Fitting in with pirates

[guyler]

My group is planning a high seas campaign and I'm basically at a loss. I've been wracking my brain for the past week over what kind of char to make but I cant make anything viable without seeming like a cliche. Anyone have any ideas they would be willing to share? I truly appreciate the help available

P.S No swashbucklers/spellcasters please! Thanks

P.S.S We already have a Bard/Marshall captain type

[MCerberus]

A rogue would fit in pretty well... just standard rogue. Swim is even a class skill. He doesn't have to be a yarrr we be pirates plundering booty, but can still fit in around various ne'er-do-wells.

[kpenguin]

Barbarian. Vikings FTW!

[tyckspoon]

A Dex-based Fighter-type would do well to fill a Marine role. Archery is valuable on the oceans; an archery-style Ranger would do alright. Give him an aquatic Animal Companion (dolphin, some kinda fish, a sea gull?) and he'll fit in fine. In more general terms, any class could work; all you need to handle life on a ship is a few ranks of Balance and Swim for the off-chance that you fall overboard. Heavy-armored people.. well, they make sure they never go near the rails.

[Dervag]

If you have access to the Complete Warrior, Swashbuckler is supposedly designed for that kind of thing; if you don't... I think I saw the entire class progression written down somewhere on the Internet, but I obviously can't copy it here or link to it. I'm not sure it was complete, either.

[Idea Man]

Ranger would work well. Light armor, archery combat style, some handy spells. Only downside is balance is cross-class, but a level or two of rogue is worth it. Favored enemy: human? aquatic humanoid? Depends on the campaign.

[guyler]

Forgot to mention this earlier but our char has to have a specific place on the crew (we already have a bunch of "sailors" thanks to our captain and Leadership)

For example, we have a sea worshiping druid acting as an adviser to the captain for sailing related matters and an urban ranger for intel/track purposes when in port

I need to find a place on the crew is what I'm basically saying

[MCerberus]

A rogue with high INT would get massive amounts of skillpoints and you could be the tactical adviser. This would also work for an Expertise fighter or Wizard.

You could be the captain's bodyguard (barb, ftr, rog, etc)

You could put points in profession (cook) and be whatever class you want.

Cleric with trickery domain because even pirates like to have a god saying they approve.

[tyckspoon]

Ship Defense? Make yourself a martial type and organize the ship's crew in the event of a combat. The Captain is probably mechanically better at this thanks to his Bard/Marshall bonuses, but he'll be busy being, you know, the captain.

You could be the artillery captain, perhaps. If the ship has any big weapons on it, like catapults or ballista, somebody needs the appropriate skills to keep those in good shape and to arm and fire them when needed.

[Temp]

Awakened parrot Diamond Mind/White Raven Warblade.

[Pironious]

Here are a list of roles aboard a ship, and an ideal minimum number of skill ranks



Artillerist - 2-4 ranks in prof siege engineer, supervises use of the ship's weaponary

Boatswain (Bosun) - 4-6 ranks prof sailor. Some intimidate, use rope and climb. Supervises the deckhands and often in charge of discipline.

Captain - 7-10 ranks prof sailor, 4-7 ranks knowledge (geography) or Survival, 2-4 ranks in bluff, diplomacy or intimidate. Role is obvious.

Deckhand - 1-3 ranks prof sailor, 1-2 ranks in climb and use rope. Handle various physical tasks aboard the ship.

Helmsman - Usually a deckhand directed by an officer. No additional requirements.

Mage - Arcane caster with spells useful for taking out other ships.

Master-at-arms - In charge of the ship's armoury and discipline. Intimidate is a must.

Officer (1st, 2nd etc.) - 4-7 ranks prof sailor, 2-5 ranks Know. Geography, 1-3 ranks Know. Nature or Survival, 1-3 ranks bluff, diplomacy or intimidate. In charge of the watch when the captain is not on duty.

Pilot - 4-7 ranks prof. sailor, 4-7 ranks Know. Geography. Ship's navigator.

Prelate - Ship's priest.

Surgeon - 4-7 ranks heal. Officer who treats injuries.

Windsinger - Caster who can sooth or control the winds. Useful for avoiding battles, rather than winning them.

[Temp]

Here are a list of roles aboard a ship, and an ideal minimum number of skill ranks

If you pump your Speak Language score and nab a couple obscure languages, "translator" would justify any sort of character.

...Particularly a high-intelligence parrot warrior.

[Brother_Franklin]

I've worked on a ship.

You need a botswain, which is a guy who knows everthing about the rigging- the ropes and the sails and how to fix them. A conjurer that could patch a sail while still standing on deck or anyone who could levitate would be perfect. And you get a wistle!

Also, cook is a good idea, but remeber the cook rivals the captians power. Often the cook becomes unoffically the leader below decks. So you should have some charisma and maybe even leadership. (Sure your captian has sailors, but you have cabin boys!

[guyler]

I like the cook idea

make a foreign monk/drunken master cook and kill off mutinous crew with chopsticks and a ladle

[Dalboz of Gurth]

I like the cook idea

make a foreign monk/drunken master cook and kill off mutinous crew with chopsticks and a ladle

Call him Stevey Seagull :D

[Sonofaspectre]

I've actually always wanted to play a Druid in a pirate game. Take some of the wild shape feats so you can breathe underwater, or maybe think of yourself as a humble fisherman who was blessed with a love for the sea in a much more physical way than most people. This is a classic stereotype in storytelling, even so far as Davy Jones in the new Pirate movies.

I know you said no spellcasters, but I figured this was still worth the post. Regardless, I think it would be cool. Can anyone say Blue Whale animal companion?!

[Fishy]

Navigator? Huge ranks in Spot and Knowledge (Geography), which leads into... uh... Horizon Walker, I guess?

Which actually isn't too bad. Take the Aquatic terrain mastery for obvious reasons, Plains and Underground to make your eyes better, Desert to justify a 1-level Barbarian dip or something, and then at level 11 you get dimension door at will, which is lovely for ship-to-ship combat.

[Meschaelene]

If the game were privateer rather than pirate, you could be an aristocratic bard, who is personally representing the sovereign's rights aboard ship!

Then, you're just as annoying to the rest of the party as a stick in the mud paladin!

[AKA_Bait]

Cleric of a sea god. Pirates are plenty superstitious.

[mostlyharmful]

Crazy ships good luck charm that they picked up on a desert island? make sure to give him survival and then be whatever you want, ranger/barb would be fun, give them some odd quirks, like can't sleep alone and afraid of the dark. and land. and coconuts.

[dr.cello]

You can't just be a roustabout?

[Blanks]

It was said before but it is sooooo sweet it needs to be said again:

Barbarian. Vikings FTW!

oh, you could also play one of those golem thingies (warforged?) and be the friggin anchor

[Vasdenjas]

Dont forget someone needs skills in Carpentry, Astronomy, and Tailor (for the sails).

Plus, you don't HAVE to fit in with the pirates. Pirates were known for taking people from other ships who had valuable skills they needed. They killed everyone and came to you "Oh, you're a carpenter? Great! You can work for us....or die. Which will it be mate?" Creating your own in-party tension is fun!

[Lord Tataraus]

The captain's younger brother. Seriously, I had an NPC like that that made my players loathe him so much. He was the paragon of NE pirate, he though only of himself, but had some restraint. I gloated and bragged and could get away with a lot by sweet-talking his brother (a LN, with good tendencies even though a pirate). When you met him you can just feel how slimy he is and the only purpose he serves is to make the other pirates fanatics. He was a rogue with lots of diplomacy and intimidate.

[SoD]

Go the cook idea, any class, but I'd go monk for the drunken master! I know it was already said, but it must be resaid!

[dyslexicfaser]

Personally, I always thought druids were MADE for high-seas adventure. They can change the elements, they can set ships on fire, use wind to hamper or increase ship speed... use survival to predict the weather... transfer into a giant squid (read: kraken)... you name it.

How about a cartographer (mapmaker)? I think Fax or somebody actually made it into a PrC, but don't quote me on that.

My main suggestion? Artificer. Whip up things like magic turrets and generally turn your ship into a floating fortress. Heck, there's an article on the Wizards website that has prices for creating from scratch a ship that can FLY every time the artificer pumps infusions into it.

[Lord Tataraus]

Personally, I always thought druids were MADE for high-seas adventure. They can change the elements, they can set ships on fire, use wind to hamper or increase ship speed... use survival to predict the weather... transfer into a giant squid (read: kraken)... you name it.

Actually, they only get to summon the Kraken, but clerics (with the right domain) can too. But, yeah you're right that druids are made for these types of campaigns.

[cupkeyk]

Druid, wild shape into an octopus.

[PaladinBoy]

Use some Eberron material; with a dragonmark and a magic item the weather in a 6-mile radius around you is yours to control...... forever. (unless dispelled) With that, you can really be any class, although it works best with classes that need Charisma, since that's the key stat for the dragonmark SLA's.

I know that druids can control the weather too, but with the right feats and items, you can do it earlier and better than a druid, frankly, ever will. And the dragonmark also has several other useful abilities for shipboard use.

[Azerian Kelimon]

Or play a PvP game and make everyone Gestaltly progress Dread Pirate. Full of win!