Spice up my Pirate Army!

[Brendanicus]

After several plot overhauls, I've finally figured out the BBEG of my next campaign: A Blue Dragon and her loyal army of pirates. The only question left is what race to make the pirates themselves. I want their ranks built with a party of six Level 7 players in mind.

The candidates I had in mind:


Dragonborn- Tough, fanatically loyal to dragons, and could dabble in many different classes. The only downsides to Dragonborn is that their ranks could be a little stale, even with a mixture of classes and getting their own Kobold minions. Plus, putting up with their breath weapon ability for most of the campaign takes the oomph out the final Dragon battle.

Hobgoblins- Just because I never got the chance to run The Red Hand of Doom doesn't mean I can't rip it off. This avenue opens up the possibility of Hobgoblin Arcanists, Half-Dragons, and beastly minions. The prospect of beasts in particular sounds fun, but I struggle to think of meaningful threats that would stay on a ship for long periods of time. Moreover, the average Hobgoblin does not pose much of a at level 7, and too many popcorn fights are a waste of everyone's time.

Kobolds- The iconic dragon minions. Unfortunately, even if they were Tucker's Kobolds, an invasion force of Kobolds could not hold up to a party of Level 7's especially given that they will be going up against fierce resistance even without PC intervention.

Humans- Humans end up in any field, such as dragon-worshiping pirates. Humans also have the downside of being a waste of potential as far as monster races go.

Devils- Maybe the Dragon Queen sold her soul for a navy of her own, and has become a puppet ruler? Devils man her ships, but the spoils go back to Hell, and the Queen's hoard is empty. Could make for a nice twist, but unfortunately leaves the dragon with more motivation to side with the players rather than fight them. Could use some development if implemented.

Any suggestions that you lovely people have would be appreciated.

[PoeticDwarf]

After several plot overhauls, I've finally figured out the BBEG of my next campaign: A Blue Dragon and her loyal army of pirates. The only question left is what race to make the pirates themselves. I want their ranks built with a party of six Level 7 players in mind.

The candidates I had in mind:


Dragonborn- Tough, fanatically loyal to dragons, and could dabble in many different classes. The only downsides to Dragonborn is that their ranks could be a little stale, even with a mixture of classes and getting their own Kobold minions. Plus, putting up with their breath weapon ability for most of the campaign takes the oomph out the final Dragon battle.

Hobgoblins- Just because I never got the chance to run The Red Hand of Doom doesn't mean I can't rip it off. This avenue opens up the possibility of Hobgoblin Arcanists, Half-Dragons, and beastly minions. The prospect of beasts in particular sounds fun, but I struggle to think of meaningful threats that would stay on a ship for long periods of time. Moreover, the average Hobgoblin does not pose much of a at level 7, and too many popcorn fights are a waste of everyone's time.

Kobolds- The iconic dragon minions. Unfortunately, even if they were Tucker's Kobolds, an invasion force of Kobolds could not hold up to a party of Level 7's especially given that they will be going up against fierce resistance even without PC intervention.

Humans- Humans end up in any field, such as dragon-worshiping pirates. Humans also have the downside of being a waste of potential as far as monster races go.

Devils- Maybe the Dragon Queen sold her soul for a navy of her own, and has become a puppet ruler? Devils man her ships, but the spoils go back to Hell, and the Queen's hoard is empty. Could make for a nice twist, but unfortunately leaves the dragon with more motivation to side with the players rather than fight them. Could use some development if implemented.

Any suggestions that you lovely people have would be appreciated.

They sound great. Devils can be possible but if she sold her soul, it isn't her army, and they are maybe too strong. Hobglobins or good pirates, maybe bugbears or normal goblins?

Humans can you use everywhere. A combination with kobolds, dragonborns and humans sounds the best. Maybe there are some pirates who are goblin sorts. But they aren't the pirates of the blue dragon.

[Naanomi]

And an aaracokra liutenant that sits on the dragon's shoulder named Polly?

[Kurt Kurageous]

Devils seem best, but explaining them is harder. Dragonborns are supposed to be rare, a crew of them incredible.

Githyankis, Hobgobs fit the bill for the above deck sailors, higher CRs perhaps as captains/officers.

Lizardfolk per end of their description MM pg.204 could be crew. And of course the cliché of skeletons. Don't overlook the Sahuagen, with the ability to Aquaman sharks (I suppose including rays, too).

Merfolk/Merrow might be used to scout, keep her ships from sinking, sink and loot targets at anchorage, etc.

All in all, multiracial crews are very possible. Add a cambrion as her shore agent (in disguise, of course), and you have a 'heluva' (pun intended) crew, commodore.

[Brendanicus]

Yeah, I'm just going to go with Devils and Hobbos. The pirate army will be a fanatical cult of Tiamat, originality be damned.

EDIT: As to why the Devils are involved, the Blue Dragon was once blinded and became deformed after a duel with a Copper Dragon. In response to this, the Blue Dragon sold her soul to devils in exchange for their service as soldiers to her. With the devils at her hand, she then bent hobgoblins to her service, founding a pirate army with the goal of exterminating all metallic dragons in the glorious name of Tiamat.

[KorvinStarmast]

Yeah, I'm just going to go with Devils and Hobbos. The pirate army will be a fanatical cult of Tiamat, originality be damned.

EDIT: As to why the Devils are involved, the Blue Dragon was once blinded and became deformed after a duel with a Copper Dragon. In response to this, the Blue Dragon sold her soul to devils in exchange for their service as soldiers to her. With the devils at her hand, she then bent hobgoblins to her service, founding a pirate army with the goal of exterminating all metallic dragons in the glorious name of Tiamat.Did the devils heal her sight or is she still blinded?

PS: recent supplement from Wizards includes the sea-going minotaurs for pirates. Consider using them? The elemental evil supplement is available on line at WoTC.

[mr_odd]

Did the devils heal her sight or is she still blinded?

PS: recent supplement from Wizards includes the sea-going minotaurs for pirates. Consider using them? The elemental evil supplement is available on line at WoTC.

You should leave her blind, that would be interesting

[Brendanicus]

You should leave her blind, that would be interestingI agree. Plus, her blindness emphasizes her commitment to vengeance: She's so bent on genocide that she sold her soul for an army instead of restoring herself to normal.

[Shining Wrath]

Sahuagin would be a twist on the usual; your sailors prefer to spend their time swimming alongside the ship (or hanging onto ropes) and only climb aboard in time for duty.

A crew of kenku would be creepy.

If you want the party to swear to destroy you utterly and without mercy, a crew of chaotic evil Kender ought to do the trick.

[DragonLordIT]

With the devils at her hand, she then bent hobgoblins to her service, founding a pirate army with the goal of exterminating all metallic dragons in the glorious name of Tiamat.

Doesn't sound a bit too much? :smalltongue::smalltongue:
Wouldn't the dragon seek revange mainly on the one who blinded her? Obviously not caring to annihilate entire coast areas to find it meanwhile that does not cooperate. May be the good dragon could be the one to contact the PGs (as a lot of other local heroes, PNGs to do nice stuff) to stop all this after a few encounters with the pirate as "lone wolves". Being legal evil I never intended blue dragons as mindless ragers.

In the crew there could a single draconid but he could be something like the most loyal marshal of the dragon and he could be her "eyes" in the world, The only one she truly trust. There could also be a special group of water devils, a bearded devil with triton tail insted of legs would be terribly nice!!! :smallcool::smallcool:

[Brendanicus]

Doesn't sound a bit too much?: Yeah, it does. I'm just having a hard time justifying Devils. Also, I already made the rest of my plot for this game. The race change for the pirates is a last-minute one.

I might just make the crew hobgoblin-only, and maybe give the Dragon Queen a half-Dragon child who serves as her eyes. I like the idea a lot. I had a slot in the campaign that called for a demon mob anyway, so maybe that will at least serve as the evil outsider distraction that I needed. I'll cut the vengeance stuff, but leave her blind, as that is still a cool idea.

EDIT: I will also have Dragoborn serve as the "elite" members of the army. Captains, advisers to the Blue Dragon, and the like. This leaves hobgoblins as warriors and Dragonborn as sorcerers.

[xroads]

I like where you’re going with this. Sounds fun! I think the idea of a devil crew and a deformed vengeful dragon makes for a great story.

My recommendation would be to get rid of the whole hoard being sent to hell part.


In typical tales with devils, gold really isn’t their concern (they barter in souls not coin).
The dragon is probably more concerned with getting vengeance, so probably wouldn’t care as much about the hoard.
Your players will probably be really disappointed if they fight an entire pirate fleet only to find that the dragon’s hoard is in hell! :smalleek:

[Joe the Rat]

Pirates scream ragtag bunch of misfits, or at least exceedingly colorful. An all-Hobgoblin crew would look more like the Marines. Mix it up a little.

Having a Hobgoblin Warlord for ship captains is good.

If you do nothing else, throw in some Bugbears for shock troops/boarders.



A crew of kenku would be creepy.

Oh I do like this one.

[Brendanicus]

I like where you’re going with this. Sounds fun! I think the idea of a devil crew and a deformed vengeful dragon makes for a great story.

My recommendation would be to get rid of the whole hoard being sent to hell part.


In typical tales with devils, gold really isn’t their concern (they barter in souls not coin).
The dragon is probably more concerned with getting vengeance, so probably wouldn’t care as much about the hoard.
Your players will probably be really disappointed if they fight an entire pirate fleet only to find that the dragon’s hoard is in hell! :smalleek:
Actually, you gave me a really good idea! You see, the premise of the campaign is that a city-state is going to be invaded by the pirates, and players are spendng the wole campaign preparing for this invasion.

What if instead of being burned by a copper dragon, the Blue dragon was mutilated by a gold dragon? And the city-state's king is half gold dragon, and the son of the dragon who attacked her?

Boom, that's believable and would justify the army's size and race mixture: The devils may have been summoned for the purpose of killing the half dragon king, but mustering sufficient forces has taken years, plus the devils have claimed new souls for hell by converting the Hobgoblins to worship Tiamat (who lives in hell) instead of Maglubiyut (Acheron).

[Fwiffo86]

After several plot overhauls, I've finally figured out the BBEG of my next campaign: A Blue Dragon and her loyal army of pirates. The only question left is what race to make the pirates themselves. I want their ranks built with a party of six Level 7 players in mind.


Well, dragon sounds cool. But my brain won't accept "loyal" and "pirates" used in the same sentence. That aside, I think having the pirates captured villagers from some long forgotten tropical island would work. Failure is rewarded by dragonclaw, and the people do not speak a language any player knows. (think pygmy clicking)

Secretly the entire "crew" and the dragon themselves are actually a bizarre form of undead due to some mysterious secret found on their native isle. (big scary gem, evil curse, etc). When killed, any member of the crew (including the dragon) wake up on the island at the next sunset.

[WampDiesel]

There is always the Minotaurs from the Seafaring Unearthed Arcana.

[Shining Wrath]

Actually, you gave me a really good idea! You see, the premise of the campaign is that a city-state is going to be invaded by the pirates, and players are spendng the wole campaign preparing for this invasion.

What if instead of being burned by a copper dragon, the Blue dragon was mutilated by a gold dragon? And the city-state's king is half gold dragon, and the son of the dragon who attacked her?

Boom, that's believable and would justify the army's size and race mixture: The devils may have been summoned for the purpose of killing the half dragon king, but mustering sufficient forces has taken years, plus the devils have claimed new souls for hell by converting the Hobgoblins to worship Tiamat (who lives in hell) instead of Maglubiyut (Acheron).

And the foundation of the city-state's wealth is the blue dragon's hoard. The blue dragon promises a share of the loot to the crew, but of course, getting a chromatic dragon to actually part with a single copper may be problematic when the time comes.

Smarter creatures will suspect the blue dragon may not honor the deal. The Devils may not care; the dumb ones may not suspect; but a smart hobgoblin has to have some sort of plan to get their cut of the hoard and then get out of town.

[Kajorma]

But my brain won't accept "loyal" and "pirates" used in the same sentence.

Privateers would probably be better here, since they would be essentially sailors with a letter of marque.
This would be thematically pretty close to the pirates anyway.

That said, I like the ragtag crew for this much better anyhow.
The ship's cook is a Locathah that's been with the ship since he hatched.
Two of the oarsmen (a dwarf and an elf) were slaves together before they rose up and killed their master. They are still on the run as missing property in some kingdoms.
A malicious human is there for the promise of treasure, and the lack of complaints when he uses unscrupulous methods.
A kobold lookout who is missing his left arm for reasons he refuses to explain.
etc.

You could have a bunch of fun with this group.

[Brendanicus]

And the foundation of the city-state's wealth is the blue dragon's hoard. The blue dragon promises a share of the loot to the crew, but of course, getting a chromatic dragon to actually part with a single copper may be problematic when the time comes.

Smarter creatures will suspect the blue dragon may not honor the deal. The Devils may not care; the dumb ones may not suspect; but a smart hobgoblin has to have some sort of plan to get their cut of the hoard and then get out of town.THIS IS GREAT! I'm cutting the gold dragon aspect entirely. The set up will be The Hobbit in reverse: Dragon gets driven out of her home and hoard, and Dwarves hole up in her old hold. This also makes the plot much simpler in a good way. I'm keeping the blindness, child loss, and burns though, that's really flavorful and makes for a more interesting final fight.


Privateers would probably be better here, since they would be essentially sailors with a letter of marque.
This would be thematically pretty close to the pirates anyway.

That said, I like the ragtag crew for this much better anyhow.
The ship's cook is a Locathah that's been with the ship since he hatched.
Two of the oarsmen (a dwarf and an elf) were slaves together before they rose up and killed their master. They are still on the run as missing property in some kingdoms.
A malicious human is there for the promise of treasure, and the lack of complaints when he uses unscrupulous methods.
A kobold lookout who is missing his left arm for reasons he refuses to explain.
etc.

You could have a bunch of fun with this group.While I agree that making this more ragtag would be better, realistically the level of detail needed to create such a crew would never be fully-explored in-game. Nobody will find out about the backstories of the mooks that they will be fighting. I appreciate the thought. Setting things up as privateers would be better.

[mr_odd]

Something to note, simplicity allows for depth. Depth does not necessarily allow for simplicity. A mistake I have made multiple times is trying to create a detailed and in depth plot or scenario. Keep things simple and work from there as you play (not necessarily while you run sessions, but as the campaign is going). Also, if you have to come up with complicated reasons for something to exist, it would probably be better to do one of two things. First, ditch it for something more fitting. Second, create a simple reason, even if it breaks what would be "normal." It's your world. You decide what is normal and how things work.

For instance, if you really really want devils as the pirates, just have them be her servants. You could say they worship her as a higher being. It is simple and clean, and it allows you to move forward.

[Shining Wrath]

So how does a penniless dragon recruit a crew? Decide that, and you'll have a good start on what the crew looks like.

Promises of loot? Crew ought to be morons or desperate, or profoundly ignorant of the nature of evil dragons
Promises of glory? People seeking to make a name for themselves, neer-do-wells trying to prove they deserve respect, etc
Promises of a chance to kill and burn? Devils. Demons. Gnolls.
You can have a mix - I know you want simplicity, but some morons, some glory seekers, and some hell-raisers allows for different encounters for the party as you mix & match.

[Brendanicus]

So how does a penniless dragon recruit a crew?Slowly, of course! I'm assuming that after she got booted out of her island, she spent the next few decades building a new, smaller, hoard, and becoming the patron to some Hobgoblins, who in turn began to grow their forces.

Once the time came to start ship-building, then she sold her soul to Devils, and devoted the remains of her new hoard to building ships, and arming/feeding troops. At this point, having led the Hobgoblins into victory so many times, they were happy to join in on what she claimed was to be her greatest conquest yet.