Hey lore people; I'm looking for every source or reference to Arcane Archery, whether it be a source book, novel, article, or Amia-specific lore. After looking around a bit, I haven't been able to find much. Could be because I don't have access to source books, etc! Any help would be appreciated!

What I have so far:
NWN Wiki Entry - Arcane Archer
SRD Entry - Arcane Archer
Article: Arcane Archer - Archery Personified.

_________________
Just lurking about!

An Amian player looked into this some years past and posted his article on the Candlekeep forums for feedback. (I'm embarassed to say I can't remember the name right now; that drow/elf player.)

Suffice to say, there's very little lore about them. The oldest and best sourcebooks on elven lore (Elves of Evermeet, and Cormantyr - The Empire of Elves) don't know Arcane Archers as they're a 3e PrC. The later books don't really deal in fluff. There are some mentions in the Last Mythal trilogy, IIRC, but just along the lines of "the division of arcane archers followed" or whatever.

I recommend you speak with other players in game and develop your own fluff around your PC.

Edit: Herkles! That's the player who wrote some stuff and taught it in game. I can't say whether the material is good or not, but worth checking out.

_________________

Amia-specific:

Drow AA's 'gift' comes from Selvertarm.

_________________
Eli Hodgewall <{/,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~X
Sven <=={o===========>
Qeelak \ | / ,

Alright, in that case I might write my own, which will come from my character/his tribe's perspective about Arcane Archery in general.

_________________
Just lurking about!

The only lore that is specifically set in stone here, as far as I know, is that arrows that belong to Arcane Archers only become magical when they touch and fire them from their bows. That's why the AA arrows have the OOC restriction on them. An AA can't touch the arrows and make them magical, and then give them to someone else.

Everything else differs heavily from character to character, I've found - and I played an AA for years!

_________________

When I was playing my AA, I came across a couple good explanations for why AA's can do what they do.

Personally, I've always subscribed to the school of thought that says that an AA makes their own arrows using specialized components which allow them to channel the proper energy into the arrows in question. Much like a mage uses certain components in spells, but with a twist. I also added in a bit about how the arrow is held and fired and there was usually a quick mantra that's said as she would reach for her first arrow... basically just some fluff to cover the V,S, and M aspects of casting spells.

_________________


"I once took the high road and it took me straight to hell and I stood there all by myself." -Hank III

It's hard to pinpoint "correct" lore, really. I mean, is a character with 10 AA levels and 20 Wizard levels and plenty of spells at her disposal better than a character with 19 AA levels and 2 Bard levels, who can't cast crap? There has to be a way to explain it for both the caster AA and the non-caster AA. In that respect, every AA has the potential to be something entirely unique.

_________________

By default, due to the requirements of becoming an AA, one would have to have some ability or not be able to function at all. Just like anyone using arcane or supernatural abilities, there are many roads that lead to the same place.

Personally I like the mystery that sometimes engulfs an AA. Is it just some sort of enchantment? A certain way of handling an arrow? Perhaps, it's an arcane enchantment in the archers mind, loosed upon the world by an ancient elven word whispered to the shaft when drawn to the cheek. I like how it's open to a players creativity, and like people, is different for everyone. Elves value the spirit of the unique individuals that comprise the elven society, what really needs to be known other than the idea that life is different for everyone. And thus, the way of melding elven magic and archery follow the same varied and wonderful paths.

_________________
Thine taste in horrid footwear not withstanding, I did not say that thou were in fact an idiot, I merely implied that such things were self evident.

-Krrja