Skull & Shackles: Pirates of the Skies [Pathfinder | Now closed]

Started by Heady Dionysus, November 29, 2017, 02:46:03 AM

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Vergil Tanner

But opinion noted! I just want to get some feedback on the build before I go back and alter my entire Stat Sheet xD
Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

Kathyan

I know, I was even considered going gunslinger at first or maybe even multiclassing into one myself so I had the same thoughts.


Quote from: kingmaster1 on December 01, 2017, 01:38:59 AM
We've got 3 guys and 4 ladies so far, we clearly need at least 2 more women :-P
I had that very same thought crossing my mind ;D

kingmaster1


Vergil Tanner

All the boobies indeed! I just need to figure out what TYPE of boobies I want :P
Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

Ziether

Quote from: Vergil Tanner on December 01, 2017, 09:13:45 AM
My problem is, it relies heavily on finding the right gun quickly, and is not very useful until like...Level 4. >.> It's an interesting concept, and I would love to play it...buuuuut it relies heavily on not dying until my first few levels have come past. :P

Having played a Picaroon, I can attest that this is 100% correct. It's a fine archetype at higher levels, but not great for leveling with from 1.
Under Emergency Maintenance

Vergil Tanner

I knoooow, but if I can just get there, it will be so awesome. xD
Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

kingmaster1


Vergil Tanner

Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

Vergil Tanner

Archetypes alter how classes work by swapping out different abilities. My Sword and Pistol build uses two Archetypes for the Gunslinger and Fighter, the Piccoon and the Trench Fighter respectively :P
Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

Vergil Tanner

Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

kingmaster1

Oooh, neat :-P

Can everyone do multiclass at some point? Could I be a witch druid? :-P

Vergil Tanner

Eeeeeh, you COULD, but Spellcasters are really better off NOT Multiclassing. You're diluting your power for no real gain. My possible S&P build requires multiclassing to get the goodies, but a Witch or a Druid or a Sorcerer or a Wizard? Best avoid Multiclassing, or you'll shoot yourself in the foot.
Vergil's Faceclaim Archive; For All Your Character Model Seeking Needs!


Men in general judge more by the sense of sight than by that of touch, because everyone can see but few can test by feeling. Everyone sees what you seem to be, few know what you really are; and those few do not dare take a stand against the general opinion. Therefore it is unnecessary to have all the qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

Dubbed the "Oath of Drake,"
A noble philosophy; I adhere...for now.

kingmaster1

Quote from: Vergil Tanner on December 01, 2017, 10:30:39 AM
Eeeeeh, you COULD, but Spellcasters are really better off NOT Multiclassing. You're diluting your power for no real gain. My possible S&P build requires multiclassing to get the goodies, but a Witch or a Druid or a Sorcerer or a Wizard? Best avoid Multiclassing, or you'll shoot yourself in the foot.

Okay, good advice :-P

Saric

Quote from: kingmaster1 on December 01, 2017, 10:24:03 AM
Oooh, neat :-P

Can everyone do multiclass at some point? Could I be a witch druid? :-P

The first commandment of character optimization is "Thou shalt not give up caster levels" for a reason. :P
"I believe in dragons, good men, and other fantasy creatures." - Slovotsky's Law #42

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” - Terry Pratchett (Rest in Peace, Master Storyteller)

Daril

Thank you to those of you who suggested the oracle class.  I now have two possible takes on the "robin hood" (it's really more like a headband in her case  :P) pirate girl.

Sorceress: A girl from a generally peaceful island community who grew up hearing stories about "good pirates" such as her father, who freed her mother and from whom she inherited the draconic blood that drives her to adventure.

Oracle: A slave girl who was granted powers by the gods.  Once freed, she uses her powers to help the weak and the oppressed -supplemented where necessary with a musket and a brace of pistols.  ;)

Both characters are intended to be the sort who whole heartedly enjoy life.  I know those are pretty vague outlines, but does anyone have any thoughts on them?  Would they fit the setting and work well mechanically?  Any advice on builds?

Zaer Darkwail

Quote from: Saric on December 01, 2017, 11:07:18 AM
The first commandment of character optimization is "Thou shalt not give up caster levels" for a reason. :P

Unless you enter OP prestige classes. Evangelist is one example where you loose one caster level but retain all class progression otherwise 9 levels and get couple extra abilities (spirit form at 10th level can provide awesome stuff as you still get class capstone at 20th level). Also Darkfire Adept is very good pick if want specialize as conjurer and not want go Diabolist (first one sacrifices -3 CL and thus get 9th level spells only if your preparing spells where as later has fiendish obedience requirement and does not fit all campaigns).

Anyways on opinions on that instead of investigator (a divine powered melee avenger, albeit weapon finesse kicks in at 3th level) I could also join with second char concept; Iorthir Icesong, a half-elf viking from Lands of Linnorm Kings and is snowborn half-elf, with snowcaster elf parent who got exiled from the tribe since birth of the char. Reason why he is so far from home at pirate oceans is that trade vessel he was on was struck on storm and he fell overboard, but survived thanks drifting to island where he then joined another vessel as bodyguard for merchant who came to trade with pirate bay....and while spending earned cash in local tavern he fell for victim of pirate trickery.

Ixy

   
Shissan Qua'ath
Level 1 Aquatic Elf Ranger
Chaotic Good

Bio: Far from the depths of the coldest trenches, Shissan's tribe enjoyed the warmth of the Endless Seas' long stretches of warm currents and volcanic jetties, where the surface land was too sparse for civilization to be founded above.  They thrived where the rocky shoals, like great teeth, forbid ships' passage and provided defensible fortresses from natural enemies. 

Her mother rose to the surface to enjoy sunbaked isles and subtropical shores, revering the beauty of untouched nature to commune with Yuelral's and Ketephys' creations on land, never forgetting that their ancestors came from the land as naturally as they took to the sea.  She was born as night brought Desna's dark above like the dark below there in the shoals-- the kin knew its peace and protection was for them, no matter what plague or swarm came, and they drifted from sea to sea as nomads, their city shifting with them, the whole of the ocean their kingdom.  They named her Shissan Qua'ath for the sound the waves made gently cresting and lapping at the shore.

For decades, they swam the temperate depths and currents, and the girl learned to hunt and commune with her people.  Sometimes they spoke with their Sylvan cousins via shared thoughts and rites at the undersea temples, and over many years she learned their tongue.  They shared relics and knowledge retrieved from the depths for those of the surface, and thus remained as they should; beings of the surf, washing ashore through their cousins, basking in the sun but returning to the depths, their homes, where they belonged. 

But Shissan was precocious and too curious, and her father scolded her for her fascination with the surface-creatures she collected, carrying underwater in bubble-filled shells to study before returning them to shore.  They could sting, they could bite, and there were dangers up there.  But those things-- the great wooden-bellied ships that carried men and elves, that they were warned carried thieves and murderers?  They were slow, and unwieldy, and could be easily watched from afar, could they not..?

So she traded stories with merfolk, she made friends among others of the tribe who had walked the sands for days, weeks, even months-- and she learned all she could of other beings in that world above.  She began to mentor as an adolescent with an explorer named Chal'eth, who showed her the wonders of humankind, who could forge metal and kiln clay in fires, who wrote words on sheaves of paper so thin and stacked so closely they could be bound together in thousands of 'pages', who drank liquid concoction, slept in the air, who drowned and sailed ships and spoke strange words with only air and lived in the same towns their whole lives sometimes.

Chal'eth became her first and only lover, her patience and adoration for the young elf's enthusiasm striking a semblance of narcissism in herself, perhaps... but in the end it was that desire to impress her young paramour that led to her downfall.  Too close to pirates, it seems... the tribe's nomadic ways had entered dangerous waters in the Shackles, but Chal'eth thought she was up to this challenge and took Shissan to view the pirate ships and villages of free-folk-- of so she'd heard-- where anything could be bartered for.  Chal'eth and Shissan were to be taken captive by a slave-raiding ship that, even in the Shackles, was operating outside the law of the land, but Chal'eth would not yield, and was murdered in defense of her young friend's escape.

Ten years later, Shissan's kin have accepted that her mourning is at its end, and released her to seek her revenge.  With the guidance of a human cleric devoited to the Angels Empyreal, she has shunned the old gods and devoted herself to Arshea in the hopes of liberating slaves and destroying slavers in the Shackles, and asking the aid of Calistria she is set upon the path of revenge... only to find herself ironically forced into pressed service herself.

Personality: Shissan has the strange, aloof air of her species due to her captivated curiosity with the surface world.  She is silent and reserved about her 'greater mission' of revenge, but dedicated entirely to it... still, her kind's determination for purpose is less about emotive communication than task-oriented mindfulness.  When she has a strong emotion, she simply acts upon it-- without preface, but not without plan.  Humor delights her, but subtleties of common language escape her grasp.  Strongly empathetic, she is easily duped by emotional demonstration, though primal in her reactions to simple emotional displays such as intimidation or jests.

Description:  With long, thick violet hair and angular, alien features, Shissan is clearly not like surface elves of any species.  Her skin is a dusky-turquoise that gleams slightly with moisture in the light, seeming always slick to the touch and eerily smooth.  Though petite of stature and frame, every muscle is taut from constant swimming and exertion, and her compact body yields shocking strength.  Natural markings of violet striations pattern her legs, back, mid-chest, and forehead, masking the native outline of her body in the water and naturally obfuscating the sensitive gills that seamlessly line her respiratory tract.

Types of adventures sought: She wants to build a wildly successful small army that, while outside the law, has its own code of what is right, and will liberate the oppressed-- especially seeking to crush those whose ambitions for wealth value the part and parcel of human lives to make coin.

Intimate desires: She desires adventurous, attentive, and passionate lovemaking with men and women of other species.  She's never been with a man, but she knows the touch of one woman with whom she was once in love.  To relive that sense of adoration for another and physical pleasure would make her feel more complete, but she doesn't want one lover... she desires many, and perhaps to explore them at once.
______________________
The big print giveth, the small print taketh away.

kingmaster1


Kathyan

Updated my sheet, practically finished except for the choosing of my social talent, I'm between either social grace or renown.

TFcommando

Quote from: Vergil Tanner on December 01, 2017, 05:15:11 AM
Yeah, but that still requires having loads of swords, which affects encumbrance. And at higher levels? Yeeaaaah, that doesn't work as much. Although, the Picaroon does offer some good options. Later in the game, I'd likely want something like a pepperbox pistol, so I get six shots off before I reload. Probably best to Multiclass between Picaroon gunslinger and Trench Fighter. *nodnod*

Also, Zair, awesome...but not all GM's would do that :P It depends on GM discretion :P

Four rapiers wouldn't be all that much, and you've got light armor! :)  The key item for later on is the Glove of Storing, which lets you suck one item into a glove or back out as a free action. 

I'm leaning towards a ranged type sharpshooter now, either the gunslinger musket master or the spellslinger wizard 1/magus eldritch archer the rest of the way musket user.  Mage Bullets provide a great synergy with a magus' arcane pool.  You can get a +1 enchanted rifle with a +1 effect like flaming or shock four times a day with one level of each.
Behold!  My O&Os
Highly interested in
Canon Character Roleplay and System-based Roleplay

Zaer Darkwail

Why multiclass as spellslinger wizard+eldritch archer? As you can just with eldricth archer gain enchantment bonuses on your gun and fire line/cone spells from it later on (only what you get is magic gun feature but I imagine if you trade one magus arcana for it then you mimic spellslinfer first level ability with magus).

Ixy

______________________
The big print giveth, the small print taketh away.

TFcommando

Quote from: Zaer Darkwail on December 01, 2017, 04:21:43 PM
Why multiclass as spellslinger wizard+eldritch archer? As you can just with eldricth archer gain enchantment bonuses on your gun and fire line/cone spells from it later on (only what you get is magic gun feature but I imagine if you trade one magus arcana for it then you mimic spellslinfer first level ability with magus).

It's more front-loaded and lets you get a gun that fires your choice of elementally-enhanced bullets at level 2, for the duration of a battle, four times a day.  There just aren't that many spells TO shoot with the gun using Ranged Spellstrike either.  Ray of Frost at 0, Burning Hands at 1 (and you have to get way too close to people!), Scorching Ray or Acid Orb at 2.
Behold!  My O&Os
Highly interested in
Canon Character Roleplay and System-based Roleplay

kingmaster1


Saric

Quote from: Zaer Darkwail on December 01, 2017, 12:56:09 PM
Unless you enter OP prestige classes. Evangelist is one example where you loose one caster level but retain all class progression otherwise 9 levels and get couple extra abilities (spirit form at 10th level can provide awesome stuff as you still get class capstone at 20th level). Also Darkfire Adept is very good pick if want specialize as conjurer and not want go Diabolist (first one sacrifices -3 CL and thus get 9th level spells only if your preparing spells where as later has fiendish obedience requirement and does not fit all campaigns).

*snip*

The Ten Commandments of Optimization
I. Thou shalt not give up caster levels.

II. Wieldest thou thy two-handed weapon with alacrity; but two weapons shalt thou not wield, excepting that thou hast a source of bonus damage such as Sneak Attack.

III. Doubt not the power of the Druid, for he is mighty.

IV. Avoid ye the temptation of Gauntlets of True Strike, for they shall lead thee astray down the Path of Non-Rule Cheese.

V. Thou shalt not give up caster levels. Verily, this Commandment is like unto the first; but of such magnitude that it bore mentioning twice.

VI. Makest thou no build with an odd number of fighter levels, unless that number be one, for such things are not pleasing to the Spirits of Optimization.

VII. The Rules of 3.5 are paramount; invoke not the rules of 3.0 if a newer version be available.

VIII. When beseeching the Bretheren of Optimization, come thou not empty handed, lest they smite thee; rather, bringest thou thine own build, that they may offer suggestions and guidance.

IX. Invoke not "common sense," for it is not common.

X. Call no build "the Ultimate", unless his name be Pun Pun, lest the Bretheren top thine build within five minutes of posting.

Bonus: Moment of Optimization Tao!
There once was a master optimizer who created casters without full caster levels. A novice optimizer, seeking to imitate him, also began to create casters without full caster levels. When the novice asked the master to evaluate his progress, the master criticized him for creating casters without full caster level, saying, "What is appropriate for the master is not appropriate for the novice. You must understand the Tao before transcending caster level."



Yea Verily!

Edit: Please note that Rule VII is somewhat outdated and should now read "The Rules of Pathfinder are paramount; invoke not the rules of 3.5 if a newer version be available.
"I believe in dragons, good men, and other fantasy creatures." - Slovotsky's Law #42

“Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten.”― Neil Gaiman, Coraline

“The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.” - Terry Pratchett (Rest in Peace, Master Storyteller)