Pirate (3.5e Class)

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Author: Spazalicious Chaos (talk)
Date Created: Nov 30, 2010
Status: done-ish
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Pirate

Piracy is an ancient and time honored tradition of thievery that has been through various terms and names. Over time pirates have found they had common goals and problems, and in response have come together into an enormous infighting, back stabbing, treacherous criminal organization bound by the Pirates Code.

While any common rogue can claim to be a pirate and might pass for one, but where such claims fall apart is when the Code comes into play. The Code is that of a chaotic and evil society, purely in place to minimize the self destruction that plagues all such organizations, and only true pirates can ever be trusted to abide the Code, though interpretations vary on a nigh infinite margin.

Making a Pirate

The pirate is a diplomancer and sneak, able to take on a variety of supportive and main roles. A pirates specialty guarantees it will be proficient in some mode of transportation other than walking, and their combined stunt and sneak attack abilities make them surpassingly effective flankers and duelists. At later levels they begin benefiting from the pirate community at large, able to recruit men, sell loot at enhanced profit, and replace or acquire equipment. At high levels the pirate can become essential for wilderness adventures, using sea turtles to bring himself and his companions out of the badlands and into civilized and helpful hands.

Abilities: Dexterity and Charisma. To a lesser degree Wisdom and/or Strength as well as Constitution.

Races: All races produce outcasts that later become pirates, though innately lawful races, such as dwarves and goblins, are far less likely to produce pirates than the more chaotic races, such as elves and orcs.

Alignment: Any Chaotic.

Starting Gold: 4d8 x10 (average 180)

Starting Age: Simple.

Table: The Pirate

Hit Die: d8

Level Base
Attack Bonus
Saving Throws Special
Fort Ref Will
1st +0 +0 +2 +2 Pirates Code, Pirate Specialty, Trapfinding
2nd +1 +0 +3 +3 Evasion, Sneak Attack +1d6
3rd +2 +1 +3 +3 Stunt Attack 1/day
4th +3 +1 +4 +4 Sneak Attack +2d6, Uncanny Dodge
5th +3 +1 +4 +4 Contacts 1/week
6th +4 +2 +5 +5 Sneak Attack +3d6, Stunt Attack 2/day
7th +5 +2 +5 +5 Snatch Steal
8th +6/+1 +2 +6 +6 Improved Uncanny Dodge, Sneak Attack +4d6
9th +6/+1 +3 +6 +6 Stunt Attack 3/day
10th +7/+2 +3 +7 +7 Contacts 2/week, Sneak Attack +5d6
11th +8/+3 +3 +7 +7 Sea Turtles
12th +9/+4 +4 +8 +8 Sneak Attack +6d6, Stunt Attack 4/day
13th +9/+4 +4 +8 +8 Improved Evasion
14th +10/+5 +4 +9 +9 Sneak Attack +7d6
15th +11/+6/+1 +5 +9 +9 Contacts 3/week, Stunt Attack 5/day
16th +12/+7/+2 +5 +10 +10 Sneak Attack +8d6
17th +12/+7/+2 +5 +10 +10 Greater Sea Turtles
18th +13/+8/+3 +6 +11 +11 Sneak Attack +9d6, Stunt Attack 6/day
19th +14/+9/+4 +6 +11 +11 Specialty Perfection
20th +15/+10/+5 +6 +12 +12 Contacts 4/week, Sneak Attack +10d6

Class Skills (8 + Int modifier per level, ×4 at 1st level)
Appraise (Int), Balance (Dex), Bluff (Cha), Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Diplomacy (Cha), Disable Device (Int), Disguise (Cha), Escape Artist (Dex), Forgery (Int), Gather Information (Cha), Hide (Dex), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Knowledge Architecture and Engineering (Int), Knowledge Geography (Int), Knowledge Local (Int), Knowledge Nature (Int), Listen (Wis) Move Silently (Dex), Open Lock (Dex), Perform (Cha), Search (Int), Sense Motive (Wis), Sleight of Hand (Dex), Spot (Wis), Survival (Wis), Swim (Str), Tumble (Dex), Use Rope (Dex).

Class Features

All of the following are class features of the Pirate.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Pirates are proficient with all simple and martial weapons. They are also proficient with light armor but not with shields.

Trapfinding (Ex): As the rogue ability of the same name.

Pirate Specialty (Ex): At first level a pirate chooses a specialty and the associated skill from the following: Marine Corsair (Profession Sailor), Sky Marauder (Profession Pilot), River Rat (Profession Rafter), or Highway Man (Ride). A pirate has effective ranks in his specialty skill equal to his pirate level, which qualify for skill usage and prerequisites for feats and prestige classes.

Sneak Attack (Ex): At second level and every two levels thereafter the pirate gains sneak attack, as the rogue ability of the same name.

Evasion (Ex): At second level the pirate gains evasion, as the rogue ability of the same name.

Stunt Attack (Ex): Once per day at third level and for one additional time each day every three levels thereafter, the pirate may attempt a Jump, Tumble or Use Rope check to leave a target flat footed for until the pirates next turn. Action required to use the skill is unchanged, a failed attempt does use up the ability for that day, and the DC of the attempt depends on the skill used as shown below:

  • Jump: DC equal to that needed to clear the current effective height of target (i.e. it is easier to jump over a dragon that is crouching than one rearing up)
  • Tumble: DC as per tumbling through an enemies occupied space.
  • Use Rope: DC as for securing a grappling hook, adding both distance thrown for grappling hook target AND distance to be traveled for a rope swing.

If successful the pirate may make a single attack while performing the action.

Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At fourth level the pirate gains uncanny dodge, as the rogue ability of the same name.

Contacts (Ex): At fifth level a pirate gains the ability to ask for help from pirate society at large, asking for one favor a week and gaining one additional favor a week per every five pirate levels thereafter. In any given year, a community can only produce the resources necessary for one use of this ability for every 500 beings in its population. Once the local contact resources run out, they need a year and a day to replenish.

The favors granted by contacts can come in three kinds:

  • Crew: The pirate recruits a number of pirates whose combined levels equal the pirates own pirate levels, who work for the pirate that week under the strictures of the Code. None of pirates can exceed the pirates level -2 in level.
  • Fencing Loot: The pirate can sell up to 1,000 gold worth of items per pirate level at 75% market value instead of the normal 50% and trade and art goods for 125% value. Use the market value of the treasure to calculate selling limits.
  • Replacing Equipment: The pirate can buy up to 100 gold per pirate level of equipment for 75% market value. However, there is a 5% chance for every item bought using this ability that the item purchased was stolen.

Snatch Steal (Ex): At seventh level a pirate has mastered the art of literally stealing the shirt off some ones back. As a substitution of a melee attack, the pirate can make an opposed attack roll to steal an item of his targets body. For loosely carried items, such as necklaces and weapons in sheath the target gains no bonus, but worn items, such as rings and clothing, give the target a +4 bonus on his opposed attack roll. Items that are tightly bound to the body, such as most armors, can not be stolen. The pirate must have a free hand to use this attack. Success means the item is in the pirates free hand. A tie means the item is now on the floor between the pirate and the target. If the item is loosely carried, on a successful snatch steal the pirate may make a free slight of hand check that is opposed by the targets spot check, success resulting in the target being unaware the item is stolen.

Improved Uncanny Dodge (Ex): At eighth level the pirate gains improved uncanny dodge, as the rogue ability of the same name.

Sea Turtles (Su): At eleventh level a pirate becomes very difficult to get rid of. Anytime a pirate is lost on its native plane within a wilderness area, a pirate can activate this ability. The pirate isolates himself from the contact of sentient beings for three days, imbibing no food or water. Normal starvation and dehydration rules apply, though the pirate may use the higher of his fortitude or his survival skill to make the necessary saves. Normal animals, vermin, and magical beasts do not disturb the pirate during this time, and generally act as if the pirate is not there. Intelligent creature can attempt to disturb the pirate once per day, forcing a will save to maintain the trance. On the morning of the fourth day, the pirate immediately becomes aware of the nearest settlement or group of friendly intelligent beings. He may then track this group, avoiding the need to make any sort of check or save to avoid becoming lost. Once found, the beginning attitude towards the pirate and his companions is friendly. This ability can only be used once per month.

Improved Evasion (Ex): At thirteenth level the pirate gains improved evasion, as the rogue special ability of the same name.

Greater Sea Turtles (Su): At seventeenth level the pirate becomes impossible to abandon. A pirate may now use his sea turtles ability on planes other than his native plane. If used on another plane, this ability can also find a portal to the pirates home plane if one is closer than any settlement or group.

Specialty Perfection (Ex), (Sp): At nineteenth level a pirates skill reaches its pinnacle. Herein the pirate changes it's specialty title to include Captain, and gains the benefits below:

  • All: The pirate adds 30 ft of movement to any vehicle or mount he controls, and may control the vehicle or mount as a move action.
  • Marine Captain: Improves the maneuverability of any craft he commands one step and may use Control Winds as a spell-like ability once per day. Caster level equals pirate level.
  • Sky Captain: Improves the maneuverability of any craft he commands one step and may use Air Walk as a spell-like ability once per day. Caster level equals pirate level.
  • River Captain: Improves the maneuverability of any craft he commands one step and amy use Control Water as a spell-like ability once per day. Caster level equals pirate level.
  • Highway Captain: Improves the hit dice of any animal, magical beast, vermin, or elemental mount he rides by four and may use Commune With Nature as a spell-like ability once per day. Caster level equals pirate level.

Pirates Code: The following are all strictures of the pirates code. Following each stricture in parenthesis are common interpretations of the Code, as it is practiced by most pirates (aka the Chaotic Evil variety):

  • A pirate must give a share of loot taken to all parties involved, and fair compensation to losses in the taking. (Most pirates draw up a contract that detail what constitutes a share, as well as specific compensation for specific circumstances. Of course, they also take care to ensure they take enough slacker casualties to increase their own wealth.)
  • A pirate may not take hostile action during a negotiation, and obey all terms of said negotiation. (Pirates often make excellent use of poor wording during negotiations, turning the tables on any agreement. Also, many pirates also use negotiation to position their crew, which is not technically a "hostile action" and mere prudent thinking.)
  • A pirate shall maintain his equipment to be battle ready at all times. (Often obeyed to the letter.)
  • A pirate who falls behind shall be left behind. (While many pirates follow this part to the letter, some good pirates can and do rescue companions that get left, as the Code says absolutely nothing against going back, only stopping in the middle.)
  • A pirate shall defer to his captain in matters of command and shall not betray his captain, in the exception of a captain no longer fit to command. (Pirates prey upon their captains to find any weakness, thus the longest lived captains are the strongest or most clever of their kind. However, captured pirates get around this part of the code by "resigning" their former captain and crew.)

Ex-Pirates

Any pirate who violated the Pirates Code or becomes lawful in alignment loses access to contacts, sea turtles, and greater sea turtles. The pirate can no longer advance in pirate levels, but may regain their lost abilities through an atonement cast by a cleric with at least 5 levels in pirate. Keep in mind that pirates have no restrictions on multiclassing, and therefore does not ever violate the name of piracy to do so.

Epic Pirate

Table: The Epic Pirate

Hit Die: d8

Level Special
21st Stunt Attack 7/day
22nd Sneak Attack +11d6
23rd
24th Sneak Attack +12d6, Stunt Attack 8/day
25th Contacts 5/week
26th Sneak Attack +13d6
27th Stunt Attack 9/day
28th Sneak Attack +14d6
29th
30th Contacts 6/week, Sneak Attack +15d6, Stunt Attack 10/day

8 + Int modifier skill points per level.

Half-Elven Pirate Starting Package

Weapons: Rapier, Dagger, Light Crossbow.

Skill Selection:

Skill Ranks Ability Armor
Check
Penalty
Appraise 4 Int
Balance 4 Dex 0
Bluff 4 Cha
Climb 4 Str 0
Escape Artist 4 Dex 0
Hide 4 Dex 0
Jump 4 Str 0
Move Silently 4 Dex 0
Slight of Hand 4 Dex 0
Swim 4 Str 0
Tumble 4 Dex 0
Use Rope 4 Dex

Feat: Dodge.

Gear: Leather Armor, 50 ft silk rope with grappling hook, thieves tools, backpack, bedroll, water skin, 1 days trail rations, flint and steel, boot sheath for dagger, hooded lantern, 3 pints of oil.

Gold: 2d8 gold, 2d10 silver.

Campaign Information

To include pirates into your campaign is to include a form of organized crime. For pirates to work as presented above, they need established histories and fronts as an organization or several organizations. Multiple would be more realistic, as it must always be remembered that pirates are a chaotic and evil society. A good 60%-80& of pirates encountered as NPCs will be chaotic evil.

If you are incorporating pirates into an existing world, they can make excellent additions to any thieves guild. They share many of the same skills as other guild members, and their skill sets make them ideal for smuggling and wilderness theft, both long standing traditions in thieves guilds. They can also work as an opposing force to an established guild, for many of a pirates and thief's interests overlap.

Playing a Pirate

Religion: Pirates prefer gods of theft and luck. However, due to their exposer to the harshness of the wilderness many pirates take up the worship of elemental and natural forces and gods. In fact, many a pirate crew has a druid in the place of a cleric serving the role of a spiritual advisor.

Other Classes: Paladins and pirates do not mix. Period. The ideals of a pirate conflicts almost completely with those of a paladin. It is the very rare party that includes a pirate and a paladin. Pirates get along well with most of the other classes, particularly the "everyman" classes like rogues and fighters. Pirates hold a healthy respect for rangers and barbarians, often tainted with a "there go I but for the grace of the gods" attitude. Bard+pirate= kick ass party in many cases. Monks, cleric and wizards always seem cloistered and way too esoteric for most pirates to be completely comfortable around them, though the raw power and natural fury of the sorcerer and druid are almost irresistible to the pirate.

Combat: Pirates are much like sewer rats- vicious when backed into a corner. Pirate prefer to gang up and flank enemies, but only when they can't just sneak up and slit a throat. Using their environment a pirate can be surprisingly effective in a stand up fight, using their stunt attack to leave their enemies open.

Pirates in the World

Come about, lads! We'll take these bastard for everything they got and more! For glory! For our freedom! AND FOR TREASURE!!!
—Taylor Jannorson, half-elf pirate

Pirates are the combat sneaks and smugglers that stalk the wilds and prey upon those who have anything worth taking.

Daily Life: Pillaging, drinking, flogging, wenching. Just another day on the job.

Organizations: Pirate have formed their own society over the decades, becoming their own dark criminal underworld of an organization. While the pirate world is fractious, full of infighting, and cut throat in any of its dealings, the underhanded work of piracy churns on. While pirates rarely work together in units larger than a few ships, great threats to piracy have caused them to unite into navies that destroy nations, all under the influence of an elected pirate king.

NPC Reactions: To most of the world, pirates are dangerous louts and bullies that can be kept reasonably calm if you keep the ale flowing. Almost no one trusts pirates, with the exception of a few naive and innocent people that have been spoon-fed stupid stories of good pirate stealing form the rich and giving to the poor or the monsters or some other happy bunny bullshit case.

Pirate Lore

Characters with ranks in Knowledge Local can research pirates to learn more about them. When a character makes a skill check, read or paraphrase the following, including information from lower DCs.

<-the appropriate skills->
DC Result
5 There are men who travel across the world, stealing the world treasures and trading them among themselves. While they go by many names, the most universal is Pirate.
10 Pirates are smugglers and sneaks, all with a affinity for some craft or riding. They are also well connected with one another, and can call on each other for aid.
15 All pirates are bound to a set of rules called the Pirates Code. The Code keeps pirates and their society from ripping itself apart, though the chaos is barely maintained.
20 This high a result allows research of individual famous pirates and their exploits.

Pirates in the Game

If you are looking for smugglers and thieves, but find that rogues just aren't fitting the bill, the pirate is your next best bet.

Adaptation: This class only needs adaptation if you want to include or eliminate a Pirate Specialty. For example, if there are not airships on your world, you may want to eliminate Sky Marauder. But if a desert culture has weird bullshit sand skimming craft, it would be more than fitting to create a "Sand Buccaneer" specialty.



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Facts about "Pirate (3.5e Class)"
Allowed AlignmentsChaotic Good +, Chaotic Neutral + and Chaotic Evil +
Article BalanceHigh +
AuthorSpazalicious Chaos +
Base Attack Bonus ProgressionModerate +
Class AbilityMartial Maneuvers + and Sneak Attack +
Class Ability ProgressionOther +
Fortitude Save ProgressionPoor +
Identifier3.5e Class +
Length20 +
Minimum Level1 +
Rated ByNolanf +
RatingRating Pending +
Reflex Save ProgressionGood +
SkillAppraise +, Balance +, Bluff +, Climb +, Craft +, Diplomacy +, Disable Device +, Disguise +, Escape Artist +, Forgery +, Gather Information +, Hide +, Intimidate +, Jump +, Knowledge Architecture and Engineering +, Knowledge Geography +, Knowledge Local +, Knowledge Nature +, Listen +, Move Silently +, Open Lock +, Perform +, Search +, Sense Motive +, Sleight of Hand +, Spot +, Survival +, Swim +, Tumble + and Use Rope +
Skill Points8 +
SummaryA smuggler, thief, and general villain that is merely one part of a grand organization of crime. +
TitlePirate +
Will Save ProgressionGood +