Definitely take the Ranger if that's what you want, but keep in mind that a fighter will always be a better archer than a ranger. And I agree that undead are good racial enemies - you want to pick something that is reasonably common, but also reasonably challenging. Either undead fit the bill.
But I want to argue this one:
Quote:
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Worst ranged weapon = darts; second worst = Short Bow
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To me darts are competitive with slings. I know the line I've cited was in reference to warriors, but I think in almost all cases darts are as useful as slings.
Consider a druid, who can't stack PPs.
Darts, 3 APR, 1-3 damage per attack. expected damage per round = 3-9 times hit probability, expected number of hits = 3* hit probability
Sling 1 Apr 2-5 damage per attack, expected damage per round 2-5 expected number of hits = hit probability.
The darts win in every possible way.
Now consider an MC ranger or paladin, who can stack 2 PPs (below level 7).
Darts, 3.5 Arr, 3-5 damage per attack. Expected damage per round = 10.5-17.5 times hit probability, expected number of hits per round 3.5 times hit probability
Slings, 1.5 Apr, 4-7 damage per attack. Expected damage per round = 6 - 10.5 times hit probability, expected number of hits per round 1.5 times hit probability
Agin the darts are a clear cut winner.
Same character at level 13 (which is quite late in the game)
Darts, 4.5 Apr, 3-5 damage per attack. Expected damage per round = 13.5-22.5 times hit probability, expected number of hits per round 4.5 times hit probability
Slings, 2.5 Apr, 4-7 damage per attack. Expected damage per round = 10 - 17.5 times hit probability, expected number of hits per round 2.5 times hit probability.
Still a win for the darts
For a fighter (including a DC druid) the darts are even more favourable - the extra star just adds more damage per attack.
With normal darts you inflict more damage and cause more spell disruption than with a sling. Either allows you to use a shield. The reasons I can see for preferring slings to darts are
1) There are more magic bullets and slings than there are magic darts. This is an important point. But for the druid or mage whose ethos prevents the use of bows, look how far behind he starts out. A +2 bullet causes the same damage as a normal dart, and less spell disruption unless the roll required to hit is 19 or more (in which case you're mostly wasting your time, especially with magic bullets). Even the addition of a magical sling (which will improve hit chances) will only really make the sling better against very low AC enemies. And to beat +1 darts you need a +4 bullet. For the low level ranger the case for the darts is somewhat weaker, and even the high level ranger a +1 bullet is only as good as a normal dart.
So the magic weapons can't make up for the inherent disadvantages of the sling. It is true that for enemies that you need a magic weapon to hit there are advantages to the sling simply because there aren't enough magical darts to sustain the attack rate. So I'll concede that this is one reason to choose the sling. But if your ethos prevents you from using bows (which are obviously better than darts and slings) why on earth are you using a sling OR darts against an enemy that can only be hit with magic weapons. You ought to be using some spells!
2) The logistics of darts are a royal pain. It's true that you have to carry ridiculous numbers of darts and do a lot of inventory manipulation to use them effectively, and if you don't use them effetively the sling (which requires almost no work) is better. This is the only decent argument in favour of the sling IMHO, and THE reason I tend to choose slings. But if you're a real powergamer this sort of thing shouldn't stop you - you ought to be willing to do all sorts of work to get a small advantage, and the advantage of darts is not that small.
I guess my point is that for anyone other than high level warriors the dart is clearly a better weapon than the sling. If you're using slings over darts it's because you're lazy, and you should be comfortable with that. I use them all the time, and it is because I'm lazy.