Captain Bones

Dungeons and Dragons 3.5 Character Reference Guide

Character created by Dylan McClure

 Foreword
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Captain Bones was created because I, Dylan McClure, was on the
hunt for the greatest character I could ever make. That time has
come. A pirate skeleton, built entirely around abusing Sneak Attack.
A legend. A pirate. A pirate legend.

The idea first sprung up when I created a Death Knight character; I

thought of how overpowered this template was, and where other
undead could be affected. Because, as we know, Death Knights are
skeleton in appearance, yet don't have the terrible penalty of no feats
and no skills and no Intelligence. That's when it hit me- I should
rip off that Pirates of the Caribbean movie, and make something to
be told of for centuries. Captain Bones. Arrr.

Thus, this character build is based on the idea that some DM would
actually allow a +5 LA character who abuses Sneak Attack and
levels as slow as kittens.
(Shown below The typical Death Knight kicking the ass out of some poor adventurer because of +5 LA.)
 Table of Contents
Page 1: Cover
Page 2: Foreword
Page 3: Table of Contents
Page 4: Character Dossier
Page 5: Character Build
Page 6: Character Build Continued
Page 7: Homebrews (Optional)
Page 8: Backstory
Page 9: Epic Level Build
Page 10: Alternative Captain Bones builds
Page 11: Overview
 Character Dossier
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Character Nickname: Captain Bones

Real Name: Captain Makefield Roberts

(Character Portrait)

Age: 527

Alignment: Chaotic Evil (The character is a greedy bastard, caring only for his personal safety, the safety of his
crew, and treasure. However, treasure is a motivator to work with a Neutral or even Good party, if given the
chance)

Eyes: Skeleton

Hair: Skeleton

Race: Human, with Death Knight template applied (Level Adjustment +5)

Theme Song (If for some reason this particular party member is important enough to have a theme song)

Personality: Bones is an evil captain who spent his days plundering innocents and taking their gold. He was
cursed with unlife, but his loathe for landlubbers has not ceased. He still walks the earth, cursing like a sailor
and taking what he pleases.

Crew: The Death Knight race grants a small horde of undead that Bones can control. These are his
crewmembers, who fight by his side and man his ship.
 Character Build
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Levels Taken (In order from 1-20):

Fighter Sneak Attack/Thug Variant 5, Scarlet Corsair 10, Fighter Sneak Attack/Thug Variant 4, Rogue 1
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Feats Taken in order (Required for Build)

Human Bonus Feat: Combat Expertise

Feat 1: Two-weapon Fighting

Feat 2: Skill Focus (Bluff)
Feat 3: Improved Two-weapon fighting
Feat 4: Surprising Riposte
Feat 5: Dual Strike
Feat 6: Greater Two-weapon fighting
Feat 7: Improved Critical (Scimitar)
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Ability Scores: These are the layouts for AS in importance. Red is Important, Blue is
Neutral, and Purple is Dump if needed.

Strength: Strength is more important for Bones than most Roguish characters, as he
attacks often and is meant for glass cannoning. Arguably, it is as useful as Dexterity.
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Dexterity: Dexterity is the most important attribute for Bones, as it increases his AC,
Initiative, and needs to be at least 19 during the build to gain all of his feats.
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Constitution: Bones gets no Constitution.
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Intelligence: Intelligence isn't useful for much other than the few skills Bones gets. It
must be at least high enough to keep Profession: Sailor and Bluff maxed at all times, and
must be high enough for the feat prerequisites (Intelligence 13).
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Wisdom: Wisdom is a decent dump stat, good only for Will saves and skills.
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Charisma: Charisma is not very important, but the character would be charming. Keep
high if possible. Also useful for some Death Knight Saving Throw DCs.
(Note: If flaws are allowed, see page 10 INSTEAD, it is much better.)
 Character Build cont.
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Concept: Captain Bones is a win-only kind of Skeleton, he never loses. He does so...
because he plays dirty. Many tales on the high seas remark of his uncanny ability to trick
enemies in combat into being feinted and then slaughtered because their guard was down.
He is a dirty fighter and a cheat, in every aspect of his play style.

Basically, Scarlet Corsair is one of the greatest classes in D&D 3.5 for optimizing the
Feint ability. With a good Bluff, Bones can effectively Feint as a Move or even Free action
against opponents. However, the Surprising Riposte feat shoves this into overdrive,
causing every attack he makes during a full round in which Bones feints into an attack
that ignores Dexterity bonus to AC, thus granting a Sneak Attack on EVERY ATTACK.
Because the character is reliably built for two-weapon fighting, this grants a lot of Sneak
Attack hits on successful attacks this way. In addition, the build is designed for critical
destruction. If the Sneak Attack damage doesn't kill the enemy, the 15-20 Critical Threat
range on a Scimitar with the Improved Critical feat will, farming for so many attacks. In
addition to all of this, Bones gets the luxury of a d12 hit dice, though no Con score.
Captain Bones is a glass cannon build intended to kill enemies hard and fast in melee
combat.
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General Equipment needed for Captain Bones:

General Ship-faring Equipment (Maps, Compass, Spyglass, Sextant, etc.)

Two Scimitars (For use with the character build's combat) and the best Light Armor available

A Ship (A custom magic item named The Ship of the Drowned is detailed later in this PDF, but a normal ship
will serve if the DM doesn't allow such things)

Captain's Outfit and Hat (Royal Clothing + Signet Ring)

Picture of dead wife, Betty Makesfield (Long dead, had huge bosom)

Scimitar Magic Upgrades: Speed, Ghost Strike, Ghost Touch (On both)

Still has the Chalice of Eternal Life, the treasure that transformed him into what he is today. Its' power is
drained, but it serves as a memento for Bones.

(Note: If flaws are allowed, see page 10 INSTEAD, it is much better.)

 HOMEBREWS
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As with all settings, not every variable can be taken account for. This time, a magic item ship, called the Ship of
the Drowned. During the accursed drinking of the Chalice of Eternal Life, the Marryweather, the ship that
Captain Roberts was heading, mysteriously sunk into the ocean, without a trace. What rose back up was an
unspeakable abomination: The Ship of the Drowned.

The Ship of the Drowned

The Ship of the Drowned is a ghost ship, the Marryweather under a new flag- the flag of Captain Bones. Sea
farers unlucky enough to see the black flag, the skull representing Captain Bones, and Bones' trademark
scimitars crossed would know that their time had come. The Ship of the Drowned is a herald of doom for most.
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The Ship of the Drowned is a minor wondrous item bound to the owner- it is always considered the ship of that
owner, and will as such only respond to their command word. The owner of the vessel must be undead. If the
command word given by the user is spoken, the ship will rise from any large body of water, no matter how
isolated it is or was from the previous incarnation of the ship (For example the Drowned could dock at a lake
landlocked from anywhere else). The boat has a cabin, and three lower decks. Miraculously, the contents stored
within the Ship are not ruined when the ship is sunk into the water. It sails at 3mph no matter the wind speed,
the tattered sails still yearning of a time long past. The ship is also loaded with 16 cannons, 8 on each side of the
ship.

Faint transmutation; CL 6th;Craft Wondrous Item, fabricate, creator must have 2 ranks in the Craft
(shipmaking) skill; Price 7,200 gp;
 Backstory
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Hundreds of years ago, a pirate by the name of Captain Makesfield Roberts, Captain Roberts for
short, terrorized the high seas, plundering and looting, looking for artifacts of power and intrigue.
His life's work of pillaging, raping, murdering, theft, and gloryseeking brought him to the hunt
for the Chalice of Eternal Life. This Chalice was made by clerics of an ancient god, and was an
artifact of that god. After 20 years of searching (and killing other adventurers that wanted to
find the chalice), he finally found the cup at Rocksfield Cove. He was the only pirate in history to
pass the rites of passage that the cave presented him, and he found the chalice. Once he had
found it, he brought it back to his ship to celebrate his victory over the trappings of life with his
loyal crew. Upon using the chalice, however, his ship sunk, killing him and all of his men,
devouring them in a maelstrom.

However...something came back from beyond the depths. The drowned.

Captain Roberts, his ship, and his crew rose from the depths, coming back to haunt the living.
Roberts felt renewed with life and power, despite that he had lost his mortal functions. His lust
for power and wealth remained, and so he began his journey to plunder the high seas once again,
his crew faithfully by his side, serving him for all eternity.

The Captain was known by a new name: Captain Bones. His flag was changed from a dagger
impaling a bag of gold to a skull and two scimitars crossed- a sign of the new Roberts that had
risen from the dead. Captain Bones would go on to carve a legacy into the world through the
might of his ship and his crew.

Y'ahaarr, once a pirate, always a pirate matey!

- Common Motto of the crew of the Drowned
 Epic Level Build
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If, for some catastrophically insane autistic reason Bones becomes

Epic level, the following should be used to advance him in epic
levels.

Class: Rogue 10

Feats: Perfect Two-Weapon fighting, then Improved Sneak-Attack

on every feat afterwords.
 Alternative Captain Bones Builds
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There is a LOT of cool stuff out there in D&D 3.5, a lot of which can help Captain Bones
succeed tremendously.
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If Gestalt is allowed, Captain Bones must take Rogue levels on top of his
normal class levels, doubling his sneak-attack.
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A better alternative to Scarlet Corsair levels is Invisible Blade, however it
requires two flaws.

The first change with Invisible Blade is that the scimitars change into
Kukris. The Improved Critical changes to Kukri, and every reference to
Scimitar is replaced with Kukri. He still gets two.

Secondly, Captain Bones must take 2 flaws, taking the feats Point Blank
Shot and Far Shot. Replace Skill Focus (Bluff) with Weapon Focus (Kukri)

Human Bonus Feat: Combat Expertise

Feat 1: Two-weapon Fighting

Feat 2: Weapon Focus (Kukri) (Replaces Skill Focus (Bluff))
Feat 3: Improved Feint (Replaces Improved Two-weapon fighting)
Feat 4: Surprising Riposte
Feat 5: Improved Two-weapon Fighting (Replaces Dual Strike)
Feat 6: Greater Two-weapon fighting
Feat 7: Improved Critical (Scimitar)

Thirdly, Captain Bones takes no Scarlet Corsair levels. Instead, at levels

6-10, he takes Invisible Blade levels before taking fighter again until 20,
never taking a Rogue level. This build is MUCH better than Scarlet
Corsair, however it is feat intensive, and requires flaws. Always try the
optional build FIRST before doing core Captain Bones, as it is better in
every single possible way.
 ______________________________________
Also, if Captain Bones takes Invisible Blade levels, try to ask the DM for the use of
the Flintlock pistol as per the rules in the Dungeonmaster's Guide, because he gets
ranged feats from that. Lots of flavor for the pirate thing, too.

Overview
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This document is an accumulation of the basic build, design, and
personality of Captain Bones, the undead Dungeons and Dragons
character.
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This character uses material from the following Dungeons and Dragons
3.5 books and material: Player's Handbook, Dungeonmaster's Guide,
Stormwrack- Mastering the Perils of Wind and Wave, Drow of the
Underdark, Monster Manual II, Complete Adventurer, Complete Warrior,
A Homebrew Ship based on a minor wondrous item from the Player's
Handbook, Magic Item Compendium, and Unearthed Arcana.
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The character concept may vary slightly from incarnation-to-incarnation,
but he is always intended to be a swashbuckling, bad-mouthed scallywag
of the seas, forever searching for treasure, riches and fame. He's Chaotic
Evil, yet comparable with any party as he only cares for whoever lines his
pockets. He is the ultimate Pirate King.
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CLOSING NOTE: While this character is fun, the actual build doesn't
really get to be interesting until exactly level 9, when the build's main
purpose comes into play. Until that point, he would fight as any two-
weapon melee Rogue would, heavily relying on his allies to grant him
Sneak Attack bonus. He can be played anywhere from 6-20 and beyond,
but he isn't really optimized until level 9. The reason for the level 6
requirement is that Death Knights can only become Death Knights at level
6, so that is an absolute minimum level this character should be
introduced. Levels 1-5 were spent being a human pirate, pillaging the high
seas as per the backstory.