How to build a Pirate

[Sab1]

I am curious what people think, with pirates now a thing, what would be a good swashbuckler/pirate build?

[DirtyDeity]

One of the most genuine sailor/swashbuckler characters I've seen was a simple weapon master with a Rapier.

I guess the question really is what you feel is necessary for a pirate/swashbuckler character to have, and we can work from there. Because there are tons of options.

[BegoneThoth]

13/10/7 would be a very potent pirate indeed.

[Baron Saturday]

I'd definitely say that significant rogue levels seem very appropriate, thematically if nothing else, so the 13/10/7 Dex WM fits the role really well.

Also gonnes.

Also I will make sweet love to anyone who plays a parrot totem druid-pirate that's just constantly in parrot form.

[Durvayas]

Rapier and parry dagger(or dueling buckler) build. Skill focus parry, Epic skill focus parry, ALL OF THE PARRY. Be a true swashbuckler! Yarr!

This would probably nescessitate a number of fighter levels, though could also be done with a FTR/WM/RG 20/7/3

The 13/10/7 is also a solid build.

[Shadowy Reality]

I can already see it. A whole pirate crew surrounding a lone sailor, parrying.

[Huelander]

I can already see it. A whole pirate crew surrounding a lone sailor, parrying.

And using the Taunt Skill, as the lone Sailor is trying to hit one of them.

[Hunter548]

Using a parrying dagger is tempting, but I'd suggest not bothering with the dual weilding feats and instead using the fencing buckler or whatever it's called (It's a small shield with 4 AC and some +parry on it). Dex weaponmasters, at least, are incredibly feat starved.

[Dr. B]

21/6/3 Paladin/Ftr/Rogue. Plunder evil people's stolen treasure and return it to their legal owners.

[Sab1]

And if you can't find the orginial owner, I guess that means you get to keep it.

[Dr. B]

No, you have to donate it to charity.

[TroubledWaters]

I really wanted to do this build, but I can't wrap my head around a pirate with a shield. It just looks and feels ugly!

Is the buckler small, at least?

[Dr. B]

I really wanted to do this build, but I can't wrap my head around a pirate with a shield.

A pirate is someone who practices piracy. You can be anything and use any equipment, as long as it can take an alignment that allows you to commit acts of piracy.

[TroubledWaters]

I think style points are super important for proper pirating! Carrying around a shield makes it harder for you to operate your ship or climb up the mast.

I'm also not sure how stupidly this game renders a shield on top of the hook hand.

[Cerk Evermoore]

As someone who played a parry rogue. It can either work great, or be horrible and make you wonder why you choose that build.

[TroubledWaters]

I love this idea for a pirate, but isn't parry bugged in NWN?

Like you can only parry 3 attacks per round or something like that, even if you have more attacks?

[Cortex]

20 7 3

anything can be justified, anything works

[Baron Saturday]

I love this idea for a pirate, but isn't parry bugged in NWN?

Like you can only parry 3 attacks per round or something like that, even if you have more attacks?

It's not so much bugged as it was nerfed and then they didn't change the documentation. But yes, basically you can only parry 3 attacks/round. Arelith does buff parry a bit, however. While in parry mode, your character gets +5 AB and a damage bonus that scales 1:2 up to 20 ranks of parry and 1:4 afterwards, so at 20 ranks you get 10 bonus damage, and at 60 ranks you get 20.

This means parry can be quite effective in certain situations and on certain builds. Epic Dodge characters with parry are difficult targets in 1v1 duels, essentially requiring you to avoid melee combat while parry is active. However, parry requires considerable feat/skill point/gear investment, so there's a large tradeoff, and there's a multitude of counters to someone entering parry mode.

[Zae]

How about an halfling ? Fighter - weapon master - shadowdancer, good damage + tanky enough with ED, and of course the auto-guard from the shadow.

[Baron Saturday]

How about an halfling ? Fighter - weapon master - shadowdancer, good damage + tanky enough with ED, and of course the auto-guard from the shadow.

The problem here is that you're having to cross-class hide/ms/tumble. This means two things: One, you're going to be critically low on skill points, and two, you won't be able to take SD until level 18. This second part in particular is an issue, since you want to take AT LEAST 13, preferably 14, levels of SD for the shadow to be at all effective. If you did take 13 levels on this build, you'd end up having to take SD for all your epic levels, and that means no epic weapon spec or discipline dump.

You'd be much better off dropping WM for rogue. A fighter/rogue/assassin could make an excellent duellist swashbuckler, for instance.

[Zae]

Being low on skill isn't really an issue to be honest. Since it's not at all your role into a party, PvE or even PvP.
Actually going for 12 fighter - 7 weapon master - 11 shadowdancer (and more if it's above 30 lvl).

And still, i have the epic two feats with fighter into epic lvl.

[Baron Saturday]

Arelith has a level 30 cap. Just be aware that with only 11 levels of SD, your shadow is going to be pretty weak!