So in the near future, I will be participating in a pirate campaign. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best class that would be of the most benefit to everyone.
My initial thought was to play an archer ranger. It's still on the table.
My list of options are this as of right now; Hobgoblin Archer Ranger, Undine Druid Adept, or the class that I've been reading about that seems to have had a high success rate in pirate campaigns, the Master Summoner.
I was reading up on Saph's guide on summoners in www.giantitip.com. From what I gather of what he had said in that guide for a race to choose for a summoner in an aquatic campaign are of these choices; half elf/gillman/ifrit, fletching.
And out of those choices either the Riverfolk Gillman or the half elf are the prime choices. Riverfolk Gillman for obvious reasons and the half elf to qualify for the eldritch heritage feat.
Also, from what I've been reading about Master Summoners in an aquatic campaign that the general census in what people do that is effective is their eidelon is a skill monkey instead of having an eidelon made for destruction. Instead, they use their summons to do that.
So I open up the discussion for everyone else to please give me good feedback so that I can make a concrete decision going forward. I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
Well, the MS in general is an archetype that trades brute power on the eidolon to more powerful summons.I'd say a utility eidolon - mount, spy etc - is definitely the way to go. Half elves are quite good imo, and eldritch heritage is nice - I'm partial to draconic heritage (SF perception is almost never a bad choice, and you eventually), but other elemental-aspected ones can also be quite thematic.
Though it seems like some kind of sacraledge, my favorite class at the moment for a pirate game (and what i chose for a skull and shackles campaign) was ninja. For me at least a pirate should be skillful, descent in combat, and be charismatic (though ofcourse not all pirates fit this bill). Best I could think of was the ninja.
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I second the freebooter ranger. Great for the game. Great class all around.
Though I have to say I have had alot of fun with my Urban Barbarian/Unarmed Fighter. He is a Tank in light armor.
In my opinion the summoner might frustrate other players in a pirate game. There is a lot of stuff going on on a ship and have 5 monsters out fighting on your turn can really bog things down.
Druid is a really powerful choice. It can change the world. Everything is their playground.
Yeah, I had read on a forum thread that 1 player decided to do was make their eidelon a skill monkey & their summoner was a Master Summoner. So they would cast invisibility, cast their summons, & buff away. They dish out the damage & not be attacked. Pretty effective strategy.
I checked out the freebooter ranger. I see where the party buffs are, but where are the extra feats? What are they? Also, do you think it's worth the trade off giving up an animal companion for the party buff?
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The Freebooter gets the rangers bonus feats. Some of the best bonus feats sets in the game. Pick a specialty and go for it.
And yes, having a limitless, untyped bonus to attack and damage is very worth it. The flanking bonuses are great to but Freebooters bain is just so very powerful. Especially if you go archer or two weapon fighter. The extras to hit and damage are wonderful. giving it to your party is just cake.
Thanks guys for all the feedback! Now if I were to go in the direction of freebooter. What races would you recommend?
I have 1 question. The Instant Enemy spell, does that stack with the Freebooter Bane?
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No the Instant enemy spell wouldn't apply because you don't have a favored enemy.
As to race, I am not sure whats allowed in your game but from core I would recommend the half elf with the water child trait, a human (yay bonus feats!) or Elf. From the uncommon races I could see the Undine and catfolk working well. As well as the Hobgoblin which you mentioned earlier
Thanks guys! I appreciate all the help!
A thought came to mind...since the freebooter ranger seems like the ideal type for the pirate game I'm about to play in.
Would it make more sense to go w/ the "switch hitter" style instead of just going straight archer?
I play a freebooting, switch hitter in a pirate campaign and love it. I dipped a level gunslinger to use firearms, but it's mostly for flavor. The campaign doesn't use a lot of firearms, but it's awesome when he gets to rapid shot with a pistol against Chelish marines in half-plate! Arr!
Plus, longbows suck underwater, and crossbows are not optimal archers.
So in the near future, I will be participating in a pirate campaign. I'm trying to figure out what would be the best class that would be of the most benefit to everyone.
My initial thought was to play an archer ranger. It's still on the table.
My list of options are this as of right now; Hobgoblin Archer Ranger, Undine Druid Adept, or the class that I've been reading about that seems to have had a high success rate in pirate campaigns, the Master Summoner.
I was reading up on Saph's guide on summoners in www.giantitip.com. From what I gather of what he had said in that guide for a race to choose for a summoner in an aquatic campaign are of these choices; half elf/gillman/ifrit, fletching.
And out of those choices either the Riverfolk Gillman or the half elf are the prime choices. Riverfolk Gillman for obvious reasons and the half elf to qualify for the eldritch heritage feat.
Also, from what I've been reading about Master Summoners in an aquatic campaign that the general census in what people do that is effective is their eidelon is a skill monkey instead of having an eidelon made for destruction. Instead, they use their summons to do that.
So I open up the discussion for everyone else to please give me good feedback so that I can make a concrete decision going forward. I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!
We just finished the Skull n Shackles AP (best campaign ever) with a four man party - a Human Sea Singer Bard, a Human Barbarian, an Elven Rogue and a Half-Elven Master Summoner. Each fulfilled a valuable role and each had their moments to shine, but the Master summoner was really crucial to our success.
He built his eidolon as a small scout-type with high perception, stealth, the ability to swim and breathe underwater as well as the ability to fly. That let it scout out locations ahead of us in underwater caves, fly off scouting for ships to raid, swim under the boat to keep an eye out for dangerous reefs or other threats - its ability to see in the dark and communicate telepathically back to the Master Summoner (our pilot) was utterly invaluable.
When combat came the eidolon was always quickly dismissed. The MS focused purely on summoning elementals (for RP purposes) and had some truly memorably moments... from being able to summon water elementals during sea and underwater battles (very useful is using standard underwater combat rules) to air elementals used to run down ships and foul rigging & sails to the time he summoned an entire horde of hastened earth elementals to take a keep (at 7th level), having them earthglide through the ground and stone walls to massacre the defenders within while - I kid you not - our captain sat just out of bowshot beneath an umbrella and sipped brandy awaiting their surrender.
A well-built, well-played Master Summoner is a huge boon to any party in my opinion - the reason why you would want to go Half-Elf is more for the favored racial option that gives you bonus evolution points than anything else (though the Eldritch Heritage line is very useful for the class).
As an aside, we tried to avoid things like Gillmen or other exotic races that were too ideally suited to aquatic campaigns... just felt like we would be cheating both the adventure and ourselves by using the RPG version of cheat codes.
Ranger is great, but have you considered a dervish of dawn/ sound striker bard?
So in the near future, I will be participating in a pirate campaign. ... Undine Druid Adept, or the class that I've been reading about that seems to have had a high success rate in pirate campaigns, the Master Summoner....
I've always thought any water based campaign would really lend themselves well to a druid that summons alot or summoner (base or any archtype).
I would just suggest you talk to your group and especially GM about it first. Many groups and/or GM's do not like hordes of summoned creatures. The reasons run from OP, broken, slow, or hogging spotlight to just I don't like them.
If ok'd. I would probably use hobgoblin just because it seems more pirate-ish to me than anything else.
Byrdology, i have not considered that option yet. I will look into it though.
Damocious, I have been seriously thinking about your suggestion. That class would be the ultimate "swiss army knife." And we might need some meat shields considering we have 2-3 players playing gunslingers.
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Here is a sample build:
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Azata-blooded Aasimar Bard (song striker/ dervish of dawn). Azata are naturally inclined towards music and sword play so this is a no-brainer! Favored class bonus goes to boost inspire courage which will be maxed by lvl 12 for a +8 to hit and dmg, crane style is added for the blade master dervish feel. After that all favored class bonuses go to HP. And 10d8 + cha mod x10 on ranged touch attacks with weird words give a pretty great ranged option that is ultra thematic.
Str: 13
Dex: 15 (+2)
Con: 14
Int: 12
Wis: 8
Cha: 14 (+2)
1) dodge
2)
3) power attack
4)
5) imp unarmed strike
6)
7) crane style
8)
9) crane wing
10)
11) crane riposte
12)
You can be the ship entertainment. At lvl 12 with an 18 str/ cha and no magic items (which you should be doing far better), you will be doing 1d6 + 14 dmg with a crit on 18+, and 10d8 + 40 on a ranged touch with weird words. You have skills, saves, magic, and flair!
Damocles,
Out of curiosity, how would I build the eidolon that you had spoken about?