Right now I'm currently playing the Curse of the Crimson Throne adventure and am going with a pirate concept, and would like some advice on how to most efficiently go about creating a pirate crew to fill out the sailing ship I've just bought.
I'm planning on outfitting it with cannons and modified culverins (they're gonna be mounted and given an extended range to become swivel guns) and I would like to find an efficient way to make this concept effective within the mechanics of the game. I do intend on taking the Leadership Feat at level 7 and have gotten the ok from the GM to use the feat, and am using contacts in my characters history and a horde of wererats I've diplomacized with in a dungeon to form the backbone of the crew.
Right now I'm at Rogue Pirate Level 4 and multi-classed a level into Gunslinger Pistolero, with future plans being to alternate leveling up my character between the two classes until I get five levels in Pistolero and then continue with leveling up as just a Rogue Pirate.
I don't know if posting my current PC will help much, but here's his basic stats that may be useful:
Str 13
Dex 18
Con 13
Int 13
Wis 14
Cha 14
HP 57
AC 21
Speed 40 ft
Diplomacy 10
Intimidate 9
As of now I'm currently saving up every gp I have to give to a teammate in the party who can craft wondrous items and can make me a Headband of Charisma +6, but otherwise I don't know much else to help the class get to where I want to be, which is a Leadership score of 19 or above (since I need roughly 50-60 crew members to run the ship at maximum effectiveness).
Pretty much, to make what looks to me is a long rant of me not knowing too much, can anyone give me advice on finding efficient ways to improve my Leadership Score to get the amount of crew members I need in the shortest amount of time, and how to best set up my followers to fill out the roles I need (which to make it simple I need roughly 30 siege gunners to man the cannons and culverins, 20 sailors to sail the ship, and roughly 6-8 others (including my cohort) to act as an anti-boarding party that could possibly hold off other PC's long enough for my own group of PC's to counter them.
This long rant is kind of because this is my characters response to the two GM's running groups of 5-6 people apiece that are running the campaign alongside each other (having done an insane 12-person game in the first module and now splitting it into two 6-person games in the second module) and are going to possibly have the two parties clash together and create a PCvPC fight sometime in the third module. Its a pretty daunting task I'm looking at, but I'm hoping to pull off something along the lines of the two PC parties face each other off, but because of my crew we force them into ship on ship combat where I can wreck them with cannonballs and sink them down to Davy Jones Locker and (hopefully) not outright killing them in the process. Cheesy, I know, but thats my plan.
So any advice at all?
I made a pirate crew a few months ago, based on the leadership feat. I will post it up tommorow, it was pretty sweet!
What's your cohort plan?
That headband is really expensive. I'm sure you'll love it, but that's some investment. Consider making up the difference in your lack of followers with hirelings. Compared to epic items, they're cheap. As you advance, you're score will rise, and those lowly hirelings will be replaced by proper followers.
I'd like to run a pirate ship where the PC is an Awakened parrot sorcerer or bard, his cohort is the captain and crew his followers (the crew has no idea). Anyway, an Awakened Parrot Bard would probably be a fun cohort for your concept. It could fly around and inspire the crew as needed, add to your mystique (e.g., aid diplomacy checks), and provide levity for the group.
What's your cohort plan?
That headband is really expensive. I'm sure you'll love it, but that's some investment. Consider making up the difference in your lack of followers with hirelings. Compared to epic items, they're cheap. As you advance, you're score will rise, and those lowly hirelings will be replaced by proper followers.
I'd like to run a pirate ship where the PC is an Awakened parrot sorcerer or bard, his cohort is the captain and crew his followers (the crew has no idea). Anyway, an Awakened Parrot Bard would probably be a fun cohort for your concept. It could fly around and inspire the crew as needed, add to your mystique (e.g., aid diplomacy checks), and provide levity for the group.
Well so far my cohort plan is that the GM is letting me start with a gnoll that's taken 4 levels into Fighter Corsair and 1 level in Rogue Pirate. My goal is to get a tank that can take a lot of hits, pull off pirate style combat skills somewhat easily (focusing mainly on Acrobatics [at 10], Climb [10], Diplomacy [10], Intimidate [12], Perception [8], Stealth [8], and Swim [10] ) and can throw a a decent amount of damage back in melee. The way I was thinking of it would be that I'm the captain playing good cop with diplomacy checks to motivate my crew and the gnoll would be my bad cop enforcer using Intimidate to get the point across if Diplomacy failed. Of course I have considered looking into a more charisma focused cohort that can still do a bit of damage, so a bard is certainly not out of the question.
And while the headband is expensive, right now I'm trying to focus my PC primarily on Dexterity and Charisma, and if I possibly get the chance maybe a mild boost in Constitution simply because I'm happy so far that the GM is surprised by how well I can take a hit and it keeps me in the action longer, so really I'm just saving up to get the headband since thats my main priority at the moment.
*bump*
While you have some disadvantages and advantages when it comes to leadership. At my calculation at level 7 you should have
Leadership score of
+7 level
+2 Cha
+2 from Has a stronghold, base of operations, guild-house (the ship)
-1 Moves around a lot (also the ship)
this makes
10 you need 6 more so let us consider. You are thinking of getting a Headband of Charisma +6 personally I think that is not the best choice for a rogue but never mind that is still only +3 you need another +3 to get to 16
The options are
Great renown +2
Fairness and generosity +1
Special power +1
Have you considered getting a Rod of Splendor? It cost a little less then a Headband of Charisma +6 and it would make getting Fairness and generosity easy it might also do for Special power. As for Great renown that is between you and your DM.
The Leadership table shows all the ways to increase your Leadership score. Stuff like "Great Renown" and "Generosity and Fairness" are up to the GM. The pirate ship might be counted as your "Base of Operations." Otherwise, look for Ability Scores to shave so that you can raise Charisma.
There are a couple magic items, but the flavor is a little off, unless you're a really religious pirate:
Ring of the Ecclesiarch
Aura faint enchantment; CL 5th
Slot ring; Price 28,500 gp; Weight —Description
This ornate ring of sanctified silver is engraved with a golden signet that incorporates the holy symbol of the wearer’s deity after being worn for 24 hours. The ring can be used to seal parchments or to mark any surface as the arcane mark spell at will. The wearer is marked as a scholarly leader of the faith and gains a +5 competence bonus on Diplomacy and Knowledge (religion) checks. If the wearer has the Leadership feat, she may attract double the normal number of followers, and her followers’ zealous devotion grants them a +4 morale bonus on Will saves against enchantment spells and effects.Once per day, the wearer of the ring can use prayer and enter image, often using the latter power to speak and observe through portraits, statues, and even minted coinage bearing their likeness.
Construction Requirements
Forge Ring, arcane mark, enter image, enthrall, prayer, creator must have 5 ranks of Diplomacy and Knowledge (religion) and the ability to cast divine spells; Cost 14,250 gp.
And a cheaper solution:
Suzerain Scepter
Aura moderate enchantment; CL 7th; Slot none; Price 20,000 gp; Weight 5 lbs.DESCRIPTION
This ornately bejeweled baton confers the mark of rightful rulership on its bearer. The wielder of this scepter gains a +5 competence bonus on Knowledge (nobility) and Diplomacy checks. Furthermore, once per day, and on command, wielder can affect up to seven living creatures with good hope, as the spell. If the wielder of a suzerain scepter has the Leadership feat, she may attract double the normal number of followers for her Leadership score; however, if the rod is out of the wielder's possession for more than 1 week these extra followers leave. In addition, a suzerain scepter radiates a continuous bless effect that affects any cohort, follower, animal companion, familiar, special mount, or creature charmed or summoned by the wielder (but not called creatures or those under dominate or other compulsion effects). Whenever the wielder creates an effect that provides a morale bonus to such creatures (not including the scepter's bless effect), that bonus increases by 1.
CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS
Craft Rod, Leadership, bless, good hope, greater command, the creator must have the Leadership feat; Cost 10,000 gp
I could just treat the items as loot that I conveniently found and take advantage of. Also I'm having the headband crafted since another PC has Craft Wondrous Items for a skill. I could also argue on the Moves Around Alot detriment due to most of my fights are occurring around a port city and if I do intend on taking the ship out on missions and such it will always return to Korvosa and I can tell him most trips are relatively short.
I may also just hire some hirelings as a filler until I can get my score up to where I want it to be.
And since we're also taking traits, I did take Natural Born Leader which gives me a +1 to my Leadership Score.