Fighter - Crossbowman - (High dex, very little armour)

[MadE]

Hey guys,

looking for suggestions on how to allow heavy armour on a high dex based character?

Yeah some will say, I'm a ranged fighter I shouldn't rely on armour. The problem is, there are plenty of other ranged enemies. And the DM likes to have them target the other ranged enemy they're facing :D

Typically, a 20AC isn't helping... I have a reasonably high dex (8) but only 2 going into AC because of the Max dex. Big problem.

Is there a way (like a feat or something) that allows me to increase a max dex? Obviously I couldn't just all of a sudden remove it... But say, increase it from 2 to 4?

Any ideas?

Cheers

[chrislafeken]

If you're going crossbowman, could try an alternative and go Prone Shooter.

[MadE]

Actually an interesting feat. I could still take that.

[chrislafeken]

For a feat with functionality, its got good RP value. A sniper lays low, begins to take aim, picking off important targets and turning the tide of battle.

[MadE]

Yep. It'd greatly help against other ranged opponents. Unfortunately, we're in a lot of dense forest and stuff a lot of the time, which regularly requires at least a 5 foot step to actually get a shot. But I may still look at getting it next level up.

[JuanAdriel]

Maximum dexterity bonus from armor does not affect your archery BAB?
I ever assumed it in my games.

About your question, what level you are, and did you looked at celestial armor (full plate) or, if low level, Mithril armor?

The regular fighter increases the max dex bonus from armors, but not sure about the crossbowman archetype.

[MadE]

I know it doesn't effect my bab. It effects my max dex for AC. I'm level 7. I just saw Celestial armor, but it is most definitely out of my reach right now.

[Snowblind]

Ask your GM if you can retrain out of the Crossbowman archetype(or just retcon that you don't have the archetype).

That archetype is terrible. For the purposes of this discussion, it is terrible because it takes away armor training, which is exactly the sort of benefit a crossbow user would want.

If retraining is out of the question...Mithril Breastplate/Kikko(Breastplate has better flatfooted,Kikko has better touch/ACP since you are maxing out the Dex bonus)? Or if you want something cheaper, Mithril Chainshirt is only 1100, and gives you 1 less than Mithril Breastplate. Or Darkleaf Studded Leather, which trades 1 armor for 1 more Dex(+8 max mod, which is where you are at). That only costs 775gp. Taking one of the light armors gives you a total Armor/Dex AC bonus of +11, not including magical enhancements to your armor. Medium armor gives you +12(but costs substantially more) That should help a touch. If you are using O-yoroi then you can move faster and get at least +1 AC by doing this, and selling the armor back actually gets you enough to buy the darkleaf armor. If you are using Chainmail or Four Mirror(for some silly reason), then you get a massive boost.

Side note, how are you getting a +8 dex mod at level 7. That requires a starting 17/18 dex AND a +2 racial mod AND a +4 belt. You can barely afford the belt at level 7. Are you a goblin or something?

[Claxon]

I concur with snowblind. The crossbowman archetype is bad. Don't use it, or retrain out of it if you can. You're mechanically stronger without than you are with.

The whole archetype basically works off of making readied attack actions, which means only 1 shot per round. Which is awful.

Play a regular fighter, armor training will let you use full plate with a higher than normal dex. Your AC should actually be pretty darn good because of this. As your weapon training simply select the crossbows category.

Otherwise build your crossbowman like an archer, for the most part. Initially you will want to use a light crossbow with the rapid reload feat. Pick up rapid shot, point blank shot, point blank master, (crossbow master if you want to upgrade from a light crossbow to a heavy, but it's 1d8 vs 1d10, not really worth it). You'll also want clustered shots, and deadly aim. Snap Shot, and Improved Snap Shot may be worth it too.

Alternatively, now would also be a good time to look at the Bolt Ace Gunslinger archetype which focuses on crossbows.