Best swashbuckler/pirate base class?

[Chalkarts]

I've got a player who wants to play a Pirate.
I know Swashbuckler is a thing, but he's never played and I want to keep it to books we have on hand for ease of access so we can look things up quickly mid fight.

Given that It needs to come from either core or eberron, with the pirate background, which class do you think could make the best swashbuckler?

Obvious thoughts are Rogue or Fighter, but I can see it as virtually any class, even a wizard.

If you were going to make a Pirate character, what class would you go with?

[Seekergeek]

I've played a couple fun pirate-inspired characters - some more or less overtly. Depending on party makeup, I would suggest a valor bard (with the power of the sea shanty) as a really fun option or if you wanted to go a little simpler for a new player, a battle master fighter can do a lot of, um, daring do.

Background-wise, the sailor background is a pretty obvious choice if you are sticking to the PHB or eberron. Depending on the setting folk hero or soldier might be appropriate.

[luuma]

I hate to be boring but really I would simply print off page 4 of the original Swashbuckler Unearthed Arcana (https://media.wizards.com/2015/downloads/dnd/UA_Waterborne_v3.pdf) and tuck it into the PHB

My first 5e character was, coincidentally, also a pirate, and this is exactly what I did!

Either way, I fully recommend rogue. It's a great class for newer players and its high dex and skill proficiencies all inherently encourage you to roleplay as a sneaky thief.

[TheMango55]

How about a barbarian? Angry pirate wielding two cutlasses wearing just an open vest and a pair of breeches

[RogueJK]

Thief Rogue is probably the mechanically closest from the PHB to a "stereotypical pirate", climbing the rigging, quickly manipulating various objects around the ship, thieving, and fighting dirty.

A DEX-based Battlemaster Fighter would also make a good swashbuckling pirate, wielding a Rapier or Cutlass (scimitar) and tripping/disarming foes while parrying attacks, rallying his allies, and goading his enemies.

But you can make any class into a pirate. A Wizard Pirate who specializes in mending damage to ships, producing wind for the sails, and blasting enemy vessels. A Barbarian Pirate who goes into a rage before leaping across to board another ship and smash faces. A Ranger or Druid Pirate who's in tune with marine animal life and maritime weather, and knows all the various islands available out there to replenish their supplies of food and fresh water. Etc.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

My first choice would be a (likely Half-Elf) Fathomless Tomelock, followed shortly by a Triton Swashbuckler Rogue (with Tasha's ability scores).

Fathomless is an obvious choice, and with Book of Ancient Secrets you can pick up Control Water, Water Breathing, and Water Walk, among others. Warlock is decent for new players, just be sure to write out the entirety of each feature on the character sheet (or put them on note cards or similar).

[RogueJK]

Sounds as though stuff like Fathomless Warlocks, Ancestral Guardian Barbarians, Swashbuckler Rogues, or Conquest Paladins aren't going to be an option, based on the OP's statement about wanting to keep it to books they have on hand: Core (PHB) and Eberron.

[Kuulvheysoon]

I mean, Lyrandar (half-elf subrace for Eberron) is obvious, so you'll want to sneak spells in there somewhere.

Ancients Dexadin, maybe? Fluff roots and such as seaweed.

[quindraco]

I've got a player who wants to play a Pirate.
I know Swashbuckler is a thing, but he's never played and I want to keep it to books we have on hand for ease of access so we can look things up quickly mid fight.

Given that It needs to come from either core or eberron, with the pirate background, which class do you think could make the best swashbuckler?

Obvious thoughts are Rogue or Fighter, but I can see it as virtually any class, even a wizard.

If you were going to make a Pirate character, what class would you go with?

The real question here is what to pick for someone who's never played before, not what to pick for a pirate. To minimize needing to make any build choices - since a newbie won't know what choices to make - I'd suggest one of LudicSavant's samurai builds (depending on access to black powder), possibly changing the later feats up if the character is still unsure (ritual caster starts involving a better understanding of the rules than the player might be comfortable with). Assuming access to black powder, LudicSavant's feat list is pretty much perfect already - here's his list:

Sharpshooter 4, Elven Accuracy 6, Gunner 8, Piercer 12, Fey Touched (Wis/Hex) 14, Skill Expert (Wis/Athletics) 16, Alert 19

Alert can be swapped to +2 Wis - it's a feat dependent on DM style (questions like how often NPCs will engage in stealth tactics matter a lot - will surprise and hidden attackers come up?). As you're the DM, you're impeccably qualified to change the recommendation as you see fit.

Order can be mostly changed based on player preference without a significant detriment to performance - e.g. if the player wants a cool musket earlier, Gunner at 4 and SS at 6 isn't a problem at all. The only points where order is very significant are that Skill Expert should be after Gunner, as Gunner is a prereq to having a genuine interest in shooting an adjacent prone target, and Piercer should be last of the ranged murder feats because it contributes the least to ranged murder and the newbie might not know that. Naturally, I would never stop a player from deviating from this list entirely - it's just a set of recommendations that does a very decent job of giving the player an efficient toolkit without burdening them with needing to make choices they may feel uncomfortable making.

[RogueJK]

Ludic's Samurai Gunner build is a no-go. The Samurai Fighter subclass and the Gunner, Piercer, Skill Expert, and Elven Accuracy feats aren't from the core rulebooks or Eberron book.

[stoutstien]

I'd vote artificer. The artillerist would a perfect boarding party shock trooper and could freely move above the decks with flight and below the waves.

[Amnestic]

You know what's good against sails? Fireballs.

Storm Sorcerer might not be accessible but dragon sorc works just as well. Bronze or black dragons are the aquatic ones iirc.

[KorvinStarmast]

For a pirate, no reason not to go vHuman rogue, Crossbow Expert feat (hand crossbow) and a rapier rather than a saber/cutlass/scimitar. Pick Either Swashbuckler or Arcane Trickster and off you go.

[MrStabby]

My go-to answer for this is usually dexerity paladin. Shame conquest is off the table as it is the best fit, but any will do and vengeance does nicely.

Ranger and rogue can also be good, but personally my preference is for class that makes use of the charisma you probably want (swords bard was almoste exactly designed for this, but not in the right book so possibly stuck with valor.

[Kane0]

Core + Eberron for a new player, okay.

Fighter, rogue or a mix of the two are a great simple start.
Valor bard has some more working parts if they can handle that.
Warlock can be built into basically everything but again is a bit more involved.

Ranger and paladin can be surprisingly fitting depending on how they're built and are in the midground of complexity.

[Pixel_Kitsune]

If he wants super simple I'd vote pure fighter or rogue.

But I'm going to second Kane0 and say Warlock.

I will say a Hexblade is more ideal for this, BUT, I understand your restrictions so moving on.

Going pure PHB and staying somewhat simple I would pick a Pact of the Blade Archfey lock and have his Patron be a sea hag or Undine or other water fey.

At level 1 take Eldritch blast and either Prestidigitation or Minor Illusion, take Charm Person and Expeditious Retreat.

Flavor Fluff your Eldritch Blast as a pistol, use the archfey and charm spells to be charismatic and wierdly charming, Expeditious Retreat gives you more movement options. Grow from there.

[Waazraath]

I've got a player who wants to play a Pirate.
I know Swashbuckler is a thing, but he's never played and I want to keep it to books we have on hand for ease of access so we can look things up quickly mid fight.

Given that It needs to come from either core or eberron, with the pirate background, which class do you think could make the best swashbuckler?

Obvious thoughts are Rogue or Fighter, but I can see it as virtually any class, even a wizard.

If you were going to make a Pirate character, what class would you go with?

I think key is how close the player wants to stay to the "real world" archetype? I mean, in a world of magic any class can be a pirate, though the sailor background and no heavy armor seem very logical. But if sombody wants to stay close to what is normally seen as a pirate (though that is often of course more a romantized or heroic version of historical pirates), he or she prolly doesn't want somebody to cast fireballs. For a traditional (movie interpretation) of a pirate, thief rogue or dex battlemaster seem most appropriate, though i could see a barbarian or open hand monk work as well. Or, if Ebberon, maybe an artillerist with a cannon?

[Bobthewizard]

I often recommend Arcane Tricksters for new players. As a rogue, they get better skills to encourage them to learn that part of the game right from level 1, they have a simple fighting style at first, and then add cunning action so they learn how to use bonus actions. Level 3 gets them some spells, but not so many that they get overwhelmed. Level 5 gets them a good reaction. Now they've covered most aspects of the game. It should be pretty easy to imagine an arcane trickster pirate.

[Arkhios]

Champion. 10letters