The Celestial Rain discipline teaches complete mastery of the bow as a deadly weapon. Speed is the key to archery, just as it is with melee combat; when an adept achieves mastery of this discipline, he becomes a veritable whirlwind of destruction, loosing arrows at a rate that no lesser warrior could seek to match. The outlook of Celestial Rain is relatively pragmatic, compared to other schools of the Sublime Way. Its practitioners tend to be rivals to those of the Diamond Arrow school, which takes a more mystical approach; this rivalry can be friendly or otherwise.
The discipline's save DCs are modified by Dexterity, and its key skill is Spot. Its favored weapons are the longbow, composite longbow, shortbow and composite shortbow.
All maneuvers and stances have a prerequisite of a number of maneuvers equal to half their level, rounded down. For example, learning tempest of thorns, a 7th level maneuver, requires 3 other Celestial Rain maneuvers. Unless otherwise stated, strikes require a full-round action, boosts and stances require a swift action, and counters require an immediate action to activate.
Stance
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain a +10 dodge bonus against attacks of opportunity you provoke by making ranged attacks.
Counter
Range: Ranged attack
Target: One creature
You can activate this maneuver after dropping a creature with a ranged attack. You gain an immediate extra ranged attack, at the same attack bonus, against a second target. This target must be adjacent to the creature you dropped with your original attack.
Strike
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Ranged attack
Targets: Up to 2 creatures
With this strike, you can make two ranged attacks as a standard action. Both are made at your highest base attack bonus, with a -2 penalty. Note that you cannot combine this strike with the Manyshot feat.
Boost
Range: 30 ft
Target: One creature within 30 ft
You can make a Spot check, with DC equal to your target's AC. If you succeed, you negate up to 2 points of your target's combined armor and natural armor bonus to AC. You gain this benefit on all your attacks against that target until the end of your turn. This has no effect if your target does not have any armor or natural armor bonus to AC.
Strike
Range: 1 range increment
Area: 8 5-ft squares
Saving Throw: See text
You rain down arrows, creating difficult terrain in the area of effect. Any creatures caught within take 1d6 points of damage; a successful Reflex save (DC 12 + your Dexterity modifier) halves the damage. This requires 1d6 arrows per square. The difficult terrain lasts for the duration of the encounter.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
As a swift action, you gain an extra ranged attack. This is made at your highest base attack bonus, with a -2 penalty.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
Your ranged attacks deal a bonus +1d6 points of damage against targets within 30 feet. This lasts until the end of your turn.
Strike
Range: Ranged attack
Targets: Up to 3 creatures
You can make three ranged attacks as a full-round action. All your attacks are made at your highest base attack bonus, with a -2 penalty. Note that you cannot combine this strike with the Rapid Shot feat.
Counter
Range: Personal
Target: You
If an opponent hits you with a ranged attack, you can force the attack to be rerolled. The reroll is made at a -4 penalty.
Strike
Range: 30 ft
Targets: Creatures within a 30 ft cone
As a full-round action, you spray arrows in a cone. Make a single ranged attack roll at a -4 penalty and apply the result to all targets in the area; thus you might hit some targets and miss others. You do not gain critical hit or sneak attack damage with this attack, even if you would otherwise do so. This requires one arrow per target. You must attack all eligible targets within the area, friend or foe.
Stance
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
You steady yourself to deliver shots of unmatched power. Once each round while you are in this stance, you can choose a number to subtract from all your ranged attack rolls and add to your ranged damage rolls for the round. The number cannot exceed +5/-5. The bonus damage only affects creatures within 30 feet. The same number is used on all your ranged attacks for the round.
Strike
Range: 1 range increment
Area: 10 ft radius burst
You fire a single arrow into the air. As it returns to earth, it separates and transforms into a cloud of deadly projectiles.
You attack all creatures in a 10 foot radius burst within your weapon's first range increment. Make a single ranged attack roll at a -4 penalty and apply the result to all targets in the area; thus you might hit some targets and miss others. You do not gain critical hit or sneak attack damage with this attack, even if you would otherwise do so. You must attack all creatures within the area, whether friend or foe. This is a supernatural ability.
Strike
Initiation Action: 1 standard action
Range: Personal
Target: You
You can make a full attack with your ranged weapon, as a standard action. All your attacks must be ranged attacks.
Strike
Range: 60 ft
Targets: Up to 3 creatures within 60 ft cone
As a full-round action, you can make 2 ranged attacks on each of 3 creatures within a 60 foot cone. All your attacks are made at your highest base attack bonus, with a -2 penalty. You cannot make more than 2 attacks on any given creature as part of this maneuver.
Strike
Range: 60 ft
Target: One creature within 60 ft
Saving Throw: Reflex negates
As part of this strike, you make a full ranged attack. If all your shots on your target hit and deal damage, your target is knocked prone. A successful Reflex save (DC 14 + your Dexterity modifier) negates this effect. You do not have to make all the attacks you would gain from a full attack, but you must succeed with at least 2 attacks on your target to gain the benefit.
Boost
Range: 60 ft
Target: One creature within 60 ft
Duration: One attack
You can make a Spot check, with DC equal to your target's AC. If you succeed, your target loses their Dexterity bonus to AC against your next attack, provided it is made before the end of your turn.
Counter
Range: Personal
Target: You
You gain a +20 bonus on opposed rolls to defend against disarm and sunder attempts when wielding a ranged weapon.
Strike
Range: 60 ft
Target: One creature within 60 ft
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
Duration: 2 rounds
As part of this strike, you make a full ranged attack. If all your shots on your target hit and deal damage, your target takes a 2-point penalty to Strength per hit. The penalty lasts for 2 rounds. A successful Fortitude save (DC 15 + your Dexterity modifier) negates the effect. You do not have to make all the attacks you would gain from a full attack, but you must succeed with at least 3 attacks on your target to gain the benefit.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
As a swift action, you can make two ranged attacks. The first is made at your highest base attack bonus, and the second at a -5 penalty.
Stance
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you can treat your bow as a 10-foot reach weapon for the purposes of attacks of opportunity and threatening. Thus you do not provoke attacks of opportunity for making ranged attacks, but you can make attacks of opportunity if others provoke them. You threaten all spaces within 5 feet and 10 feet of you. You only gain this benefit while wielding a bow of some sort (not a crossbow).
Strike
Range: 60 ft
Targets: Creatures within a 60 ft cone
This strike functions as crimson arrow onslaught, except as noted above.
Boost
Range: 60 ft
Target: One creature within 60 ft
This maneuver functions as the weakest link, except as noted above, and you negate up to 5 points of combined armor and natural armor bonus to AC.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
Your ranged attacks deal a bonus +2d6 points of damage against targets within 30 feet. This lasts until the end of your turn.
Strike
Range: 1 range increment
Area: 8 5-ft squares
Saving Throw: See text
Duration: 2 rounds
You rain down arrows, creating difficult terrain in the area of effect. Any creatures caught within take 1d6 points of damage. This requires 1d6 arrows per square. After 2 rounds the earth erupts in a burst of geomantic energy, dealing 10d6 points of damage to those within the area of effect, and leaving behind difficult terrain until the end of the encounter. A Reflex save (DC 16 + your Dexterity modifier) halves the damage. You can only use this ability with a bow of some sort (not a crossbow). This is a supernatural ability.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
As a swift action, choose a number not higher than your initiator level. You subtract this number from all your ranged attack rolls, and add twice this number to all your ranged damage rolls for the round. You only gain the bonus damage on targets within 30 feet. You cannot combine this maneuver with the 3rd level indomitable archer's stance.
Strike
Range: 120 ft
Targets: Up to 4 creatures within 60 ft cone
As a full-round action, you can make 3 ranged attacks on each of 4 creatures within a 60 foot cone. You cannot make more than 3 attacks on any given creature as part of this maneuver.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: 1 round
You can negate up to a -5 iterative penalty on each of your ranged attacks up to the start of your next turn. This does not give you an actual bonus. Thus if you had 3 iterative attacks at +20, +15 and +10, for example, you could use this maneuver to make your attacks at +20, +20 and +15.
Strike
Range: 1 range increment
Area: Cylinder, 20 ft radius, 20 ft high
Duration: See text
As a full-round action, you create a beaten zone. Any creature entering or in the area of effect is subjected to a ranged attack at your full base attack bonus, less a -4 penalty. You do not make any attack rolls during your turn. Instead, creatures who were in the area during your turn are attacked at the start of their next turn, while those entering the area are attacked at the moment they enter. You can only use this ability with a bow of some sort (not a crossbow).
Using this maneuver requires 10d6 arrows per round, checked at the beginning of your turn. You can extend the duration of this effect for as long as you have arrows to spare. If you run out of arrows, the effect ends on your turn.
Boost
Range: Personal
Target: You
As a swift action, you can make three ranged attacks. The first is made at your highest base attack bonus, the second at a -5 penalty, and the third at a -10 penalty.
Range: 60 ft
Target: One creature within 60 ft
Saving Throw: Fortitude negates
As part of this strike, you make a full ranged attack. If all your shots on your target hit and deal damage, your target takes 2 points of Strength damage per hit. A successful Fortitude save (DC 18 + your Dexterity modifier) negates this effect. You do not have to make all the attacks you would gain from a full attack, but you must succeed with at least 3 attacks on your target to gain the benefit. If any of your attacks on your target was a critical hit, the DC of the save increases by 2.
Strike
Range: 1 range increment
Area: 20 ft radius burst
You fire a single arrow into the air. At the apex of its flight it multiplies into a cloud of deadly missiles, which rains doom on your foes.
You attack all creatures in a 20 foot radius burst within your weapon's first range increment. Make a single ranged attack roll at a -4 penalty and apply the result to all targets in the area; thus you might hit some targets and miss others. You do not gain critical hit or sneak attack damage with this attack, even if you would otherwise do so. Each creature struck takes double damage, and you must attack all creatures within the area, whether friend or foe. This is a supernatural ability.
Stance
Range: Personal
Target: You
Duration: Stance
While in this stance, you gain the ability to generate ammunition magically for your ranged weapon. Projectiles created in this way are treated as magic weapons, and furthermore automatically bypass the first 5 points of any DR and hardness encountered. Any projectiles created disappear immediately after being used, or within 1 round regardless, and blink out in an antimagic field. Generating ammunition does not require an action, and there is no limit on how many projectiles can be created each round. This is a supernatural ability.
Strike
Range: Personal
Target: You
As a full-round action, you can make two full attacks in succession. All attacks you make for the round must be ranged attacks, and you gain a +1 bonus on all your attack and damage rolls. Take your first full attack as normal. Once you have resolved those attacks, you can then take another full attack action. You must resolve these actions separately. You cannot combine the attacks provided by both actions; instead, you must take them separately and in order as normal for a full attack.
After using this maneuver, you are limited to a move action on your next turn.
Last modified: 5 June 2007