Unlike most rogues, those who choose to follow the path of the Marksman willingly shun the thief's mindset, choosing instead to follow a path of discipline. They are by no means honorable, but they follow a strict code. They are also distinct in their weapon of choice. The Marksman does not pledge himself to the dagger or the sword, instead training in the ways with which he might eliminate his targets without ever lifting a finger. From the simple blowgun to complex firearms, the Marksman trains them all to perfection. They are freedom fighters, mercenaries, or soldiers who use their unerring accuracy and ice-cold hearts to dispose of their targets at immense range. With a unique technical and somewhat magical skill set, they make use of falcons or other forward scouts to acquire targets, allowing them to take down enemies at ranges greater than even their vision.
hit dice:
1d8 per rogue level
hit points at 1st level:
8 + your Constitution modifier
hit points at higher levels:
1d8 (or 5) + your Constitution modifier per rogue level after 1st
armor proficiencies:
Light armor
weapon proficiencies:
Simple weapons, hand crossbows, firearms, rapiers, shortswords
tools:
Thieves' tools
saving throws:
Dexterity, Intelligence
skills:
Choose four from Acrobatics, Athletics, Deception, Insight, Intimidation, Investigation, Perception, Performance, Persuasion, Sleight of Hand, and Stealth
starting equipment:
You start with the following equipment, in addition to the equipment granted by your background:
(a) a rapier or (b) a shortsword
(a) a shortbow and quiver of 20 arrows or (b) a shortsword
(a) a burglar's pack, (b) dungeoneer's pack, or (c) an explorer's pack
Leather armor and thieves' tools
spellcasting:
class features:
Falconry
When you take on this archetype at 3rd level, you undertake a secret ritual, attuning with an avian familiar of your choice. The bird can be natural or mechanical, and does not have a stat block. Your companion can be commanded by you through your innate connection with it, but cannot attack or cast spells.
Scout Tactics. As an action, your familiar may move up to 120 ft from you. This distance increases to 240 ft at 9th level, 480 ft at 13th level, and 960 ft at 17th level.
Preemptive Action. Your familiar has Initiative that determines when in combat it takes its turn. When rolling, your familiar's initiative is equal to your own roll, plus two. This bonus increases to +3 at 9th level, +4 at 13th level, and +5 at 17th level.
As a bonus action, you may temporarily deepen your link to your familiar, assuming its senses for 1 minute. You can still make actions with your body as normal, but your vision and other senses are centered on your familiar. You can use this to detect and attack enemies that would normally be too far away or otherwise out of sight. Your familiar has a passive Perception of 18, and has Darkvision up to 120 ft.
Trajectory Understanding
You have long studied the science of ballistics. No matter the situation, your capabilities are only as limited as those of your weapon itself. You push even the simplest of bows to their very limits and beyond. Beginning at 9th level, whenever you make an attack with a ranged weapon, you may choose to make an Athletics (Dexterity) check. If you succeed, ignore the weapon's maximum range. Instead of the range listed, its range is now 1000/1200 feet.
Real-Time Recalculations
Beginning at 13th level, your accuracy is unparelled, even when compared to others who follow the Marksman's path. The first time you fail an attack roll against an unaware creature, you may choose to take another shot using the same action. In order to do so, you much succeed on a Perception skill check. This shot is guaranteed to hit, but cannot be a critical hit. Upon a failure, the shot misses.
The Harder They Fall
At 17th level, you have the one thing that no amount of armor can defeat: experience. Your sheer skill in finding and striking weakpoints renders even the heaviest of armor all but useless. When you make a ranged attack roll against a creature of size large or larger, you ignore an amount of AC equal to your Perception skill bonus.
subclass options: