WARRIOR-FIGHTER KIT

Corsair

Description:  Corsairs are warriors born to the sea, unencumbered by bulky 
armor, accustomed to swift moves and running battles over open water.  Corsairs 
value bravery, honesty among allies, leadership by example, and advancement by 
merit.  They exist on the borders of society, travelling between the great 
seaports with no single place to call home.  Some are explorers, some are 
pirates, and some are former military sailors, but all love the sea.  On land, 
they may become tentative and unsure of themselves, but on board ship or beneath 
the waves they spring naturally and forcefully into command, and wise allies 
will follow their lead.

Requirements:  Corsairs may be of any alignment, but they must be fairly nimble 
and sturdy enough to withstand the rigors of sea travel, and so must have at 
least a 13 in both Constitution and Dexterity.  Humans, half-elves, half-orcs, 
aasimar, tieflings, and moon elves can select this kit.

Weapon Proficiencies:  Corsairs can wear any armor they choose, though they 
usually wear only very light armor or no armor at all.  They may also use 
shields, though they generally choose to wield a secondary weapon instead (see 
Special Benefits).

All Corsairs must take proficiency with the cutlass at first level and must 
eventually gain proficiency in the following weapons:  chain, club (belaying 
pin), crossbow (any), dart, firearms (any), gaff/hook, knife (any), net, spear 
(any).  Other weapon proficiencies may be gained, but at least half of the 
Corsair's proficiency slots must be spent on these weapons.

Special Benefits:  Corsairs share most of the abilities of a standard Fighter, 
plus unique abilities as follows:

Attacks of Opportunity:  As a standard Fighter.

Continuous Conditioning:  As a standard Fighter, save that the exertions and 
activities of Corsairs lie in keeping themselves nimble and hardy rather than 
maximizing brute strength.  As a result, Corsairs gain percentiles and 
incremental level-based advancement as normal for their Dexterity and 
Constitution scores, but not for Strength.  

Heroic Fray:  As a standard Fighter.

Sea Legs:  Corsairs are expert fighters aboard ship and in the water, suffering 
no penalty to initiative when fighting in aquatic settings of any type, although 
this does not allow him or her to use non-thrusting weapons effectively 
underwater.  When fighting creatures on board ship or in aquatic settings who 
are not themselves aquatic creature or Corsairs, Mariners, or similar 
characters, they gain a -2 initiative bonus and a +1 bonus to hit and on Armor 
Class.

Corsairs also have a fine sense of balance, developed from years of working on 
pitching decks and shimmying up masts and yardarms.  Under normal circumstances, 
a Corsair will never slip or fall when negotiating narrow or precarious footing.  
If forced to make a Dexterity check or saving throw to maintain his or her 
balance, a Corsair gains a +2 bonus.

Sea Lore:  All Corsairs have a deep understanding of the sea and its denizens 
and can attempt an Intelligence check with a +1 bonus for every three levels of 
experience to identify various species of marine animal and plant life.  In 
addition, a Corsair can use their Sea Lore to predict tides, currents, and even 
storms at sea, though this type of check applies a -5 penalty to his or her 
normal chance of success.

Sea Trade:  Corsairs have frequent contacts with merchants of all types, gaining 
a +1 reaction modifier with such individuals.  Their interaction with roguish 
individuals also allows them to select proficiencies from the Rogue list at no 
penalty.  In addition, Corsairs gain a good eye for exotic trade goods 
(frequently including booty purloined through piratical activity) and an 
awareness of the tricks merchants use to try to get a good price.  Thus, a 
Corsair gains a +2 bonus to Appraising, Haggling, Mercantilism, and similar 
trade-related proficiency checks when evaluating items of special interest to 
them (often items they have carried as cargo on previous voyages).  One such 
item can be 'learned' by the Corsair at each level of experience; thus, a 5th 
level Corsair gains this bonus with respect to three specific items.  When 
possible, the Corsair should choose items based on those he or she has had an 
opportunity to see and study.  The items chosen should be fairly specific (e.g., 
Thayan spellbooks, drow religious items sacred to Lolth, rather than 'Thayan 
goods' or 'Underdark valuables').  Note that a Corsair must know one or more of 
these trading proficiencies in order to gain this bonus; they are not gained 
automatically, but must be selected normally using proficiency slots.

Specialization:  As a standard Fighter, save that a Corsair is limited to 
Specialization in one of their preferred weapons (see Weapons & Armor).

Stronghold:  As a standard Fighter, with the unusual twist that a Corsair must 
purchase or build a warship rather than building a land-based Stronghold in 
order to attract men-at-arms to his or her banner.  It is very rare for a 
Corsair to be granted a noble title or land grant by a liege lord, though they 
may occasionally be granted certain proprietary sea trading rights or perhaps 
the right to establish a trading base or colony on an island or a foreign 
coastline.

Two-weapon Use:  A Corsair who is wearing studded leather or lighter armor can 
attack with a weapon in each hand at no penalty, as long as both weapons are 
chosen from their 'preferred weapon list' (see Weapons & Armor).  All normal 
rules for attacks with two weapons apply, but the Corsair suffers no penalties 
to attack rolls or initiative.  A Corsair still suffers a -1 penalty to hit with 
each hand if he or she performs different actions with each weapon (e.g., an 
attack with one weapon and a Block with the other).  A Corsair using a weapon 
not on their preferred list suffers all normal penalties for two-weapon use 
(e.g., a Corsair could use two cutlasses without penalty, or a trident and net, 
but using a broad sword or mace as one of their weapons would impose normal 
penalties for two-weapon use).

Special Hindrances:  Corsairs are limited in many ways by their attachment to 
the sea.  Many of their special abilities are of little or no value if the 
Corsair is not near, on, or in the sea or other body of water.  In addition, 
because they train so extensively for operations in water they tend to shun 
heavy armor because of the danger of drowning that it poses.  A Corsair cannot 
begin play with armor heavier than studded leather, and a Corsair suffers double 
the normal Dexterity check or encumbrance penalty for wearing heavy armor; thus, 
armor counts as double its actual weight when figuring encumbrance.  In 
addition, a Corsair wearing armor heavier than studded leather cannot use their 
Sea Legs or Two-weapon Use special abilities.  Corsairs also focus their 
attention and training with regard to weapon use upon their familiar maritime 
weapons and thus cannot specialize in any weapon that is not on their 'preferred 
list.'  Likewise, they focus on their two-weapon fighting style to the exclusion 
of others, and thus they cannot gain Style Specialization as other Fighters can.  
Corsairs tend to begin play having already spent much of their initial funds on 
passage to the campaign area, and thus they start with only 3d4 x 10 g.p.

In addition to these restrictions, land-dwelling NPCs regard all sailors as 
rather unsavory characters, and a Corsair will suffer a -2 reaction penalty when 
dealing with such NPCs (save for merchants, as noted under Sea Trade), who can 
easily spot the Corsair as a man of the sea unless he or she is magically 
disguised.  Corsairs also have a very strong emotional attachment to the sea, 
and if a Corsair must remain away from large bodies of water for more days than 
he or she has points of Wisdom, he or she will suffer a -2 penalty to morale (if 
an NPC), saves vs. mind-affecting attacks, and ability checks and will suffer -1 
on rolls to hit in combat.

Bonus Proficiencies:  Seamanship, Swimming
Preferred Proficiencies:  Artillerist (naval), Boat Building, Boating, 
Carpentry, Cartography, Direction Sense, Distance Sense, Drinking, Endurance, 
Engineer-Shipwright, Excellent Vision, Fishing, Gaming, Haggling, Jumping, 
Mercantilism, Navigation, Riding (Sea-based), Rope Use, Seamstress/Tailor, 
Signaling, Survival (ocean surface), Tattooing, Tightrope Walking, Tumbling, 
Weather Sense
Forbidden Proficiencies:  any General Rural, Subterranean, or Wilderness 
proficiencies