good base class for dread pirate?

[brehobit]

Bard.

Agreed. Stacks nicely with some of dread pirate abilities.

When you go Dread Pirate, take the Dishonorable route. You don't have to be evil, you just have to make others think you are.

Why? the honorable one is _really_ nice with a bard. I felt the dishonorable one was significantly weaker....

 

[Remathilis]

Reqs:

Any Nonlawful, Bab +4, Appraise 8, Prof: Sailor 8, Swim 4, Use Rope 4, Quick Draw, Weapon Finesse, must have a ship

Sadly, only three classes offer appraise as a class skill: Bard, Rogue and Spellthief (Cad). So to get 8 ranks in it, you got to have at least 1 level in one of those three classes. The rest can easily be gained via a multitude of other classes: swashbuckler, scout, ranger, etc. Fighter and Barbarian lack Profession as a CS, so it makes you even more dependent on Multi-classing.

So a couple of builds to consider:

Rogue5: You'll be getting better at offense once you get into DP, but your SA will falter unless you go dishonorable.
Bard5: A poor choice. You're bardsongs and spells will both suffer.
Fighter3/Rogue2: The classic. Fighter feats to emphasize combat, and SA for fighting. Best with Dishonorable route.
Swashbuckler3/Rogue2. Same as F/R, but more emphasis on skills, less on feats. Goes well for the stereotype.
Ranger2/Rogue3: An odd mix, but good if your FE is a sea-based creature. Just take the archery path, you'll be getting TWF soon enough.
Fighter2/Bard3: A bit more a back-rank character, but good for buffs and a bit of healing.
Swashbuckler3/Bard2: Great for Charisma/Jack Sparrow types.

 

[Felix]

Why? the honorable one is _really_ nice with a bard. I felt the dishonorable one was signficantly weaker....

Because I like the flavor of intimidating for pirates; the Dread Pirate Roberts is as cool as he is because he is known as the worst scallywag on the seas. But this is a flavor issue, so your taste may vary.

Secondly, I like the idea that the Dread Pirate fights using not only his sword, but also with fear. The feats Kiai Shout and Intimidating Strike, when used in conjunction with the Demoralize Opponent option of Intimidate, can render anyone in melee with you afraid and cause them to run away: what will the opposing ship's company do when they see their captain is too frightened to fight the Evil Pirate? This is a mechanics tactic, and while it can be defeated without too much fuss, it makes for an interesting character, says I.

Thirdly, if you're honorable you're not a pirate in the Ninja-vs-Pirate sense of the word: you're a dandy who can chart a course and talk nice at people. The mechanics might work well with the bard, but if you're taking a class called "Dread Pirate", then go make people afraid of you: Intimidate them!

Bard5: A poor choice. You're bardsongs and spells will both suffer.

Quite right. I also think it's a poor choice to always go into a PrC at the earliest possible opportunity. I'd wait until Bard 8 before taking Dread Pirate.

 

[Rystil Arden]

Secondly, I like the idea that the Dread Pirate fights using not only his sword, but also with fear.

Hmm...fear...maybe someone should make a Dread Pirate / Dread Witch hybrid character--not just because they both start with Dread either. The base class could be Dread Necromancer

 

[Felix]

Epic PrC: Legendary Dreadnaught?

 

[TheLe]

[imager]http://www.thele.com/TheLeGames/images/tn/UnorthodoxPirates_tn200w.jpg[/imager]SorvahrSpahr, Why use a base class, when you can have a core Pirate Class? Better yet, how about six?

I sent you a free copy of my book, Unorthodox Pirates!

Compliments of The Le Games (pronounced Tay Lee Games)

-The Le
on the web at www.TheLeGames.com

 

[Simm]

I you're going to use Ninja as a base class you have to be warforged.
Remember: the one thin that beats ninja/pirates are robot/ninja/pirates!

 

[Aus_Snow]

on dinosaurs?

 

[TroyXavier]

Of course.

Dread Pirate is a very cool class and mixing in some form of Swash/Bard/Rogue seems the best avenue.

 

[Aeric]

Epic PrC: Legendary Dreadnaught?

Of Legacy.