I have the Leadership feat, and a nice score, so I get lots of followers. Already have a cohort. Soon, I think I will be getting a ship. Who should I get to crew it from my followers?
Assume max 4th level NPC, but many 1st level ones.
Suggest classes, levels, items, and how they make the ship better. This can be as a ship, as a boarding party, as a mercenary troupe, whatever.
/cevah
*bump*
RPG Superstar 2008 Top 4; Contributor; Publisher, Legendary Games
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Most of the characters therein are not limited to the NPC classes, so you'd need to fudge that requirement to use them as followers, but there are a ton of premade piratical and nautical NPCs in the Pirate Codex and Cutthroats and Crew from Legendary Games.
Most of the characters therein are not limited to the NPC classes, so you'd need to fudge that requirement to use them as followers, but there are a ton of premade piratical and nautical NPCs in the Pirate Codex and Cutthroats and Crew from Legendary Games.
Followers are typically NPC classes, but are not restricted to that. I already have a number of PC class NPCs.
As to the 3pp NPCs, our game is no 3pp. :-(
/cevah
Despite your dry and uninteresting way of asking things...
Ships of the inner sea has a lot of great fleshed out npcs.
As for classes Id suggest Skald. Raging for everyone is strong. Also if you do manage a lvl 5 one, spell kenning is a free Access to any spell out there.
I second Pirate Codex too, good buy with actually smartly built npcs (i love aps but the build Choices are weirder than seeing the bosun tarring shrouds in wedding gown).
What level are you? Is a 4th level NPC really going to help you? Remember that if you bring them into battle, it's fair game for the GM to target them and probably instantly kill them with a CR appropriate for you encounter.
That being said, pirates are usually warriors, experts, fighters, rogues, or rangers. Probably throw in an adept/cleric and adept/wizard for healing and crafting. You only need 20 to crew the average ship. With your 30+ people, it's going to be very crowded (or get two ships).
Currently 11th. My 30+ is 50, and climbing. :-)
Not all will be on the ship. The crew will be for the ship when we get a fleet. Given the current levels of the crew of one ship, filling a separate ship with followers won't be a big issue. No, they cannot stand up to Party CR encounters, but when we are each on our own, having a 11th level PC, 9th cohort, 5th level follower (cleric) as ship likely captain, and other followers as crew, we should handle non-world-shaking things OK. I expect to avoid (if possible) encounters deadly to my ship.
The sample Pirate Captain is 6th level, and the sample Pirate Priest is 5th level.
As I may get a 6th level NPC before I get a ship, I may go with the above setup. [I only need one more point of Leadership, which a level will get.] With me as Ship-Owner, deciding where we go, these two would run the ship and ensure it goes where I want.
Other followers will be an info network, feeding us targeting info.
Still others will be a witch coven for even more story stuff.
I will need to recruit non-followers for defense/boarding-party. I don't have enough 2nd/3rd slots for a decent offense/defense with the other allocations I already have. If I get the Suzerain Scepter, that will change as it will open lots of slots. Later, adding a Ring of the Ecclesiarch will add another set of slots.
EDIT: Actual compliment will likely be at least 50. 20 for my crew, 20 for a prize crew, and 10 or so for offense/defense & officers. Per the rules, it is not that crowded, but it does eat up cargo space.
/cevah
To give you some ideas, here's a list I researched for a friend,
giving the crew list for Captain Cook's voyage around the world in the Endeavour in the 1770's:
Captain and servant, clerk (keeps records, payroll, writes letters, etc.)
3 lieutenants, each with servant
Armorer (weapons, blacksmithing)
Boatswain and servant, 2 mates
Butcher
Carpenter and servant, 1 mate
Cook and servant
Gunner and servant
Master (navigation, cartography, detailed shiphandling) and servant, 3 mates
5 midshipmen (some promoted from AB or to master's mate)
Quartermaster (provisions, supplies)
Sailmaker
Surgeon and servant, 1 mate
A.B.'s (sailors) (51)
Marines: sergeant, corporal, drummer, privates (10)