[PF] level 2 in a pirate campaign?

[Krazzman]

Since I am currently suffering of writers block in the solo campaign I DM for my wife she offered to take the reins.

I can use gestalt rules but nothing too overpowering and fitting the theme suited for a pirate adventure.

And now I am unsure what to play exactly crunch wise.
My thoughts so far:
Witch//Slayer
Monk//cleric or druid
Gunslinger//Inquisitor
Oracle//Paladin
Magus//Slayer
Rogue//caster.

Or any of the above together with Arcanist instead of the other casters.
But since I am not that well versed with prepared casters I don't really know what way I should go.
If I go with a caster I would like it to be focused on the sea.

So any recommendations for archetype s or combination s that I want to look into?

[Kol Korran]

I don't know a lot about Gestalt, but there are quite a few questions that need to be answered first:
1) A bit about the setting, or what the campaign will revolve around? What central themes? I assume it's something that you and your wife came up with together, but surely you have some general idea about what kind of stories you wish to explore? The role of magic/ religion/ races/ politics/ gunpowder and such can affect the decision quite a bit more than just mechanical benefits.

2) What sort of character in flavor terms do you imagine yourself playing? Solo campaign far more often revolve around the personality, motives and background of the character. Any specific ideas you cam up with?

3) Would you be going entirely solo? 1-2 accompanying NPCs? Or a small crew of lesser NPCs? (Such as a crew of a ship?)

4) Pirating or general sea faring? The two get mixed a bit. The First focuses on illegal exploits, looting, treasure and such, while the second is more general sea focused campaign. Will you deal heavily with sea dangers? Navigtion? Other ships? Is the sea faring a part of the challenge, or just means of quick transport between other areas? Will managing the ship and it's crew be important, or not so much? If the sea is central to the campaign, will you be using the extra rules in "Skulls and shackles"? (An adventure path that deals with pirating) Or will you use homebrew/ just wing it?

These question can start narrowing things down to more rounded concepts, which will be easier to work with. For example, I ran a pirating campaign, which was focused on the illegal kind, a struggle against a colonial empire, and dealt quite a bit with the sea. Players opted for light characters, stealthy characters, capable of diplomacy and bluff, and their magic was more subtle and focused on illusions and charms. None took a character who used medium or heavy armor, out of fear of drowning. Quite a few "sea skills" such as profession (Sailor), swim, acrobatics, Knowledge geography and more- the needed versatility lended more to characters with a large number of skill points. We ended with a ranger, a rouge, a barbarian and a beguiler. They got crew and minions specifically to cover some lacking fields (Healing, crafting, a bit of blasting and such).

I hope this helps...

[Krazzman]

Wow thanks. Yes this is helpful.
Most of these will probably get a I don't know to different degrees but here goes:

Except for the fact that this will probably be set in the Inner Sea... I don't know anything else except the buzzword pirates.

Character fluff wise a short summary would be a magically adept light armored "sailor". The wickedness and his moral code is not defined at the moment. But will more likely tend to be a good aligned person.

Solo but I think not as a captain. Most likely upper command chain but I don't know.

Since we don't have the skulls and shackle s ap... probably wing it or home brew. I believe it will focus on exploit s looting and such.

Your players had the same idea's as me. Preferably not going anchor... that's why slayer (ranger rogue hybrid) together with some caster seems good to go.

[Kol Korran]

Hmmm... I have an idea, how about... a Cleric/ Rogue? I'd suggest to go halfling. Let me try and explain:
- You boost dexterity, charisma and wisdom- the quick, Savvy, quite personable rogue, with his one idea of faith (I suggest some sort of a god of trickery/ freedom/ liberation/ free spirit. Something Like Desna or the god of adventurers and booze. For got his name) This three abilities boost a lot of the rogues skills, and usually come quite handy. You won't be that robust or strong, but you don't really need to be... The halfling boosts do wonderfully for the rogue.

- I didn't see any interesting cleric archetypes (but regular cleric is FINE), but the rogue has a few nice ideas- Pirate, Swashbuckler, and Knife master (I personally love the idea of a rogue who is especially deadly with knives)

- AC wise you got dex, your size, lots of buffing spelsl from the cleric lists, and armor (When you can, get mithral breast plate, it counts as light)

- Attack wise- TWF and weapon finesse. If you go with the knife master focus on stuff that improve daggers/ short swords). Again ,the cleric spells can make you a fairly lethal combatant.

- Saving throws- the two class give you excellent saves all around (And the halfling gives you another +1). Important for a solo game

- Working together: your ability to heal many people (Channel energy) can make you a valuable member of the team, as will your spells. Your talking skills are also quite appreciated. Laslty, if you really want to, you can take the halfling trait (or was it a racial alternative feature?) that gives your luck to a team member, making you a "mascot" of the ship.

- About spells: As you are starting at a low level, I wouldn't much worry about it. The list is not THAT big. Not a whole lot of spells you need to keep track of. Keep plenty of scrolls for utinlity spells, or a wand or two. This should work out.

- Magic items: The only MUST one I think of is Handy haversack (When you can, usually you'll be a lot lighter). You will have low strength, and small size. You will need all the help you can get.

I hope that helps?

[Krazzman]

Initially I thought about going witch or cleric. Rogue is a maybe. Afaik ninja or slayer are just "better".

Comparing rogue to slayer I have less skill points and less sneak attack but more BAB and hp. As well as some other bonuses.

I'll look into cleric in greater detail though.

[Kol Korran]

Initially I thought about going witch or cleric. Rogue is a maybe. Afaik ninja or slayer are just "better".

Comparing rogue to slayer I have less skill points and less sneak attack but more BAB and hp. As well as some other bonuses.

I'll look into cleric in greater detail though.

I don't know about Slayer all that much, (Haven't played with the hybrid classes yet). Witch souns quite cool though for a pirate campaign, I haven't thought of that... A good mix of spells, a hex is lways fun, as is a familiar... sounds quite awesome!

Good luck to you! :smallsmile:

(Now I want to play a witch pirate... :smalltongue:)

[Extra Anchovies]

Cleric//Ninja would be preferable to Cleric//Rogue - Ninja gets that nice Wisdom synergy for ki out the wazoo. Pick up Forgotten Trick and just spam ninja tricks all over the place.

[Krazzman]

Ninja s ki Pool is half level + charisma. Which makes this slightly worse. Especially since forgotten trick costs two ki to activate this seems more like a late game option.

Cleric with travel and trickery domains seems like a nice fit with a "pirate".
I don't know about witch but a given should be the healing hex.
But for witch I probably need a way to mitigate the arcane spell failure chance.

[Krazzman]

After speaking with my wife I have a few other things to consider.

Available and in consideration for race are: Halfling, Human, Amphibian Flesh Chameleon Undine, Tiefling and Aasimar.

Class combination of Monk//Druid would've been my wife's way of building a character for this campaign. But I am currently thinking about either Cleric//Scout Knife Master Rogue or Slayer//Witch.

Cleric with Trade and Trickery domains if I find a god that has them. Possible other domains I really liked are weather air and water.

For witch I would definitely use the healing and flying hexes. I am thinking about going cartomancer but don't really see any bonus in that.

Don't really know which style of fighting I would use. Possibly knife or trident or similar.

And I got some input. I won't start as pirate or anything. I can choose and will probably going more like the Andoran pirate hunters. Definitely against slavers and slavery but otherwise a bit more ruthless.