Eldritch Archer

An eldritch archer's choices of weapon special abilities to apply with arcane pool at 5th level include distance, nimble shot, and returning but not dancing, keen, or vorpal. This ability modifies the magus's arcane pool.

At 1st level, an eldritch archer gains a bonded object as per the wizard's arcane bonded object; it must be a ranged weapon, and it can't be used to cast a spell once per day. Holding her bonded item does not prevent the eldritch archer from providing somatic components for her spells.

Instead of a light or one-handed melee weapon, an eldritch archer must use a ranged weapon for spell combat. She doesn't need a free hand for ranged spell combat. The eldritch archer cannot accept an attack penalty to gain a bonus on concentration checks to cast a spell defensively. This ability modifies spell combat.

At 2nd level, whenever an eldritch archer casts a spell that calls for a ranged attack, she can deliver the spell through a ranged weapon she wields as part of a ranged attack. Instead of the free ranged attack normally allowed to deliver the spell, an eldritch archer can make one free ranged attack with a ranged weapon (at her 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 eldritch 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 eldritch 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 eldritch archer's turn are wasted. This ability alters spellstrike. Editor's Note There are two magus arcana that list ranged spellstrike as a prerequisite: distant spellstrike, and reach spellstrike.

At 16th level, an eldritch 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.