A pirate captain of the Inner Sea, Torius Vin makes a living raiding wealthy merchant ships with his crew of loyal buccaneers. Few things matter more to Captain Torius than ill-gotten gold—but one of those is Celeste, his beautiful snake-bodied navigator. When a crafty courtesan offers the pirate crew a chance at the heist of a lifetime, it's time for both man and naga to hoist the black flag and lead the Stargazer's crew to fame and fortune. But will stealing the legendary Star of Thumen chart the corsairs a course to untold riches—or send them all to a watery grave?
From award-winning author Chris A. Jackson comes a fantastical new adventure of high-seas combat and romance set in the award-winning world of the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.
400-page mass market paperback
ISBN–13: 978-1-60125-523-5
ePub ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-524-2
Pirate's Honor is also available as a digital edition on the following sites:
I don't quite know what makes this series stand out so well for me, but it does. Is it the precision nautical details? Probably not, I've never much cared about that. Pirate with a good heart? Uh.. better than a bad heart? Amazing co-equal non-humanoid spouse? Probably, but there's still more.
Overall, almost all the characters feel well motivated to do what they do. Some of the flow in this one was just a bit weaker than the sequels, but it probably deserved a 5-star anyways.
The "pirates" sub-genre of fantasy fiction isn't everyone's favourite, and it wasn't mine going into Pirate's Honor. But consider me converted! Chris Jackson writes one of the very best Pathfinder Tales novels I've read yet, and he does it by establishing a fully-characterised core crew, writing breathtaking action scenes, and showing off hard-earned nautical knowledge to add a dash of realism to the fantastic. I learned a lot about an aspect of Golarion (its shipping lanes, sea battles, and port towns) that I never paid much attention to before, and I can see the appeal of a campaign involving those aspects of the setting. This is definitely one to seek out.
SPOILERS!:
The novel is centered around the exploits of a pirate ship named the Stargazer. Although its crew are definitely pirates and criminals, they're more of the roguish-scoundrel types than the bloodthirsty "walk the plank" type. The main crew members are well-drawn and memorable. Crew members include an inventive gnome quartermaster, a (more traditional) surly orc bosun, and a suspicious new elf first mate. The core relationship is between Captain Torius, a rakish human, and his navigator/astrologer, a "lunar naga" named Celeste. A major subplot running throughout the book is the ebb and flow of the pair's relationship, full of love, jealousy, mistrust, and (due the narcotic effects of naga venom) addiction! It sounds weird, but trust me, it works.
Pirate's Honor isn't just a big episode of The Love Boat, however. The action scenes are big, bloody, and page-turning exciting, whether they take place on sea or land. The main plot involves the crew of the Stargazer executing a complicated ruse in order to get revenge on a crimelord named Benrahi Ekhan who set them up to get arrested by the authorities. I admit I was a bit confused on exactly how the plan was supposed to work, but I didn't worry too much about it because the rest was so enjoyable. The villain is suitably despicable but not one-dimensional. Jackson paid close attention to the lore of Golarion, and probably added to it significantly with his description of several locales around the Inner Sea.
I definitely want to read more about the crew of the Stargazer. Pirate's Honor is one of those fantasy novels that exceed the expectations of RPG-fiction, and become strong books in their own right.
This was pretty interesting. A diverse crew of pirates a bit more ethical than the usual, and the romance between the captain and the navigator--no spoilers, though the back cover quickly gives it away--was not your typical fantasy romance. The story is a long con job w/ many twists, some unforeseen. The foil (mark) was an atypical antagonist in some ways.
I'm not quite the nautical enthusiast the author is, though, so some of the extensive use of (no doubt) true-to-life nautical terminology left me a bit cold. The editing was pretty good, w/ some stumbles in the latter parts of the book.
I loved how the relationships in the book kept me on my seat. This is not a stereotypical pirate story. It is a cross genre beast of tension, intrigue, and romance. I loved it so much. I can't wait till the next one.
1)what level would Torius Vin and Celeste (Moon Naga) be?
2)what is Torius class? Pirate or Swasbuckler prestige (he never "sneak attack") or just a plain old fighter?
3) could not find any stat on a Moon Naga in the PFSRD site. Any ide/suggestion?
1)what level would Torius Vin and Celeste (Moon Naga) be?
2)what is Torius class? Pirate or Swasbuckler prestige (he never "sneak attack") or just a plain old fighter?
3) could not find any stat on a Moon Naga in the PFSRD site. Any ide/suggestion?
I am planning on incorporating them to this AP.
Lunar naga appear in Bestiary 3 (CR 6) Here is the link to the official PRD entry for them. It appears Celeste is a plain old lunar naga, she doesn't do much outside of the stat block. I would put Torius in the lvl 5-7 range as well, with leadership feat. As far as class goes.... pretty much any of the martial classes would work.
1)what level would Torius Vin and Celeste (Moon Naga) be?
2)what is Torius class? Pirate or Swasbuckler prestige (he never "sneak attack") or just a plain old fighter?
3) could not find any stat on a Moon Naga in the PFSRD site. Any ide/suggestion?
I am planning on incorporating them to this AP.
I created Torius as a 6th level fighter (corsair) You can find the archetype on the Pathfinder SRD webpage Here's the link: http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fig hter-archetypes/corsair
Celeste is advanced one level in sorcerer above the Bestiary 3 stats for Lunar Naga, so she gets a couple more spells. They cast as 5th, and I needed her to cast as 6th... though I don't remember why...
I loved this book. I have read 5 of the Pathfinder Tales, and while I generally liked them, I didn't love them. This one I love, great story, great characters, and it flows nicely.
I can't wait for the next installment of the crew of the stargazer.
