrystal Containment).
⧫ Psionic Meditation: Regain focus as move action. You’ve got tons of feats and style abilities that can be used as a standard action by expending focus, so this is a great pickup, mandatory for Sniper style especially.
⧫ Psionic Talent: +2 PP +1 for each time you took this feat before. You’ll probably have the PP you need. Taking a psionic race for the favored class bonus is a better way to get PP if you want more.
⧫ Psionic Precise Shot: It is rare to be in a situation where this is both useful and worth focus.
⧫ Psionic Shot/Greater Psionic Shot/Fell Shot: Expend focus to give one attack bonus damage. Most PF archers are focused on putting out as many attacks as possible, but a sniper-style marksman can find these useful. The passive damage is mediocre, but better than nothing. Fell Shot lets you resolve a single attack as a touch attack by expending focus, which isn’t exactly a priority for the super-accurate marksman.
⧫ Return Shot: It’s Deflect Arrows, but you expend focus and knock the shot back at them.
⧫ Rebounding Throw: Expend focus when you hit to bounce your attack to hit another target.
⧫ Returning Throw: It’s the returning special property, except if you already have returning or expend focus, you can use one weapon for your entire full attack routine. This feat is almost essential to an optimal throw weapon marksman build.
⧫ Ricochet: Expend focus to bounce your attacks or recover from a miss. There’s plenty of other feats I’d rather expend focus on for accuracy (Fell Shot or Rebounding Throw, for example).
AKASHIC MYSTERIES FEATS:
⧫ Chakra Targeting: Get an insight bonus on attack and damage rolls with ranged weapons. This is really good for a lot of archers, but you’ve got offensive precognition/prescience for insight bonuses, so it’s not too pressing.
⧫ Powerful Throw: Use Strength for attack rolls with ranged weapons and Power Attack instead of Deadly Aim for ranged weapons. Core for a Str-based thrower (i.e. Spearman) build.
Generally it is best not to multi-class, as it reduces the Marksman’s manifesting abilities. Which are already weak. However, a one to three level dip can help by filling weaknesses in the base Marksman design.
BASE CLASSES:
⧫ Aegis: There’s lots of useful things to find, but Powerful Build is great for non-half giant Sniper style marksmen.
⧫ Rogue/Ninja/Slayer: Anything that grants a +1d6 sneak attack allows you to qualify for Assassin’s Shot. Rogue and Slayer also give trapfinding which turns Marksmen into good scouts (as they now can disable magic traps and have disable device as a class skill), plus more knowledge and social class skills.
PRESTIGE CLASSES:
⧫ Phrenic Slayer: One of the better prestige classes for a Marksman, it only reduces your manifester by one, and gives you a lot of defensive abilities (esp. Vs. mind control and mind effects).
⧫ Sighted Seeker: You would think this would be a good idea by flavor, but the mechanics are way off. You would stop progressing in all marksmen abilities. Then would slow down in manifesting progression; or stop it altogether if you wanted sighted seeker powers.
⧫ War Mind: You WILL decrease your Marksman manifester level considerably. But you do gain the “Chain” features which stack with most Marksman features and some new Psychic Warrior powers. However, a pure Marksman is generally better.
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
The wilder is THE highest damage dealer in the game. While the 3.5 version left them vulnerable due to a low power known selection (and high risk for daze at higher levels), the pathfinder version fixed many weaknesses in design. But how do you optimize on a wilder to give it the best versatility? This build provides a few different options, so they are no longer a one trick pony, by showing how to make them tanky and capable of doing more than just damage.
This starts optimizing at 7th level (on learning energy missile), at 14th level it can do epic-level damage (average damage per round (DPR) is 1221.3) and maximizes at 20th level with DPR of 2729.9! All DPR uses conservative calculations vs. high AC and saves. Main sources of power are: 1) blasting (with energy missile, hail of crystals or disintegration), 2) metaphysical beast claws with prophetic song solicit psicrystal combo (at 11th level gain battle transformation), and 3) power multipliers (psychic reformation, bend reality and reality revision; wish-like).
This breaks action economy at 8th level, with the hustle power FEAT, which allows a second manifestation as a move action. Action economy is broken again at 9th level, with the hustle power POWER (the power, not feat, by same name), which gives an extra move action as a swift action -- such that you can use the hustle power FEAT a second time. You also get metapsionic mastery for energy missiles at 9th level, which removes the need to refocus when applying a metapsionic feat to energy missile.
Use this build with caution. Just because the rules allow multiple manifestations and massive DPR; it eats through PP fast, is generally overkill, and may stoke the ire of other players and GM. Thus do claw attacks when not needing to nova. The melee potential of this is greater than a barbarian, and shouldn’t be underestimated. You should be able to kill epic level creatures at relatively low level.
At 19th level, you get reality revision (psionic wish). With the tanky nature and high damage output of this build, a single player has the capacity to kill a Tarrasque (though still very dangerous). Even though Tarrasques are touted as the most powerful monster in the game, and generally impossible to kill.
DESIGN AND RULES IN MAKING BUILD:
⧫ 1: Only us pathfinder Dreamscarred Press articles. No homebrew, third party or cheese.
⧫ 2A: Damage Per Round (DPR) is calculated with the following formulas:
⃟ 2B: Equation: h(d+s)+tchd. h=hit chance, d=damage/hit, s=precision damage(what is NOT multiplied on critical), t=crit threat chance, c=critical threat bonus damage (x2=1)
⃟ 2C: AC(ECL*1.5+10); touch/flat half this; Fortitude is Pathfinder Bestiary with Statistics. All rounded up.
⃟ 2D: Melee and Blasting DPR will be shown for levels 8, 14 and 20 below. DPR and assumptions are in GM favor (against powerful creatures with high AC and saves). If fighting weak creatures DPR rises.
⧫ 3: At about 14th level the die rolls get annoying. Talk to your GM about using applications, computers or just averages. Rolling 57d6+114 in damage gets more painful to you than the GM (that is just at 14th level!). Consider taking Maximize Power instead of Empower Power to save time rolling (you will do less damage, but it will still be doing overkill).
⧫ 4A: Provide versatility & more than damage to wilder. This was built to provide multiple types of damage such that energy resistance, damage reduction & dispelling effects don’t removel all of its power. Further, needed to give it defensive & utility options, as well as gear such that it could adapt to the environment.
⃟ 4B: Don’t forget that this build has melee options. At the beginning of the day he manifests Inertial Armor, Claws of Beast and Metaphysical Claw (twice to affect both claws), giving him great bonuses for hours per level. Using Prophetic Song and his Psicrystal as a battle buff. At 11th, he gains Battle Transformation -- to be a melee power-house.
PROGRESSION: Classes: 1st-14th: Wilder, 15th: Sorcerer (orc bloodline), 16th-20th: Wilder.
STATISTICS BY LEVEL: Everything is surged and has max pp invested
