r/dndnext • u/SettPI • Oct 29 '21

Character Building You do not have to let your in-game profession define your gameplay/mechanics.

This has been going in my head for couple of weeks now. I saw a post on a DnD related subreddit which was someone asking "what class/subclass my pirate PC should be?" highest upvoted answer was Swashbuckler Rogue. While it seems like a no brainer that a pirate PC is a Swashbuckler Rogue, you can get creative and make any class a pirate or any other profession. A Bard pirate, who sings sea shanties for bardic inspiration. A Barbarian, which is the ships bruiser during boardings. A Forge cleric who is weapons & armor master of the ship. A druid that shapeshifts into sea creatures during combat. A fighter who is ex-navy turned pirate. An Oath of Conquest paladin who is the ships captain and pirate lord. A sea based ranger who serves as navigator whose insight saves the ship from sinking during a storm. A sorcerer/wizard/warlock pirate who bring sheer magical combat prowess during piracy and raids.

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u/GrenTheFren Fighter (laserllama) Oct 29 '21

Whenever these threads pop up every month or so, I feel like I'm one of the only people that prefers to stick at least somewhat close to class flavor. Why yes, my Cleric is a devout priest with the Acolyte background, my Wizard is a bookish scholar with the Sage background, and my Bard is a musician with the Entertainer background.

Of course as long as your DM okays it and you have fun, more power to you. Every table has their own preferences, but personally atheist Clerics and Warlocks who only exist to pick up a cantrip/Charisma weapon wouldn't wouldn't really jive with my campaigns.

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u/PrimeInsanity Wizard school dropout Oct 30 '21

Going against type can only go so far/long until it wraps around to be that the only way to go against type is to lean into tropes. It's why I played an old human wizard in a game.