|
So I'm going to start Skull and Shackles in about a month and am looking at what I am going to make. I have a few ideas, but am having trouble narrowing it down to one.
My Party is:
Magus(dex-based w/ Hexcrafter archetype I think)
Gunslinger(Pistolero)
Bard(no archetype as of yet and I think using a whip likes the suggestion ability)
Cleric(not of Besmara)
Fighter(some type of melee)
Me
I am trying to decide between a wizard to give us a full arcane caster, a summoner, or a stealth pirate(ninja) for skill monkey and stealthy guy.
Try and remember that this is a pirate themed game, ala Pirates of the Carribean. If you want your character to be able to participate in fast moving swordfights then he needs to be able to move quickly and deftly without being hit. He needs to be competent with ropes and rigging, fishing, swimming, woodwork (to repair ship damage among other things), sailing (& by extension navigation), plus a working knowledge of seige engines should prove quite useful.
Another important point, this is (for many) the only pirate themed game they may ever get to play in, so playing a pirate-like PC is likely to be the most satisfying option.
Fighters will do well.(Just forget about armor)
Rogues will do well.
Fighter/Rogues will simply rule.(Duelist anyone?...Anyone?)
Monks will do well.
Magus or gunslinger will do ok.
Bards will be PERFECT for the game.
A cleric would do ok, but a cleric/rogue would really rock in this setting.
It is also worth noting that I am not a big rogue fan nor am I a fan of multi-classing, but this AP simply calls to them. And Bards? I cannot say enough how useful a bard would be during both on-ship and off.
Best of luck, mate!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
I think I am running an ulfen viking type (you know, the original pirates), I'll probably even take the sea reaver archtype.
I would suggest ranger for stealthy skill guy. Favored terrain (water) is tough to beat.
I think I am running an ulfen viking type (you know, the original pirates), I'll probably even take the sea reaver archtype.
Just make sure you speak in an overdone Schwartzenegger/ McBain accent!
(I, too, have an Ulfen warrior with the sailor profession...where can I find the sea reaver arch?)
It's a barbarian archetype, it's probably in inner sea but you can see it for free on the srd site.
In Pirates of the Inner Sea, they give 4 new archetypes, one for fighter, a bard, ranger, and rogue. All four of them seem to be perfect for this campaign setting, and can really set up a full 4 man party lol. I personally love the Corsair fighter, eventually you have no armor penalty while swimming... even in full plate..
I have to respectfully disagree (somewhat) with Weslocke. There are some classes and archetypes that fit more easily into a "pirate" theme, but with a little creative thought and judicious selection of traits and feats, you can make just about anything work. Wizards and sorcerers are just as appropriate as anything else, you may just have to think a bit more about how does my character fit into the pirate life.
I'm playing a summoner with an aquatic eidolon. With a few points dropped into intelligence and social-leaning traits, I have enough skill points to get by as a very charismatic person with middling-skill as a sailor. She can scrape by, but she's on a ship for her love of adventure and the sea, and relies on her charm to have others protect her and get the work done.
Is a summoner a typical "pirate"? No, but I've adapted the character to the setting. No reason you can't do the same thing for just about any class.
If you can pull it off, I think a wizard could be incredibly satisfying. Think of the enhancements you could give to the ship and its weapons. Controlling the weather. Summoning sea monsters. Etc.
Or go for a Tian ninja pirate and toss in something completely unexpected. I can't remember if it's the Pirates of the Inner Sea or Isles of the Shackles, but there's definitely a ship or several of Tian pirates, so there's official precedent for ninja pirates.
And, with a party that size, you really ought to just play whatever the heck you want. Even if, despite all those characters, you don't have the right skill set to deal with a particular problem, you can just overwhelm it with sheer numbers.
If your DM will allow it, ask him to let you read the Pathfinder Journal from the first book in the adventure path. It has a wizard in it who uses a special type of wand called a Spellshooter, which is basically a gun that fires off fireballs instead of bullets. You could easily fluff a wand into one of these to make it more pirate like. But as Snow said, pretty much any class works in this campaign, except maybe Paladins, unless you can convince your DM to let you play a Paladin of Besmara, and your code of conduct be that of the Pirate or Privateer Code.
I personally have no problem with non LG paladins, as long as they are of a specific deity and follow the deity's taboos and such to the letter. If they are of an evil deity, i follow the Antipaladin build, while if they are good, i follow the regular paladin build. I forget if paladins have a Lawful based aura or not, but if they do, just change it to Chaotic if they are a chaotic deity, and for a Neutral on the good evil, give them an Chaotic/Lawful smite instead of Smite good/evil.
Do not get me wrong SnowHeart, I firmly believe a caster type would do just as well as any other PC in the module.
In the initial casting call for my upcoming S&S campaign a player is already wanting to play a drow Sorceror with the Shadow bloodline. I am completely cool with it and I think he will have a blast playing in the campaign.
I just thought it might be worth factoring in that this might be their only chance to play a truly scurvy sea-dog of a pirate for a long while.
I eagerly await my first shipment of Vol 1 & 2 of this AP. I'll probably end up running it at some point. But if I could play it, I would love to try an alchemist for all the gunpowdery boom factor. Sure, Pathfinder is gunpowder-light but the alchemist is the perfect tie-in for pistols, muskets, cannons etc.
In Aquatic environments, having access to both aquatic and aeriel creatures makes the Summoner a no-brainer in my opinion, but they aren't for inexperienced players.
You could play a standard Summoner with a powerful aquatic eidolon or a Master Summoner with things like water and air elementals at his disposal...
|
|
So, OP here, sorry for taking so long to respond the thread got moved and I didn't realize I could find it in my profile.
I found out that the cleric of our party is now planning to go for rogue, which kind of gets rid of ninja as a skill monkey, and am debating how to go about things. We now only have a bard and magus for casting and they are both secondary casters I was wondering whether wizard with pathfinder savant to get key divine spells can do the job of covering divine utility for this and what spells I should pick up to cover such. Also it occurs to me that a few scrolls may do the job and make it not necessary to go into pathfinder savant.
Also, as for the rolling over encounters, our DM will be scaling them for however many people are there that day.