A bullet, thrumming with magic, hunts down its target, swerving around a stone wall to strike true. An archer, backed into a corner by numerous foes, fires a single arrow which explodes into a deadly cone of shrapnel, devastating those hunting her. Standing atop a cliff, a scout fires a crossbow bolt into a river below, freezing a section into a bridge for his allies to cross. These are the deeds of an Arcane Sniper, an elite scout and bowman trained in both magic and marksmanship. Originally an elite elven training program, the secrets of this discipline have spread and now their ranks encompass arbalests and gunners in addition to the more traditional archers.
At 3rd level when you select this archetype, you gain proficiency with the Arcana skill. If you are already proficient, you gain an expertise die. You also become proficient with the Biting Zephyr combat tradition and learn a Biting Zephyr maneuver you qualify for. It does not count against your maneuvers known. If you are already proficient with Biting Zephyr, you may choose another combat tradition available to the ranger class in its place.
Also at 3rd level, your arcane study grants you the ability to cast spells. Arcane Snipers learn magic as a tool to augment their ranged combat abilities and also their general versatility.
At 3rd level, you know two cantrips of your choice from the movement, obscurement, senses or weaponry schools. These spells count as ranger spells for you. You learn an additional cantrip at 10th level.
The Arcane Sniper Spellcasting table shows how many spell slots you have to cast your spells of 1st-level and higher. To cast one of these spells, you must expend a slot of the spell’s level or higher. You regain all expended spell slots when you finish a long rest.
| Level | Cantrips Known |
Spells Known |
1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3rd | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — |
| 4th | 2 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 5th | 2 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 6th | 2 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — |
| 7th | 2 | 5 | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| 8th | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| 9th | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — |
| 10th | 3 | 7 | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 11th | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 12th | 3 | 8 | 4 | 3 | — | — |
| 13th | 3 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 14th | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 15th | 3 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 2 | — |
| 16th | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
| 17th | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
| 18th | 3 | 11 | 4 | 3 | 3 | — |
| 19th | 3 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
| 20th | 3 | 13 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 |
You know one 1st-level spell of your choice from the movement school and two more from the movement, or obscurement, senses, or weaponry schools. The Spells Known column of the Arcane Sniper Spellcasting table shows when you learn more spells of your choice from this feature. Each of these spells must be of a level for which you have spell slots.
Additionally, when you gain a level in this class, you can choose one of the spells you know from this feature and replace it with another qualifying spell of a level for which you have spell slots.
Intelligence is your spellcasting ability for your spells. You use your Intelligence whenever a spell refers to your spellcasting ability. In addition, you use your Intelligence modifier when setting the saving throw DC for a spell you cast and when making an attack roll with one.
Spell save DC = 8 + your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
Spell attack modifier = your proficiency bonus + your Intelligence modifier
At 7th level, your magical and woodcraft training have merged in useful ways. You learn five multiclass spells associated with the ranger class. They do not count against your spells known.
At 7th level, you learn to infuse your shots with magic for a variety of useful effects. Choose three of the following special shots to learn. As a bonus action, you may place any of the following effects on a single piece of ammunition such as an arrow, bullet, crossbow bolt, throwing knife, sling bullet, or blowgun dart. Any given piece of ammunition can only have one such effect on it at a time, and the effect persists until you fire the ammunition, use this ability again, or finish a short or long rest. Once you have used this ability a number of times equal to your Intelligence modifier (minimum once) you can’t do so again until you finish a short or long rest.
Seeking Shot: Choose a target whose location you are aware of. When fired, the shot seeks that target out, curving around obstacles to strike the target. This shot ignores half and three-quarters cover and treats full cover as half cover as long as the target isn’t entirely enclosed.
Gelid Shot: The ammunition is sheathed in an aura of icy magical cold. Upon impact, it deals a number of d8s of cold damage equal to half your proficiency modifier to the target. It also freezes liquid solid in a radius equal to 5 feet x your Proficiency bonus (including any potions the target is carrying, rendering them unusable until thawed). The supernatural cold infuses the solidified liquid for one minute, then it begins thawing normally.
Shard Blast: When you fire the ammunition, instead of making a weapon attack as normal, instead the ammunition explodes into a cone of lethal shards. Creatures in a 15-foot cone must make a Dexterity save against your spell save DC. Creatures that fail take piercing damage equal to the base damage of the weapon + a number of d6s of damage equal to half your proficiency bonus and are rattled. Creatures that save successfully take half damage and are not rattled.
Stunning Shot: The ammunition reverberates with sonic energy. Upon impact, a creature struck by the ammunition takes normal damage + 1d8 thunder damage and must make a Constitution saving throw against your spell save DC. A creature that fails is stunned until the end of its next turn. A creature that succeeds is deafened until the end of its next turn, but is not stunned. The impact of this ammunition (hit or miss) can be heard up to 300 feet away.
Entangling Shot: When this ammunition impacts its target, the target takes weapon damage as normal and must make a Strength save against your spell save DC. A creature that fails is grappled for one minute. The escape DC is equal to your spell save DC. A creature that succeeds is not grappled
Terrifying Shot: When fired, this ammunition emits an unearthly, baleful shriek audible up to 300 feet away which chills the blood of those close to you. Creatures other than you within 30 feet of you when you fire the ammunition who are not deafened must make a Wisdom saving throw against your spell save DC or be frightened of you for one minute. An affected creature may repeat the save at the end of each of its turn, ending the effect on a success. Once a creature has succeeded on a save against your Terrifying Shot, it is immune to its effects for 24 hours.
Incinerating Shot: The ammunition ignites any unattended flammable objects within 5 feet of its path to its target and deals an additional 1d6 points of fire damage. The target must make a Dexterity save against your spell save DC or catch fire, taking 1d6 ongoing fire damage every round for a minute or until an action is spent to extinguish the flames.
Accelerated Shot: The ammunition is infused with magical speed. When you fire this ammunition, treat the short and long ranges as though their values were doubled for the purposes of calculating its range, you gain an expertise die on the attack, and the shot deals an additional d4 of damage.
Also at level 7, you can spontaneously generate a single round of mundane ammunition for any ranged weapon you wield by spending your reaction. The ammunition appears loaded into the weapon. There is no limit to the number of times you can use this ability, but the ammunition cannot be used in conjunction with any spell requiring a ranged weapon attack, your Arcane Ammunition, Expanded Arcane Ammunition, or Supreme Arcane Ammunition features, or with other similar effects. The ammunition lasts for one round and then disappears, whether fired or not.
At 11th level, your arcane study and the dedication necessary to be a successful sharpshooter has given you a degree of mental clarity and resilience. You gain proficiency with Intelligence saving throws.
Also at 11th level, your expertise with magical marksmanship increases. You learn an additional 3 options from Arcane Ammunition.
At level 15, your study of magical ammunition is complete. You learn the final two Arcane Ammunition options.
Also at level 15, you have distilled the old sniper’s wisdom of “shoot, then relocate” into a specialized magical technique. As an action, you may make a single ranged weapon attack and cast a spell of the Movement school, provided you have one available and sufficient spell slots to cast it.