Archer

Story
Far afield they emerge. For fury they have come, still distant, but following fast drawn to this Archer. Forever it seems she has killed the Sycline, a bane to their kind. She strolls forward, against the current, a raging river of revenge. Cocksure she clutches her bow, a hidden smile beneath her cowl, for on this day she knows, the loss of life will be great and the Sycline fewer. Fell-creatures cry aloud, roar, and run, trying to rip through the Archer’s quiet calm, her confidence a terrible taunt to those who feed upon fear. Slow and measured, she reaches back to pluck forth an arrow of yellow pine used for a specific purpose. She knows its measure, stiff shaft, and colorful fletching. Light in hand, it rests on the bowstring less than an instant before it is sent flying, the arch of this arrow a secret to all but one. The Sycline flinch, take pause, and track the flight, distracted by the failed attempt. Late is the moment they realize its true function Effortless, the Archer tumbles toward the foolhardy forerunner, reckless and rash going before the host, an easy target. The first to fall, a blur of cedar and white fletching flies true, through throat, shot from bended knee. The next three arrows, ash and raven feather, are drawn and driven before the Archer has risen to stand. The tears of Orion fall into the irises of fools who dare draw the ire and indignation of an Archer who has become one with the arrow. Two score times, over and again, arrows fly from quiver or are retrieved while walking, the same movement burned into muscle, memorized until only the motion remains. The many give way to a fleeing few, save one captain who continues to charge with confidence, closing quickly. The Archer stops, brazen and bold, flings back her hood. Slowly, she draws forth a solitary shaft saved for one such as this: hollowed bone with clean bright-brown fletching. With drawn breath, it is set against string, her blackwood bow fully bent. She doesn’t even realize the arrow is gone until it is buried deep into the fiend’s heart. Stopped and staggered, the massive monster slumps, clutching his chest. It takes but a moment for the blood to begin to flow through the shaft. Death quickly takes the one not long for life.

Playing the Archer
The Archer is a highly flexible Hero. The Ammo resource mechanic allows the Archer to always have the ability to attack in any given round. Depleting all the Ammo at her disposal without having an Arrow card in an Action Space or a Retrieve card handy is a mistake. This is especially easy to do with Orion’s Tears. This extremely powerful ability can do as much damage as a player has arrows, which makes this the only ability among the Heroes that scales with relative ease. Any Ammo cards that are drawn should be placed onto Action Spaces, unless the Archer has reached maximum capacity on her quiver. Without Ammo, the Archer is very weak. To send an Ammo card from hand to discard is a travesty. Do not underestimate the power of Fool’s Errand. This is an extremely valuable card in terms of preventing Darkness activation and drawing a massive amount of enemies away from the Heroes. This ability buys the party time and creates a situation where the Heroes can generate a lot of Action Points at less of a cost.

Ammo

Ammo is a general term. In the case of the Novice Archer, it represents arrows. Ammo, placed into Action Spaces, ends up in a quiver and then can be used to fuel attack abilities. Ammo is a limited resource the Archer must manage in order to stay active and relevant. However, with Retrieve, the Archer has the ability to absolutely control her Ammo.

Nature

Pacify is the Archer’s only Nature card. It is a fantastic ability. While Nature isn’t used much now, when Archers upgrade to Journeyman Heroes, the Nature label becomes much more important