Archer's bane

[Voltumna]

The feat's benefit says:

You gain a +1 dodge bonus against all ranged weapons for each range increment the weapon must be shot or thrown to reach you. This dodge bonus is doubled if you are fighting defensively or executing the total defence standard action.

I have no problem undestanding the feat except for the fighting defensively part. Total defence is OK, but how can you fight defensively with someone not at reach? Unless you are also throwing ranged attacks, is that it?

Thanks,

 

[SableWyvern]

Fighting Defensively simply adds to your DV at the expense of some offense. Under normal circumstances, this still provides a bonus vs ranged attacks.

While it does seem strange that it provides a bonus vs ranged attacks that can only be obtained while engaged in melee, that is already true, regardless of the Archer's Bane feat.

So, it doesn't necessarily make a great deal of sense, but that is intrinsic to fighting defensively, not the feat in question.

 

[sbarrie]

The feat's benefit says:

You gain a +1 dodge bonus against all ranged weapons for each range increment the weapon must be shot or thrown to reach you. This dodge bonus is doubled if you are fighting defensively or executing the total defence standard action.

I have no problem undestanding the feat except for the fighting defensively part. Total defence is OK, but how can you fight defensively with someone not at reach? Unless you are also throwing ranged attacks, is that it?

Fighting Defensively would be useful if you were engaged in melee with Opponent A while Opponent B was lobbing arrows at you. It would be especially useful if you trusted your allies to take out Opponent B soon.

 

[Bregales]

sbarrie's post is a good situational example. Maybe you could think of it that, in general, defence is a reactionary thing. For barbarians it is totally instinctual, whereas fighters train until muscle memory makes defence automatic. But fighting defensively means you are actually concentrating on the person trying to harm you, even if the attacker's some distance away.

Using westerns as an example, a barfight is a typical situation, whereas a standoff leading to the shootout, walking towards the other gunman in the town street, is more like defence.

Just a thought.