Martial Mastery (Archery)

One day, someone decided they wanted to stab something that wasn’t near them, but the were too lazy to walk over to it. Thus, Archery was born. This martial skill allows you to slay your foes often before they even see you. This generally pertains to the use of bows, but other weapons may use this skill. You can see the complete list of Archery weapons on the Weapons by Type page.

Martial Mastery is a Rare Subskill. You can only spend as much time learning it as you have been given permission; you will often be rewarded with “You may learn one rank in this skill”, meaning you can only spend the Downtime to complete that rank. Generally Martial Mastery Subskills require an advanced teacher, which is often gained through playing an adventure or a special event. If you have access to a Place of Power, you may also have access to a certain level of Martial Mastery training through it. Rank advancements do stack; if you have a master that taught one rank, and your Place of Power can teach two ranks, you can advance to Rank 3.

At Rank 1 or above in this Subskill, you gain a bonus to ranged weapon damage with an Archery Weapon equal to your ranks in this Subskill.

At Rank 2 or above in this Subskill, you can stow a melee weapon and pull a bow as a free action before or after an attack with either. If you have Two-Weapon Fighting, you can stow two melee weapons as part of the same action.

At Rank 3 or above in this Subskill, you no longer take a disadvantage penalty to ranged weapon attack made with an Archery Weapon when an enemy is adjacent to you. The enemy may still provide cover if you do not have the Sharpshooter feat.

At Rank 4 or above in this Subskill, your chance to recover specialty ammunition (if it has a recovery chance) increases to 75%, as you become more selective about where your ammunition hits.

At Rank 5 or above in this Subskill, you no longer suffer a penalty for attacking a prone target on a ranged weapon attack made with an Archery Weapon, and instead gain the advantage bonus as if you were adjacent.

At Rank 6 or above in this Subskill, when you score a critical hit while making a ranged weapon attack with an Archery Weapon, you may add one additional die of damage to the roll (so a Longbow would do 3d8 on a critical, 1d8 base plus 2d8 critical).

Click for more information understanding how Character Subskills work, or Click to learn How to Add Subskills to D&D Beyond, to place them on your Character Sheet.