Quiver Of Incantations

An elf squints, sweating beads as he aims at the sun. The dragon hides in the light, hoping to evade his bow, but he closes his eyes, feeling the wind and the warmth. He hears a roar and looses his arrow; as it flies down the open gullet, inscribed symbols glow and an explosion of radiance pops the monster like a waterskin.

Though the “gish” playstyle of weaving swords and spells has been well-explored in both official 5th Edition character options and the homebrew community, there are few effective options for a “spellbow”, especially after the disappointing Arcane Archer martial archetype. Other build options fail to integrate spells into arrow-slinging elegantly, often falling back on a self-buff that enhances accuracy. The goal of this class was to create ammunition suffused with arcane potential, fulfilling not only the spellbow fantasy but the “trick arrow” trope of archer heroes.

This class experiments with an enhanced form of half-casting without the martial capabilities of the Ranger or Paladin. You gain significantly more slots than the typical half-caster, but never get higher level slots sooner. This evokes the feeling of being an arcane artillary of lower level magical effects, releasing them at equal speed to your arrows.