Skull and Shackles Caster

[Lunchbox3000]

We are looking into doing skull and shackles ap in the near future. Having not played a lot of casters I think I would like to play one. I'm not sure what our point buy will be. I think probably 20. My caster leaning is arcane. I am thinking wizard or sorcerer. I even thought druid might be neat due to the environment. I like the idea of being useful with stuff to create favorable weather conditions while being able to cripple ships in combat. What are some suggestions? I don't know what the other characters will be yet as this will be after our current campaigns. Also I really want to be a pirate (who doesn't?).

[Raptor2012]

I had a player take an Undine Stormborn bloodline Sorcerer for my campaign. She was the primary arcane caster for the party and between the race and the bloodline, she was a powerhouse of fun for the duration of the campaign, both in and out of the water. She had a lot of really neat electricity spells that beat the crap out of the crew but left ships (mostly) intact.

On a quasi-related note, I also had a Saltbeard Dwarf Shark Shaman Druid that worshiped Besmara. In my campaign, having this particular druid around was a hoot-and-a-half. He provided a lot of the weather manipulation and had enough personal oomph to go head to head with several pretty tough guys.

Both of those classes were a delight to have in my campaign as their themes made them enjoyable for the player and they added an extra flavor to the campaign that allowed them to shine.

Good luck with your choice!

[GM Arkwright]

Hmm;

-Sylvan Sorcerer. You get an animal companion; make it a Roc reflavored as some kind of giant albatross. Scout and nasty way to attack enemy ships in one.

-Conjuration(Teleportation) Wizard. Summon nasties on the enemy ships then zip over to buff them or distribute nasty spells. Actually, summoning fire elementals onto their ship could be quite nasty...

-Not sure how to build a weather-controlling caster; I imagine there's little formula other than get a wizard or druid to a very high level.

-Grenadier Alchemist. Make ships go boom.

[Corlindale]

Druid is a good choice. You get pretty much all of the weather manipulation magic, and thanks to wildshape you can be equally effective in the water and in the air.

A sorceror with the Aquatic or Stormborn bloodlines would fit too. Aquatic I think would be particularly nice, since it has some excellent powers but is hampered by most campaigns not being entirely sea-based. So this will be a good opportunity to play one effectively.

I play an Oracle of Wind in S&S right now - it's been good fun too, though I find the lower level Wind spells don't see as much use as I'd hoped. In retrospect I should perhaps have gone with a druid instead, since their spell list is so much more well-suited to elemental and weather-manipulation than the cleric list.

[Lunchbox3000]

Sorry for the delayed response. Thanks for all of your suggestions. I don't think I would like a shark shaman druid. Druids are interesting as well. I think I lean towards Aquatic sorcerer. I like the idea of having a good skill set with sorcerer as I sometimes enjoy being the face thanks to my time trying an oracle. Would there be a way to get an Aquatic sorcerer an animal companion (I could live with a familiar)? Also what are some good ways to build one as I have not played a sorcerer? The most important question though is where can I find some good inspiration for him?

[GM Arkwright]

@Lunch- you could take the Tattoed Sorcerer archetype, and trade in your first level bloodline power for a familiar.

[Lunchbox3000]

Thanks that would be cool. I like the idea of a tattooed sorcerer for being a pirate. I would of course have to make my familiar a monkey or parrot. Any ideas on build advice such as feat/spells?

[GM Arkwright]

Depends what you want to do- buff, blast, summon or save-or-suck. Check out some of the Sorcerer guides.

[Lunchbox3000]

Not to sure I guess. I know that I want to be very pirate like. I don't mind buffs but I think I want to some weather control type stuff mostly for while sailing to aid us. In combat I don't mind trying some more control style abilities as it is out of the norm for me. I also think some enchanting would be fun to get the beefy guys working for me or getting out of horrible work that is beneath me.

[Corlindale]

Seaborn is a good wildblooded option for your aquatic sorceror. An arguably better arcana (which could come into play often in S&S) and a more useful 1st level power.

There are many Wind and Water themed spells on the sorceror list. Many of them are good for pushing enemies, which can be quite useful in ship to ship combat. Control Water and Control Winds are probably all the greater scale weather manipulation you're going to need. Blasting spells with lightning damage would also be very thematic.

And don't forget your ability to enthrall sea creatures starting at lvl 9. Could be very handy during those big sea battles - especially since you later get the ability to call powerful sea creatures to your aid from vast distances.

[Lunchbox3000]

Ok here is kind of what I am thinking to start out with. I am not very good with formatting in the forums, but here goes.

Tattooed Aquatic Sorcerer (Human, Tiefling, or some aquatic race?)
Chaotic Neutral

Before Racial Modifiers (20pt)
Str 7
Dex 12
Con 13
Int 12
Wis 10
Cha 18

Familiar Tattoo (Monkey)
Mage's Tattoo (Unsure which to pick)
Dehydrating Touch (Can I get the Seaborn power or not with Tattoo?)
Traits: Reactionary, Besmara's Blessing
Feats: Improved Initiative
Skills: Bluff 8, Perception 4, Profession (Sailor) 4, Swim 2

Fort 1
Ref 1
Will 2

So what do you guys think? I am unsure on spell and feat prgression which would really help me out.

[Lunchbox3000]

Bump...for aisstance/more input