[3.5] Pirate Base Class (W.I.P.) (P.E.A.C.H.)

[DualShadow]

Ahoy people of this board. I have been at the task of making a Pirate class for an upcoming game and while I was looking through the books of many publisher I decided to gather up many of their abilities and also create a few of my own as into a single class. So far this is the result and while I still dont have the skills, proficiency nor the bonus feat list the main focus of this post is to first evaluate what I already have and fill up the gap at the LV 8, 16 and 20.

Please note that the bonus to the ship AC and stuff might not fit with all naval combat system.

Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (architecture and engineering, geography, nature), Open Lock, Perform, Profession, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Tumble, Use Rope

Skill Points per Level: 6+INT (x4 at first lv)

Hit Die: D8


Pirate
{table=head]Level|Base Attack<br>Bonus|Fort Save|Ref Save|Will Save|Special

1st|

+1

|

+2

|

+2

|

+0

|Tales of the sea, Seamanship

2nd|

+2

|

+3

|

+3

|

+0

|Sea Legs

3rd|

+3

|

+3

|

+3

|

+1

|Uncanny Dodge (Dex bonus to AC)

4th|

+4

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|Pirate's Luck

5th|

+5

|

+4

|

+4

|

+1

|Bonus Feat

6th|

+6/1

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Shifting Deck

7th|

+7/2

|

+5

|

+5

|

+2

|Nautical Lore

8th|

+8/3

|

+6

|

+6

|

+2

|

9th|

+9/4

|

+6

|

+6

|

+3

|Bonus Feat

10th|

+10/5

|

+7

|

+7

|

+3

|Uncanny Dodge (Cannot be flanked)

11th|

+11/6/1

|

+7

|

+8

|

+3

|Scholar of the Winds and Seas

12th|

+12/7/2

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Beloved of the Sea

13th|

+13/8/3

|

+8

|

+8

|

+4

|Veteran of the Sea

14th|

+14/9/4

|

+9

|

+9

|

+4

|Bonus Feat

15th|

+15/10/5

|

+9

|

+9

|

+5

|Pirate Legend

16th|

+16/11/6/1

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|

17th|

+17/12/7/2

|

+10

|

+10

|

+5

|Guiding Water

18th|

+18/13/8/3

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Bonus Feat

19th|

+19/14/9/4

|

+11

|

+11

|

+6

|Master of the Winds and Seas

20th|

+20/15/10/5

|

+12

|

+12

|

+6

|[/table]

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient with all simple weapons, and with the cutlass (Stormwrack), rapier, and shortsword and light armor.

Tales of the Sea: The life of a sailor is filled with mysterious and dangerous situations, sailors talk about bizarre creatures and dreaded seas and these stories often hold a part of truth. Spending so much time with sailors a Pirate come to know an increasing amount of these stories that they can often make use of these stories in order to know something that isnt known to everyone.

This ability work as the Bardic Knowledge class ability. A Pirate do a check using his Pirate class lv and adding his Int modifier.

DC Knowledge Exemples
10 Common, known by just about any decent man of the sea. Type of creatures that is often seen near a frequented sea route or frequently-discussed legends about sea monters.

20 Uncommon but not unheard of. The reputation of a particular ship or captain, superstition that are talked about in dark corners or information about the underworld trade of a port town or powerful but mysterious artefacts. Things that are usually not discussed in public.

25 Obscure lore, difficult to trace and very rarely talked about. The past of a specific crewman, knowledge surrounding a less known magical item or rumor about the whereabout of a legendary ship or sea creature.

30 Virtually unheard of, a story that is known by a handful of person that is only telled under a baleful moon in the middle of a rough sea. The complete record of a sailor's past voyages, the location of an ancient buried treasure, the name of an individual mermaid or rumors about the whereabout of the island of the Pirate's Lords.

Seamanship: The Pirate are sailors that love being on a ship even more that normal sailors so they put extra effort on knowing how to work on a ship. The Pirate gain the feat Skill Focus Profession (Sailor) for free.

Sea Legs (Ex): Pirates add 1/2 their class level on all Strength and Dexterity based skills, and may always take 10 on such skills, while on a ship or other nautical vessel.

Uncanny Dodge: A ship is a small place and with a lot of people so constent vigilance is a must so when in a fight on a ship it is even more tight and attacks can come from anywhere so Pirate adapt to that situation by developping some kind a sixth sense.

At lv 4 a Pirate never lose his Dex modifier to AC when caught flatfooted or struck by an invisible attacker.

At lv 10 a Pirate cannot be flanked in battle.

Pirate's Luck (Ex): At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, Pirates may gain any [Luck] feat for which they meet the prerequisites as a Bonus Feat.

Bonus Feat: This pirate gain a feat from the following list:

Shifting Deck (Ex): Pirates ignore all difficult terrain, double his bonus for attacking from higher ground and attackers do not gain a bonus from attacking from higher ground.

Nautical Lore (Ex): Pirates may substitute a Profession (Sailor) check in place of any Knowledge skill check involving something related to the sea (including aquatic monsters, sea-faring vessels, and water-themed magic).

Veteran of the Sea: The Pirate has now sailed for so long on the sea that he is getting better at what he do:

Seamanship: The Pirate now being a veteran can share his experiences with other crewmate granting them half his CHA bonus on their Profession Sailor check for 3+Cha modifier round as a move action.

Sea Legs: The Pirate is so stable anywhere on a ship that he can now fully defend himself while balancing and climbing, also he can move at full speed when doing both.

Pirate Legend: The Pirate's reputation is widely known and inspiring that your simple presence make your crew respect you and become loyal to the death to you. You gain the Great Captain feat or increase the aid another bonus by +4 if you already have the feat. You can recruit an entire crew for your ship with only the promise of a fair share of the booty you gain.

Scholar of the Winds and Seas: The Pirate is now know for his excellent navigation skill and is a important person that can be researched by
Tales of the Seas DC: 20 or Knowledge History or Local. He is so adept at sailing that when in charge of handling the ship he intuitivly know how to maximize the winds and current of the water to making the ship go faster. This ability increase the speed of the ship by 25% and increase the ship's AC by 2.

Beloved of the Sea: The Pirate have undertaken so many voyages, seen so many beauty of the seas and saw things that few have ever seen. He is at one with the seas and oceans at a level so deep that he intuitivly develop bond with the water itself. This bond is part wisdom part knowledge and part mystical that no one can take away nor can it be recreated. A Pirate showing this ability is bound to become a myth as a man who could control the very oceans. These abilities are extrodinaries so it cannnot be blocked by a spell resistance nor an anti-magic field for that it is the very water itself that grant you those boons rather than the Pirate casting a spell. Using these abilities require to be within 400ft + 40ft/lv of a minor source of water such as a well or small pond for the first 5 powers and within the same range of at least a river for the other 4. Your caster lv is treated as full your Pirate lv for these abilities. You can use these abilities once per day each exept for the Turn/Rebuke ones that can be used 3 + Cha modifier per day.

You can Turn or Destroy fire creatures as a good cleric.
You can Rebuke, Command or Bolster water creature as an evil cleric.
At lv 12 you can cast Obscuring Mist.
At lv 13 you can cast Fog Cloud.
At lv 14 you can cast Water Breathing.
At lv 15 you can cast Control Water.
At lv 16 you can cast Ice Storm.
At lv 17 you can cast Cone of Cold.
At lv 18 you can cast Acid Fog.
At lv 19 you can cast Horrid Wilting.
At lv 20 you can cast Elemental Swarm (As a water spell only).

Guiding Water: The Pirate can guide its ship to any port in the whole world even if he doesnt know where it is. The only places that he can't go with this ability is hidden places that require an Knowledge or Superstition check to discover its whereabout.

Master of the Winds and Seas: With support of the winds and the seas your ship's speed is increased by 100% and it's AC increase by 8

[JoshuaZ]

Other than the name this seems more like a general sailor with combat abilities than a pirate per se.

There needs to be some clarification about which abilities are supernatural and which are extraordinary.

Beloved of the Sea: The Pirate have undertaken so many voyages, seen so many beauty of the seas and saw things that few have ever seen. He is at one with the seas and oceans at a level so deep that he intuitivly develop bond with the water itself. This bond is part wisdom part knowledge and part mystical that no one can take away nor can it be recreated. A Pirate showing this ability is bound to become a myth as a man who could control the very oceans. These abilities are not spell so it cannnot be blocked by a spell resistance nor an anti-magic field. Using these abilities require to be within 400ft + 40ft/lv of a minor source of water such as a well or small pond for the first 5 powers and within the same range of at least a river for the other 4. Your caster lv is treated as full your Pirate lv for these abilities. You can use these abilities once per day each exept for the Turn/Rebuke ones that can be used 3 + Cha modifier per day.

This set of abilities seems strange. It doesn't come into play until level 12 before which there were no massive spellcasting abilities or deeply magical abilities just mainly things that seem extraordinary. The wording also needs a lot of work. Also note that normally supernatural abilities are blocked by antimagic fields.

[jiriku]

Suggested Skills: Balance, Bluff, Climb, Craft, Disable Device, Intimidate, Jump, Knowledge (architecture and engineering, geography, nature), Open Lock, Perform, Profession, Search, Sleight of Hand, Spot, Tumble

Suggested Skill Points per Level: 6

Suggested Hit Die: D8

Suggested Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Proficient with all simple weapons, and with the cutlass (Stormwrack), rapier, and shortsword.

Overall, many of your class abilities are too specialized, to the point that they don't do anything unless you're standing on the deck of a sailing ship. Pirates can and do go to port, explore deserted islands, bust their friends out of the brig in the local port-town, even swim beneath the waves in a magical D&D setting. If half your class features stop working the moment you step off the gangway, the class will be unsatisfying to play.

[DualShadow]

These abilities are extraordinaries so it cannnot be blocked by a spell resistance nor an anti-magic field for that it is the very water itself that grant you those boons rather than the Pirate casting a spell.

I have changed the wording a bit hoping it would help making it clear that these "spells" are extraordinaries abilities.

As for the specialized abilities like the climbing and balance bonus, I guess that I could make them available in any circumstances.

And please feel free to propose more piraty-like abilities for either lv 16 and 20 or suggestion to replace another ability.

[DualShadow]

No more feedback?

I know you guys can give a bit more.

[hamishspence]

Shield proficiency might make sense for some eras. A pirate based on the Vikings, or the sort of pirates that troubled Rome, for example.

[DualShadow]

I was soo focused on carrabean style pirates I forgot about vikings and stuff. And now I find myself silly because have been a big fan of vikings stuff.

Now it may open up new ways to think about new abilities and changes to those that already exist.

And your shield proficiency idea is not a bad one.

[DualShadow]

For the lack of major input, I presume that people here is not really into pirates so I'm gonna stop trying.

[playswithfire]

Looks interesting. The spellcasting was a bit of a surprise to me, but I see where it comes from. Sorry if I'm reading it wrong or just missing something, but this guy, if he's not on a ship, basically just has his lore, uncanny dodge and some bonus feats, right? Seems like he should have more to offer when he's in port. Just my 2 cents.

I'll try to give a better response later.

EDIT: my attempt at a pirate type class from a while ago, the Sea Dog

[Xefas]

The class, as it currently is, is very weak power-wise, and a lot of these abilities could use cleaning up.

My suggestions:

Number 1
Remove Seamanship. Being a Pirate shouldn't inherently make you a better Sailor. Having skill points in Profession (Sailor) should be what makes you a better Sailor.

Number 2
Get rid of Shipboard Climbing and Sea Legs. Consolidate it into one feature:
Sea Legs (Ex): Pirates add 1/2 their class level on all Strength and Dexterity based skills, and may always take 10 on such skills, while on a ship or other nautical vessel.

Number 3
Remove Rope Swing. It's too specific. It's the kind of thing any character should be able to do with a successful skill check. Or possibly a Skill Trick (Complete Scoundrel), if you wanted to go that route.

Number 4
Change Shifting Deck. Instead of the weirdness that it currently is, just say:
Shifting Deck (Ex): Pirates ignore all difficult terrain, and attackers do not gain a bonus from attacking from higher ground.

Seriously, its not that big of a bonus.

Number 5
Change Nautical Lore. It's weird...and weirdly worded.
Nautical Lore (Ex): Pirates may substitute a Profession (Sailor) check in place of any Knowledge skill check involving something related to the sea (including aquatic monsters, sea-faring vessels, and water-themed magic).

Number 6
Luck of the Wind is completely randomly thrown in. How about you ditch it and add something like:
Pirate's Luck (Ex): At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, Pirates may gain any [Luck] feat for which they meet the prerequisites as a Bonus Feat.

There's more...lots more. But it's 12:30am and I'm tired. I'll see if I can come back tomorrow and continue my critique.

[DualShadow]

The class, as it currently is, is very weak power-wise, and a lot of these abilities could use cleaning up.

My suggestions:

Number 1
Remove Seamanship. Being a Pirate shouldn't inherently make you a better Sailor. Having skill points in Profession (Sailor) should be what makes you a better Sailor.

I understand what you mean but my reasonning was that if a sailor is someone with skill in Profession (Sailor) than a better sailor, such as a pirate, should have a bit more than a regular sailor. Althought your argument seem valid enough that I just might give a free Skill Focus feat for the skill.

Number 2
Get rid of Shipboard Climbing and Sea Legs. Consolidate it into one feature:
Sea Legs (Ex): Pirates add 1/2 their class level on all Strength and Dexterity based skills, and may always take 10 on such skills, while on a ship or other nautical vessel.

I love that alternative, thanks a lot.

Number 3
Remove Rope Swing. It's too specific. It's the kind of thing any character should be able to do with a successful skill check. Or possibly a Skill Trick (Complete Scoundrel), if you wanted to go that route.

Two or three new skill trick should do the trick and give me a good reason to implement skill trick.

Number 4
Change Shifting Deck. Instead of the weirdness that it currently is, just say:
Shifting Deck (Ex): Pirates ignore all difficult terrain, and attackers do not gain a bonus from attacking from higher ground.

Seriously, its not that big of a bonus.

When you put it like that I must agree.

Number 5
Change Nautical Lore. It's weird...and weirdly worded.
Nautical Lore (Ex): Pirates may substitute a Profession (Sailor) check in place of any Knowledge skill check involving something related to the sea (including aquatic monsters, sea-faring vessels, and water-themed magic).

Simpleness incarnated and aproved.

Number 6
Luck of the Wind is completely randomly thrown in. How about you ditch it and add something like:
Pirate's Luck (Ex): At 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 20th level, Pirates may gain any [Luck] feat for which they meet the prerequisites as a Bonus Feat.

And aproved again.

Looks interesting. The spellcasting was a bit of a surprise to me, but I see where it comes from. Sorry if I'm reading it wrong or just missing something, but this guy, if he's not on a ship, basically just has his lore, uncanny dodge and some bonus feats, right? Seems like he should have more to offer when he's in port. Just my 2 cents.

I'll try to give a better response later.

EDIT: my attempt at a pirate type class from a while ago, the Sea Dog

Yeah that is one of my biggest concern, his uselessness outside of a ship, I was kinda hoping for something to fix that as suggestion for the missing abilities.

As for your class, its nice and while not all world include pistol in them I like it, I hope you wont mind if I use it in my game alongside with my own Pirate.

[playswithfire]

As for your class, its nice and while not all world include pistol in them I like it, I hope you wont mind if I use it in my game alongside with my own Pirate.

Yeah, when there are no pistols, hand crossbows work, though you might need to up the damage for pistol whip to be effective. Feel free to use it.

[sciencepanda]

This is a fairly minor nitpick, but I feel that it should have Use Rope as a class skill. Sailing involves a lot of swinging from ropes and reading sails, so it seems like a good fit to me.

[DualShadow]

This is a fairly minor nitpick, but I feel that it should have Use Rope as a class skill. Sailing involves a lot of swinging from ropes and reading sails, so it seems like a good fit to me.

I was ashamed of myself when I saw your post. But now it is fixed thanks.

[DualShadow]

Does anyone have some abilities to suggest that would make the Pirate a bit more fencing-combat oriented?

[DragoonWraith]

The skill-based class features aren't half-bad. Some decent stuff in there, certainly.

But you have absolutely no class features that affect combat aside from being able to take-10 on Tumble checks, and then only on ships, until 12th level (and then it's just a few under-leveled spells each 1/day. This is a major problem. They need something.

Unfortunately, I don't really have any suggestions. In a purely nautical campaign, bonus damage dice a la Rogue while standing on a ship's deck would be okay, but still not great - in any campaign where you won't spend the vast majority of your time on a ship, it would be useless. That's the only really thematic thing that's coming to me. You could give them some martial maneuvers, I suppose, see if there's any fitting homebrew disciplines, maybe.

Overall, though, it seems like an extra-powerful NPC class, because it's not combat oriented at all.

[firemagehao]

As for combat orientation, he might get combat expertise, and some of the feats that it is a prerequisite for.

Also, Swim might be a good skill.