Okay, so I'm interested in throwing a small band of pirates at my party since they're traveling by sea(if they are unfortunate enough to roll into the encounter). I'm thinking most of the pirate crew should be throw away mooks(CR 1 or 2 warriors). The captain however, I'm thinking will be a 9th level Buccaneer(the human archetype). Problem is, cause of Sword and Pistol(Which thematically is very cool) there are some concerns with the build.
First, the archetype becomes incredibly MAD. Dex is primary... Then Cha for Grit & Pirate's Jargon... Then Con for Grog for Grit, AC & Saves... Then you need STR for DMG & Atk on for melee. Basically the only thing you can dump is INT. Right now, still not sure how I should break down his stat allotments.
Also the logistics of Sword & Pistol makes TWFing sorta needed... but then I can't use any of the good Pirate-y weapons(Cutlass for example) since all firearms are one-handed weapons(unless I wanna swing a -6 on all my attacks). Also reloading's really cheesy right now(Drop melee weapon as a free, rapid reload as a free w/ alchemical rounds, quick draw new melee as a free). So right now his feats are all over the place:
H TWF
1 Point Blank Shot
1B Sea Legs
3 Quick Draw
G4 Rapid Shot
5 Rapid Reload
7 ITWF
G8
9
9B Sword And Pistol
So any tips? Like feats to get around the MAD, ways around the TWFing penalties, and ability spreads would be appreciated.
Multiple loaded pistols with Quick Draw. Dropping them to the deck, he can reload two per round because it takes a move action to holster them.
Then Dervish Dancer or Agile weapons when it closes to melee.
I once played in a game where a bad guy had six loaded pistols holstered across his chest. His first round with all the shots was brutal.
My Shull & Shackles character is a Gunslinger-1/Ranger (Freebooter) 6 built as a switch hitter. He uses his pistols on the half-plate wearing Chelish marines and bit ugly monsters. For lightly armored targets, he uses his composite strength bow. And melee, greatsword. It's greatfun!
Cheers
PS If it wasn't obvious, I suggest avoiding the sword & pistol feat. Search the Advice messageboard for it, because it's been discussed ad nauseum.
Weapon finesse, pirates used rapiers and daggers too.
Also weapon cords.
Gah, that makes so much sense I can't believe I didn't see it earlier. That's what happens when I get hung up on a single concept. Weapon Finesse & Daggers it is, since they'll be light for TWFing.
Wouldn't have thought of weapon cords, but it does sound like a good solution for reloading.
Multiple loaded pistols with Quick Draw. Dropping them to the deck, he can reload two per round because it takes a move action to holster them.
Then Dervish Dancer or Agile weapons when it closes to melee.
I once played in a game where a bad guy had six loaded pistols holstered across his chest. His first round with all the shots was brutal.
My Shull & Shackles character is a Gunslinger-1/Ranger (Freebooter) 6 built as a switch hitter. He uses his pistols on the half-plate wearing Chelish marines and bit ugly monsters. For lightly armored targets, he uses his composite strength bow. And melee, greatsword. It's greatfun!
Cheers
PS If it wasn't obvious, I suggest avoiding the sword & pistol feat. Search the Advice messageboard for it, because it's been discussed ad nauseum.
Multiple Pistols would be nice... but this is an NPC. So I don't want to give the players too much gold worth of gear(remember pistols are still worth a 1k each, let alone enhanced ones). Still, good advice for if I ever plan on a Gunslinger PC.
That's a really cool concept sir, I may model another NPC off yours.
As for dodging Sword And Pistol, can't, it's a class feature for Buccaneer lol.
Also, what about point spread? I think I want them to be around a 20 point buy(lowest buy player is 24 IIRC). As it is, since I can Dex the Daggers, I can ignore STR(Wouldn't do lower than a 10 though, for capacity & CMD).
Right now I'm thinking:
STR 10
DEX 16>18 w/ H>20 w/ 4 & 8
CON 16
INT 7
WIS 10
CHA 14
Also any must have feats? With Finesse I have 1 left.