Warlock Pirate

[tecnowraith]

What be good prestige classes and races for this concept? I will not play humans, never like playing one in D&D.

 

[Zurai]

There are very few prestige classes that benefit warlocks at all, and none that are nautically-flavored.

Humans almost invariably make the best warlocks in my experience, but if you're dead set against them, pick something with a Dexterity or Charisma bonus and no penalty to the other stat. Dex and Cha are the two primary stats for warlocks.

 

[irdeggman]

Yeah humans make the best warlocks because of the extra feat.

The class is feat-starved - getting no bonus feats along the way.

Precise Shot is a real useful feat (but it requires Point Blank Shot first).

The Heritage feat chains are likewise sweet (but again the class is feat starved).

And there are not that many good prestige classes for warlocks (even using Complete Mage - that has a few extra ones added)

The class doesn't really need a prestige class because of the wide choices available with invocations. Multi-classing really hurts the class.

One thing to always keep in mind is the UMD skill. Warlocks are the best there is with that skill, especially at higher levels when they start getting class abilities based on it.

 

[Shin Okada]

If that privateer is happen to be a chaotic good Robin-Hood type, consider becoming Enlightened Spirit prestige class in Complete Mage. That is basically a warlock who took the way of celestial instead of his fiendish heritage.

Regarding race, amongst core races, Half-Elf may work well IMHO. Low-light vision is useful for night watch. It is much better than Dark Vision when not so many dungesons are involved. And Half-Elf does not have any ability penalty. Bonus to negotiating skills will be useful for a pirate, too.

 

[Patlin]

Yeah humans make the best warlocks because of the extra feat.

Xeph warlocks rock. Psionic shot works great for a Warlock.

 

[AnonymousOne]

Well if you want the ultimate anti-ship combatant you are hard pressed to beat the Hellfire Warlock from the Fiendish Codex II.

Combine this with 1 level of Binder from the Tome of Magic (Bind Naberius which heals ability damage, as the Hellfire blast gives you CON damage).

You get a huge boost to your damage output and only lose 1 level of invocations.

Combine The Caustic Mire Invocation with the Hellfire Blast for more firey goodness damage. There is also one nice little thing about the Hellfire Prestige Class, the 'fire' they cast is Hellfire and as a result bypasses all fire Resistances and Immunities.

 

[sukael]

The sea kin race from Races of the Wild (IIRC) would work well. +0 LA human-derivative race, they get aquatic abilities instead of a bonus feat... but keep those ever-so-handy bonus skill points.

EDIT: Sea kin are actually in Races of Destiny, oops.

 

[Shin Okada]

If give up human's bonus feat, How about Aquatic Elf (MM) instead?

They' have int penalty instead of con penalty, Hihg dex will help warlock.
And of course, they are Aquatic.
They swim faster than sea kin (40ft. ) and have Superior Low-Light Vision.

 

[Elethiomel]

Fire damage on the high seas is all well and good for burning enemy ships to the waterline... but pirates want prizes! Prize vessels, preferrably. If some of the crew can be convinced to come over to your side, so much the better! I would say you could go for big flashy non-fire invocations, and even more importantly - social invocations. Be persuasive or threatening enough, and enemy ships will just throw their captain overboard and say "aye aye!"

 

[tecnowraith]

As of now I am thinking of either doing an amphibious race and using Fell Flight or doing a flying/winged race and then using Swimming the Styx. Doing either way will help reduce the Invocation choice and covering both terrain.