Post/Author/DateTime	Post
Denethor 10-28-04, 02:15 PM	So, I'm trying to build Cpt. Jack Sparrow, from Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm gonna play the build, so it should not be weak, but it doesn't need to be too powerful, since the campaign will not be overpowered (we hope :D ). I thought of Rogue as the base class, with maybe a 3-level dip into Swashbuckler. Any thoughts?
PhoenixInferno 10-28-04, 02:29 PM	DREAD PIRATE!! :) I'm serious - the Dread Pirate is a PrC from Song & Silence, gives you bonuses to Dex-based skills, bonuses to your leadership score to represent your crew of cutthroats and some other pirate-like things. They make ninjas want to pee their pants!
Enoch Van Garret 10-28-04, 03:05 PM	Pirates and Ninjas are clearly racial enemies.
malaegoth 10-28-04, 03:44 PM	Pirates are the only known predators that ninjas have.
Blade2718 10-28-04, 03:57 PM	I think a Rogue/Swashbuckler would make an excellent pirate. Alternately, a Druid would make a really scary pirate. That parrot on the shoulder of the "captain" is really the wildshaped druid while the "captain" is your underling. And then you can fire seed the enemy when you fly over their ship.
PhoenixInferno 10-28-04, 04:38 PM	I like that idea - someone chasing you? Oh, whoops, that Legendary Giant Squid just attacked your ship! Coincidence? I think not.
Tempest Stormwind 10-28-04, 05:18 PM	Swashbuckler or Rogue into Dread Pirate. Prioritize your Charisma even over your dexterity, and be sure to throw in flashy moves (such as Flick of the Wrist or Improved Disarm). Of note, as one who's actually tried the cinematic piratey-campaign thing: For the love of all that is good and holy, use a class defense system (not the one from UA, in which a single level in any fighting class is obscenely frountloaded) instead of armor. You have three choices without significant magic if you're NOT using one, and they are (in one word): Sink, Bleed, or Monk. I'd also suggest Vit/Wound systems from UA, if you can swing it with your DM. By the way, it IS possible to combine pirates and ninjas (http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/146813). Mercifully, this would be pretty ridiculous (http://archive.gamespy.com/comics/nodwick/gamespyarchive/gspynod176.html) if it were a cliche.
Caelic 10-28-04, 05:42 PM	Aye, and remember...a thing of booty is a joy forever!
Matt Neuman 10-28-04, 05:51 PM	Basic Pirate: Rogue 7/Swashbuckler 3/Duelist 10
edwardsobel 10-28-04, 09:10 PM	Its not WotC but the Swashbucking adventures book (a d20 version of 7th sea) has ALOT of pirate stuff incuding a core Pirate class and prestige classes for various shipboard positions. Great sourse book and is geared toward a very low magic cmapaign. also included is ways to make Zorro as a character as well even with the spanish feel and a french musketeer is included in the setting!
scrollreader 10-29-04, 01:03 AM	Human Swashbuckler 3/Ftr 2/Rogue 2/Duelist 7/Dread Pirate 6 If at all possible, use the feat rogue (from UA). Swash! Buckle! And don't forget the EWP:Firearms. You never know when you might need it. (buy a /really/ nice shot for it. Something like +5, bane flaming burst, thundering shot (at 1/50th the price). Save it for a special someone. :D
Eyeless Blond 10-29-04, 03:44 AM	What about Marshal? I don't know much about the class, but Jack Sparrow certainly seemed to have an Aura or two about him. :)
Furdaddy 10-29-04, 01:08 PM	Its not WotC but the Swashbucking adventures book (a d20 version of 7th sea) has ALOT of pirate stuff incuding a core Pirate class and prestige classes for various shipboard positions. Great sourse book and is geared toward a very low magic cmapaign. also included is ways to make Zorro as a character as well even with the spanish feel and a french musketeer is included in the setting! I wholeheartedly second the endorsement of Swashbuckling Adventures. Great setting, great flavor and TONS of crunch (I think there are like 70+ prestige classes in the core book alone). However, it is balanced for a very low magic environment. So, some of the non-magical abilities from feats, class abilities and even mundane items, could be overpowering if you add magic on top of them. That said, it's a terrific line.
Maruuk 10-29-04, 01:56 PM	If only the monk requirements weren't completely inappropriate for him, I would definitely sink a bunch of levels into drunken master...
Denethor 10-29-04, 04:58 PM	Remember what I said about not optimizing too much? Forget about it... optimization ideas, please :D The Duelist and Dread Pirate indeed look to have to right taste, but the character would probably be too weak compared to the others. So, some optimization to it wouldn't be bad. Btw, forgot to mention: only WotC material, and no BoED or BoVD. I'll try to get my DM into accepting this other Swashbuckling adventures material if I get my hands into it. Magic won't be a problem, since none of the PCs will be allowed to take primary spellcasting classes.
Tempest Stormwind 10-29-04, 07:28 PM	Human Swashbuckler 3/Ftr 2/Rogue 2/Duelist 7/Dread Pirate 6 If at all possible, use the feat rogue (from UA). Swash! Buckle! And don't forget the EWP:Firearms. You never know when you might need it. (buy a /really/ nice shot for it. Something like +5, bane flaming burst, thundering shot (at 1/50th the price). Save it for a special someone. :D Off the top of my head, I'd say that's your best bet as a base for optimization, particularily if your DM lets you use UA (the rogue variant, swapping Sneak Attack for the fighter's bonus feats, is one of the better ones. Without SA, your rogue behaves completely differently, and the feats make up for it. The armor prof and low HD keep him from changing too much, though). How "underpowered" would it be? Off the top of my head, I'd say run for Dread Pirate, use the feats up to that point for traditional swashbuckling piratey things like Improved Disarm, and pick up TWD and Combat Expertise when you can (remember pirates get Combat Style: TWF at level 1, via a 3.5 translation). By the way, the Dread Pirate is particularily easy to transfer to 3.5. Mercifully.
Mucknuggle 10-29-04, 07:58 PM	You guys are recommending the 3.0 Duelist right? The 3.5 version is icky! (insert barf smiley here)
Eyeless Blond 10-29-04, 09:27 PM	Well the 7th level ability of a duelist is pretty cool: Elaborate Parry (Ex): At 7th level and higher, if a duelist chooses to fight defensively or use total defense in melee combat, she gains an additional +1 dodge bonus to AC for each level of duelist she has. So, with that level a duelist can fight defensively for a -4 to attack rolls and a +10 (assuming 5 ranks in Tumble) dodge bonus to AC. That's not too bad. It's not really worth seven levels of a kinda crappy class, though.
Matt Neuman 10-29-04, 10:26 PM	I maintain (and have since 3.5 came out) that the revised duelist is underrated, and that we tend to judge it harshly due to our fondness for the extremely front-loaded and broken 3.0 version. All in all it's a well balanced class that can be useful in the right build. That said, yes the 3.0 version is better for CO purposes. ;-)
Tempest Stormwind 10-29-04, 11:50 PM	I maintain (and have since 3.5 came out) that the revised duelist is underrated, and that we tend to judge it harshly due to our fondness for the extremely front-loaded and broken 3.0 version. All in all it's a well balanced class that can be useful in the right build. That said, yes the 3.0 version is better for CO purposes. ;-) Agreed wholeheartedly. And coincidentally, one of those builds is the archetypal "pirate." Yarr. By the way, it's partly because of Elaborate Parry that I'm such a loud advocate of it here. A while back I posted your choices on a nautical campaign when it comes to defensive gear -- Sink, Bleed, or Monk. Swashbuckler/Duelist gets the benefits of the last one without seeming to come from three genres away.
Dracophile 10-30-04, 08:25 AM	And, if you're willing to heavily "launder" your character background, throw in a level of Monk and take Kung Fu Genius. Get that Int to Armor twice.
ninjarabbit 10-30-04, 09:12 AM	I see Sparrow as much more charasmatic (reeking of it as a manner of fact) than smart so I'm going to go in a different direction. Maybe a rogue3/fighter2/hexblade15 or rogue3/humanparagon3/fighter2/hexblade12 and use the hexblade spells and abilities to explain some of Sparrow's 'luck'.
Welcome 10-30-04, 11:52 AM	You all forget a detail : (spoiler alert, highlight) He's undead !
Enoch Van Garret 10-30-04, 08:28 PM	Welcome - not for 99% of the duration we see him. I tended to think of that as a sort of temporary status ailment.
Welcome 10-31-04, 02:46 AM	Welcome - not for 99% of the duration we see him. I tended to think of that as a sort of temporary status ailment. Technically, he is for 100% of the time we see him. It's just that we don't know it at first ;).
Tempest Stormwind 10-31-04, 02:57 AM	Umm.... no. Spoiler-Vision(tm): He's completely uncursed and human for the entire movie except that one sequence where he deliberately pickpockets a cursed coin to curse himself to match his opponents. Recall his conversation with Barbosa in the captain's quarters of the Black Pearl. I can't see how there's any confusion on that point.
Xeraph 10-31-04, 04:25 AM	Fighter Variant Corsair from Dragon Magazine!
Welcome 10-31-04, 08:07 AM	Umm.... no. Spoiler-Vision(tm): [snip] I can't see how there's any confusion on that point. :eek: And this, people, is the part where I admit to being stupid.
DarQuing 10-31-04, 12:43 PM	:eek: And this, people, is the part where I admit to being stupid. *pats you on shoulder* And that is why you are, in some ways, wiser than some stupid people. You admit to your low INT score. :cool:
Welcome 11-01-04, 03:47 AM	Low int, low str, low dex, low con, low cha... I sure hope my wis is sky-high, or someone shafted me on my 28-point buy.