One of my players is looking for a two-weapon (sword and pistol) fighting character based around Errol Flynn or Burt Lancater from the old swashbuckling movies. There is not a particularly good archetype for this and, after basically re-working about half the ranger to try and make it work, I can understand why.
Please take a look at the following archetype and let me know if you have any suggestions. I'm open to changing just about anything including the name of the archetype... it was just the first thing that came to mind. Thank you in advance -- JD
Buccaneer, Ranger Archetype
1st - Sea Hunter, track, Pistolero
2nd - Combat style feat
3rd - Endurance, Born at Sea +2
4th - Familiar
5th - Grit +1
6th - Combat style feat
7th - Strong Swimmer
8th - Steady Hand, Born at Sea +3
9th - Evasion
10th - Grit +2, combat style feat
11th - Careful Targeting
12th - Gills
13th - Born at Sea +4
14th - Combat style feat
15th - Grit +3
16th - Improved evasion
17th - Bleeder
18th - Born at Sea +5, combat style feat
19th - Bonus Feat
20th - Grit +4, Bonus Feat
[Sea Hunter] At first level the Buccaneer gains the Amatuer Gunslinger feat.
At fifth level, and every five levels thereafter, the amount of Grit the Buccaneer starts with each day increases by +1 to a maximum of +4 at 20th level. Like the Gunslinger, the amount of Grit a character starts with each day cannot exceed the Buccaneer's Wisdom modifier. The Sea Hunter ability replaces Favored Enemy.
[Pistolero] At First Level, the Buccaneer gains Exotic Weapon Proficiency (Firearms), but only with pistols. He also gains the Gunsmithing feat. This ability replaces Wild Empathy.
[Combat Style Feats] The Buccaneer can only choose his combat style feats from the following list: At second level he may choose from Point-blank Shot, Precise Shot, Rapid Reload, Quick Draw, and Two-Weapon Fighting. At 6th Level he adds Snap Shot, Improved Precise Shot and Improved Two-Weapon Fighting to the list. At 10th level, he adds Sword and Pistol, Pinpoint Targeting and Greater Two-Weapon Fighting to the list.
[Born at Sea] At third level the Buccaneer gains a +2 bonus on Initiative checks, Acrobatics, Climb, Knowledge(Geography), Knowledge(Nature), Perception, and Survival checks while aboard ship on the ocean or while below the surface.
At Eighth level and every 5 levels thereafter, the initiative and skill bonuses increase by +1 to a maximum of +5 at 18th level. The Born at Sea ability replaces Favored Terrain.
[Familiar] At fourth level, the Buccaneer acquires an exotic pet — a monkey or parrot (see: raven) — that gains abilities as a wizard’s familiar. Treat the Buccaneer's Wizard level as equal to his Ranger level -3. This ability replaces Hunter's Bond.
[Strong Swimmer] At seventh level the Buccaneer gains a swim speed equal to one-half his base land speed (rounded down to the nearest five foot increment) and the ability to hold his breath while underwater much longer than normal. Treat the Buccaneer's Constitution score as 10 higher when calculating the number of rounds he can hold his breath to avoid drowning.
[Steady Hand] At 8th level, the Buccaneer gains a bonus to damage with a pistol equal to one-half her Dex bonus rounded down (minimum 0). This ability replaces Swift Tracker.
[Careful Targeting] At 11th level the Buccaneer gains the Targeting Deed from the Gunslinger's Deed list. This ability replaces the Quarry ability.
[Gills] At 12th level, the Buccaneer's swim speed increases to his base land speed and he grow a pair of gills allowing him to breathe indefinitely underwater. This ability replaces Camoflage.
[Bleeder] At 17th level, the Buccaneer Gains the Bleeding Wound Deed from the Gunslinger's Deed list.
[Bonus Feat] At 19th and 20th level the Buccaneer gains a bonus feat. Yeah, I totally copped out on this one. I'm open to Suggestions.
Here's my quick take:
Keep Sea Hunter and Pistolero, combined into one ability. This ability replaces Wild Empathy and Medium Armor Proficiency.
Acrobatics as a class skill.
Instead of Favored Enemy, use the Guide's Focus from the Guide archetype.
Let him take Sword and Pistol feat as a bonus feat. With the bonus combat style feats that he doesn't even need to meet the prereqs of, he'll have enough feats to get both gun-related stuff *and* two-weapon fighting. Also allow any deed gunslingers would get for an equivalent level. So for example, at level 6 for the bonus style feat, the ranger could choose any deed they don't have that a 6th level gunslinger would have.
Make the 4th level thing be an animal companion, not a familiar.
Give Steady Hand at level 7, replacing Woodland Stride.
Instead of Quarry, give Inspired Moment from Guide archetype.
Drop everything else, the ranger abilities already allow for it, especially with all the spells they get. Also, growing gills is just weird.
I chose these to allow for them to do some really cool stuff a few times per day (Ranger's Focus and Inspired Moment).
I'm confused. Why is this a ranger based variant? If it were me, I would tell them to make a fighter and either dip Gunslinger or pickup the amateur gunslinger feat (and other such) along the way. The swashbuckler is a swordsman / hero, first, as far as the traditional archetype goes (film, books, etc). Your swashbuckler-playing-player should follow suit. The fighter gets so many feats he could easily achieve such a feat. I've not looked through all the variant fighter archetypes, but I think the mobile fighter is in keeping with the spirit of the swashbuckler. Think shipped-based piratey type Errol-Flynn combat or Three Musketeers, lots of movement there.
In a different direction, I think a rogue would be a good fit for this concept. I believe, with the proper talents / feats, it would make perfect sense. And I think rogue would synergizes well with the flavor of the charismatic swashbuckler.
Or perhaps a Bard... the swashbuckler tended to be a performer at heart (show-offy and what-not). I've not looked through the Bard variants or the performance feats, but mayhaps that is the way to go.
Anyway. Just my two cents.
Edit: Sorry, I left my ultimate point out, which is -- I don't think you need to build a homebrew class to make a concept work. I think the concept works just fine through the regular / available classes. Moreso, actually, than a homebrew class.
I think the main reason to make it a Ranger archetype is for the combination of Full BAB and lots of skill points. The swashbuckler is a swordsmen, yes, but he's always a swordsmen that can do a million other things well. Ranks in Acrobatics, Climb, Swim, Knowledge (Local), Bluff, Diplomacy, and Sense Motive, just off the top of my head, are all part of the idea (well, okay, Diplomacy may be optional). Hard to do that with a Fighter, easy to do with even an average intelligence Ranger.
Rogue or Bard, I think, would still fit better. In terms of pure combat, the fighter will out, every time. If you want the dashing hero, a Bard or Rogue is optimal for this concept.
Edit: Really, the more I think about it, this just screams Bard.
Edit: The Daredevil archetype would fit nicely. That is very swashbuckler-esque. See "Agile."
Agile (Ex): A daredevil adds half her class level (minimum 1) on Acrobatics, Bluff, Climb, and Escape Artist checks. This ability replaces bardic knowledge.