Excellent Pirate Game [3.5]

[RobbyPants]

If you want a mystical feel, there are a lot of ways you can go, often with a single level dip.  This is even better if you're not trying to optimize your NPCs; that opens up a lot of options.

Sorcerers represent innate magic, which could spice up any character type.

If you wanted a monk, you could further change it with the Sacred Fist or Enlightend Fist PrCs.

An aquatic druid type could work really well.  We're always used to seeing land-based animal companions and summons, but this need not be the case.

I know that VoP is gimp, of course, which is why I'm trying to set him up with a strong base class. Gotta give him some gimpage so as to not outshine anyone.

Well, my understanding is that VoP is only gimped becuase it isn't as flexible as having your own gear (assuming you have a choice) and it puts you behind the WBL power.  Of course, in a stingy game, VoP can be much stronger comparitively.  That being said, you could always tweak the table a bit to put VoP characters on par with everyone else in your game.

[woodenbandman]

So far he's a Monk/Spirit Shaman going into Sacred Fist next level. I've got plans for him.

His AC is really high, 24, and he has Combat Expertise. He'll mostly be dealing with touches, whether they're Touches of Black Ice, or casting Vigor or Cure spells.

[RobbyPants]

He'll mostly be dealing with touches, whether they're Touches of Black Ice, or casting Vigor or Cure spells.

Touch of Golden Ice?  As in ravishes and afflictions from BoED?  Nice against a lot of evil, living opponents.

[woodenbandman]

Oh those players! They totally failed to destroy the Evil Artifact^TM and instead tried to take it and use its power for evil, after tricking a Bralani Eladrin and thus earning the ire of the entirety of the Olympian Glades of Arboria, then captured the guy who sent the guy who sent them on the quest, then killed the exalted monk, and broke the spirit of the bad guy who works for the Evil Company.^TM

It was great. I think that this was one of the greatest sessions I've ever run, and I'm sure I'll get better from here. It's always a joy to see players come into their own, especially if death and destruction are involved. Plus, now they get to be pirates with the entire free world after them. They will pretty much have the market cornered on evil deeds. This is turning out better than I'd planned. Only kinda disappointed that they skipped some of my encounters, but I can always throw those back into the mix later. Mainly the Drowned, the Living Cone of Cold, the 10th level Necropolitan Hadozee druid with animal companion, and of course, the new villain the Bralani Eladrin Swordsage2.

[RobbyPants]

Awesome!  I bet they loved the look on your face, too.

Never underestimate the ability of the players to have motives you would never possibly anticipate.

[woodenbandman]

I think that this campaign has a good 4 or 5 more adventures in it, unless they want to go fucking all out and level up to high enough levels to conquer the 7 mounting heavens. THAT would be a campaign for the ages!

Party is a Feral Merfolk Scout4, a Draconic Ninja3/Monk2, but he's strongly considering changing into a Swordsage, a Goliath Mountain Raging Barbarian aimed Frenzied Berserker, Wolf Totem, though I'm going to talk to him about taking Lion Totem from CC as well, and the players who missed the session, a Warforged Artificer who crafts things at a ridiculously low overhead, and the Warmage-aimed-Eldritch Knight. We also might have one other guy join as a character X, which is undecided now. The players who made it and I all had a fantastic time, it was all hilarious and I think we'll be doing it again in a few weeks.

[blacklitelust]

Btw, not to revive this topic, but anyone who revisits this idea may wish to consider banning certain types of magic. Primarily, the school of magic that contains Teleport. This will force the players to play the pirate game and allow for interesting encounters when an NPC shows up with one of those spells...