...The Archer's Best Friends

Here are some miscellaneous thoughts I had while thinking about fantasy-style archery. These things are a little over the top, but in a high fantasy sort of campaign, they won't be too egregious. To put it another way, these optional items are not terribly "realistic," but they are not unbalancing.

New Feats
Well known by the monastic order known as the Seekers of the Heart of Truth, these feats were made famous with the Seekers' defense of the cliffs of Rajon against the invading Blackbile orcs. Using the two feats in conjunction, the monks caught the orcs' magical, poisoned arrows and threw them back at the invaders with deadly accuracy and not a little surprise and shock.

Eschew Bow
With strength and accuracy you can hurl arrows with your bare hands.

Prerequisite: Str 15+, Dex 13+, base attack bonus of +5 or better

Benefit: You can hurl arrows as thrown weapons with a range increment of 30 ft. Damage (including criticals) is handled as if you were using a bow one size larger than your size. So Small characters inflict 1d6 points of damage as if using a shortbow, and Medium-sized creatures inflict 1d8 points of damage as if using a longbow.

Catch and Fire
Using your phenomenal speed, you can catch an opponent's arrows and use them in your own bow.

Prerequisite: Dex 13+, Improved Unarmed Strike, Deflect Arrows

Benefit: You must have your bow (not a crossbow) in one hand and your other hand free (holding nothing) to use this feat.

You ready an action and wait for a foe to fire an arrow at you. At that time, you may make a Reflex saving throw with a DC of 20 (if the ranged weapon has a magical bonus to attack, the DC increases by that amount). If you succeed, you catch the arrow. You must be aware of the attack and not flat-footed.

Then, as a part of the same readied action, you can load that arrow into your bow and fire it using your normal attack bonus. If you fire the arrow at the same creature that shot it at you, the target is denied any Dexterity bonus (against your bow attack only) the first time you use this ability in a fight, due to sheer surprise.

Alternatively, this feat can be used to catch thrown weapons and throw them back in the same manner described above, except that both hands must be free (characters with a Dexterity score over 15 need have only one hand free). Doing so, as above, is a readied action. This feat can be used to catch nonconventional ranged weapons like a bead of force. However, the DC becomes 25. In no way does this feat bestow the capability of catching spell effects, such as Melf's acid arrow.

Special: If used with Eschew Bow, then obviously no bow is needed.

New Magic Weapon Quality
Developed by the Seekers of the Heart of Truth, arrows with this magical quality proved very useful in cliff-fighting.

Knockback. This quality can apply only to ranged weapons. Any creature struck by this weapon must make a Strength check with a DC of 20. Those who fail are knocked back 5 feet.

Caster Level: 9th; Prerequisites: Craft Magical Arms and Armor, telekinesis; Market Price: +1 bonus.