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Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea (PFRPG)

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Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea (PFRPG)
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Draw your cutlass and set sail for adventure!

For thousands of years, pirates have captured the imagination, their rough-and-tumble lives filled with a boundless lust for blood, gold, and glory. Being a pirate is the ultimate freedom—freedom to take what you want and never apologize. Whether from the decks of massive slave galleons or beneath the sails of swift ships, pirates hunt the seas, singing chanteys and hoisting the Jolly Roger as they seek out the next unsuspecting merchant. They are the wolves of the sea, and their hunger can never be sated.

Whether you want to abandon the life of a landlubber to join a pirate crew, hunt down their murderous ships in the name of justice, or simply follow a mysterious map to buried treasure, Pirates of the Inner Sea has everything you need to know about piracy on Golarion, all of it one hundred percent player-friendly and ready to guide you on your journey.

    Inside this book, you’ll find:
  • In-depth overviews of six major pirate organizations in the Inner Sea region, including the government-backed privateers of Andoran, the slavers of Okeno, the high-seas buccaneers of Riddleport and the Shackles, and the quick-moving brigands of the River Kingdoms. Each entry details the pirates’ history, notable captains, activities and hideouts, preferred ships, and more.
  • Pages of new pirate weapons and equipment, from hook hands, cutlasses, and tar bombs to peg legs, treasure chests, and grog.
  • New pirate archetypes for several different classes, including the buccaneer bard, the freebooter fighter, the corsair ranger, and the smuggler rogue.
  • The Inner Sea pirate prestige class.
  • A detailed look at the faith of Besmara the Pirate Queen, goddess of all those who make their living spilling blood on the water.
  • New pirate-themed spells for casters of numerous types and faiths.
  • New character traits to help you customize your pirate character mechanically as well as thematically.
  • Sample pirate codes, minor pirate groups, a timeline of important pirate events, and more!

This Pathfinder Player Companion is intended for use with the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game and Pathfinder campaign setting, but can easily be used in any fantasy game setting. In addition, it is particularly useful for players of the Skull & Shackles Adventure Path.

Written by Amber E. Scott

Each bimonthly 32-page Pathfinder Companion contains several player-focused articles exploring the volume’s theme as well as short articles with innovative new rules for social, magic, religious, and combat-focused characters, as well as traits to better anchor the player to the campaign.

ISBN-13: 978-1-60125-405-4

Other Resources: This product is also available on the following platforms:

Hero Lab Online
Fantasy Grounds Virtual Tabletop
Archives of Nethys

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Ring Side Report- Review of Pirates of the Inner Sea

5/5 —

Originally posted on www.throatpunchgames.com, a new idea everyday!

Product- Pathfinder Player Companion Pirates of the Inner Sea
System-Pathfinder
Price-~$11
TL;DR- Not much magic, but a darn fine book 93%

Basics- Ah hoy landlubber! It's time to be bad guys! Pirates of the Inner Sea discusses being a pirate in Golarion, Pathfinder's default setting. The book opens with a chapter discussing different pirate histories of the inner sea ranging from sanctioned privateers all the way to all and out pirates. Next the book moves to different pirate gear. After gear, several different archetypes are introduced as well as the Inner Sea Pirate prestige class. The book then discusses Besmara, the god of Pirates and sea monsters. After Besmara, the book introduces a few pirate focused spells and then pirate codes and rules aboard ship.

Mechanics- I liked this book, but it's not perfect. The prestige class is a nice pirate focused martial character. The archetypes are great pirate focused changes to the core classes. The magic spells build upon what you would expect a pirate would need. The gear is cool. All that is great, but I felt like magic was a bit left out. The spells are good, but there are not many of them. Spell casters didn't really get any pirate focused prestige classes. The bard got one, but his stuff didn't focus on magic. It's good for what you get, but it leaves half the available classes out. 4/5

Theme- This book is amazingly theme-tastic. I liked all the different kinds of pirates discussed in the book. I can play a scallywag, but at the same time I can be a good guy as an Andorian privateer. I can play evil and play a slaver. Awesome. The book ends with a small section on terminology and pirate codes. The codes give the feel of being on a lawless ship where someone has to hold court. The terms make my home game that much more interesting when I bust out random phrases to get my players into the game. Besmara has a nice pirate feel for a god who really doesn't care what you do! 5/5

Execution- The book is arranged well. I loved what I saw. The art is beautiful. The test isn't hard to read. I'd like bigger, but then Paizo would have to cut stuff. I enjoyed reading this. Standard Paizo quality. 5/5

Summary- If you want to play pirates in Pathfinder, then go pick this up. If you want to fight pirates then go get this. In both cases, you need this book to make your game that much better. If you plan to run a game inland with absolutely no water, then don't get this book. All and all I liked what I saw and can't wait to put more of it to use in my home game. 93%

Pirates for Players

4/5 —

This book is set up in the typical places style. It begins by listing pirates for the different regions of Golarion. Andoran, Mediogalti, Okeno, Riddleport, River Kingdoms, and Shackles are the main regions with a page of other pirate-frequented nations. There is also a pirate timeline. Each of the major nations has the history, notable captains, ships, hideouts, types of pirating and 4 traits. These sections are 2 pages long, so they just hint at the nations. Amber Scott makes each region feel different from the other, and I was amazed at all the types of piracy in Golarion. This section is kind of odd for players, since it really seems more like background a DM would use, except for the traits. I'm kind of unsure as to the effectiveness of some of the traits, especially in the Shackled Skull AP, which players will want to use this book for.

The second half of this book is by far and away the better half. 4 pages of delicious pirate weapons and accessories, detailed and with charts. Wonderful for players and DMs. I will use the heck out of this section. Next, 2 pages of archetypes. These are varient "paths" for base classes, swapping out standard level abilities for pirate ones. Something I will definetly use on named NPCs. A whole new prestige class, Inner Sea Pirate is next. This class gives rogue skills to anyone who meets the simple pre-reqs. It has a very rogue feel, granting talents with a seafaring taste. Besmara is in the faith section. She is also detailed "The Wormwood Mutiny". Therefore, I'd rather have seen how Golarion's other faiths can be applied to seafarers. Spells has aquatic and necromantic spells for a wide range of classes. Finally, social mentions norms and laws for various ships. Pirate slang is under this heading and will add alot of flavour for campaigns.

My final thoughts are that this book is nice. It has some highly useful sections, and is well done in general. Each region feels distinct. However, I would rather have seen this book combined with the player's guide, especially the weapons and social sections. Although this book is good, if these sections were placed in other products, it would've been unnecessary.

kind of good

3/5 —

I have to say that I was a bit disappointed in this product. There isn't a great deal of meat on the bone here.

On the plus side, There is some good background information here that might be quite important if you run a pirate heavy campaign. The art is good and some of the table information is useful.

On the negative side I have to say that there is little here regarding ships, how to use them, not much for spells or sea-based items.

I would have to say that there is enough to make the product useful in some ways, but I would probably call it "Piratres at a glance".

Suppliment this book with (if you can find them) "The Seafarer's Handbook", "Pirates!", "Arms and Armor 3.5" (for special item creation)and applicable parts of "Swashbuckling" series.

To be fair, it's hard to get pirates into a mixed world without butchering the whole concept. Your DM is faced with a bit of a challenge when working with pirates, but it can be a fun addition.

4/5 —

A little of everything

4/5 —

This book sprinkled a little bit of pirate flavor on everything from spells to class archetypes to faith and my personal favorite, pirate gear. I was a little disappointed to see all of the pirates shown to be human in nature and no monstrous ones detailed or even mentioned, but still a great buy.

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RPG Superstar 2008 Top 32

Announced! Cover image is a mockup.

There be pirates in these thar oceans.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

YARRRR!
Dark Archive
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
Gorbacz wrote:
YARRRR!

It looks like I'm too late to make that joke...

Gorbacz wrote:
YARRRR!

Shiver me timbers! A toothy windbag!

Dark Archive
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber

Very cool.

This book absolutely needs mature content!
Scarab Sages
2 people marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories, PF Special Edition Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Superscriber
KaeYoss wrote:
This book absolutely needs mature content!

Oh, there'll be plenty of booty.

I love that Paizo always plans synergy with the timing of their releases, like how this supports the Shackles AP and Rule of Fear supported Carrion Crown. Great release strategy.
Verdant Wheel

Now only need stats for Akuma nomiI can´t even read them all and still i can´t stop wanting them. Please send more !
Shadow Lodge

Ok Vic where is the secret microphone at my table? You keep announcing products that I have said would be cool.

Very cool, looking forward to it.
Liberty's Edge
1 person marked this as a favorite.

So this is where the Companion line is heading. Very interesting.
Liberty's Edge

ARRRGH!
Grand Lodge
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber
dartnet wrote:
Ok Vic where is the secret microphone at my table?

Gary developed some special code that allows Paizo to listen in if you have their website open at your gaming table.

-Skeld
3 people marked this as a favorite.
logic_poet wrote:
KaeYoss wrote:
This book absolutely needs mature content!
Oh, there'll be plenty of booty.

Great! Then it will be rated "Arrrrrr!"

Yar!

I approve.

^_^

Now my only question be this:

Does Paizo do anything special for Internation Talk Like A Pirate Day?

~P
7 people marked this as a favorite.

I am pleased that Paizo continues to produce supporting flavor materials for folks to pick up. This particular flavor isn't one I care for, but the variety, the willingness to experiment is something I strongly support.

Thank you, Paizo, for making a product I don't care about, because I know the odds are that much higher you will make many about which I do.

Yo ho yo ho a Pirate's life for me

Initially we were looking at Legacy of Fire after we ran Jade Regent but I think my group will get sucked right into a pirate campaign with great enthusiasm
Paizo Employee Chief Technical Officer
5 people marked this as a favorite.
Anguish wrote:

I am pleased that Paizo continues to produce supporting flavor materials for folks to pick up. This particular flavor isn't one I care for, but the variety, the willingness to experiment is something I strongly support.

Thank you, Paizo, for making a product I don't care about, because I know the odds are that much higher you will make many about which I do.

I very much appreciate your refreshing point of view.

1 person marked this as a favorite.

And so we'll find out what the Captain Jack Sparrow of Golarion is like. Savvy?

Can't wait!

And I agree with dartnet: do you have a cadre of telepaths at the ready to scour our brains? So much ideas that pop up in Pathfinder: eerie!

I'm surpised that in the description it doesn't say anything about naval battle rules, hopefully Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea will have some.
Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
ChaiGuy wrote:
I'm surpised that in the description it doesn't say anything about naval battle rules, hopefully Pathfinder Player Companion: Pirates of the Inner Sea will have some.

I would expect the naval battle rules to be in the Skull & Shackles AP.

EDIT: On top of what is in Ultimate Combat.
Paizo Employee Creative Director

Rules for naval conflicts are more in the category of GM tools than Player tools, and as such don't really have a place in a Player's Companion.

There's rules for naval conflicts in the GameMastery Guide, and a much expanded chapter on vehicle rules in Ultimate Combat. There'll be more rules (likely something between those two options) in one of the volumes of the Skull & Shackles AP, I suspect.
Paizo Employee Creative Director
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Mistral wrote:

Can't wait!

And I agree with dartnet: do you have a cadre of telepaths at the ready to scour our brains? So much ideas that pop up in Pathfinder: eerie!

Parallel design. It's a real thing, and it can be really creepy and weird. I saw it a LOT in Dungeon Magazine's slush pile—you'd get like six similar adventure proposals in a week, for example... and not just generic. For example, we once got several adventure proposals about a bug-like race from the ancient past invading a small town to abduct the denizens of the town as "spare parts" for their own bodies that they then used, Borg-style, to gain powers to attack nearby towns. The details varied, but the plot was the same, from all over the world.

Sometimes it only takes a popular movie or book or current event to trigger a bunch of similar game design ideas. Other times the natural flow of what types of products a company releases encourages specific design choices. And sometimes, I do think there's some sort of hivemind out there writing adventures...
Liberty's Edge
1 person marked this as a favorite.
Pathfinder Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Superscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
Mistral wrote:

Can't wait!

And I agree with dartnet: do you have a cadre of telepaths at the ready to scour our brains? So much ideas that pop up in Pathfinder: eerie!

Parallel design. It's a real thing, and it can be really creepy and weird. I saw it a LOT in Dungeon Magazine's slush pile—you'd get like six similar adventure proposals in a week, for example... and not just generic. For example, we once got several adventure proposals about a bug-like race from the ancient past invading a small town to abduct the denizens of the town as "spare parts" for their own bodies that they then used, Borg-style, to gain powers to attack nearby towns. The details varied, but the plot was the same, from all over the world.

Sometimes it only takes a popular movie or book or current event to trigger a bunch of similar game design ideas. Other times the natural flow of what types of products a company releases encourages specific design choices. And sometimes, I do think there's some sort of hivemind out there writing adventures...

I think that prefers to be known as Mr Pett.

Scarab Sages
Pathfinder Maps Subscriber

Traditionally referred to as Pettmind...

Pettmind?
Adventure Path Charter Subscriber; Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

I realize this book may mention Riddleport to some degree or another, but am I correct that there is no full-blown book on Riddleport (e.g. in the same manner as Korvosa, Absolam, Kaer Maga, etc.)?

Either way, this one is on my "must buy" list.
Dark Archive

Whether I run this AP or run my own home made campaign, I am very keen to have information about pirates in and around the inner sea.

Nevertheless it's a refreshing idea... VERY MUCH. I am in to have it.

I'll be thar to plunder yer booty, matey. Arr...
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Kelvar Silvermace wrote:

I realize this book may mention Riddleport to some degree or another, but am I correct that there is no full-blown book on Riddleport (e.g. in the same manner as Korvosa, Absolam, Kaer Maga, etc.)?

Either way, this one is on my "must buy" list.

Part 1 of Second Darkness, as well as the Second Darkness Player's Companion, both have a significant amount of information about Riddleport.

Is that cover a mock-up?
Dragon78 wrote:
Is that cover a mock-up?

Yep. Once we have the real cover finished there will be a post indicating that it was updated.

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my post and helping me find the info on naval battles Justin Franklin and James Jacobs.
Contributor

Product image updated.
Silver Crusade
Pathfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Adventure Path Subscriber

New iPhone background :-)

Sweet the cover has been updated and some how I missed it.

I wonder if it will tell how the pirates treat slaves.....

That's some awesome cover art. So glad I added this line to my subscriptions :)

Looks like the "back link" to the previous product in this subscription line is missing for this product. Just a heads up.
Paizo Employee Senior Software Developer

Thanks for the heads-up! We've fixed the link to the preceding product, though it may take a little time for that fix to percolate everywhere.

So where in the Inner Sea region do you find the equivalent of a Cornish accent?
Sovereign Court

Any word on how much of this will be Pathfinder Society legal? This is pretty much all my local group plays, so it's a pretty large factor in my decision making process whether it's legal.

At least it is less then a month away before this one comes out unless the release date gets changed...I shouldn't have said that.
Paizo Employee Creative Director
Dragon78 wrote:
At least it is less then a month away before this one comes out unless the release date gets changed...I shouldn't have said that.

This book's been at the printer for a bit. Only thing now that could really change the release date would be an unplanned hangup at customs... or if the boat it's being shipped to us on sinks... or if the truck that's bringing that shipment to our warehouse explodes... or Cthulhu steps on Paizo...

Liberty's Edge
Pathfinder Battles Case Subscriber; Pathfinder Maps, Pathfinder Accessories Subscriber; Pathfinder Roleplaying Game Charter Superscriber; Starfinder Charter Superscriber
James Jacobs wrote:
or Cthulhu steps on Paizo...

Is Richard Pett in town?

Contributor

I'm ALWAYS in your town:)

A couple more weeks that all that is left, yeah.

Has the product info been updated yet?
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