So it's looking like the local group I play with is going to be playing a S&S campaign or at the very least a very pirate themed campaign. All of our characters are ne'er do wells and misfits in their own ways. I would really like to make a gish type of character. I've always loved blending swordplay and spellcasting in a character and this character will hopefully do exactly that. There's a catch though...
I want to base the "magic" side of the character around necromancy, with the eventual goal of him having his own ship, crewed by undead and his fitting the iconic role of the "dread captain of the ghost ship". I've personally never seen any gish concepts using necromancy as the focus. The actual raising of the dead wouldn't be too much of a focus, but moreso death and necromancy related spells would be a very good fit for what I have in mind, though I eventually DO want him capable of raising and controlling an undead crew for his ship. I'm thinking possibly have him be a Swashbuckler or Slayer but I haven't received my book in the mail yet so I'm open to any and all suggestions on how to effectively make a character that would combine the flashiness of piratical swordplay/acrobatics and the arcane/divine power of raising the dead to do your bidding and using the power of death to drain/disable/kill his opponents. Possibly multiclass between Swashbuckler(or Slayer?) and Magus? Maybe a Swashbuckler/Wizard/EK?
We are allowed to use the Leadership feat so I'm leaning towards an Oracle(Bones?) or Witch(Gravewalker?) as his cohort, someone who'd fulfill the more traditional necromancer role. I would also really like to include a couple levels of Shadowdancer. Anyway, any and all suggestions or advice is more than appreciated. Thanks in advance!
I threw this out there for our SS game. They didn't go for it... But I think it would be cool to have an undead crew...
...I will say this- you will want to aim for cleric/oracle, summoner, witch, or sorcerer/wizard (for the cohort, at the very least.)
I bring this up because the spell Skeleton Crew is too thematic to pass up.
I mean, who doesn't want a ship manned by skeletons. Admittedly, the spell is purely utility (imagine the skeletons are robots programmed with 'attack' routines; they don't count against your HD pool for controlling undead though). It would be funny if they at least acted like scaredy cats when fighting started and ran (shivering skeletons)
Skeleton Crew is a definite must have for the cohort, and maybe even the character himself. I'm still undecided on how best to go about building him but Swashbuckler seems a good fit. I haven't fully checked out Slayer yet but since I'm currently playing Assassins Creed Black Flag, it may sway me into using Slayer as my class. I'm thinking Slayer(or Swashbuckler)+Hexcrafter Magus maybe?
I've in the middle of book 3? Straight mage, have had a blast.
You will find that the travel time is your friend, hedge magician trait will be very nice.
cloudkill with skeleton crew (with a wand of desecrate) should allow you to take any ship that passes your fancy....
(beware 1st book can be brutal)
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Summoner is really easy for this concept. I ran something similar with a Spanish theme. Imagine summoning Day of the Dead style skeletons.
In the same vain, all you have to do with the character is build a Skeletal Eidolon that is your "First Mate" and keep him unsummoned past 4th level. This wonderful feat called Skeletal Summoner that makes you add normal skeletons, and Skeletal Champions to your summon list. It also lets you summon any normal summon, but with a Skeleton template. People boarding the ship from the sea? Summon a skeletal shark. From the air? Try a skeletal eagle.
Keep the First Mate unsummoned because at 4th level you can instant summon it, letting it gain bonuses from Augment summoning or other summon abilities. It also lets you have 3-4 normal skeletons acting as body guards for the First Mate since you can have both summoned at the same time.
Summoners can be Gishes since they get all sorts of powerful buffer spells and have d8 hp as well as 3/4 BaB. They are better at summoning and buffing than with necromancy, but don't let that discourage you. Skeletons are too cool to let up.
I'd never really considered the Summoner as an option for this but can the Summoner be built with only some levels and not be crippled? Ie: Slayer6/Summoner6/EK5/ShdwDncr3
It seems to me that the Eidolon would be lacking severely in points, though I suppose I could drop the EK levels and split them evenly between Summoner and Slayer? I like the idea but honestly.I'm not sure how to make it work.